So here's the deal, I bought, a few months ago, a meticulously maintained 03 Disco with about 119k miles. When I first had it in, they said it needed nothing (the dealer I went to) except for a cracked air filter cover which I had them replace. I have also had them do the rear brakes and the brake light switch. About to have an ABS sensor replaced. Anyhow, in all this they suddenly found an emerging oil leak from the main seal. The complete job they have quoted me at about $2100 which I was about to suck up till I started scouring the online sources and everyone seems to put that job, at a dealer, at about $1300 or so. What say you, Land Rover folks? Is the dealer right on this or are they pulling one on me? My service coordinator said 'a lot of people would choose to live with the leak.' Advice?

 

Is it the front main seal or rear. If it's the front you could probably do it yourself.

 

Sorry, rear main seal... evidently it is a huge job

 

Yeah, it is...

But, it could be your oil pan that's leaking. If I were you I would buy the $20 oil pan gasket and replace myself per the rave manual just to make sure.

Follow the manual as there are 4 places you have to add RTV, but I usually put a skin film on both sides of the gasket.

Im not sure of the rear main seal replacement cost. Good luck

 

How much oil is it loosing, let's say per 1000miles,?
How do you know for sure it's the main seal,? Sometimes the oil leak from back of engine isn't the main seal, there are 2 small cross like seals (crossefix) in back of block that do the leaking,!
B4 doing anything first check to see if your PCV valve is not clogged, because if it is, then it puts extra pressure on all seals & most of time makes those crossefix seals on back of block leak,, If PCV valve is actually clogged, then clean it & see if amount of leak is reduced over same miles driven,,,
Also dealer's usually use a 5w30 motor oil, change it to a good multigrade Xw40 oil, such as 10w40 high mileage motor oil,, (high mileage oils also have seal sweal in them & reduce leaks),
Try these things b4 tearing down engine for rear main seal replacement,, good luck,

 

Try using Blue Devil rear main sealer. It worked on my 04.

 

X2 on the oil, Check to see what they put in it. probably as mentioned to thin.

The go to oil for these is Rotella 15w40.

 

Probably not the rear main, but the curifix seals same amount of work. either way it is a large job which, i would try and put off by running 15x40 bottle of BD rear main sealer

 

Check the PCV system too. There is a crazy looking plastic oil separator thing in the passenger side valve cover that gets nice and plugged up. If the crankcase is building pressure, that will help it leak too. Also, it is likely that the leak is from the cruciform seals as Drowsap posted, not the rear main. From what I have read, the rear main seals on these tend to last a very long time. The cruciform seals can be replaced without pulling the transmission (or engine) which makes the repair cheaper.

If the leak isn't too bad, it's probably better to live with it. It is a British vehicle after all.

 

If it turns out to be the main seal and you cannot to the job yourself than do a lot of research and seek out the nearest indi LR mechanic. Chances are it will cost you a fraction of the price the dealership is charging you and the indi lr mechanic may even be known in the LR community. If you lived in or near New England I'd point you over to my trusted mechanic who has a lot of experience with Rovers and is known in the community. Good luck.

PS: I advise against any stop leak **** and just get it fixed the first time the right way because otherwise that leak will come back and may cause much greater issues down the road. These are incredible vehicle and can be reliable.... Until owners decide to do half *** repairs or neglect leaks all together and let them get worse.