So my wife has been annoyed for some time at the amount of oil leaking in the garage and I was slowly losing some coolant. It's like 10 degrees here so I took it to a nearby shop to see what's going on. I knew the VCs were weeping a little oil. I had tightened them but still had leaks. Probably about a quarter sized spot every day off the drain plug but you could see it was coming off the back of the engine. Drops of coolant on the bellhousing as well.

Shop says leaking throttle body heater plate, which surprised me because I didn't see any coolant on the driver's side VC and it had been replaced by the PO in 2012. The shop also says the leaking valve covers are to blame for the oil loss. $952.00 and I should be all set.

With my wallet nearly a grand lighter I drive it home and it's almost spewing oil out the back of the engine. I'm getting a pool now rather than a quarter sized spot. A drip every 4 seconds while running. I take it back, they "seal" a leaking dipstick tube, tell me the VCs aren't leaking, and also tell me it now needs headgaskets (which were also replaced by the PO a few years ago).

Here is a pic of the new leak after I powerwashed the underside of the engine and within a minute or so of startup:





Here it is after it's been running for awhile - it runs off the back, down the side of the trans, and off the ribs on the trans - note coolant droplet to the right as well:



Not sure what I should do now. The shop was supposed to call me with a quote for the HGs but has been slow to do so. I'll ask how they diagnosed the HG problem. I'm not sure if they did a pressure test or are just assuming the coolant loss at the back of the engine is a HG issue. Ultragauge reads a consistent 198 in winter and hit 208 in the summer (in 95 degree heat towing a boat). No gurgling or coolant in the oil as far as I can tell.

I don't get upset about this stuff and I'm reasonable but I could have lit that grand on fire and been in better shape.

I plan on getting a second opinion but can anyone think of why the oil leak would have gotten worse by fixing the valve covers? I can't see behind them but they don't feel wet and are dry everywhere you can see. Could messing with the upper intake have tweaked the valley pan gasket?

Also, what's standard shop practice when someone comes in with specific problems, spends $1,000.00, and leaves with those same problems only worse? I mean, they appear to have fixed what they said they would fix but it doesn't really help me to pay for valve cover job that now has to be done twice because they didn't diagnose the HGs the first time around.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have.

PS - it has Rotella 5w40 T6 in right now because it's winter. I suppose I could switch back to 15w40 but I can't imagine it would make much of a difference here.

 

They aren't contacting you because they probably figure they cant screw you over twice in a row.

Get second and third opinions from Land Rover specific indy shop.

Not a foreign or import shop nor a dealer and do not return to that shop.

You shouldn't have paid more than a few hundred for a valve cover gasket job. You did pay what would have been half a head gasket job.

They robbed you pal. Sorry.

 

I took another look at the bill. $493 in labor for the vc job, $100 for the heater plate, and the rest in parts, including lkj 500020 which appears to be the valley pan gasket! I'm wondering if they changed that for some reason. It would explain why the leak got worse. If they thought they had to change that out to do the valve covers I'm even more concerned.

 

It would explain all that labor.

 

bring it back

 

If they are not a shop that specializes in Land Rover then I bet they have a "know it all Mechanic" that didn't take the time to read the RAVE and forgot to put RTV sealant on the 4 corners of the heads before putting on the Valley Pan Gasket. It is a common error that people make when they don't read the factory instructions.

Here Is a link to my thread "Doing a Major 100K mile service". There are more pictures and info of the Valley Pan Gasket install on page 8 (I think), post #79

 

If you want to try and trick them into admitting a mistake on there part, ask them:

1) How many notches they filled in with sealant on the heads when doing the Valley pan gasket" My guess is they have no clue there should be 4, but it's an easy answer for someone that as done this at least once.

2)what type of sealant they used on the cylinder heads when putting on the valley pan gasket. Maybe you will get lucky and get them to say, "....... what do you mean, what sealant?" Then ask them, " did you use the OEM sealant #STC50550?". Make them think that you know more about things then they do.

I would at least be getting my money back for all that labor. You can't really do anything about the parts cost, but you didn't pay someone to make your car worse then before you brought it in.

 

Thanks much for the help! I stopped by this morning and the owner was perplexed by the whole thing. He thought maybe the valley pan gasket was part of a "three pack" - i.e., they didn't use it and only replaced the one between the upper and lower intakes. He told me to stop by tomorrow morning so he could put it on the lift and show me where it's leaking from the head so that I can pay for a head gasket job (not happening). Should be interesting. Thanks again.

 

WOW!

So if they did not actually use the valley gasket ask him why did they charge you 5 (or 6) hours labor for valve cover gaskets?

 

I see a Lawsuit in your future. These guys messed up and are trying to cover their tracks. That was an outrageous price for valve cover gaskets. And, if they didn't use the valley pan gasket, where is it? Can they at least hand you your $500 Valley Pan Gasket that you paid for, without sending a guy to the parts store real quick?