All,

My 1999 Disco II with 151K miles on it is in some trouble. I noticed about 2 weeks ago that it had burned oil down by about 2 quarts inexplicably at the time. I have never noticed any oil burning issues. A few days ago, the SES light came on and we started getting misfires, O2 sensor failure codes, and a P0171 code (running too lean). Theses codes have been intermittent. They come and go except for the running too lean code.

Tonight, the codes were P0171 (too lean) and misfire in bank 8. I replaced the plug in bank 8 because I had one laying around. I do not have a spare wire. I started the disco up and was met with crazy white smoke coming out of the tailpipe. It does not smell like coolant. A coolant leak is not out of the realm of possibility because I frequently have to top up. I am constantly fighting external coolant leaks though. Again, the smoke doesn't smell like coolant but burning oil.

I replaced the oil a few weeks ago and just had to add a half a quart. I just switched to synthetic that can be mixed with traditional oil. I currently have them mixed about 50/50 because I had some traditional laying around.

I have observed rough starts (started is 4 months old) recently, as well. The plug I pulled had oil residue on it.

My current hypothesis is that it is a worn cylinder. Any thoughts will be appreciated. I apologize for the scatter brainish post. It is late and I am tired. Cheers!

 

white smoke in tail pipe means blown head gasket!

 

You have all the signs of a blown head gasket. So the bad news is it should not be driven until it is fixed. the good news is that it can be fixed. The crappy part it is winter.

 

I am grateful for the responses thus far. However, for some reason it isn't sitting well with me to dismiss this issue as solely a cylinder head gasket. To sum up, following are the issues ranked in most alarming to me:

1. White smoke out of tailpipe - continuous and regardless of how hot the engine
2. Intense burnt oil odor
3. Rapid oil consumption
4. Oil on pulled spark plug
5. Gradual coolant consumption (constantly have had to manage external cooling leaks for some time)
6. Misfires
7. Aforementioned fault codes

I suppose I can check to make sure the valve cover gaskets aren't blown causing oil to spray onto exhaust manifolds. However, I have not observed any smoke coming up from under the hood.

Anyone have ideas? I find it strange that a blown cylinder head would lead to such rapid oil consumption. Also, the oil deposit on the pulled plug point to poor oil control.

 

Start with a compression test. Oil on a plug is not a sign of a head gasket failure in a Rover, nor is oil consumption. A compression test will indicate if you have any issues with the rings or pistons.