I may have made a newb mistake. Having since checked the oil while it was completely cold the level is fine. :/ I guess I put everything together and it made sense. Ok so it seems there is no coolant in the oil , but I am missing coolant and its nowhere to be found. Not inside or out. No visible leaks and I had that gunk on the oil cap, but that could just be moisture.

 

Coolant leaks can be sneaky. Some happen only when running at more rpm (pressure), and a coolant cap can vent at say 8 PSI instead of the normal 18. One way to detect that is to zip tie paper towel (blue works good) around the cap and on the end of the overflow line. Venting will wet the towel and make it easy to see.

Plenty of hose clamps to check.

Or start with a new cap. I bought one after making a fast drive to the parts store, hurrying to get there before they closed, about 20 miles for me, and when I pulled into their lot, I noticed an arc of coolant on the pavement that went right to the parking place I was in.

There is a green dye that can be added to the coolant. Flecks of dye on spark plugs indicates cylinder involved in an HG leak, and green in the oil shows the other leak.

Perhaps service the PCV system, to be sure there is normal air flow inside the motor, as opposed to just a solid vacuum (no outside air coming in) or no air flow (pressure from heated oil fumes will make oil vent in strange places).

One thing we can all agree on is that Rover's don't usually increase their oil level. Going the other way is what they are best at....

 

We're fellow sufferers on this one. I looked for a long time for the reason for the disappearing coolant (after doing the obligatory throttle body heater upgrade)

After much crawling and using a good flashlight and mirror, I finally found that the top of the bellhousing was covered in orange residue. So - coolant seeping out of the back of the engine or heads (HG or valley gasket) only while driving - drips around and on to the road and/or exhaust pipe - but never on the floor of the garage.

I finally did a pressure test and was able to confirm this after 10-15 min with actual drops onto the garage floor. Unfortunately for me I also confirmed I have the other very common Disco leak - lower timing cover on the driver's side.

Advance Auto has "free" pressure test kits (Buy it from them for $169 and get a full refund on return)

Ron

 

So I may try this pressure test DEALIO. However mine has only ran in the garage since I got it and coolant is going somewhere.. I haven't ran it in 2 or 3 days so I will check the coolant today to see if its leaving with the engine off..

 

On my Discovery I I had coolant exiting the passenger side coolant passage that went from the manifold to the head.

The coolant was then just dropping into the engine via the open V.

I also had a bad head gasket whereas coolant was going out the cylinder #7 and maybe #8 into the cats.

made the burnt' antifreeze smell too.

Solution was
replace head gaskets.
Cats.

I would put some Barr's leaks into it in the mean time to slow down the coolant into your oil.
May work for a time if you have to drive it.

When did you do the head gaskets last?