Like a bad penny, it came back. What I've ended up with here is a reliable daily driver. Drove my son 9-1/2 hours there and back for him to buy a 13 Hyundai Veloster Turbo. He got 36mpg coming home, I got 16.
Wife asks, are you gonna keep it a while? I think she likes it too. I said I'll keep it til a 95 D1 pops up in need of rescue. Guess I'm hooked.
We drove it up to see my daughter about an hour away yesterday. Chime for SLS beeped the whole time. Un freaking bearable. Just about ruined it for her. So background story is it has had coils for months and I had done nothing regarding the SLS. Had this parasitic battery drain though, so Friday evening I pulled the relay and fuse for the SLS. Yep, that will make it beep over 20 mph. Didn't know it was going to til I was a couple miles from the house on the gravel road. Got over 20 and it started. I tried googling a quick fix, not. I should have plugged the relay and fuse back in for the trip, but I thought of that after we were home! So, I reached under her rear and clipped the wires to those height sensors. Beep gone.
Today I:
Removed the hood liner
Changed the oil back to 10W-40 dinosaur oil instead of 10W-30 synthetic.
Reattached the dimmer wheel with through bolts as the plastic standoffs were both broken off and it was dangling around behind the dash
Performed the Seafoam intake cleaning smoke out the neighborhood routine-about 3 miles of decent smoke
Cleaned the gas cap and receiver threads with scotchbrite
Replaced fuse for cruise, which is shared with horn. Now both work! That was the only thing that didn't work!
Ordered heater hoses. Can't get one not to drip on passenger valve cover. I'll put new clamps on too.

Next on the list is drying up some of the oil leaks. My god it can leak a quart a week if you run it. Everything under the front end is forever rustproofed. It looks like the bulk of it is front cover. Sound right? Belt is carrying oil around and making a nice mess. I'm going to do the valve covers too, but they don't look that bad. I know, shoulda done them when I had the upper manifold off the first time. Just not convinced that's where its coming from. I have a power washer and I'm not afraid to use it! Gonna hose her down from a creeper before I start on it.
When I tackle the front cover, what else should I nail while I'm there? Water pump seems obvious. Timing set?

Anywhoo I'm back, which means back to babying this fickle bitch. I truly think once the oil is dried up I'll be down to normal upkeep and reliable wheels.

 

Your oil leak is caused by a plugged valve cover breather baffle, do the PCV mod and they will go away. I would not worry about the timing chain, they don't usually give trouble below 300k miles.

 

Bryan
2003 Disco II SE, SAI, ACE
2.5" Lift, SLS bags are now coil springs
255/70/R18 tires, NGK Iridium plugs, Kingsborne wires
Coils relocated / FV308 PCV mod
Inline thermostat mod / Tom Woods front driveshaft
Disco I wiper arms / Ultragauge / TBH bypassed
111,000 miles and counting

Any other ideas? Does the front cover not have a tendency to leak? Maybe lower intake gasket?

 

They only have a tendency to leak when there is internal pressure in the crankcase. The oil drains from the top of the heads down to the pan, the only way it can leak out of the intake or front cover is if it is blown out by pressure. Super easy test that will tell you for sure. Take the oil filler cap off with the engine running and stretch a surgical glove or balloon over the neck. It should be sucked in slightly. If not, or if it is blown out, you have a plugged baffle.

 

The factory crankcase vent hose on the drivers side is kinked. Reckon that would do it? Its raining now so not going out with the surgical glove tonight. Passenger side has the FV308 correctly installed. Drove it to a continuing ed class today and it puked in their parking lot. I studied the pattern and I think more is at the rear than the front now, but I guess it can be getting blown back there at speed. Ive got a lower manifold gasket set. I'm thinking its not sealed up front and rear correctly. I know most engines require extra diligence in that area and perhaps some permeates to boot. I'm going to study the rave shortly.

 

I bought a 2003 with a blown lower intake gasket from internal crankcase pressure. Previous owner paid a shop to change the gasket for $1500, they changed it and did not correct the plugged baffle, it ballooned the gasket again and blew the end seal out at the back of the engine. I stopped at the Walmart and bought 4 gallons of motor oil before leaving Orlando and drove it home to Greenville SC 8 hrs away, it leaked 2 quarts every 60 miles. Got it home and changed the lower gasket and did the pcv mod, still running fine (wifes DD).


Also, you need to cut the top off the tube in the baffle, they restricted the baffle starting in 03 to reduce the flow of crankcase gases in to the intake to reduce emissions. It causes more pressure in the crankcase.

 

Drilled it out to 5/16 when I did the mod.

 

Not to freak you out, but how did you get the chips out of the tube after? I hope you removed the baffle inside the valve cover. For others reading this thready, A garden variety mini tubing cutter does a good job without making any chips.

 

Had it out of the valve cover for the surgery.

 

If the oil is running out enough to get on the belt, I would suspect front crank seal. Especially leaking 1qt a weak, you have a major seal lost somewhere.

Get a box of brake cleaner and some pans, and start cleaning the bottom of the engine. Once its clean, run it and watch from below, with that oil loss rate, you'll see its source for sure.

Alternatively, get some UV tracer dye and add it to the oil and take a gander for the leak that way.

I do not think your issue is crankcase pressure.