Hi all. I bought a 2003 Land Rover Discovery II a couple months ago. This car was first purchased near the coast in Southern California and stayed there until I bought it and moved it to Texas. At first there were zero issues. Now, I have leaks. Took to a repair shop today, and they said it looks like it is leaking oil from the gasket at the top of the engine, but the gasket toward the bottom could be leaking, too, they just can't tell due to the oil from the top. They said that the housing for the oil filter may be leaking, too. And lastly, the right rear axle may be leaking, too. I'm wondering if the incredibly hot Texas heat and humidity may have warped the gaskets? And, how much do you think these repairs might cost me? They referred me to an import place to get it done, they don't do it. Should I fix this or do I cut my losses? The car starts right up and runs smooth. Interior is gorgeous. Everything works and is pristine. Advice? I am not a car person except to drive them. I bought this as a cash car for my teen daughter. Thanks!

 

Welcome!

Plenty of Rovers survive the Texas heat... Sounds like normal maintenance has been deferred. Much of this you can figure out of fix yourself with basic tools...

Look for and use a Land Rover specific independent repair shop. Not an import shop or the dealer... They are actually more knowledgeable and cheaper due to you not paying them shop rates to learn on your truck.

Valve cover and oil sump gaskets do leak. easy fix. Hubs leak, usually an O ring.

Make sure you don't have any coolant leaks. If you have coolant leaks, stop driving it until they are fixed. You don't want to overheat it.

 

Welcome indeed!

Oil leaks like you describe are very, very common with Rovers like yours. Many (most?) of us here on the forum are quite comfortable living with them.

The first question I'll ask is how much is it leaking? My '99 leaks a quart of oil every 2000 miles or so, but it doesn't leak enough to leave spots on the driveway or in the garage. Not much, anyway. Did you notice your leaks because of stains or because you checked the oil and found it was low?

Oil leaks from the engine and from the transfer case are common, but the axle (hub) leak might concern me more.

Let us know.

 

If you want to fix it yourself, it could be done. As many of us here knows that you have to clean your engine first to detect exactly where the leak is coming from. Replacing gaskets and seals are not too hard but it takes a while. The top part of engine where it leaks requires new set of gaskets but there are so many things that need to be removed in order to get to the part. Ready yourself with tools if your are located far from any places where the sell them. Power wash underneath the truck to be able to trace where the leak is coming from as well. Jack, stands and some support needed if you need more space to work. Pre soak the bolts with PB blaster for easy removal. The rest gets easier with guidance here in this forum.
Cheers

 

Ambient heat wouldn't bother your gaskets. All of those gaskets can be replaced pretty easily, and in fact the "top" gaskets (valve covers) may just need to be tightened down some. Pretty common.

A leak free Disco is hard to achieve even with all new gaskets. Most guys as already mentioned just live with the leaks, keeping an eye on fluid levels and topping them off as needed.

I will say, if you're not an mechanically involved person a Land Rover will get very expensive very quickly. They can be plenty reliable vehicles, but you have to be actively involved with vehicle maintenance including preventative maintenance. Its pretty involved. If that's not something you can do then I would recommend flipping it for a jeep, toyota, Chevy, etc which will last much longer under less than prime conditions. Just something to consider.

 

TIP: there are a couple of ways to identify the origins of oil leaks:

Firstly clean down the affected areas with a suitable degresant and then dry the areas.

1) Introduce some food grade fluorescene into the oil and search in low light with a UV lamp known as a 'black light'.

or

2) cover the suspect area with talcum powder or similar and see where the leak(s) emanate from.

 

I had 5 of them leaking to varying degrees so I decided to fix them. On all I changed the pan gasket and the front crank seal. 100% oil leak free on 4. One drips about 4 drops per night. I plan on hunting that one down soon. I think it is the housing for the oil filter
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Cnature2

There's a fellow from Texas area that's at least big on the Facebook community for LR's and disco's in particular. Not sure if he's on these forums or not.

To keep him semi private, you can PM me for his name on there. The way it looks, he can fix nearly anything. Assuming that you're looking for a mechanic (which you should have one anyway for these)