I got a nice surprise driving into work this morning. When ever I pulled to a stop I could smell oil. I thought it was the guy in front of me but I could still smell it when I got out at work (it's about a 5 minute drive). I popped the hood and I could see oil spray and smoke coming off the passenger side cat. It was also dripping down the bell housing and onto the ground.
Took it to my local guy and he's been looking at it. He's a great guy but not a Rover guy. He can't see where it's coming from. Thinks it might be the intake gasket but has to start taking things off to get a better idea.
I'm thinking that if it is the manifold gasket I might as well get the head gaskets done at the same time. It's got a small coolant leak back there which may have been the first signs.
So my question is would a head gasket failure spray oil back there? Anything else back there that could cause this? I'm looking at RAVE and I don't see anything that high besides rocker cover gasket. I thought they normally 'seep' not spray. Cam shaft seal?
It looks like I'll get her back from the garage and take a look myself. I just wish it wasn't so cold here (-26c). I was going to tackle the head gaskets in the spring but that may have just been brought forward.
Any other possible culprits?

Mark

 

you can defiantly rule out intake manifold gasket and probably rule out head gasket, are you certain it is oil and not some other fluid like transmission or power steering?

 

The rocker cover bolts vibrate loose and will let oil out past the gasket. I retighten mine twice a year. Wipe everything dryand let it idle and see if you can spot the leak. Sounds like a fire hazard right now.

Willie

 

Sorry, I should have said it is '01 Disco II.
Definitely oil. I'll be getting her back in a bit so I can get a better look.
It's brutally cold so I didn't spend too much time under the hood. From what I could tell it's not tranny fluid too dark, not red. It's on the passenger side behind the exhaust manifold so probably not PS fluid. Hmmm... any ACE pipes around there?
It's a bit strange because the oil was pretty dark and I changed to Royal Purple less than two weeks ago. It shouldn't be that dark.

 

So, do a fluid level check and see what is starting to run low.
How many miles on your truck.
Oil at the rea of the engine will be either from the v/c gasket leaking, but that is usually justr a small seep, valley pan gasket, head gaskets of rear main seal.

 

It's got 96k miles on it.
Just got her home and I don't see the oil level down on the dip stick. It is pretty dirty though considering I changed it 2 weeks and less than 600miles ago.
Royal purple with K&N filter.
Valve cover gasket has a little seepage but not enough to run or drip, about 1/4" above and below gasket.
Looking a bit more I can see that it is dripping on the drive shaft which is then slinging it every where. That's the spray I'm seeing on the cat and the rear firewall.
I can see it running down the bell housing. So I'm guessing valley pan gasket. If I have to replace that then I'll be doing the head gasket at the same time.
Don't think it's be the rear seal. The leak is above the bell housing at the back, where I can't see (of course). Looking at the other side I can see a bit of oil on the driver side bell housing. Not as much as the passenger side where I can see it running down and dripping on the drive shaft.

 

Check the transmission fluid level.

 

How long have you been using Royal Purple / synthetics?

If your rover has been using conventional for the majority of its lifetime there is a high chance that the conventional oil ate up your seals and replaced them with sludge. Now your synthetic oil is eating up the sludge only to reveal the worn out seals. X2 on what disco mike said, those seals would be the first place I would look.

 

This makes me hesitate to use the Royal Purple oil I bought..
I have half as many miles (47k) on my Disco I but its also a 1994 so its had conventional oil in it for alot longer.

 

Just switched over 2 weeks ago. Nice.
So I'm going to change the head gaskets at the same time, what else should I be replacing while I'm at it besides putting some magnacore wires in?
Which gasket set should I use, the one from AB or from Eurotek? Looking at only doing this once so want to use the best gaskets.

Thanks,
Mark