my 03 is leaving some spots on my nice new stained driveway...wife is not happy...

looks to be coming out of the front diff (which I had fluids put in this spring along with a new plug from Atlantic British). That appears to be one.

the other looks to be coming from the front cover near the oil filter housing. There is a hexogonal plug there which I remember using for doing the oil pressure
test on it.

I'll take waylon over to the local scrub-a-dub-dub place and hit it with some degreaser and pressure spray to clean it off some.

What can I use on the threads on these plugs to keep them from leaking? looking for recommendations.

 

Silicone, but the front cover plug needs a copper washer and the front diff plug uses an o-ring.

 

the black plastic plug for the diff from atlantic british should have come with one. So I should put some silicone on that as well I take it. This means draining the diff of the oil, cleaning that plug, siliconing it
and re-installing, letting it dry for 24 hrs and THEN refilling it....

 

Well we should clarify. The drain plug in the diff is a pipe thread, it does not have an o-ring and needs silicone on the threads. The fill plug is factory plastic, comes with an o-ring to seal. Silicone on the threads will not hurt and you can remove and replace it without draining the fluid by parking it facing uphill so the oil runs to the back. I guess which one you address depends on which one is leaking.

 

Then sounds like drain plug could also be sealed with teflon tape.

 

I bought both plugs new for front/rear diffs from atlantic british. the drain plugs came pre-wrapped with teflon tape. don't think that is where I'm leaking though. it's that darn plastic one. I'm guessing the mechanic who installed it didn't want to put too much torque on it. Once I clean things a bit I can see where exactly the leak is coming from.

 

Here are some pics of the truck after going to the wash and hand scrubbing the areas where there was active leaks. I'll take it for a drive shortly and see if new oil drips form.

 

The side panel of the transfer case is a known spot for leaks, and seems to be almost impossible to seal. Steering box is also pretty common.
If you're trying to get a Rover to be permanently leak-free to avoid spots on your driveway then sure, chase them as much as you can but also just put down a pan to catch the inevitable drips.

 

that's what I'm gathering...I put a rubber backed mat under the rig to catch any drops...

just checked underneath where I wiped everything on the front and mid areas of the engine/tranny....

oil leak in front is defintely coming from the fill plug...so that sucker is coming out and I'll put some teflon tape as a 1st try to seal it up better.

there were a few drips from the tie rod ends on the passenger side ...must be brake fluid I'm guessing there.

 

from reading others with similar leaks, they said to check the vent hose on the axle.... mine is attached and runs out towards the drivers side wheel and goes up towards the engine bay. from pics I've found
they meet at the transmission housing and then route back on the passenger side to a J near the SAI pump. will have to do more checking here to see if the hose got melted and fused shut sometime in the
past.