Hi all,

I just got the oil changed in my 2004 Disco II (128K miles). Used Mobil 1 synthetic 10w-40 high mileage. I couldn't find the recommended Mobil 1 oversized filter locally, so I bought the Fram Ultra. Anyway, I don't have a lift, so I paid the local shop to do the oil change ($20), and they changed it. I ran some errands after, and noticed it smelled like smoke, I looked under the vehicle, and there was oil burning off of the muffler, as well as dripping off of the engine, frame, and some steering parts. Apparently it is blowing all over at highway speeds.

Once I noticed this, I checked the oil (to make sure it was safe), and drove it straight back to the shop. They put it up on the hoist, and after wiping everything off, it appeared it was coming from around the filter. They replaced the filter with one of theirs, saying that the one I supplied may have had a bad seal. They let it idle for a few minutes after, and it seemed OK, so they topped it off, and I took it home.

A couple days later I drove it to work, about 70 miles round trip. When I got to work, there were a few drips, but I thought that might have been residual oil from the earlier leak coming out. By the time I got home, it was all over the frame, and muffler again. I'm taking it back in tomorrow for them to look again, but I thought I'd check with the experts here for any insights.

I stopped by Land Rover tonight, and talked to a parts guy I know there. He told me some interesting things. He said (as well as the other guy working the counter) to never run synthetic in it, and that the engine should have 20w-50. They both said that synthetic makes them leak like crazy. I thought that the manual recommended synthetic, but I just checked, and can't see anything specifying synthetic. It definitely says 10W-40 though.

Is there anything else in that area that might be leaking like that after an oil change? Hopefully it's not the crank seal or anything serious.

Is it possible that they overfilled it? Would that cause a leak like this?

Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance!
Paul

 

Always possible the rubber seal from the original seal stuck the filter housing and they didn't notice it the first or second time. That's about all you can really mess up on an oil change.
It's not uncommon though for leaks to show up when switching from dino oil to synthetic.

Go to your local O'Reilly and get a Wix 51515. It's a top rated filter of quality design at a reasonable price. Same filter is a NAPA gold 1515.

 

You living in AZ and running 20-50 year around is probably ok. Doesn't get anywhere cold relative to your neighboring northern states, so the thicker oil is ok in your climate. Dino vs. syth. is anybody's guess. Some folks swear by t-6 and run it exclusively. Some veteran forum members hint that there is some Zddp in the t-6 that scrubs the engine's insides ever so gently while lubing it. Frequent oil changes is the key should you consider any oil.

 

ZDDP is an anti-wear additive needed for the flat tappet engines like ours.

 

One other thing the guys said at Land Rover was to use a genuine Land Rover filter. He said if I buy one thing that's genuine Land Rover, it should be the oil filter. I guess they've seen problems with other generic filters. It was outrageously expensive. He gave me the wholesale price, and it was still 2x what most other filters cost. Full retail was $25.

 

Everyone will have their own opinions about this, but I've found that Rotella 15W40 with the Wix filter mentioned above works great. Also, changing your own oil (if you have the space/time) is a great way to make sure it gets done correctly the first time.

 

I hear that at every dealership of every make and model of car. I have seen SOME dealer filters that seemed to be superior, but for the most part, I think they have been brainwashed by their corporate training. There are some very poor quality aftermarket filters out their, but saying that OEM is the only way to go because fram sucks isn't the full truth.

There is a post out here somewhere from Tom, I think, where different brands of filters were cut open and compared. Land Rover wasn't the BEST as far as features go, but it was certainly a good filter. I'd rather pay less and get a filter that is just as good.

 

I switched to Mobile 1 synthetic when I first purchased my Disco. It started leaking and ticking. One of my buddies owns a Land Rover repair shop. He strongly advised going back to dino oil as it is more suitable for oil distribution for the ancient valve design of the Buick legacy engine.

I switched back to Dino (same weight as the Mobil) and the ticking went away. Re-seal the front timing cover plus a few other seals.... no more leaking.

 

The genuine filter is actually an inferior design overall. Why is described in the post referenced above.
The only time I'd use them is if I couldn't find a Wix, NAPA or Baldwin B2. All of which are in the $4.50-$7 range.

 

Another thing to consider is they could have cross threaded the filter when they put it on.