Hi All,

So I've own my Disco S2 2002 for a little less than two years, and truth be told -even though you might throw me under the bus- I HAVE NEVER DONE AN OIL OR FILTER CHANGE ON IT! ...and the truth will set me free!

Now I'm here onna 4th of July with a lotta offers around for oil & filter and I actually wanna do it myself, so here's the scenario... my truck has over 135K miles on it ...actually been driven in sunny Florida ...with a pretty good oil leak from the driver side of engine -maybe towards the steering box- but still undetermined where from exactly ...usually have to put in a quart a month to top it off ...had a lot of misfire codes that were resolved long time ago after replacing spark plugs and cables, but have been driving a long while with P0420 logged-on and P0134 still pending, yet after many cycles! ...so here comes the questions:

1.- Your thoughts on Pros & Cons of throwing in the contents of a can of Seafoam and let it do its thing for a week before attempting the oil change;

2.- Conventional or Synthetic;

3.- Recommended brand of oil & filter I should use;

Your feedback on this matter will be very much appreciated, thanks in advance and Rover-On! ;-]#

(P.S.: I've attached a pic of the leak so you may see the extent of it)

 

OK y'all, I know the first reaction of a lot of you will be to draw and quarter this fella, but he is here seeking redemption. Let's focus on what he needs and needs to do now and not on what he should have done.

 

Welcome my child. For within you will find saviour. Just send me $500 a month and you will be forgiven.

A leak that is using a quart a month needs fixing. I would first recommend cleaning the engine off properly and having a look over the course of a week before trying magic in a can. Could be a simple case of tightening something down. (I've had success stopping a valve cover leak by tweaking the bolts a bit. Not even torqued, just sensibly nipped)

You could say that you have been changing the oil if that much has been replaced every month. But not changing the filter is baaaaad. I would get a Mobil 301 on there sharpish.

A few days after monitoring the cleaned off engine will give you a bit more info on a course of action.

What weight oil have you been topping it off with?

 

Thank you guys for not scolding me -despite the wanting to! ;-]#

As per CAPPEDUP's request/inquiry... thanks! but I'll try and seek forgiveness within too... LOL ...as per your inquiry, I've been topping it off with conventional 10w-40, mostly with Advanced Auto Parts' own brand, but last two top-offs with Havoline's...

#HappyAndSafe4thOfJuly

 

...my concern when replacing just the oil filter is the loss of oil, will it flow out quite a lot when removing the old one and before putting the new one, what should I expect? ...thanks! ;-}#

 

Adolfo, first it would be very unusual to replace just the oil filter as you say. The oil filter is (always?) changed at the same time the oil is changed.

That said, I suppose you could change just the oil filter, and yes, the filter will be full of oil and you'll get at least some on your hands. If you look underneath your truck you'll see the oil filter mounted at roughly a 45 degree angle to vertical with the open end up. Once the filter is unscrewed completely from its mount its natural tendency based on the position your hand will most likely be in will be to rotate downward spilling all the oil in the filter. I try to rotate the open end upward once the filter is released to keep as much oil as possible from spilling until I can lower the filter carefully into the drain pan I've positioned underneath it.

It sounds like all this is new to you. Changing the oil is not difficult but it can certainly be messy and you'll need an inexpensive oil filter wrench plus the knowledge of how to use it. Do you know anyone who might walk you through it your first time? Most everyone on these forums would say you should do it yourself, but if you don't know anyone who can help you it might be a good idea to take it to an oil change shop (egad!) and ask if you can watch while they do the work. In any case DO IT SOON!

 

Thanks for your detailed walk-through MLN01, and although I have never changed it myself, I pretty much understand the procedure and I'm pretty confident I could do it... but my concern was cuz CAPPEDUP suggested to clean the engine as much as possible and change filter ASAP first, so I could try and point out where the leak was coming from... but if I was going to go through that, shouldn't I just change the oil while at it? ...if so, what type and brand to use or if the filter change alone would be ok as the first step before finding the leak, and in what moment would it be recommended to pour in the can of Seafoam, if it is even a good thing to do... thanks!

 

Rotella 15w40 is the go to oil for these engines. You can find it Wal-Mart for under $13/gallon. The point being not that it is cheap, but it has an old school formula for our old school engines. Yes, it is meant for diesels, but don't let that slow you down.

Given that you have not paid any attention to your power plant, heed the above advice, clean it and watch for leaking oil. Loose bolts are common on the valve covers as well as the oil pan.

At the very least you've had a steady stream of clean oil in the system. Good job watching the levels!

 

You received very good advice so far, (still should be hanged, lol)
Just in case you don't know, will need aproximately 6-qt of oil, & if you know how to fill the new filter with fresh oil B4 installing it (but not all the way,)cause when U tilt to instal you don't want to spill it, That filling new filter will keep oil pump & engine from starvation when you start it again,

 

I think what he was trying to say is, do a complete oil and filter change AND clean the engine up, maybe with some degreaser or something like that.
Spray it down with degreaser and let it sit for a while, then rinse it off with water (being careful not to directly spray water on electrical parts and connections). This will remove all the old oil buildup and then you'll be able to see where the oil is actually coming from. I usually clean it up and then start it up and watch it as it runs for 15 or 20 minutes and see if you can find a leak anywhere. If not, drive it for a day or two, then recheck for leaks.
It is very common for the valve cover gaskets to leak and they usually only need to be tightened back up. I put some loctite on mine the last time I did them and they haven't leaked in years. Just don't use heavy duty thread locker, you'll regret it if you ever need to get them off!
Good luck!