Hello all,

WHAT IS THIS OPEN HOLE UNDERNEATH THE DISCO II ??

BACKSTORY: We recently got a 2004 Discovery II with the 4.6 engine. On the long drive home it blew a head gasket. Previous owner was kind enough to cover the cost of repair. Took it to our local shop and just got it back. On the way home I powerwashed the underside before installing a front skid plate; kept the truck running as it's cold as heck and while powerwashing the truck shut down.... weird? Then I'm underneath installing the front skid plate and saw this HOLE near the oil pan/ bell housing.... WTF?

Follow on question is once we identify what it is what should I do about it? Thank you!

 

https://www.roverparts.com/engine/ga...eals/ERR7229G/
There are 2 on the oil pan, one per side.

 

Thank you for the link on how to close it up.

QUESTION: I most definitely (and unintentionally) sprayed a bunch water in there when I was powerwashing the Disco. Should I drain/ refill the oil?

ANOTHER QUESTION: (for my own education). If this hole is to check the oil fill level (as the forum has told me), why is there one on each side, and why not just use the dipstick in the engine compartment?

Thanks, still very new to the Disco

 

This is one of the most common questions about the underside. Tons of threads on here about these inspection ports.
It's not to check the oil level. Nobody will have said that. There is no connection to the inside of the engine.

 

Haha, this is the very first thing I fixed on my rover...good times. Anyway- all that port does is allow access to the flywheel, it doesn't "go" anywhere and its certainly not connected to anything relating to your engine oil, so no need to worry there. At the very bottom of the bell housing there is a port with (It think) 3 screws/bolts that you can undo if you are really concerned about anything that may have entered there, but my bet is that if it's been a while since you sprayed water up there it's almost certainly empty as the engine heat will have evaporated all of the moisture. Buy 2 of the grommets (one for each side) and they just pop right in, no tools needed.

 

Also, power washing while the truck is running is (to me) a bit of a risk. Too many old electrical connectors to splash water on!

 

Agreed and I've never done it before, and probably never will again! I had a moment of weakness at it was -10 out but wanted to get the underside clean before covering it up with the skid. Figured if it's running when I ford it, it should be ok but it's never that amount of water pressure on things.

 

Thank you for the insight, what a relief. The link (above) said the grommet is an oil pan grommet so that led me to believe there should be oil in there. I will open up the port below just to see if any water comes out as it's only been a couple days and 1/2 mile since power washing.

 

It *is* attached to the oil pan. That hole is part of the oil pan casting, but as mentioned above, the oil is sealed off from that inspection port.