Well had an interesting day yesterday, The Mrs. went out of town to go see her Family, I thankfully got to stay home

So on her way back yesterday she was 3 hrs from home, And the tensioner pulley went out. Belt came off, and the battery light came on, she immediately pulled off the interstate, drove the car for maybe 2 min after the belt broke.

It didn't over heat. She was luckily stopped in a town we used to live in and still have great friends that live there..

So She put a new tensioner pulley on the car and got a new belt. Ready to go..

She drove back to Atlanta, She pulls into our drive way and the oil light flickers as she pulls in, She was very sure there was no lifter tapping, Those are the 1st to go when a GEMS motor looses oil pressure.

Ughh...

I look under the truck and it's covered with oil.. all the way back..

So anyone have advise on where to look 1st.. Could the Head gasket popped and is it pushing oil out where the head and the block mate? Or one of the oil cooler lines could have been damaged when the belt came off?

I would look at it today but it's raining sideways..

 

I think all the things you suggested could be possibilities. The first thing I would do is give it a "once over" looking for anything that jumps out at you. Look at all of the likely places like you listed. If nothing jumps out at you I would clean and degrease everything (be careful with where you spray the pressurized water.) Then I would top it off with oil (keep a close eye on the oil light) and go for a drive around the block. Now look for fresh oil. If it is hard to spot or you are unable to clean the engine compartment you can try using the leak finder that you add to the oil and then it will glow under a black light. But hey, its a Rover, that leak could be from anywhere and everywhere.

 

I agree with Krazz, clean it up and look to see what you find. Even if you do not use a pressure system a lot of blue shop towels should do the trick.

When the pulley came off it could have hit something in its way. The oil filter may have sustained some damage and casued it. I would think if it was a head gasket the oil concentration would be up higher in the engine bay and not just under the vehicle.

Let us know what you find.

 

Thanks for the input guys...

It's still raining sideways here in Atlanta...

I plan to top it up with oil and put some dye in it.. Also Before I start it I'm going to spray some degreaser on it and hose her off..

I wish it would just stop raining, 2 weeks ago it was flooding, now it is again

 

Well if its raining sideways just open the hood, spray the degreaser and let mother nature do the dirty work.

 

Hahahaha.....

Good one..

 

I Degreased the front of the engine, and steam cleaned it.. Man it looks nice in there for now

Ok so i drain the oil out, there were approximately 3.5 quarts left in the pan

Not to great...

So I re-filled her with oil.. and gave her a crank.. It took maybe 10 seconds for the lifters to fill up. they had fully drained, probably due to low pressure, And it has sat for 2.5 days now..


Engine runs fine after that 1st rocky start up.. No knocks, not rod knock, so No spun bearings *yet* and the valve train sounds great..


I let it heat up to operating temp.

Leak down Numbers are great. all in the green and All of the cylinders are with in +- 5%.

So the Head gasket is still good.. I also Ran a Compression test and they cylinders are all fine..

Now the bad part..

Got under the truck running.. there was already a quarter size pool of oil right under the crank pulley...

Also it looks like there is a guard or a guide behind the Crank pulley, That is also bent.. Caused by the broken belt slinging around like crazy, I also pulled more belt material out of there..

So It's Probably the Front Main seal leaking.... Unless the belt some how cracked the front cover.. Which is also part of the oil pump if i'm not mistaken?


This leads me to Two paths..

#1. Replace the front seal... **btw How hard is it to get the crank pulley bolt out in the truck. I have only done it on an engine stand with a 3/4" impact gun..**
And drive the motor till the bearings or the cam bearing wear out and the motor dies...

#2 Pull the motor and just rebuild it.. It's only about 1000 in part to do it right and not worry about this motor for another 10 years..

 

How many miles are on it? If it runs as good as you say why mess with a rebuild? If it aint broke don't fix it. I have never tried it but I am pretty sure you can get the pully off without pulling the engine. I've never done it on a Rover but have on a few other engines. You should be able to rig up something to lock the pulley and then just use a good breaker bar. Heck it if was really on there you could weld a bar onto the pulley to hold it. (thats a last resort kind of thing but it would work and a pulley at a junk yard would be under $50)

 

I would bother rebuilding it, because this is our car we take on trips.. When we drive down to the beach for 3 weeks, we take the Rover. Ect.. It see's lots of snow in the winter..

This is our one car I care about being dead reliable.. Our discovery could never take it's place.. and a 911 and a M3 are not good travel cars hehe...

I was going to take the front apart yesterday but, guess what.. It's raining again...

 

How many miles are on it? I still don't get why you want to rebuild it over an oil leak? You said that the compression was good, leakdown was fine and that it runs well. Doesn't sound like an engine that needs a rebuild to me.