Series II burning oil

[Hippo]

My 1962 Series II is burning increasing amounts of oil. Blue/black smoke from the exhaust and the exhaust pipe is wet with motor oil. I have done a lot of repairs over the years on my Land Rovers, but I have never attempted any fix involving the guts of the engine (piston rods, head gaskets, etc.). Can anyone tell me what I would need to do to fix the oil lead into the combustion chamber, and whether someone with medium level mechanical skills can attempt it? I have the factory manual, but no specialty tools. Thank you for any help you can provide.

[mearstrae]

Well, there are three things that 'usually' cause oil burning. Valve seals, valve guides, and piston rings. Any of these repairs will require tools, some are special to each job (the basic home tool kit won't be enough). Seals can be done on the engine, guides will require a machine shop to re-do the head, and piston rings require a complete tear down of the engine. Check the spark plugs to see which cylinder has oil in it, and see how bad it is (sounds pretty bad).

'99 Disco II
'95 R.R.C. Lwb (Gone...)
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S

[fly cubs]

You can do the piston rings with the engine in the truck. Not ideal, but you can do it. I did it in my driveway over a Saturday and Sunday. You'll have to drop the pan, remove the manifolds, take off the head and then do each one. It's tricky to get the bearings all back on right while working on your back, but it can be done. It's a good time to take the head and have the valves and seals done by a machine shop.

I had low compression prior to doing mine, and was really glad I did it- I also learned a ton. The green bible has all you need.

[o2batsea]

Don't do anything without proper diagnosis of the issue. Take it for a compression test and a cylinder leak-down test. This will pinpoint whether the problems are in the head or the block. Head is way much easier than having to pull out the engine for machine shop work. Actually it's probably cheaper to buy a new long block than to rebuild what you have. Or go with known-good used.

[Hippo]

Thank you to everyone who has responded. As Mearstrae suggested, I checked the plugs and none of them is fouled, which is weird. To give you some background, I was mowing a field with my Series II and a tow-behind mower, using third-gear low range. In thicker vegetation, the exhaust would blow black/blue. After two hours, the exhaust pipe was slick with motor oil. But when I was testing it today, there was no obvious smoke in normal operating conditions. It does go through a lot of oil ordinarily, but I also have a leak in the front oil seal, which accounts for a share of it. I think I will take o2batsea's suggestion and take it for a compression test and cylinder leak-down test. Thanks again for all your input. Please let me know if you have other ideas.

[o2batsea]

Robert Davis is probably hoarding a few 2.25 engines in his extensive stash. He's there in Tidewater

[Hippo]

I now think the problem may be a blown head gasket. When I posted my original comment, I forgot one big thing: Two weeks ago, my engine overheated during a six-mile trip into town. Steam was billowing out of the overflow pipe on the radiator. Stupidly, I thought that I had just neglected to check radiator levels for a while, so I filled the radiator and moved on. I now suspect that I am actually loosing coolant into the combustion chamber and the residue coming out of the exhaust isn't oil at all but coolant mixed with carbon and stuff. That might also explain why my spark plugs aren't fouled. Does this sound right to you guys?

[Hippo]

I have just done the compression test on my Series IIA and all the cylinders seem fine. I got readings from 130-138 psi, which I think is in the normal range. I'm still puzzling why I overheated and why the exhaust pipe was so wet. Ideas welcome.

[str8films]

Hippo, did you dig deeper to find the source of the problem - Head Gasket?

[Hippo]

I have still not been able to figure it out. I just finished mowing my pasture again, pulling a tow-behind mower behind my Land Rover, and the exhaust was again wet when I finished. The liquid in the exhaust could be water--it doesn't smell of gas and doesn't seem quite viscous enough to be pure oil. I checked my radiator, though, and it has not lost any fluid. Visible smoke comes from the exhaust when I have been idling and hit the gas, or when I depress the accelerator after making a turn. I earlier described the smoke as blue/black but I think it's actually more gray. As I said before, the compression test was fine, so I don't know what could be going on. I do have to top up my oil frequently, but I have a front-seal leak, and probably others.