Engine questions (in prep for another road trip)

[NickDawson]

Hey guys,
I hope my "prolific" posting isn't clogging up the board too much - trust someone will tell me when it is.

We are loving the rover! Everyone was right, I drive it far more than I expected. And so far, everything has been fairly solid for running around town.

I am starting to see some things that make me wonder if they need attention or are just normal for a series truck.

• Engine performance - mostly surprising. Able to actually pick up speed (albeit virtually unnoticeable) when climbing hills in 4th with OD engaged. But when I step on the gas, there is a particular point where the truck jerks a bit then punches forward. In my uneducated opinion its almost like the throttle valve sticks a little. Could it be related to:
• Oil in the air filter pan - not a lot, almost a light film. The filter itself is fairly clean. After about 500 miles I have gone from Full on the dip stick to Low (its a series truck, it leaks, I know) but could that also be related to....
• the littlest bit of coolant leaking onto the block, could be coming from the thermostat (I think thats where it is?, connection from hose from block to radiator), can't quite tell. Coolant levels are still high. No overheating issues, which leads me to:
• dieseling - doesnt happen often, but has happened a few times, particularly when running errands, frequent stops and starts of the engine, lasts for less than 10 seconds
• transmission has a nice film of oil (and road grime) coating it - mentioned this one before and still waiting on the workshop manual to learn how to check the fluid there. Any cause for alarm in the mean time?

So I guess I have two questions - in addition to the issues above.

1) are these normal items? I've read other threads on dieseling and done some googleing on oil in the air filter - neither sounds like the the kind of thing that would prevent one from driving around town. Are they more serious, in part or in total? I'm a little concerned about the head gasket, and think a compression test may be helpful (got a local friend I need to hit up for a favor), but generally the engine is peppy.

2) are these the kind of things that would make you think twice about at leisurely 300 mile round trip over the weekend? Of course we'd keep an eye on fluids, etc... I just don't want to harm anything or get stranded.

Thanks as always for the continued education!

[KevinNY]

Check your timing to cure the dieseling. Everyones gearbox is covered in oil from the leaky shift selector shaft seals, they never hold oil.

[Eric W S]

Just because it's a land rover doesn't mean it's "supposed" to leak.

Pressure wash the engine and transmision/transfer case. Get them clean and find out where they are leaking and replace the seals as needed.

You're air filter could be a K&N type that requires oil in the filter element by design...

Kevin hit it on the head. Re-time the engine. I'd adjust the valves first, then time the engine with a vaccuum gauge. Google using a vaccuum gauge as it can tell you a lot of very important things about your trucks health...

[mechman]

Which carb do you have on your truck? If it's the Zenith or Solex/Zenith, that hesitation upon acceleration is usually caused by a cranky accelerator pump. Pop the top off the carb, pull out the piston and gently polish it to a shine with a piece of crocus cloth, lightly smooth the bore it rides in with the same crocus cloth, then make sure the ball bearing type check valve in the bottom of the bore is both a little loose (should rattle when you shake the carb body) and VERY clean. It's VERY common for crud to collect here. This wears scratches into the piston, which causes it to not operate smoothly, and also causes the ball valve to gum or jam up. Clean the carb body inside both the accelerator pump bore and the float bowl until it's all squeaky clean. You'll know it's clean when the inside of your carb no longer changes color to brown or tan as it dries.

Put it back together and you should see a VAST improvement. I used to cruise the 109s at the shop down Rt. 95 at 70 MPH WITHOUT an overdrive. Seriously.

As KevinNy said, check your timing for dieseling.

I hate to say it, but unless you take it apart and reseal EVERYTHING (and I like to use Permatex 3H on my gaskets), you'll be chasing oil leaks. Always carry several quarts of both engine AND gear oil with you. Think of it this way - anything downstream is constantly getting rustproofed. Including the car behind you.

The coolant leak, though, that should be repaired ASAP.

Mech

[Bertha]

What oil filter do you have-the original oil bath type or something different?

[greenmeanie]

Hey guys,
I hope my "prolific" posting isn't clogging up the board too much - trust someone will tell me when it is.


I am starting to see some things that make me wonder if they need attention or are just normal for a series truck

• Oil in the air filter pan - not a lot, almost a light film. The filter itself is fairly clean. After about 500 miles I have gone from Full on the dip stick to Low (its a series truck, it leaks, I know) but could that also be related to....
• the littlest bit of coolant leaking onto the block, could be coming from the thermostat (I think thats where it is?, connection from hose from block to radiator), can't quite tell. Coolant levels are still high. No overheating issues, which leads me to

2) are these the kind of things that would make you think twice about at leisurely 300 mile round trip over the weekend? Of course we'd keep an eye on fluids, etc... I just don't want to harm anything or get stranded.

Thanks as always for the continued education!

If you have a hose connected from the rocker cover breather to the air filter pan you will always get some oil in the intake. As long as it is a film and not a flow your good.

The oil depletion is the only one that would worry me. I can usually go between 3K mile oil changes without a top up. The most I'd be happy with adding over that time is a quart. Your consumption/leakage seems high.

If it were me I would take the truck to a jet wash and clean the bejeesus out of the engine bay. Run it home once it will start again and then start looking for oil leaks. Address these. I usually don't bother with the paper gaskets and instead use the 'Right Stuff' for most joints. It seems to keep the oil on the inside more effectively.

As a matter of course for a new old vehicle I would also replace all the coolant hoses and install new clamps. The same applies for the fan belt. A little grease on the hose barb does wonders for being able to remove the hose in the future. If that doesn't cure your coolant leak then start stripping the obvious and replace all the gaskets.

I would also see about giving the truck a good tune up before getting too wild on chasing other stuff. One of the best single improvements you can make is ditching the points and put in electronic ignition. Set the valves, time it and all the rest. Getting a compression test is useful if for no other reason thatn it gives you a baseline to compare to in the future.

I used to slog 1000 miles a week in my truck. Bits fell off and others stopped working but as long as I kept the fluids in the right places she never failed to get me home even if it was limping, farting and grumbling.

[thixon]

"Oil in the air filter pan"

Your use of the word "Pan" makes me wonder. Do you have the stock air filter? If so, its supposed to have oil in it.

[NickDawson]

thanks gang

here's the air filter - I think its a ford filter sitting atop a webber carb


its a 2.5l motor btw.... spent some time yesterday familiarizing myself with exactly what each part is. Its at once very simple and very complex. I can identify most of it, but everywhere you look are delicate little springs or screws or cables - I have this vision of a "simple" job being much more complex in reality.

I'm going to top off the oil ASAP and keep a very close eye on consumption to make sure I'm right about the rate.

I'll also replace the hose and clamps between the block and radiator tonight and see if that clears up the coolant drip.

Next steps sound a big complicated to me, but not out of reach for a weekend project (but not something I'm going to try before this weekend - meaning we'll take one of our more modern cards on the trip).

[Les Parker]

So, what with the oil bottle in the background?
Looks like 2 barrel Weber on the 2.5, does it run OK?

[NickDawson]

So, what with the oil bottle in the background?
Looks like 2 barrel Weber on the 2.5, does it run OK?

Seems to run well minus a little hesitation about 1/2 way through the throttle advance

I love this - thats not an oil bottle, its the "alarm system"
I need to get some detailed pics of it before I finish ripping it out.

[NickDawson]

Updated

The throttle issue seems to be user errors - lubed up the accelerator and I think all is well... chalk that one up to being a newbie.

The oil does have me a bit concerned as it happily drank 2 quarts and might even take another. I'll keep a close eye on it.

I got up the nerve to change out the gearbox oil and the local auto parts store only had SAE 80-90 - the guy tried to tell me it'd be just as good as 90/90 - told him I had to consult my experts...so, thoughts?

a 20 minute trip around town produced no coolant leaks. But I have included a pic of the suspicious area below - to be safe, I cranked the hose clamp down.

for those interested, more pics of the carb setup:


coolant leak - note on pic at flickr site

[adkrover]

I'll make a guess and say the oil in the breather is blow by from the PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve. Is there a hose from the valve cover to the breather?

[mechman]

That's your heater control valve. It's not unusual for them to seep a bit, but don't take that as permission to allow it to leak. Since you've tightened the clamp and the leak seems to have disappeared, you may have solved the problem. I'd keep a wary eye on the bugger though. Replace it if you see it getting wet.

On second thought, having re-read you original post with fresher eyes, your oil consumption has gotten to a fix-it level IMO. It's time to power wash the engine and trans and find the big leak. The little bit of oil in your air cleaner is not unusual, as it looks like the breather is hooked up to it. But going through that many quarts in such a short time is not just typical seepage.

80W/90 oil should be OK as a replacement, as long as you're using gear oil. It's getting tough to find straight 90W in my area, too. I've been using 80W/90 for years with no problems.

Mech

[rbonnett]

Have you thought about going with a synthetic for the 90W? It does cost more, but for me its made a big difference in noise, heat and smoothness of working the gear box. If there's a significant leak, I'd hold off on the switch cuz of the $$$.

[NickDawson]

Have you thought about going with a synthetic for the 90W? It does cost more, but for me its made a big difference in noise, heat and smoothness of working the gear box. If there's a significant leak, I'd hold off on the switch cuz of the $$$.

Not opposed to synthetic if people like it - but I didn't see *anything* in 90W at the local auto parts store...