Engine questions (in prep for another road trip)

[NickDawson]

Well, now I'm not so sure its the gearbox thats leaking, the entire underside is covered in oil. When I first got it I spent a lot of time underneath and it was definitely not like this... it seems to have gotten worse in the last week or two...

Maybe I over filled it when I added the 2 qrts of engine oil last weekend... or maybe I've got some serious seal issues.

At the risk of sounding too ignorant to own a car - can someone confirm the proper place to add engine oil?

I don't have a lift (I do have a snazzy new hi-lift jack though). Whats the best way to approach this? Should I order seals and then take it to a local shop and just have them all replaced? I'm worried that is a bigger project that I can tackle under the shade tree - or am I wrong about that?

I'll start with the suggestions in this thread and power wash and see what I can find...as soon as I find a power washer (mine is broken )

[mechman]

Clean off the engine, run it a bit, then see how high up it's getting wet. That's the level of the seal that is leaking. Given that your underside seems to be wettest, it's probably not your valve cover gasket that is leaking. My guess would be the rear main seal has gone, but it could be your oil filter or pan gasket.

If you have some time and hand tools, you can fix just about anything on your Rover. Don't be afraid of it, Rovers were meant to be fixed in the bush. Since you have a civilian frame, you'll have to pull your floors and seat box to get the transmission out (military chassis have a removable trans crossmember). Once you have the trans out, changing the rear main seal isn't a huge deal. It will take you a few days though, and you should replace the clutch assembly while you're in there, not to mention the trans input shaft seal, among others.

Mech

[NickDawson]

think we lost some notes over the weekend...

update:

• powerwashed
• overdrive oil full
• engine oil maintaining (over course of a week and 20+ miles)
• since washing, no new drips on pavement

Adkrover suggested that this was the bell housing drain for post-fording
There does seem to be quite a bit of oil around the housing and coming from the drain...could this be my source?

[TSR53]

think we lost some notes over the weekend...

Yup, sorry server hickup... Mostly all restored, must rely on your memory for weekend posts.

[NickDawson]

More updates - after sitting in a new place for a day, I am closer to the source of the leaks...I can trace the puddle under the truck to one of two likely places.

I'm hoping this is it...the pan seems to be dripping


of course, that could also be the lowest point....

I still need a better power wash, the car wash version didn't cut it.... there also appears to be fresh oil around this cable and its housing. Is this the clutch cable?

Pumping the clutch didn't produce any noticeable difference in the leak

I think I'll go head and order a new pan and gasket and hope thats it. BTW - anyone know those part numbers? Not sure of the descriptions here: http://www.roversnorth.com/store/c-51-gearbox.aspx

Who knew - the iPhone is the best tool I have right now actually, Its this group, the iPhone just helps me get the visuals

[rbonnett]

Looks like your Xfer case is leaking- you can drive it to wrm up then wipe it down good. Come back and see if there's fresh oil there that hasn't run down from higher up. If its leaking - replace the gasket, don;t forget to use a sealer on it. Also, I think someone suggested checking the pan cover for flatness while its off for the gasket.

The second one looks like the Xfer case end of your speedo cable. Are all 3 screws in place? Its a pain getting them in when the cable is reattached - so sometimes one may be missing altogether - or they got cross threaded.

More updates - after sitting in a new place for a day, I am closer to the source of the leaks...I can trace the puddle under the truck to one of two likely places.

I'm hoping this is it...the pan seems to be dripping


of course, that could also be the lowest point....

I still need a better power wash, the car wash version didn't cut it.... there also appears to be fresh oil around this cable and its housing. Is this the clutch cable?

Pumping the clutch didn't produce any noticeable difference in the leak

I think I'll go head and order a new pan and gasket and hope thats it.

Who knew - the iPhone is the best tool I have right now actually, Its this group, the iPhone just helps me get the visuals

[NickDawson]

Looks like your Xfer case is leaking- you can drive it to wrm up then wipe it down good. Come back and see if there's fresh oil there that hasn't run down from higher up. If its leaking - replace the gasket, don;t forget to use a sealer on it. Also, I think someone suggested checking the pan cover for flatness while its off for the gasket.

The second one looks like the Xfer case end of your speedo cable. Are all 3 screws in place? Its a pain getting them in when the cable is reattached - so sometimes one may be missing altogether - or they got cross threaded.

This is why i love this board! Thanks Rbonnett - that will be my plan of attack tomorrow evening.

I was thinking about that gaskey and seal on the xfer case... let me wipe and drive as per your suggestion before I order something I dont need... but rather hoping thats it b/c it seems simple by comparison

also glad to learn that is the spedo cable - was reading the other threads about the spedo and how it attaches to the power train at some point... glad to know where it is. Again, waiting on the WSM (arriving tomorrow). I'll check those screws ASAP.

[Tim Smith]

If you think the leak is coming from the pan on the transfer case, be sure to take a good look at it and make sure it's not rusting through. I had one do this and although it just looked a little rusty, well maybe a lot, it was actually porous and was weeping oil.

[NickDawson]

Thanks Tim - I'm thinking about replacing the pan and gasket as a first step.

A gent and rover guru from the UK on flickr saw my pics and suggested that the xfer case may just be over filled and this the oil around the spedo cable. Going to confirm all the levels tonight - but that would strike me as a nice outcome

[Tim Smith]

No problem and yes, your guru could be right.

Now if your transfer case is too high, be sure to check the transmission. If it is too low then you might have a bad transmission output seal. When they go bad, the oil from the transmission basically gets pushed into the transfer case while you are traveling down the road.

This is just a big nuisance if you ask me. It's a pain to get at the transmission output shaft but it is doable. Alternatively if you leave it alone, you can look forward to your rover marking it's territory everywhere it goes and of course you checking the transmission levels on a regular basis. Still drivable though so long as you watch your levels.

The transmission output seal is such a cheap part but that pan on the transfer case would be so much easier to replace.

[NickDawson]

one small step for the rover, one giant step for me...

checked all the transmission and transfer case fluids tonight. Gearbox and overdrive are full - if anything the gear box was over filled, when I pulled the fill plug I got a slow drizzle.

I did have to add about 1/2 quart (or less) to the transfer case which produced a small drip again at the bottom of the pan.

Going to start with replacing the pan cover and seal and go from there.

[Tim Smith]

That is good news if you ask me. While you have the transfer case pan off, do yourself a favor and clean the heck out of it. Make yourself absolutely sure it isn't leaking so we can move on to other possibilities. Also be sure to straighten it out if needed, from past over torquing.

The thing about rovers is, you got to find out what it isn't.

[NickDawson]

Alright!
My first mechanical forte ever!

I replaced the gasket on the transfer case sump today, so far it appears to be leak free. It was an adventure, but all in all fairly easy. The only tricky part was the drain plug - I was not able to get it out so I simply loosened the nuts around the plate and let it flow out from the leaky corner.

In retrospect that appeared to be a good move since it looked like there was a copper crush gasket on the drain and I didn't have a new one. The old gasket was clearly damaged so I washed everything up with petrol and used a chisel to make sure the surfaces were clean. As per Steve's (with our hosts) suggestion, I applied a thin bead of silicone around the seal as well.

I added a gallon of SAE 80-90 oil back in and so far it appear to be doing alright...

While I was tinkering, I got the electric cooling fan working again by simply writing it straight to an ignition switched fuse on a distribution block under the hood. Ultimately I think I need to sort out the thermostatic control that was there or at least add a switch since its rather noisy. I ran around town for some errands and let it idle - the fan made an amazing difference. Should I disconnect the belt-driven fan?

Finally my new pop rivet gun arrived this week so I finished up the soft top - much better than looping the rope through the grills on the light covers

Thanks for all the tips leading up to the the gasket replacement! Fingers crossed that it takes care of my leak

[Moose]

I added a gallon of SAE 80-90 oil back in and so far it appear to be doing alright...

You only filled it up to the fill level plug right? A gallon would be way too much oil. The transfer box only holds 2.5 liters, a little over half a gallon.

Brett

[NickDawson]

You only filled it up to the fill level plug right? A gallon would be way too much oil. The transfer box only holds 2.5 liters, a little over half a gallon.

Brett

Have been wondering about that since I posted it...
Admittedly a fair amount spilled in the process, and once I took the tube (attached to the funnel) out I let some drain out... is it reasonable to assume once it stops draining from the fill plug that its appropriately full?

edited to add - just realized it was a 1/2 gallon bottle, so about 3.5 liters... assuming I spilled/drained 1 liter (still seems a bit much) then I'm guessing its filled correctly.

On a related note, I've noticed that when I check the gear box oil it also trickles out when I open the fill plug. I'd assumed that was because it was warm, but perhaps its overfilled.

That leads to the question: what are the dangers of over filling?

And I still have the most basic question (speaking of oil): where the heck to I add engine oil? The manual says there's a fill cap at the front of the block but my 2.5l doesnt seem to have that. I was looking at Jac04's lightweight pics and saw his new block had a fill port... am I missing something simple? I'm guessing I just pour it in the crank case breather - please tell me thats right