oil leak

[clydon]

after looking underneath my 97 disco the past couple days i found the source of my oil leak. its coming from the front of the engine where the rod that drives a belt comes out of the engine ( sorry for the crude description). it looks like where that rod goes into the engine there is not a tight seal. i was wondering if anyone else had this problem, and if it would be safe to drive until i can get it checked out as long as i keep an eye on the oil level.

 

[beemer]

That's ok on your discription, sounds like the timing cover seal is starting to fail, it will make a oil mess but no sudden extreme leak or failure. Just keep an eye on your oil level until you get it replaced. I would not use a "STOP LEAK" additive as the solvents will make that seal plus others soft and swell up which will reduce or stop the leak but when the solvents evaporate you'll have a worse leak and may cause other leaks.

 

[NHESS81]

As long as you are not puddling up the ground too bad, I wouldnt worry about it. Oil leak and Land Rover are synonymous, makes our trucks unique in a way. If it gets worse, like pretty close between seperate drips, then worry about it, but its probably not worth the hassle to fix a lil leak. My engine is basically an oil and grease block--hmm, I wonder if I can get an extra mpg if I cleaned all that weight off....

 

[Mark]

My oil seal around the crankshaft was leaking nearly two years ago after I had cleaned some dirt way from the shaft.
After a month of blackening the road in front of the house with oil, I decided to try a fix.
Using GE Silicone II, Found at Lowe's stores, I smeared a 'fillet' of silicone around the shaft and let it sit for twenty-four hours. Now the leak is very minimal where it now just smears on the engine underneath. A chemist at work told me the silicone swelled with the oil and that was why it worked...

It can't hurt and success varies with problem intensity.

 

[beemer]

I'm short of 3 years by 2 months, a bone dry 95 Disco 5-speed 4.6 and no I didn't drain all the fluids and coolant out of it.

 

[clydon]

thanks for the advice. i am thinking about trying to seal up the leak a little better with the silicon suggested. anyone have any opinions about this, i want to make sure i am not going to do any damage by smearing silicone around my crank shaft.

 

[beemer]

Kind of like a commercial airline adding bubble gum to seal a cabin leak at high altitudes. Even if the repair is done correctly your fighting British engineering with oil leaks.

 

[NHESS81]

^^agreed^^ as long as you arent seizing or setting off warning lights, dont even worry about it...you cant touch 90% of my front undercarriage without comin back with hands covered in greasy oily mess...i really should clean it, get me a +1MPH prolly with reduced weight hahaha