Freelander 1 oil leak from just above oil dip stick

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tlo

tlo

Active Member
Posts
558
Location
nottingham
Had one of those "were the hell is it coming from" leaks and would only do it when it felt like it . Anyway had the engine cover off to try and find it …. nothing for days , then went down to the shops 2 mins away and there was a oil patch on the floor :mad: Underneath the front bottom of the engine (right hand side) and the sump is covered in a clear oil . The back of the engine above the sump is dry , I thought an engine oil leak would be black ? It is a 2006 td4 and the crank case breather has been changed for the bmw part and it is not from the leak back I have checked them .Any ideas lads ? I hope the pics will help
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Have you had an oil change recently if so was the oil filter sealing ring fitted properly in the right place, check the oil filter pot for oil drips
 
Last oil change was in September and put a new seal on the pot I am pretty sure its not that as I have checked the pot a few times being as I got stung with that one the first time I did an oil change worrying to much about over tightening it:D
 
The pictures are of the front bottom of the engine taken from underneath were the oil dipstick tube is, i did think it could be diesel but i have checked the fuel pump and that is dry , i had that reconditioned less than a year ago . As far as i can see it is not wet above the gasket in the last picture so if it was fuel i have no idea were it would be coming from
 
Intercooler oil maybe spraying up on boost ? clean the area then you have a better chance to find out where it is coming from
 
Thanks Artic2 I have had the engine cleaned twice and the the bloody thing didn't leak , the last time I had it on the lift couldn't find anything then took it for a spin and still nothing, went home and it was not until the next afternoon on a short run it started again. Forgive my ignorance but if it is what you say would it not have leaked as soon as the turbo kicked in ?
 
tlo said:
Thanks Artic2 I have had the engine cleaned twice and the the bloody thing didn't leak , the last time I had it on the lift couldn't find anything then took it for a spin and still nothing, went home and it was not until the next afternoon on a short run it started again. Forgive my ignorance but if it is what you say would it not have leaked as soon as the turbo kicked in ?
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Hmmm well you would have thought so, is the dip stick tube pushed fully home into the sump ? as above also can you be 100% sure it is oil and not diesel, is the car running ok, if diesel the HPFP is in that area if I remember right.
 
I reckon that the HPFP is leaking, probably from its rear head. This then drips fuel down the block, appearing pretty much where you have dampness. Mine is currently looking the same, although wetter as it's been leaking for a while. I'll get round to fixing mine when the weather is warmer in spring.
 
Nodge68 said:
I reckon that the HPFP is leaking, probably from its rear head. This then drips fuel down the block, appearing pretty much where you have dampness. Mine is currently looking the same, although wetter as it's been leaking for a while. I'll get round to fixing mine when the weather is warmer in spring.
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Mines the same :( but hasn’t started to drop yet just a slight misting on the block,but I have another hpfp to take apart and fit new seals ready for the spring.
 
Thank you lads as always for your help, been out today and nothing not a drop . I would have thought if it were a gasket either from the engine or fuel pump it would leak more than it does so do you not think it is that engine gasket? it looks a big job to replace . With that said I can not 100% be sure it is fuel and not oil it is a clear fluid . I have not had the chance to have a look today because of the weather but it is going up on the ramps tomorrow
I have googled about the dipstick tube and I have read discos suffer from that am I right in thinking td4s suffer from it as well ? if it is the tube I can not understand why the oil would be clear. I had the HPFP rebuilt less than a year ago so I am hoping its not that we will see tomorrow fingers crossed
A couple of days ago it was dripping from the drivers side like water I assume it had collected on the engine tray what is the best way to check if it is the rear of the pump?
Just to add the car is running fine (I hope I haven't jinxed my self now:oops:)
 
Last edited:
tlo said:
Thank you lads as always for your help, been out today and nothing not a drop . I would have thought if it were a gasket either from the engine or fuel pump it would leak more than it does so do you not think it is that engine gasket? it looks a big job to replace . With that said I can not 100% be sure it is fuel and not oil it is a clear fluid . I have not had the chance to have a look today because of the weather but it is going up on the ramps tomorrow
I have googled about the dipstick tube and I have read discos suffer from that am I right in thinking td4s suffer from it as well ? if it is the tube I can not understand why the oil would be clear. I had the HPFP rebuilt less than a year ago so I am hoping its not that we will see tomorrow fingers crossed
A couple of days ago it was dripping from the drivers side like water I assume it had collected on the engine tray what is the best way to check if it is the rear of the pump?
Just to add the car is running fine (I hope I haven't jinxed my self now:oops:)
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One of the local lads hpfp was only leaking when he started the car then it would stop for some reason :confused: hopefully it’s an easy fix for you though.
 
Danyou said:
One of the local lads hpfp was only leaking when he started the car then it would stop for some reason
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Often the HPFP only starts leaking when it's cold. So it can leak when cold and stop as it heats up.
That's what is happening to mine at the moment. It leaks when the engine is started from cold, but stops leaking as it warms up.

The same can happen as winter approaches. The pump is leak free all summer, only leaking when the winter arrives. As the spring arrives, the leak magically vanishes until the following winter. Very funny things these high pressure fuel pumps.
 
Thanks bud I only asked that in case there were some other washers that could be replaced in the fuel pump as I have said mine was rebuilt less than a year ago. I have looked all over the pump as best I can and can see no leaks. I take it the chances of the gasket above the dipstick in my last picture would not be the problem ? If the pump has gone again it will have to be a reconditioned one:(
 
tlo said:
Thanks bud I only asked that in case there were some other washers that could be replaced in the fuel pump as I have said mine was rebuilt less than a year ago. I have looked all over the pump as best I can and can see no leaks. I take it the chances of the gasket above the dipstick in my last picture would not be the problem ? If the pump has gone again it will have to be a reconditioned one:(
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Might just be the end washer on the pump like nodge said least then you don’t have to take it off to change that one,there’s no visible leaks on mine other than the misting on the block.
 
A quick update on this it looks as if it is the silicone hoses that are leaking then dripping down various cables and collecting on the engine cover then dripping out when there was enough . I would have never thought that much could have come out the hoses , if anything it goes to show not to (like me) look for the worst case scenario sometimes it can be the daftest of things . I hope this helps some one , other than tighten up the hoses (I was worried about cracking the plastic ) is there anything I could smear around the inside of the hoses to help them seal ?
 
tlo said:
A quick update on this it looks as if it is the silicone hoses that are leaking then dripping down various cables and collecting on the engine cover then dripping out when there was enough . I would have never thought that much could have come out the hoses , if anything it goes to show not to (like me) look for the worst case scenario sometimes it can be the daftest of things . I hope this helps some one , other than tighten up the hoses (I was worried about cracking the plastic ) is there anything I could smear around the inside of the hoses to help them seal ?
Click to expand...

I always like to add a little smear of Red rubber grease inside the first 30mm of the hoses I fit, also use proper T bolt clamps not the standard jubilee clips, link below pick the size you need
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...r+grease.TRS0&_nkw=red+rubber+grease&_sacat=0

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TBolt-Ho...0278a5b4:m:mjoQ3ynfIaShTEswVY3qpsA:rk:22:pf:0
 
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Ty Arctic I neglected to mention I had brought the bigger clips with the kit sorry, but I will look in to the rubber grease . The car has been bone dry for the last two days but I checked it this afternoon after I had been out and there was a tiny film of oil on the black water pipe next to the sump so I think the pipes need tightening up a little more
 
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