E

El Gator

New Member
My 87 defender was sadly abused by the previous owners but I’m doing my best to get it back to its glory (as glorifying as it can be as a 2.5 td😅). Tonight I pulled out the air filter and it could have doubled as an oil filter, absolutely caked in oil. I’ve ran the engine with the bonnet open and can’t seem to pinpoint any major leaks but the breather cap is very loosely installed… could that be my culprit? The seal is there but it could just be worn, how easy should this thing be to slide in and out? Mine a fairly easy to pull out.

And regarding the air filter. I’m thinking of installing a catch can to monitor how much oil is being introducing into my air induction, is eBay the best place to find those or does anyone have a link?
 
El Gator said:
My 87 defender was sadly abused by the previous owners but I’m doing my best to get it back to its glory (as glorifying as it can be as a 2.5 td😅). Tonight I pulled out the air filter and it could have doubled as an oil filter, absolutely caked in oil. I’ve ran the engine with the bonnet open and can’t seem to pinpoint any major leaks but the breather cap is very loosely installed… could that be my culprit? The seal is there but it could just be worn, how easy should this thing be to slide in and out? Mine a fairly easy to pull out.

And regarding the air filter. I’m thinking of installing a catch can to monitor how much oil is being introducing into my air induction, is eBay the best place to find those or does anyone have a link?
Click to expand...
You mean your 2.5TD Ninety or One Ten is leaking. Defenders weren't built in 1987.

It sounds like you have the classic signs of 2.5TD (19j) about to blow.

Lots of crankcase pressure, oil sodden air filter, you are in the last chance saloon.
If you want to continue driving it, change the air filter, and remove the crankcase breather hose from the air intake, or you are on course for a diesel runaway, which will destroy your engine.
 
I ran a 19j for many years and agree with the above, they do keep going even when well worn though.
It was a bad design feature that had the engine case breather entering on the upwind side of the filter housing resulting in oil sodden element.
As above run breather cap pipe to catch can, this can be just a clear bottle [ must have vent] Plastic tie it somewhere handy.
A new seal may well firm up cap fitting.
 
It is a 90 my friend. 157,000 miles on it.
Clean chassis, rust free completely.. so that’s why I was most attracted to it. I am taking it back to the US to be sold there and just need the motor to ultimately be solid until then. To be honest, I really don’t think the truck has been serviced in ages so I’m keeping it off the road until I do it all myself
 
tottot said:
I ran a 19j for many years and agree with the above, they do keep going even when well worn though.
It was a bad design feature that had the engine case breather entering on the upwind side of the filter housing resulting in oil sodden element.
As above run breather cap pipe to catch can, this can be just a clear bottle [ must have vent] Plastic tie it somewhere handy.
A new seal may well firm up cap fitting.
Click to expand...
tottot said:
I ran a 19j for many years and agree with the above, they do keep going even when well worn though.
It was a bad design feature that had the engine case breather entering on the upwind side of the filter housing resulting in oil sodden element.
As above run breather cap pipe to catch can, this can be just a clear bottle [ must have vent] Plastic tie it somewhere handy.
A new seal may well firm up cap fitting.
Click to expand...
Luckily the turbo surprisingly looked very clean so the oil isn’t making it that far which is a good sign. Once I have the time, I’m going to hit some preventative maintenance on the motor, probably change the head gasket and make sure everything is where it needs to be be and then clean it all up and slap it back together. It’s just hard to trust the previous owners by the evidence of just poor maintenance
 
El Gator said:
It is a 90 my friend. 157,000 miles on it.
Click to expand...

Not if it's a 1987 model it's not. The Land Rover Ninety was launched in 1984, the Land Rover One-Ten was launched in 1983.

The Defender 90 and 110 nomenclature came later...in 1990.

History Of The Defender | One Life | Land Rover UK

Follow the history of our beloved Defender, an enduring icon that gained international acclaim for its endurance and timeless design. Find out more.
www.landrover.co.uk www.landrover.co.uk

My Ninety tratter is 1987 too, but it sure as hell is not a Defender 90.
 
El Gator said:
It is a 90 my friend. 157,000 miles on it.
Clean chassis, rust free completely.. so that’s why I was most attracted to it. I am taking it back to the US to be sold there and just need the motor to ultimately be solid until then. To be honest, I really don’t think the truck has been serviced in ages so I’m keeping it off the road until I do it all myself
Click to expand...
157k is pretty good going for a 19j. The original engine in my Ninety only made 102K.
 
v8250 said:
Not if it's a 1987 model it's not. The Land Rover Ninety was launched in 1984, the Land Rover One-Ten was launched in 1983.

The Defender 90 and 110 nomenclature came later...in 1990.

History Of The Defender | One Life | Land Rover UK

Follow the history of our beloved Defender, an enduring icon that gained international acclaim for its endurance and timeless design. Find out more.
www.landrover.co.uk www.landrover.co.uk

My Ninety tratter is 1987 too, but it sure as hell is not a Defender 90.
Click to expand...
My fault, it’s a ninety 😂
 
The 200tdi breather is piped the same, and it can also mess up the air filter.
As said above route to atmosphere, or chassis.
 
They do tend to breathe quite heavily when worn. One option is to fit a centrifugal oil separator to catch the oil carryover and send it back to the sump. But it's likely a sign of the age of the engine. Budget for a rebuild!
 
tottot said:
My 200tdi has the breather pipe on the down wind side of filter so no contamination.
Click to expand...
That is fine on a Tdi, but a well worn 19j can throw so much oil down the pipe that it is safer to route to chassis, which also provides useful internal rustproofing.
 
At the milage quoted 157k either the engine has been well cared for [ could be the case given condition of the truck] or it has had a rebuild at some time.
Found with mine it would contaminate the air filter even at a young milage. Breather pipe did find its way to chassis as it seemed daft to have to replace air filter every service. [ It worked hard and lasted to 126k]
A good check would be to do a compression test and if all are good leave head alone.
 
tottot said:
At the milage quoted 157k either the engine has been well cared for [ could be the case given condition of the truck] or it has had a rebuild at some time.
Found with mine it would contaminate the air filter even at a young milage. Breather pipe did find its way to chassis as it seemed daft to have to replace air filter every service. [ It worked hard and lasted to 126k]
A good check would be to do a compression test and if all are good leave head alone.
Click to expand...
I bought mine with it's second engine, a Turner recon which had only done 2000 miles.
But it already left a light stain on the air filter paper, so I went to chassis straight away.
On another occasion, a chap posted up on LZ who had bought a Ninety with a 150k 19j.
As it was close to where I lived, I messaged him, and said I would drive over to where he lived.
I had a look, there was oil coming out everywhere, and it had softened the rubber of the air intake hoses.
So I suggested we put the breather into an old oil bottle under the bonnet, and he drove it for a while.
A few days later, he phoned me, and said the bottle had collected 250ml of oil in less than 50 miles run! o_O
 
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