Long story short, I’m in Uzbekistan in my 300tdi Defender 90, and I have a pretty bad oil leak from the timing case. I temporarily put in a wading plug to gauge how much it is leaking, and something like 10-20ml dribbled out after 5 minutes of driving (so 50-100ml an hour). I’m guessing it’s a crankshaft or camshaft seal.

Problem is, it’s almost impossible to get parts sent anywhere around here, and I won’t be somewhere I can get parts or get it fixed for ~2000 miles. Will it be okay for this long if I keep on topping it up?

I’m worried the leak will get much worse and start gushing out, or maybe the timing belt will slip or deteriorate. It was replaced 10000 miles ago is its pretty fresh.

Any ideas for bodge fixes?

you can only keep topping it up and dont fit the wading plug so as it cant build up and soak the belt

Agree with above, wadding could hold oil in and soak the belt, regular checks of oil is all u can do, good luck

Assuming you have tools, there must be a seal supplier somewhere on your route?

Comforting to hear that nothing will break imminently, thanks.

Incredibly, I have managed to get the seals and a new timing belt sent to Dushanbe, the next city we're going to. They don't have any couriers or a postal system to speak of, but the owner of the hostel we are staying knows somebody who can smuggle the parts in from Moscow. (!?!) I suppose a lot of people pass through Dushanbe with broken cars/motorbikes/bicycles, so somebody is being enterprising!

Anyway - I think I'll wait until I can find a decent garage to replace the seal for me, but it is comforting to know I have the parts in case something catastrophic happens.

In case I do need to replace the seal/timing belt in an emergency, what things should I be thinking about? I've got timing pins, but I haven't got the crankshaft spanner. I understand I can get it off with the starter motor, but then how do I get it on again? Just do it up as tight as the clutch can hold it?

I tightened mine by putting the truck in gear, handbrake on and just going as tight as I could with a breaker bar. That was 3 years ago. Check it from time to time but it has never loosened off any.
Sounds to be a fairly substantial leak you have. Good luck! Hope you get sorted before it develops too much more!