I have a little Land Rover problem/question

[Richard Grosvenor]

Hello,

 

I was checking the fluid levels in our LR 109 S3 last night and noticed some watery oily gunge in the oil filler cap.

First thought was head gasket failure but the oil is spotless ( and at the right level ) and the anti-freeze is also spotless with no sign of any oil in it. It is also at the right level. The cooling system isn't pressurising either.

I'm thinking ( read hoping ) that it is condensation that has formed in the engine as the LR has only been used for the odd short journey over the damp winter months. The other reason why I think the water is from condensation is that it is absolutely clear with no trace of anti-freeze. If I dip a clean finger into the radiator even the smallest droplet has a bluey tint to it.

We had the same problem with my Dad's Jaguar XJ40 last year when it was also being used infrequently for short trips. This winter it has been laid up and hasn't had any gunge form in the filler cap.

 

Any other ideas what could be causing this in the Land Rover, or is there any filters or breathers I should check? I have cleaned out the engine breather filter tonight but haven't yet refitted it as I'm waiting for it to thoroughly dry out.

 

Nearly forgot, the engine is a 2 1/4 Ltr. Petrol

 

Regards

Richard

[hardyferret]

Hi,

You have answered your own question, think when you start an engine watch the moisture from the exhaust, the same is happening in the engine.

Hence the reason to avoid those dear little oap cars that have only done 10K in 5 years to the shop......

Answer DRIVE IT USE dare I say it get it muddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Regards Jerry don't bugger with it it'll break..... b-llo-ks it's broken

[Richard Grosvenor]

Hello Jerry,

 

Blimey that was quick!

 

I thought that was what it was but I wasn't 100%.

 

I'll keep checking and now the longer days are here it will be used more. Not muddy though :wink:

 

Many Thanks

Richard

[Degsy]

Hi Richard

Series Land Rovers seem to be prone to this problem. I have always put it down to the fact that unless you blank off most of the rad they don't warm up properly in the winter.

 

 

Cheers

Degsy

[79x100]

Presumably you have an oil-cooler ? For some reason the Series 111 cooler isn't fitted with a thermostat. Earlier military Landrovers had one I believe.

 

I think the problem is that the vehicle was designed to be able to sit for hours with it's engine running in Desert temperatures. Not surprising it gets a bit snotty in Blighty.

 

Do you still have the fixed fan? probably draws enough airflow to pull you along on it's own. A kenlowe helps.

 

I used to find it quite interesting to watch the needles on the oil and water temp gauges. Coolant gets up towards 80° after 5 or 6 miles but the oil needed 10 or 12 of fast roads to get up to temp before you can start steaming-off the condensation.

 

Keep it free of gunge as much as possible and give it regular oil changes.

 

Rich.

[Richard Grosvenor]

Thanks Degsy and Rich,

 

I've noticed that it takes a while to warm right up to the half way point on the gauge ( about 10-15 miles ) but on short journey's it only gets about a 1/3rd of the way up. Hopefully now the warmer and longer days are coming I should be able to take it for longer runs.

 

Rich, I don't think it has an oil cooler or if it has I haven't spotted it yet. It's a Commercial Logistics (CL) Land Rover which is a civilian model that Land Rover militarised for the MOD so it doesn't have all the normal military extras.

 

A kenlowe fan might be a worthwhile addition.

 

Many Thanks

Richard

[79x100]

Richard,

Looks like I jumped to conclusions. You can't miss the oil cooler if you have one, It fills the space between the grille and the rad.

 

My 109 12v GS had a huge steel fan flying around and the Kenlowe was worth 2 - 3 mpg and some noise reduction. It hardly ever operated in normal use, there is just so much air flow through a Land Rover Rad.

 

The GS versions had the nice capillary tube gauges as well, matching ones for Water temp and oil temp which I don't think the civvy version had ?

 

It taught me a lesson regarding engine temperatures which I still bear in mind. You may think that an engine is warm because the coolant thermostat has opened and the gauge shows normal but the oil temperature which is what counts in terms of engine wear lags a long way behind. It puts you of thrashing from cold for life.

 

Rich

[AlienFTM]

You could mount a black plastic water can on the bumber in the radiator recess.

 

Even in the blistering heat of a German summer, it kept our drinking water chilled almost to freezing due to the refrigeration effect of air being sucked through the reduced radiator air gap.

 

Thank you Signor Bernouli.

 

;o)

[Richard Grosvenor]

It taught me a lesson regarding engine temperatures which I still bear in mind. You may think that an engine is warm because the coolant thermostat has opened and the gauge shows normal but the oil temperature which is what counts in terms of engine wear lags a long way behind. It puts you of thrashing from cold for life.

 

Rich

 

Oh I never thrash a vehicle , sometimes I think I'm a bit too gentle with them. :shock:

No the CL's don't have separate oil and temperature gauges, I think their spec's varies depending how much time was available to militarise them.

Found out recently that our's was a VPK originaly... which is nice. :wink:

 

AlienFTM

 

You could mount a black plastic water can on the bumber in the radiator recess.

 

Does that really work? :lol:

 

Regards

Richard

[Mike Allmey]

Does that trick work? Yes, it does - and sometimes too well.

 

When my thermostat stuck fully open and prevented the engine from getting warm at all, I did this to get some life into the heater. I then did a longer journey and had to stop before I cooked the engine and remove the obstruction before carrying on.

 

Wrapping the oil cooler in tinfoil can also help by retaining heat in the engine oil, and doesn't risk overheating the engine as a whole.