The other day I decided to get to the bottom of what was leaking oil over the right side of the block in my 300 Tdi Defender 90. It didn’t take long to track down.
There’s a black plastic thing attached directly to the rocker cover.
It’s the Cyclonic Cleaner, part of the crankcase breather system, Land Rover part number ERR1471. It’s easy to remove, just a single bolt and two hose-clips. On the tube that connects with the engine, there’s a small o-ring. That was my culprit! It had split and was spraying oil down the side of the engine. Now there is an official Land Rover part (LLO100000) for this o-ring, but a quick trip to NAPA had a replacement installed within the hour. Problem solved!
The filter is supposed to be cleaned every 12k or so, but I know it’s not religiously carried out. I cleaned mine in Coleman Fuel (as I don’t have any kerosene handy), and that did the trick. I left it to dry overnight, and the next morning, with just a few seconds of white fumes, everything worked fine.
I’m often asked about engine oil. Regular oil and filter changes are simple and an important part of vehicle maintenance. Not only are you doing good by your vehicle in terms of performance and reliability, if gives you a chance to crawl around and check other things.
Anyway, I’ve tried all sorts of engine oils. I agree with the advantages of using synthetic oils on more modern engines, and in those cases it’s worth the extra outlay. I’ve tried them in petrol and diesel Land Rover engines (3.9, 4.0 V8 and 2.5 300 TDi) and don’t think it’s worth the extra money.
Recently, I’ve settled on Shell Rotella T for both my petrol and diesel engines. Specifically the 15W-40 Multigrade.
Even though Rotella was developed as an engine oil for heavy duty diesel trucks, it works very well in larger (and older) petrol engines, and meets the appropriate specs [PDF], API Service Classes SH, SL and SJ for gas engines and API CI-4 PLUS, CI-4, CH-4, CG-4, CF-4 and CF for diesels.
For me, this means I can use the same engine oil, year round and for every vehicle, from the Dodge Ram to my F650 motorcycle, except in the Infiniti FX35, but the dealer still does the service for that so I don’t change the oil anyway. And yes, it’s ok to use it in motorcycles, mostly!
The Engine Oil Bible is a great reference source for all things oily!
Shell Rotella T 15W-40. Recommended.
Buttercup (Kristys 1995 Defender 90) Cooling project Phase 1 is complete.
Exhaust Manifolds Ceramic Coated
Cooling System Flushed
Radiator reconditioned and recored (with 5 cores)
Catalytic converter Mylar wrapped
A good drive to Colorado Springs to visit Rockware tomorrow should give it a good test.
As it’s spring, I was giving my F650 it’s annual service. It’s a reliable bike that’s easy to service (except for the mess the frame drain makes when removing the used engine oil). I’m a member of The Chain Gang, which is a great resource for BMW F650 owners (Ford F650 owners will have to go elsewhere).
I noticed that I had a sticky brake light when using the front brake lever. It turns out there’s a small normally-closed microswitch which operates the brake light. I’m not sure if it’d just gotten old and worn out, but jiggling didn’t fix it and it needed replacing.
The Chain Gang had a great write-up on how to do this. Even though there’s a $2 switch and method for replacing the switch, they were backordered from Happ Controls, the only place I could find the switch outside of a BMW dealer (who incidentally do a nice range of vintage arcade machine parts). As the weather is so nice and I felt the need to ride, I put down the $20 for a $2 switch from the local BMW dealer at Foothills BMW. I suppose it came with a nice wiring harness for my $20… Anyway, after you remove most of the body work, it snaps into the plug and attaches easily onto the brake lever hosing – be really careful you don’t loose the tiny nut, bolt and washers.
And to celebrate – I gave it a wash!
