Hi,
Have been chasing a minor oil leak on the L322 for a while now.
It's not massive but drips off the joint between the engine and gearbox under the starter motor.
When I first got the car I presumed this oil leak was from the top and there was a small leak from the oil cooler and turbo feed pipes.
These have now been done a while ago and the top end is dry. (have checked twice for my own sanity!)
As far as I can make out this leak is either rear of sump or rear main seal.
I did drop the starter motor last weekend so I could get a better view.
The only thing to note was that the 8mm bolts on the back of the sump were not fully torqued up and took about a quarter of a turn.
I was hopeful that this would help but the leak is still the same.
For obvious reasons I'm not in a rush to take the sump off or the gearbox out!
If anyone has any ideas, or has come across similar before, it would be greatly appreciated.

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Watching with interest - I fear I have the same.

And a powersteering weep, somewhere...

At least it's providing some rust-proofing to the front subframe.

Yes that's true, will definitely help with the rust-proofing
I also have a wet power steering line but it's not dripping as yet.
This will be the next job on the list although I think it is the crimped fitting on the end of the line. 2012 TDV8 4.4 Westminster Santorini black
2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
2002 Defender TD5

once you have cleaned as much old oil off as possible, use could try some UV Oil Detection Dye

ebay £6 quid ( but you will also need UV torch if you don't have one )

10 ml UV Leak Detection Dye For Fuel Oil Petrol Diesel Fluid Leak

Looks like engine oil, so my guess would be crankshaft rear oil seal.

I have a similar issue, top end, cooler turbo feed etc bone dry. Inspected as far as possible around turbos also dry. Concluded rear main / rear of sump the cause. Don’t think going to strip out - it’s not bad enough yet. However, I have bought this from eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166394376868, haven’t tried it yet, has any one else ? Thinking of adding at an oil change & see how it goes albeit a little apprehensive in case it causes a catastrophe!

Thanks all, the UV dye is a good shout, I’ll get some ordered for the weekend.
They are not the easiest vehicles for access to see what is going on.
I had a good search for threads on oil leaks but didn’t find much for the bottom end.
I’ll let you know how I get on. 2012 TDV8 4.4 Westminster Santorini black
2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
2002 Defender TD5

I have exactly the same drip. Hope you find the cause.

Looking at the oil around the flywheel and inside the bell housing where you've removed the starter, I'd be thinking it's the rear main oil seal also known as the rear crankshaft oil seal.

The genuine part from Land Rover (LR29001) is £128 so not overly expensive but that will be a massive job to fit which would involve removing the gearbox and transfer box from the car before removing the flywheel.

I hope I'm wrong and it's something more straight forward though.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE Black Edition in Santorini Black with Ebony Interior

Double post for some reason! 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE Black Edition in Santorini Black with Ebony Interior

I think I have the exact same problem, rear cranshaft oil seal.
With also some hot oil stink....

Will have it fixed start of next month, but the gearbox should be removed....

Pretty tough job

Thanks, yes I've a feeling you are right David and the prime candidate is the rear main seal.
Unfortunately this would be a workshop job for me as removing the gearbox at home is not practical.
If I read the WSM right you also need to remove the trigger wheel which is another complication without the right kit to re-install.
The sump also gets removed and replaced during the process so that would be renewed at the same time.
I'll see if I can get a camera in to try and get it confirmed. 2012 TDV8 4.4 Westminster Santorini black
2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
2002 Defender TD5

There was an interesting video posted by Christian and Vera over the weekend.



This seems to be a similar leak but turned out not to be the sump or real main seal.
Have added some UV dye this weekend so at least this should confirm how high up the oil is coming from.
I've checked again with a mirror and the turbo feed and cooler area is definitely dry as well as the rear of the heads.
It is slightly wet just at the back of the V but doesn't look fresh and is in an area that is hard to clean whilst changing the cooler.
It's hard to get any photos but I've had a go, will report back on the results from the dye.

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