Landrover Defender TD5 Oil Creep into the ECU 

For anyone working on these.........If you have headroom, the correct weather, the inclination, it's always best to work on Defender engine bays with the bonnet straight up or off, just leave a bungy permanently inside the bonnet along the right hand inside sheet metal inner bracing to hold it back against windscreen frame or roofrack if you have one (to inside seat belt top mount if nowhere else available to hook it back, you can still close the door ) so it doesn't fall on your head, it will hurt! It makes all the operations shown here much easier with more light, even do it when checking coolant level as it's the only way to easily see it by looking down the cap, many people have lost £5000 by thinking they can see through the brown plastic bottle, which is a shame. I always remove the orange seal and leave hanging over the ecu plug wire (the orange rectangular silicon ecu plug seal on the red plug,) keep it there if someone wants to put it back, it just prises out with a small pick. This is on Defenders with the wiring already contaminated in the main wiring harness, to allow oil to drain away a bit more before it forces its way more into the ecu by capillary action, the plug can handle so much oil, but too much shorts across the 5 yellow injector wires because of the carbon in the oil, oil is normally an insulator when clean. Obviously changing the injection inside the engine harness is the way forward, and hope stops it from getting worse. This hopefully avoids the need to change the much more expensive ouside the engine main harness. And avoid cheap ecu harness with wrong wires, badly made...... Thanks for a great Video by the way. I'm sure it's helped many people......

I'm amazed that one would even design a system that could fail like this.

This was incredibly helpful. Was planning on changing the rocker gasket, but will now also change the injector harness while I'm at it. Fantastic guide, easy to follow and beautifully shot.

Thanks Steve. Good pace, easy instruction. You give us mere mortals the confidence to have a go.

Just watched a video where the red connector was full of oil, the cables leading to it were drenched in oil, yet when they opened the ecu there was no oil in it, nothing at oil, just because you have a bit of oil in the plug is no reason to panic.

Ten years ago I dismantled each connector plug and soldereded carefully each cable to the injectors. So far everything is fine! I have 100% electric continuity, my TD5 engine starts at the first try really fast and the response is excellent. That was the last harness I changed.

Nice to see some Land Rover stuff from you Steve from a landrover man I am glad you have kept it 👍

Your Land Rover repair videos are a lifesaver! I've been grappling with a persistent issue on my TD5 involving excessive black smoke and noticeable power loss. Your expertise in troubleshooting and fixing Land Rovers has been evident in your content, so I was wondering if you could shed some light on this particular issue. Your insights could not only help me but also countless others facing similar challenges. Looking forward to your thoughts on this!

As I discovered your channel through your video about why we love Defenders, it’s only fair that you delivered at long last some other videos about Defenders. Not that I complain, I did enjoy most of your videos since then (except sport cars, not my thing).

top professional. super quality video. thanks so much. (I just got a 2005 TF5 and all your knowledge is so helpful and informative)

Very clear as usual. Injectors inside the rocker cover were always a bad idea for many reasons, but mainly because fuel can leak unseen from the supply side and dilute the oil, leading to bearing problems, so readers, if your oil level rises look into this quickly.(Just noticed I call it a 'rocker cover' - of course nowadays it's usually a valve cover - shows how old I am that the engines I'm used to have pushrods!)

Hi Steve .... i had (and have) the same problem ..... But MY ECU was down, has Oil inside and a electrical problem because of this .... I must send my ECU to a Repair-Service.... Than i find out the Cables on the red Connector who transported that oil ..... Than i cutted this cables and soldering a Oil-Barrier between the ends of this cables ... today and the next days i try to finish my work and i can start my TD5 ..... Greetings from Germany and stay safe

Salut Steve. That’s incredible how oil will creep down the loom too the ECU 😩 Great fixing video as always cheers Stevie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Another great video Steve

Tip : You could use some "Dielectric Grease" in the plug connector's & plug o-rings etc to try Prevent the oil creeping into ECU & Fuse box on Discovery TD5 or at least slowing it Also iv'e read Land Rover Overlander's keep a tin of "Vaseline" in tool box for preventative electrical issues etc etc.... Nice quality video Thank You !

GREEEAT tip about not blowing directly onto plug because you will blow stuff INTO the ECU!

Awesome content once again mate 👌👌

Mine is exactly the same as you’re. Thanks for the video

An excellent tutorial! I have been told that this problem was cured by a redesign of the injector loom, but I will have a look at mine in case, I suppose an easy preventative would be to drill a drain under the ECU socket to allow any oil to drain before it went into the ECU case, Chris B.

One thing you should look at in your servicing schedule Steve is the Bosch fuel pressure regulator, it is notorious for allowing a mystery seep of diesel which appears on the garage floor, there is a kit available from X8R to fix it. Chris B.

Love your work 👍

Nice well done Steve 👍

Injector wiring loom is a relatively cheap part and easy to change, treat it as a service item and change it every couple of years.

Nice job 👏

Hi Steve, Great video as always. Well explained and demonstrated. Keep up the good work. I know this is something i need to do to mine. Loving my defender Would you disconnect the battery and let it discharge before unplugging any of the harness or is it safe to just unplug and check it out. Regards, Paul

I don't know why anyone would choose to re-use a gasket... it is false economy and your video showed why. When you were cleaning the rocker cover and the alignment bushes (dowels/whatever they are) fell out proved the rubber had lost its elasticity, taken a "set", and was sealing only because it was stuck in place by time. When the cover is removed this bond is broken and you'll never get it to seal again. (I suppose you could goober it up with a 1/2 tube of silicone and say a prayer, but it's not the correct way to do the job.) Thank you for illustrating the proper way to clean and prepare surfaces for a new gasket (including the screwdriver in a rag in the groove trick). Always ask yourself when fretting about the cost of a part to do the job correctly... "Do I have the time to do it right, or the time to do it over?" (time IS money)

Great stuff 👏 👍

Hi Steve, Again another great video ! Strange concept to put the electrical cabeling for the injectors into the oil of the valvecover, isn't it ? I like all of your restoration video's a lot. The cars , the farm, very nice topics ! I' m watching for many years, still this is my first comment ... One question still running through my mind ! Where do you find all the energy for all of your projects ? Ligt dit aan de lucht in de mooie Vlaamse Ardennen :-) ?

Great video about EGR. Isn't bypassing the valve going to compromise the MOT exhaust gas results?

I guess checking that plug for oil contamination could be added to your annual maintenance schedule. Seems worth it for 2 minutes of effort.

Hello Steve, have you had any further leaks into you ECU since replacing the injector loom, my thoughts are that there will still be oil in the loom from the top connector and the ECU that cannot be removed, the only way I can see to do that is to fit a tight air tight collar around the top connector and pressurise it at low pressure, that would force any oil in the loom out of the ECU end, what are your thoughts on that? Chris B.

It is possible to open the ECU, I did mine and there was oil in it that I cleaned out. You just remove those four bolts and then carefully prize the lids off. I used a smear of rtv on the rubber seals when I put the lids back on.

If you are having trouble with ignition start, or the engine cutting out while you are driving, then what you can do as a temporary measure, is to turn the ignition into the prime position which shows the red oil light symbol and warning light, then wiggle the wiring harness under the right hand seat. You may have to wiggle up and down, back and forth. You will then see the yellow/orange fuel pump symbol come on. When this is on, you then can start.

Welcome to the world of the TD5! It's not really a solvable issue. The oil migrates between the wire conductors and the insulation. Best just to replace the injector loom every 12 months or so. The more serious issue with the TD5 is the No.1 injector pocket cracking. This is a bit of a random issue, happened to my TD5 after 200,000 km. The engine "ran away" due to the fuel leaking from the head and reaching the sump. It had 13 litres of fuel/oil in the sump when it ran away. Luckily it was a manual gearbox and I was able to stall the engine. Also, Id suggest not using air to blow away the oil from the plug, using contact cleaner and leave the ECU standing plug down overnight.

Another common problem is the exhaust manifold warps and you get a whistle from the leak. We had it happen twice on our td5 discovery the second time it ripped a Manifold stud out and it had to be helicoiled. We got rid of it after that.

Thank you for this video. I’m happy to give it a go myself. Lovely car. Tonga green?

Steve: do you use/develop software to maintain repairs and servicing all of your vehicles/equipment? record keeping per se..

Does having this problem cause the truck to run rough and sound to be misfiring?

The upper loom, & lower, are two different part numbers (iirc). I used to regard the upper loom as a 'service' item, & change it at certain intervals.

I have replaced my injector harness twice and still have oil creep into the ECU. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it possible the replacement harness is no good?

You need to also replace the grommets 100%, they stop oil seep around the bolts and id definitely use RTV mastic on top of the main plug and each injector plug to stop oil leaking thru👌

No one has ever mentioned the mating plug before. Would be good to know how bad that was and where it’s located?

Hi Steve, ist the oil Not actualy creeping through the wires? Mercedes have the Same Problem. You have to unmantel a tiny Part of the Wire and soldering it so it is Solid and oil cant Push through it.

Very nice defender!!! Thx for the video !!! Have remapping yours defender? Hi from Greece !!!

Hello again. I hate how Land Rover simply pushed the engine in the defenders forward by about a foot simply because the V8 used a longer Bell Housing. Besides upsetting the balance this made a change from the iconic 'Set Back Grill' from Series 1 to Series 3 to this ugly front end which pushes a winch way forward reducing approach angle. I remember seeing a N/A 2.5 diesel with a short bellhousing on an R380 gearbox, but the TDI Defender had the long bell housing! Is it possible to install a short Bell Housing on my 2006 TD5 110? Besides finding the short bell housing, I would also need to change the input shaft of the gearbox to a shorter one.

You dont need to drain the engine oil for this?

Gracias amigo! Cuántos km tiene el defensor? Que se estropea el mazo por km? O años?

the Mercedes has the some problem with the multi plug on the gear box, the oil runs up the inside of the wire into the TSM (transmission control module) to fix it you need to replace the valve body inside the gear box easy to do at around £220 (its all on youtube)

captarmour 3 minutes ago (edited) @D3Sshooter I got it starting! Yesterday I removed the Accelerator Pedal sprayed the contacts with contact cleaner, although I saw no sign of corrosion, reconnected and so far over 10 times in succession it is starting normally and the 'throttle' response has improved. I'm thinking it may have been just unplugging and plugging back somehow reset it.

The "oil" is coming from the rubber seal. It is a phenyl silicone fluid deliberately put there .Look up weatherpak connector seals. The rubber seals around all electrical connections are made of methyl vinyl silicone which vulcanizes to form a solid rubber, The rubber is made with 1 to 2% phenyl silicone fluid, which does not get crosslinked into the rubber matrix. This fluid, after the silicone is cured, "bleeds out" due to incompatibility, forming a weatherproof, non-conductive liquid barrier to guarantee the connection has no gaps and will not short. After years, enough will bleed out of the rubber part to forma a puddle. Your wires are greasy because of migration of the phenyl fluid along the surface of the wire.

Why not put like a sponge or some cotton wool somewhere along the wires, so it absorbs the oil?

👍

Corsa C. Oil pressure switch was dead oily, as was the wire. It seems the oil went into the ECU. Mechanic sent it off and apparently it can't be repaired: 600€ for specialists (The only shop in France apparently that can handle this type of Bosch, the mechanic' s normal contacts can't do it.) And 200€ to my mechanic.

Great Video! I am a subscriber! My TD5 starts immediately on a running start but refuses to start with the starter! Would this happen with oil in ECM plug?

Interesting to see that the oil can go that far out. Although I suppose not that surprising for a Brit vehicle... :) Any way you could put something (paper towel etc) inserted in the loom someplace to suck up / store the excess oil and then check / replace that periodically? Might prevent it from reaching the ECU.

Ondanks de (soms vele) kleine gebreken van Landrover blijven we die toch graag zien hé.

another excellent video - yep one more example of bad landy engineering - how did britain win the war ? my 96 d1 never ceases to amaze me on how many stupid engineering decisions were made in the design

As a uk vehicle mechanic this is no surprise, the idiot who designed the layout didn't have the brains to put proper connectors on it and also a drip loop on the cable, also why would you put the injectors inside the valve cover....just asking for trouble. That said a td5 thats good and running well is great.

First let me say i love your show all of them One thing you may want to consider is whitening your teeth as we age our teeth get stained from all the coffee,tea, so on hope you consider this as a caring thing and not a bad thing regards