My 1997 discovery has engine oil in the coolant

Have a compression test done on the engine to eliminate gasket problems . Check that the oil is engine oil and not transmission oil from a broken oil cooler in the radiator.. If you are sure that it is engine oil check that you have an engine oil cooler on the engine in which case it will be a gasket or corrosion in that unit.

The oil light is pressure not level. The noise at top of engine is most likely a valve tap. The oil isn't circulation through engine correctly. The problem could be a bad oil pump. Be careful driving the car you could cause major engine damage.

When was the last time that you change the engine oil? Sometimes it does that whe you have an excess of oil, check the level. But definitve white smoke means oil being burnt in the engine, you only see it in park because the smoke doesn't disperse like in motion.

First check thermostat.

Please see my tip at http://www.fixya.com/cars/r5929960-s_thermostat . These are generic instructions. If you get stuck or need specific instructions for your car, please get back to me with model, year and engine info.

No just a sign of age. oil pump can be replaced. If you replace it before it goes out you will save the engine.

Black pepper? This blocks some of water channels in the engine as well as the thermostat, flash the system, repair the leak. unless you want to get your head gasket gone.

If it is top left of the control panel and has a little thermometer in the middle of it, then its the transmission oil temperature light.

"In some markets, this bulb will temporarily illuminate to indicate the bulb is working when the ignition key is moved to position 2".

Generally, if its on for less than a couple of seconds - all is fine. If it stays on whilst driving then your transmission oil is too hot (hot weather, handbrake left on, punishing the engine etc ....).

If it comes on, check the oil temperature guage, and slow down. If it remains on, stop the vehicle and do not continue until it has extinguished.

Always try to get to the root cause of this fault, as it may be something more serious, such as loss of coolant (leading to engine seizure). Never check the coolant level on a hot engine - serious risk of burns injury.

It could be an oil pressure sensor faulty, just giving off bad reading when the level is actually correct.

Might be a blown head gasket. take it for a compression test.