300tdi Cold Weather problems

SCOTIA911 said:

I tries to bleed my sedimenter before removal as per haynes manual and the bloody plastic nipple snapped off, AAGGGHH!! At least its not leaking and hopefully new lift pump will arrive soon

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"They all do that, sir"



NEVER, EVER try to empty out water and debris through the white plastic tap on the bottom of the sedimentor, they always break, especially in cold weather.

Use an 11mm ring spanner on the securing bolt on the top of the unit, in the middle. This is the bolt that holds the bowls on, once undone you may need to break the seal by gently tapping the bowl with a rubber mallet or similar. Good idea to have some new seals in stock.

The sedimentor needs to be cleaned out regularly as part of servicing, I do ours every 3 months approx.

Part Nos FYI
Land Rover parts - FUEL SEDIMENTOR - DIESEL

thanks for the advice, took the lift pump of today and checked it out. Think its had it, cleaned all the ****e off the engine where the pump goes (bits of the old gasket etc) bypassed the sedimenter completely and drained and cleaned the tank. the tank had no ****e in it but the sediment was blocked full of it. Dropped one of the bolts that hold the lift pump into 2 feet of snow and lost it so back onto John Craddocks again and new bolts ordered. just waiting for parts now... Heres hoping

DiscoLew said:

Have you replaced the sedimenter seals? If the big one isn't sealing correctly, you'll be sucking air through when you try and prime the system, not diesel.

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In removing the sedimenter, the unit was ruined, the infeed outfeed pipe nuts are seized solid making basic maintenance impossible. I'll be following the 3 monthly check advice to keep on top and prevent future problems.

Magnet on string to find lost bolt

Tried a magnetic beacon I found in the garage but to no avail.. Sedimenter a pain in the arse best I think just getting rid of the bloody thing as long as the tank is clean

You can buy a replacement plastic tap and washer, but I'm sure that there is an old thread on the forum that will tell you what the actual metric thread size is.
I think it was M6 or M8, not sure which. A search should find the right topic.
You can then replace the plastic tap with a decent bolt.

Right replaced the lift pump and bypassed the sedomenter now wont start at all. When the screw isa undone on top of the fuel filter still no fuel coming out help!!!

sounds like an air leak ? where the lines are drawing in air not fuel...check the connections and retighten

I'd agree with the posts regarding the lift pump, got the same problem with mine, really needs warming up or it runs like a bitch with no power. You may want to check the injection pump also just incase it's started to wear.

Thats me tried everything going to stick her on ebay for spares or whole vehicle if anyone is interestedits in the north of scotland, has a new britpart winch and bumper also full length premier hazard lightbar

Shame to give up now you have done so much-do you know if the lines to the tank are clear(blow out with air gun)-did you brim the filter with fuel,prior to putting it back on and trying to start it-with the fuel filter brimmed and bleed screw undone you should be able to get fuel out by pumping by hand-airlocks are a bastard but do clear in the end

are your pipes in the boot on top of your tank corroded letting air in ive had similar problems with mine i wouldnt give up on it you will get to the bottom of it and it will be a beast again

If i was u id use a prosess of elimination. i take it u dont really know wat the problem is?

First id try and put diesel upto the lift pump! get a clean fuel can and half fill it with clean diesel. get a short length of rubber hose fit it on the lift pump and drop it in the can! try starting it if it runs fine then you know it could be sucking air throu your fuel lines!

Second if it runs and wont take throttle make sure the linkage is tight and working ok on the input shaft of the pump!

Third dont give up keep trying!

let us know how it goes regards Paul

my disco started up fine but only got 300 yards and would not rev up,
there was no fuel in the filter so i think the diesel is frozen at the sedimenter bowl.anybody else had this problem.

denis dog said:

my disco started up fine but only got 300 yards and would not rev up,
there was no fuel in the filter so i think the diesel is frozen at the sedimenter bowl.anybody else had this problem.

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Its been so cold up here in Stockport , I ve got some veg oil in the shed for summer and I looked at it today ....... its solid jelly ! Hope your not running on it

I sure a mate of mine use to put a gallon of petrol into a full tank of diesel to bring the octain level up and the freezing point down! but that was back in the 80s during the BIG freeze. lol ha ha

denis dog said:

my disco started up fine but only got 300 yards and would not rev up,
there was no fuel in the filter so i think the diesel is frozen at the sedimenter bowl.anybody else had this problem.

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Get some petrol in the tank 5%-10%-it will not do any harm-then try and warm up your lines-or fill your filter with fresh diesel-see if it will start-if you get it going you need to drive to mix the petrol into the derv(bumpy road)-winter diesel will wax at -15c,summer diesel is even worse.
It is a good idea to keep a small bottle(empty pop bottle) of your fuel on the drive if you see it waxing or going solid,add more petrol-the fuel in the tank will always be slightly warmer due to the thermal mass

Left it for a few weeks kicked the tires and swore at it etc. I am now trying what was suggested with a bit of plastic pipe directly onto the lift pump. Just waiting for the battery to charge up. Hopefully, this time....

Would be best to get a bottle of derv-pipe straight to lift pump-undo bleed on filter and pump by hand until bubble free-undo return on injection pump,fit tube and return to bottle-switch on ignition to open stop solenoid-again pump by hand until clear fuel is returning to bottle-now she is ready to crank over-be amazed if it does not fire-run on bottle for as long as suits,then connect back to tank supply-keep watching for signs of air from the return line(any air you have a prob to sort),ultimately connect the return back up otherwise bottle over flows!-good luck