td5 starting to get tired, help please!

any ideas?? I have just changed my warped manifold, weak water pump and thermostat and now its leaking oil from banjo on top of the turbo. is this just a case of putting new brass washers on or is there a common fault here? also there is a lot of dried pink staining (pink coolant) around the manifold above and below the core plug which I have removed cleaned and re-tightened, I fear it may be coming from the head gasket but I have no overheating problems or water in oil or vise versa.
also today and once before it refused to start, not even trying to turn the engine over, seemed like some sort of electrical issue. I had power to ignition and after rolling it forwards and jolting engine in gear the starter then fired up
Any help would be much appreciated

I know this may sound funny but my D1 would never start when I was in range of a radio controlled crane. I work on building sites so I often had this problem. I have to go and look for the crane driver and ask him to switch off the radio control unit so I could start my motor. Used to get a lot of funny looks. Have you anything near you, might be the cause of the not starting..

It's really common for the copper contacts and plunger to wear out on the denso starter motor - really easy fix, just search on ebay for a repair kit.

As for the core plug, it needs to be correctly sealed.

Oil leaking from on top of the turbo banjo is not good news, it could be as simple as duff copper washers, or it could be a blockage in the oil drain... replace the washers and see if the leak goes.

blimp said:

I know this may sound funny but my D1 would never start when I was in range of a radio controlled crane. I work on building sites so I often had this problem. I have to go and look for the crane driver and ask him to switch off the radio control unit so I could start my motor. Used to get a lot of funny looks. Have you anything near you, might be the cause of the not starting..

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I was parked in my town center this time so could be that but last time was outside my house at 5 in the morning, nothing around to interfere. was wondering if it could be crank sensor or a sensor as after I sort of bump started it (turned the engine half a turn or so) it started fine.

Bennehboy said:

It's really common for the copper contacts and plunger to wear out on the denso starter motor - really easy fix, just search on ebay for a repair kit.

As for the core plug, it needs to be correctly sealed.

Oil leaking from on top of the turbo banjo is not good news, it could be as simple as duff copper washers, or it could be a blockage in the oil drain... replace the washers and see if the leak goes.

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thanks I will do the copper washers first, the oil drain runs from the bottom of the turbo straight back to the sump doesn't it? could I blow it through just to be sure its clear?

As suggeste by bennehboy starter contacts.quite common for turbo return pipe to leak either end.

discoverysport said:

thanks I will do the copper washers first, the oil drain runs from the bottom of the turbo straight back to the sump doesn't it? could I blow it through just to be sure its clear?

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Yes it runs straight into the sump, although no sure if bottom of the return hose is normally under the oil level - probably best to not blow a blockage into the sump... Start with the copper crush washers, they cost less than a quid.

Have you had the turbo drain off at any time, it's quite easy to reassemble it with the gasket twisted and partially blocking the drain, usually it will **** oil everywhere (I know from experience!) if this happens, but it could also force oil back up out the banjo.

Most likely it's just the washers being duffers though imho.

A photo might help.

Yup. Copper washers. Copper does work harden over time, so if they have been on and off a few times prior to your ownership, you may well get a problem.

As an aside to Blimps comment about starting. My own Disco will not unlock with the remote if I park near the far corner of our local Sainsburies car park. Looking around I notice that it is only about 20 yards or so from a pylon.

I have not had any other issues with interference and its only ever refused to start twice, sometimes it has a long delay when key is turned to start before it actually starts and the first time it would not start I held key for about15 seconds before it just suddenly started

discoverysport said:

I have not had any other issues with interference and its only ever refused to start twice, sometimes it has a long delay when key is turned to start before it actually starts and the first time it would not start I held key for about15 seconds before it just suddenly started

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Hi DS re the starting problem, it is true that you can suffer electromagnet interference but it is far, far more likely to be the starter motor solenoid contacts that are worn and need replacing. Buy a new set off Ebay for about a £tenner.

The starter motor is held in place by three fixings: 1 x 13mm bolt at the bottom; 1 x 13mm bolt in the middle and 1 x 15mm nut at the top.

The first two are easy to access and to undo but the 15mm nut is slightly more awkward. You will need an extension bar on your socket to slacken it, then remove by hand from underneath.

Once you've got the starter motor off, changing the contacts takes about 2 mins !!!

Good luck

Dave

thebiglad said:

it is far, far more likely to be the starter motor solenoid contacts that are worn and need replacing.

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+1