200tdi issues - the bad luck has to end soon right?

[zeaphod]

Are you saying that when it wouldn't start it was turning over very slowly? If it was turning over at anything near normal speed it should start within a couple of seconds.

 

[Ash2304]

Are you saying that when it wouldn't start it was turning over very slowly? If it was turning over at anything near normal speed it should start within a couple of seconds.

I wouldn’t say ‘very slowly’ no, not where I’ve thought the starter is knackered, I’ve never heard it turn over more than once or twice in the past though anyway. Over the past 18 months there’s has been a couple of occasions where the starter has spun but not engaged, so it might be time for renewal

 

[lynall]

When my 200tdi batteries get low they almost wont start even when glowed as they turn over so slow, in fact only yesterday one did this and I didnt think it was going to go.

 

[zeaphod]

Get the battery sorted, fit new glow plugs, and remove electric gremlins from the equation. If it turns over quickly and still won't start, something else is up - most likely the fuel

 

[Ash2304]

NEED URGENT ADVICE PLEASE

Fitted new glow plugs, the last one was extremely tight, it felt as though it was going to snap when taking It our so I had to leave that one. Drove to near home, met a friend and had some lunch, came to start it afterwards, very faint glow of lights on the dash, distinct smell of burning, smoke coming from under the bonnet and in the cab, turned the ignition off, opened the bonnet and the yellow and black wire from the glow plug relay has melted, along with the brown wire going to the battery, all of it was extremely hot and smoking

What the hell has happened?! All I’ve done is taken off the leads, put new plugs in and put the leads back on

Edit: ive currently disconnected the battery at both terminals and walked home in search of tools.

 

[lynall]

Most likely somehow got one of the leads trapped so it went straight to earth?

 

[Discokids]

Pics will help.

 

[Flossie]

The stuck heater plug has twisted internally and is dead shorting to earth?

 

[zeaphod]

DON'T PANIC. You have disconnected the faulty glow plugs. The engine should start after a few revolutions without them. You can test which one is faulty with a meter- one of them will have 0 ohms resistance to earth. Once you have found the faulty one, you can connect the other ones to help your cold weather starting.

 

[Ash2304]

Panic set in when I was in the pub car park with smoke coming from under the bonnet and filling the cab. I did start to calm down once I’d figured out it’s just an issue with the glow plugs and the wiring.

So me and a friend ventured back up at about half 4 yesterday, disconnected the brown lead from the battery that powers the timing relay for the glow plugs, and then set about piecing together the fuel pipe that had burnt through from the lift pump to the filter. Managed to use some washer pipe from Halfords and sleeved it over the bit from the pump that remained, and put it onto the filter connection. Everything started up fine, drove it over to work again, swapped for the other car and will have to start repairs come Monday. So now a few questions....

As suggested I’ll test the plugs individually and find the faulty one no doubt.

How can I remove a glow plug that doesn’t really want to come out (gets extremely tight on the thread)?

I can replace any melted wiring, plugs, relays or whatever needs replacing, but with regards to the fuel pipe, yesterday I removed the 13mm fastening from the top of the lift pump and expected the pipe to pull out, which it didn’t? I’ve looked at pictures and it looks as though there is an olive connector type on the end of it into the lift pump, is this correct? If so should it just pull out?

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. Massively helped so far. Im relatively new to landy ownership but no stranger to messing with cars (albeit more cosmetic as opposed to mechanical)

Ash

 

[Gmacz]

Just leave the glow plug in the head, it will work easily with three, if you snap it, you have a big problem, do not wire it either.
Plastic pipe should pull out easily but it may have been in there a long time.
Just watch the wiring for the glow plugs as it sits pretty close to parts of the cyl head and can easily earth.

 

[Ash2304]

Just leave the glow plug in the head, it will work easily with three, if you snap it, you have a big problem, do not wire it either.
Plastic pipe should pull out easily but it may have been in there a long time.
Just watch the wiring for the glow plugs as it sits pretty close to parts of the cyl head and can easily earth.

Cheers. I presume it’s that glow plug as the wire had melted from that to the relay but all other wires linking the others were fine. I’ll just bypass it.

 

[zeaphod]

Removing the stuck glowplug could easily turn into a head off job - leave it alone for a while.

 

[Sting Ray]

You could try attempting to remove it whilst the engine is nice and hot - thermal expansion does wonders.

 

[Ash2304]

Update....

I’ve removed the damaged wires, inspected for any other damage and all is good.

So I’ve no relay/plugs wired in for now and a new battery on and there hasn’t been an issue. Turns over and fires quicker/sooner than before when it’s not cold, and when it is cold it starts after about 3 turns. All is well, I will get it all wired back up sooner rather than later.

Now I feel as though my bad luck has to come to an end soon but it would seem as though today isn’t that day....

Clutch issues! Driving over to the parents (around 8 miles), come off the motorway, up to a set of lights, clutch down to select a lower gear as the lights change, will not go into gear, back into fifth and off we go, carried on the last mile or so of the journey, trying to change gear with different rpm of the engine, parked up outside the house, clutch down, landy wants to still pull forward like the clutch is only part disengaging, into reverse with difficulty, landy goes backwards, without lifting the clutch. Managed to get it home and back outside the house.

It will go into all gears with the engine off and it will go into all gears with the transfer box in neutral.

Fluid in the reservoir hasn’t changed, I’ve tried pumping the clutch and it doesn’t make a difference.

What’s the culprit? I would of expect the clutch to get progressively worse if it was that, not just suddenly. So is it master cylinder?

Thanks Ash

 

[freelance]

Could be the clutch fork, they tend to wear and break through where they pivot

 

[Ash2304]

Could be the clutch fork, they tend to wear and break through where they pivot

Upon inspection there may be some drops of fluid in the footwell. But I couldn’t be 100% sure. I’ve shone a light up to where the pedal is and it may seem a bit damp, but I don’t know whether it’s me wishful thinking.

The pedal doesn’t seem much different, maybe slightly heavier. I’m going to try and bleed it before anything, I need a second person to assist me tho, I’ll struggle to press the pedal and operate the spanner at the same time. Will have to wait for the girlfriend to be free or a friend this week I think.

If the clutch fork has broke would the pedal still feel normal?

 

[tottot]

When the fork goes you will not find much preassure for most of the travel,and pedal only returns to the top because of the return springs.

 

[Scooby22]

If you run a tube from slave cylinder bleed screw up and into a container high up near inner wing you can easily bleed the clutch yourself, I used a clean plastic wash fluid container, just crack open the bleed screw and pump the pedal and keep topping up master cylinder. The pipe fills with brake fluid up to the container and does not draw air back to the slave cylinder, (no need for end of pipe to be submerged in fluid in container) its the easiest way and works a treat. Once all air out just nip up bleed screw and remove pipe, dont get any fluid on the paint work.

 

[Ash2304]

If you run a tube from slave cylinder bleed screw up and into a container high up near inner wing you can easily bleed the clutch yourself, I used a clean plastic wash fluid container, just crack open the bleed screw and pump the pedal and keep topping up master cylinder. The pipe fills with brake fluid up to the container and does not draw air back to the slave cylinder, its the easiest way and works a treat. Once all air out just nip up bleed screw and remove pipe, dont get any fluid on the paint work.

Oh yeah, I never thought about putting a longer pipe on the bottle