300 Tdi oil pressure problems

Hi guys,

I have a '97 Defender and my oil pressure have always been around 1.2 bar when driving. Last weekend when I started her, there was NO oil pressure. How can I determine the cause without taking it apart. Any suggestions regarding possible causes? I have done 270 000 problem free km's with her.

for a start 1.2 bar is 17psi. that is very low.
I would expect around 60psi cold idle, 20-30 psi warm idle and around 50-60 psi running temp at 3000rpm.
If your pressure has been this low for some time its possible th pump has died completely.
Does your light stay on or go out? or does your guage just say nothing?
Also pressure that low could have caused premature wear on the rocker gear etc.
Silly question but is your drive on a steep slope?

Hi T,

Now you got me worried, fortunately I drive her very gently and rarely take the revs past 3000. Over the weekend I decided to take her in to a workshop to open up the timing gear casing and see what the matter is as I hate being stuck without her . Had some plans to go into the wild over Christmas. My drive is level, so it's not that. Shall I get the guys to check the rockergear as well, if they open up the engine I may just as well have the whole thing done.... your thoughts?

well you can check your oil pump, main and big end bearings with the sump off and the rocker gear with the cover off. so the only thing left is the cam which you cant see.
If everything looks ok up top the the cam will be fine.
Like i said before is your oil light on aswell to confirm no pressure?

yes, oil light on and I have a EMS (engine monitoring system) which is used in light aircraft. The pressure was zero from the time the oil light came on. I measure silinder head temp, oil pressure, water temp and EGT with the EMS. Since she is on the old side ('97 model), I thought it might be a good idea to keep a closer look at what is going on with the engine. I know Tdi's are very temperature sensitive so that was the main reason for the EMS.

Have you been to Africa yet??

Puffy said:

yes, oil light on and I have a EMS (engine monitoring system) which is used in light aircraft. The pressure was zero from the time the oil light came on. I measure silinder head temp, oil pressure, water temp and EGT with the EMS. Since she is on the old side ('97 model), I thought it might be a good idea to keep a closer look at what is going on with the engine. I know Tdi's are very temperature sensitive so that was the main reason for the EMS.

Have you been to Africa yet??

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The first port of call is a proper manual oil pressure test, then check that the pressure relief valve is not stuck, should be in the filter head.

If the oil is ok and the filter changed etc at proper servicing, then last thing is a new oil pump. Oil pumps rarely give zero pressure even when the engine is totally foked. But take the pump off and test it coz seen pickup pipes come loose or break off.

In relation to engine wear at rockers etc, doubt it, first thing to go is the big end bearings and you would have heard them long before now.

Hi David, the oil pump is in the cambelt gear casing, according to Hayes manual the relief valve is also in there or do I have it wrong??

Puffy said:

Hi David, the oil pump is in the cambelt gear casing, according to Hayes manual the relief valve is also in there or do I have it wrong??

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I've got a 300tdi disco and its bolted to the side if the engine, drivers side.

Sure you're not looking at the injection pump.

Yip, I know what the injector pump looks like. I went to see the guys at British4x4 near my house here in SA and he showed me the 2 rotors that make up the pump. It runs off the crankshaft, hence the placing inside the cambeltcasing. On the RHS (driver side) of the engine block the vacuumpump is leaking some oil, but I don't think that it has anything to do with my pressure problem.

David, are all nuts and bolts metric sized on the Defender? The sump bolts seem to be slightly smaller than a 14 (I think)

david451 said:

I've got a 300tdi disco and its bolted to the side if the engine, drivers side.

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mate thats your vacuum pump for your servo. which do leak occasionally.
oil pump is inboard as normal.

But you are right about the relief valve they can give trouble.

as for bolts i'm not 100% but i'm sure they should all be metric by now. most are on a 200 so they shouldnt have gone backwards!

Tig, exactly where is the relief valve??

Puffy said:

David, are all nuts and bolts metric sized on the Defender? The sump bolts seem to be slightly smaller than a 14 (I think)

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I have both af and metric so dont really bother when that happens, and failing that knock a smaller socket onto it to get them off.

I suppose that can work !! Thanx for the info. I will play around and see what I can come up with. Our currency is quite weak, so LR parts are very expensive here in South Africa. I have read somewhere that one must be carefull of parts from Britpart. Is that the case??

Puffy said:

I suppose that can work !! Thanx for the info. I will play around and see what I can come up with. Our currency is quite weak, so LR parts are very expensive here in South Africa. I have read somewhere that one must be carefull of parts from Britpart. Is that the case??

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Yes

Any recommendations as to which distributors one can trust or be comfortable with. ??

Tig9619 said:

mate thats your vacuum pump for your servo. which do leak occasionally.
oil pump is inboard as normal.

But you are right about the relief valve they can give trouble.

as for bolts i'm not 100% but i'm sure they should all be metric by now. most are on a 200 so they shouldnt have gone backwards!

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No my oil filter is screwed onto it, it's the filter head normally the pump in some instances infact but it seems the pump is behind the casing.

However the relief valves are usually in the filter head, but I cant find my fokin cd on the engine and never stripped one of them so foked at this minute.

The CD idea sounds good, does it come with the vehicle or is it like an electronic manual ? My Hayes manual only goes up to '95 and I've got a '97...

Puffy said:

The CD idea sounds good, does it come with the vehicle or is it like an electronic manual ? My Hayes manual only goes up to '95 and I've got a '97...

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You can get it on here, do a search and down load it.

Thanx David, will do. I prefer doing things myself as too many guys working on our prescious landys do not have the same passion and over time I learnt these ladies needs to be treated with respect. If a mechanic messes something up you end up with a big hole in your wallet.