Can't get up a hill.

Hello Folks,

Here's 1 for you,
I went to leave a local dive site the other day, you need to exit through a big arch turn right and go up a fairly steep hill (tarmac) i managed to get halfway up before the engine seemed to bog down and nearly stall!!! i ended up having to roll back down the hill, rev the nuts out the motor and scramble up....

What i'd like to work out is why did the engine bog down?????
any thoughts appreciated.


The vehicle was only carrying 3 people and there dive equipment.

Vehicle: Disco, 1997 300tdi 5dr

Wrong gear?

storm99 said:

Wrong gear?

Click to expand...

Nope 1st gear, normal drive, couldn't even get it up the rest of the way by slipping the clutch....

Time for a service.

Somethings worng with yer clutch?

dive gear for 3 people is gonna weigh more than ya think m8...

especially if ya had spare tanks etc...

and depending on how steep the slope was too...

nick2303 said:

dive gear for 3 people is gonna weigh more than ya think m8...

especially if ya had spare tanks etc...

and depending on how steep the slope was too...

Click to expand...

Only carrying basic gear (only a shore dive) I have come up this hill in other vehicles with same amount of gear and more but never had this problem before.

Looking at new clutch from Island 4x4.

doesnt matter how steep or what wieght if clutch slips its knackered

was the clutch slipping?

when did you last change the fuel filter?

is the lift pump working?

i think i would check out fuel system before buying a clutch, unless it was slipping and you would know if it was as revs would go up but speed would not.

Lift pump, cheap as chipseasy to do yourself and if its not that atleast youcan knock it off the list for a little over a tenner its well worth it

As has been said, service and check fuel system, but also check air supply!

Discos can choke as easily as divers if they can't breathe .. air filter could have got clogged and symptoms not show up in normal driving, mine was once all chewed up and in a paper ball .. got wet .. since got a snorkel!

Turbo hoses could be de-laminated INSIDE, take them off and check .. this mostly, again, only occurs under load and often wouldn't be noticed in normal driving. They should feel reasonably hard uniformly, ie all over. If there are any softer spots then it's a definite possibility. They can also, as well as the rest of the system, get clogged with turbo/diesel '****e' and may need cleaning out ..

Check the intercooler too, this is a great one for clogging and losing power, generally an all-over loss of power, but, again, especially noticeable when asked to run under heavy load.

Thank you every1 for all the info:

To be done Full service to be done and cleaning of pipes and cooler,
Clutch wasn't slipping, i tried slipping the clutch to keep the power to the engine to no joy, the clutch don't feel brilliant so i'm replacing it anyway,

Got a couple of shopping lists sorted from a couple of dealers thats been recommended on here so hopefully get it all sorted.

Crofty

Stick a boost gauge on her, if the turbo is seized or fuubarred it will run like ****e but not smoke, very low on power. My 300 had no fins on the turbo so no boost, it still worked but had no power.

Crofty said:

Hello Folks,

Here's 1 for you,
I went to leave a local dive site the other day, you need to exit through a big arch turn right and go up a fairly steep hill (tarmac) i managed to get halfway up before the engine seemed to bog down and nearly stall!!! i ended up having to roll back down the hill, rev the nuts out the motor and scramble up....

What i'd like to work out is why did the engine bog down?????
any thoughts appreciated.


The vehicle was only carrying 3 people and there dive equipment.

Vehicle: Disco, 1997 300tdi 5dr

Click to expand...

Mine did exactly the same thing ! It actually did stall and I had to leave it there a day ! Turned out it was air getting in round the sedimenter. It would run on the flat but hills would cause it to judder and sometimes stall. Check round sedimenter and fuel pipes beneath the boot floor hatch.

Lift pump £16 padocks.
check arm on turbo waste gate not siezed up
fuel filtre
Air cleaner

storm99 said:

Wrong gear?

Click to expand...

What a ballbag, excuse the knob head here...

Sigh...another humour fail...read it again...''diving gear'' maybe??

Enough BULL

If tne engine died'as described by the OP himself then the clutch is perfectly fine! If it rev'd and whent nowhere then the clutch is could well be slipping worn damaged whatever or in fact a wheel may have broken traction. I do not believe the OP said anything remotly like that.

land Rover in their wisdom put a 2 speed transmission on their transferbox. I suspect that 1st high was too high a gear and that 2nd low would have been more appropriate. By slipping the clutch to get up the hill in high box you may have taken thousands of miles off the life of your clutch. Do not be scared to use low box on the road gear suitable for the terrain is whats needed. There are lots of scare moungers out there.

Q for you.

Have you changed your tyre spec i.e size that was originally fitted?

If so you may have raised the gearing slightly which will make this kind of hill climb worse than one with std size/dia fitment tyres.

Jai

if it didn't pull then as suggested air and fuel clean the intercooler out aswell will probably be surprised how much better it will be at high revs with a noo air filter. Service can't go a miss either

i was waiting for definative answer ,disappointing