Defender 200tdi low on power

Cool thanks Shane

Glad to have been able to give back

Shanec said:

Did the problem get resolved?

On the subject of gloop in the bottom of tanks, I dropped a tank off a 12 year old vehicle that had a bottle of diesel cleaner found on the shelfs of the american owned supermarket in the UK with green signs used every tank fill up by me over a 3 month fill up, so around 12 to fifteen tanks of fuel. Not one spec of dust in the bottom of the tank.

Incredible. Swear by the stuff now. Cheaper to buy from halfords the big size for 13 pounds though.

Click to expand...

Why didn't you just say you've been using red ex from asda for the past three months lol?

IamRobbie said:

Why didn't you just say you've been using red ex from asda for the past three months lol?

Click to expand...

Shhh.. it's meant to be a secret!

Tonym3 said:

Had a busy Xmas so didn't get chance to do much in the defender, had a good look around the engine today to try and find anything obvious.
Checked all the hoses around the air and turbo and all seem fine. I have however found something else, I had a look in the coolant reservoir and it seemed a little low, I have been having a bit of a squeal from the belts so I assumed they needed changing anyway. However just behind the belts at the front of the engine, water pump area, it looks like I have a coolant leak.
Doesn't appear to be any in the oil, so looks like I will need to change the belts and I'm guessing the pump, could a coolant leak be the cause of the power loss? Or have I just discovered a nice shiny new problem for Christmas!!?

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Click to expand...

Coolant leak nowt to do with power loss.

Thanks Lynall didn't want to spend the time and money on one problem to find the main one is still there.
We have had such warm weather so far this winter, my fear is I take it off the road and it will change and I will need it to get to work!!
On a negative I side I still need to find the cause!!
Thanks again

Water pump is easy job so long as all the bolts/nuts come out of the timing chest okay.

Not done one on a Defender, from memory isn't the painful bit the belts? I have some special fan scanners from an old disco that never got used I remember buying these to do the water pump then never got round to it.

Viscous fan spanner. 32 mm left hand thread. A little prayer that the bolts come out and jobs a good en. Belts are slightly more time consuming compared to the 300tdi but still pretty easy.

My engine is on its last legs and I have a spare to rebuild and put in but I ain't even gonna start that until the white stuff has been!...

Re fuel additive -

If the 'dust' isn't in the fuel tank, what happens to it?

Made small enough to get to filter?

My feeling is that, if its in the tank, its not causing too much bother.
If it goes further, and the filter catches it, that's also ok with me.

I dont know - id rather stuff dropped out where it was easy to deal with, rather than be persuaded further through the fuel system?

So by way of an update, well I say update I've done bugger all bar drive it again and make more detailed notes of my problems!!!
So at idle it runs and revs as it always did no noticeable changes or problems.
From cold pulling away in 1st and 2nd again as it always has been no problems feels nice and positive.
Problems start once I'm up to speed it becomes very lumpy and hesitant when I put it under load, couple of times on some fairly steep hills I thought it would cut out, these are hills I would normally take in 4th or 5th gear with no problems but today it was 3rd and 4th at a push. I also have a constant squeak under acceleration.

So I've had a good inspection under the bonnet the belts seem both old and a little slack, I have never changed these in around 5k and 2 years of ownership, not sure when they last got changed so these are on the list.
I have a leak of coolant from the water pump area, so again this is on the list.
I have checked all the pipes around the turbo and removed the front one and checked for any movement which seems fine.
As mentioned before it ran low on fuel recently so could have picked up some crap from the tank, since then the fuel filter has been changed.
I have a window coming up which should allow me around 2 days to work on it, I'm not overly confident working on the fuel system but fine on the engine etc..
Could these symptoms be a problem with the injectors? Or am I looking in completely the wrong place could it be gearbox/clutch related?, Or should I be concentrating more on the fuel system? I will be getting some red-ex tomorrow as I could do with an easy cheap fix at the moment but thought if I lost my issues maybe it will be obvious to someone on here
Actually contemplated selling it today but I came to my senses !!

Thanks for the help so far and any more

Tony

Tony,
Just to be sure, have you -

Blown back the lines to the tank?
Checked the filter in the top of the lift pump (if it has one - not all do)
Checked that the banjo on the back of the IP is not blocked (the pin hole) - I've never known exactly what happens if it is blocked, but been told to check ours before)
Also, have you got a length of clear anywhere to make certain no air ingress?

Good idea with the clear pipe to see bubbles!

Can't sell yet you havent had the fun of trying to fix yet

Where is your squeak coming from? May be a belt, but you'd likely hear something at idle too. Have you tried driving with windows open?
If under acceleration and not revving idle, should be a drivetrain component. Wheel bearing, stub axle, halfshaft seal, gear/diff oil, etc?
Sticking brake or loose calliper? Wouldn't feel it in 1st or 2nd, but would become more evident when under strain.

Thanks for the reply Julian, with regards to blowing back the lines to the tank is this as simple as putting an airline on the "in" pipe to the filter? Sorry if that's a dumb question just it's something I've not done before.
I will check for a filter on the lift pump, not sure if it has one.

julianf said:

Tony,
Just to be sure, have you -

Blown back the lines to the tank?
Checked the filter in the top of the lift pump (if it has one - not all do)
Checked that the banjo on the back of the IP is not blocked (the pin hole) - I've never known exactly what happens if it is blocked, but been told to check ours before)
Also, have you got a length of clear anywhere to make certain no air ingress?

Click to expand...

I am going to check the gearbox oil this morning, as it is only under load when my issues start, it does feel almost like a sticking brake as it's fairly restrictive, however like all these faults you can convince yourself it's anything!!

Thanks for the reply, little one is still off with me at the moment so only so much I can do, hence I am going to pop some gearbox oil in this morning but anymore complicated jobs will have to wait

Vinlander said:

Where is your squeak coming from? May be a belt, but you'd likely hear something at idle too. Have you tried driving with windows open?
If under acceleration and not revving idle, should be a drivetrain component. Wheel bearing, stub axle, halfshaft seal, gear/diff oil, etc?
Sticking brake or loose calliper? Wouldn't feel it in 1st or 2nd, but would become more evident when under strain.

Click to expand...

Shane I've had loads of fun fixing!!! That's the real frustrating bit it's been driving so well recently I thought I was good for the winter, we've not even had any bad weather yet! I know if I take it off the road the only other car I have which isn't in bits is a 23 year old convertible which leaks more than the defender and is RWD so we will then defo get snow and rain!!!

Shanec said:

Good idea with the clear pipe to see bubbles!

Can't sell yet you havent had the fun of trying to fix yet

Click to expand...

Have you tried a road test after bypassing all fuel lines and filters by directly feeding the pump from a jerry can? That will help you decide to look at engine side or fuel side