Disco 1 Discovery 1 barn find

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Maat

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Hi all, I recently purchased a 300Tdi manual Discovery 1 from '97 (3 door Version). It's been stored in a barn in the Finnish countryside for the past 9 years and, although it has 200.000 miles on it, the owner before last was a lady from Scotland. All this sounded very good to me and I drove a long way to pick up the car. All I cared about was rust, thinking that I would sort out any other issues myself and then register it.
Easier said than done! After the transaction, 3 miles down the road the engine over heated... thought it was thermostat as tank was full, but turned out to be an airlock. Long story short I got it to my yard some 70 miles away and I noticed a few things that I wanted to ask you more knowledgeable folks:

1. There is some hella play in the drivetrain and I have to depress the clutch very carefully while slowly giving it diesel to avoid clunks that you can feel in the seat. I haven't gotten about inspecting too much, but what is the most often issue here? Drive members seemed not too bad, could it be diffs, or worse, the gearbox? Prop shafts seem okay as well.

2. Hardly audible knocking when steering hard to the right. This sounds to me like a CV joint issue, but considering the landy also makes a whining noise (either PAS pump or belt) while steering with the car still, I'm led to believe it could be something else as well?

3. This is an odd one, but it worries me the most. After driving for a while, the window switches get pretty hot to the touch. Anybody has this issue? Any advice? I feel a bit anxious about driving it like this as a relative's 300tdi Defender burned to a crisp on the motorway due to some electrical issue.

4. Barely starts. It cranks forever, the starter motor spins all right I would say, and then, finally it catches on and starts, but it takes ages and it's embarrassing at the docks. Injection pump leaks after I turn the engine off overnight, is there anything else I should look at?

I think that's all for now, thanks for the replies in advance.
 
Last edited:
My 94 D1 sat dry stored for approximately 13 years, but only had 47k, now 50k.
My light switches get pretty warm but I would say the whole console area does.
Remember that there are heater vents that run under the console, so these will warm up if the heater is on.
Got any photos
 
Barely starts. It cranks forever, the starter motor spins all right I would say, and then, finally it catches on and starts, but it takes ages and it's embarrassing at the docks. Injection pump leaks after I turn the engine off overnight, is there anything else I should look at?

First thing I'd do is get the leak sorted, can you see where it's leaking from?
More than likely be the cause of the starting issue. I got mine rebuilt at my local diesel specialist as it had a bad leak.
Might as well get a new timing belt fitted too
 
IQUOTE="steve24v, post: 5410728, member: 39068"]First thing I'd do is get the leak sorted, can you see where it's leaking from?
More than likely be the cause of the starting issue. I got mine rebuilt at my local diesel specialist as it had a bad leak.
Might as well get a new timing belt fitted too[/QUOTE]

Hi,

I can't see where the leak is from, as I can't see anything dripping anywhere while it's running, just a few hours after I drive it. And then it's only leaking from the front diff onto the ground. The general area of the injection pump is pretty damp with diesel though. Don't know if it could be a line.

Already ordered the timing kit and other bits, cheers :)
 
So... I managed to start it again.. I don't think it ever failed to start, it just takes forever and makes me worried that the battery will drain before the fuel system reprimes itself. After it starts it runs fine, no misfiring, no nothing. But after I turn the engine off, I go under the bonnet and I can hear a flowing sort of sound.. And can visibly see diesel dripping slowly from the bottom of the pump. Now, it doesn't leak at all while running, and if I start it again right after I turn it off, it starts without problems: if now fuel has time to leak, that is.

So I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down the problem, I just need to find where the leak actually is, as it's not visible. It doesn't look like it can be fixed in situ and I don't have the money nor do I think it's cost effective taking it to a specialist. I was thinking I'd just get a used one and play with the old one myself, who knows, end up with a spare. :/
 

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Would it be an idea to replace the braided fuel return lines (not sure that's the correct name) near the top of the engine? A cheap part to replace but if perished can allow the fuel to drain back when stopped. Being stood a long time would be likely to cause these to deteriorate.

If the vehicle is stood near a power supply then it may be worth charging the battery after cranking a lot.
 
Thanks for the reply, Dr Strangeglove, I will keep that in mind.

Meanwhile, does anyone know if it's possible to install one of those fuel priming pumps in front of the injection pump, to reprime it just before starting in case it really doesn't want to?

Just thinking what alternatives I have until I can afford to take it out.
 
Hi all, I recently purchased a 300Tdi manual Discovery 1 from '97 (3 door Version). It's been stored in a barn in the Finnish countryside for the past 9 years and, although it has 200.000 miles on it, the owner before last was a lady from Scotland. All this sounded very good to me and I drove a long way to pick up the car. All I cared about was rust, thinking that I would sort out any other issues myself and then register it.
Easier said than done! After the transaction, 3 miles down the road the engine over heated... thought it was thermostat as tank was full, but turned out to be an airlock. Long story short I got it to my yard some 70 miles away and I noticed a few things that I wanted to ask you more knowledgeable folks:

1. There is some hella play in the drivetrain and I have to depress the clutch very carefully while slowly giving it diesel to avoid clunks that you can feel in the seat. I haven't gotten about inspecting too much, but what is the most often issue here? Drive members seemed not too bad, could it be diffs, or worse, the gearbox? Prop shafts seem okay as well.

2. Hardly audible knocking when steering hard to the right. This sounds to me like a CV joint issue, but considering the landy also makes a whining noise (either PAS pump or belt) while steering with the car still, I'm led to believe it could be something else as well?

3. This is an odd one, but it worries me the most. After driving for a while, the window switches get pretty hot to the touch. Anybody has this issue? Any advice? I feel a bit anxious about driving it like this as a relative's 300tdi Defender burned to a crisp on the motorway due to some electrical issue.

4. Barely starts. It cranks forever, the starter motor spins all right I would say, and then, finally it catches on and starts, but it takes ages and it's embarrassing at the docks. Injection pump leaks after I turn the engine off overnight, is there anything else I should look at?

I think that's all for now, thanks for the replies in advance.


Number 1 rule in the UK is, never trust anyone from scotland.
 
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