Disco 1 Improved performance?

i almost don't want to post this because every time I think my 300 tdi disco is running nice, something goes wrong with it and it breaks down.
But, for the last few weeks it has seemed quite a bit more responsive and powerful than usual. I haven't done anything to it, except changed the timing belt a few months ago. I didn't notice any difference in performance then, so have no idea why it suddenly seems to have a new lease of life. It's like it's on steroids! Any ideas? It's done just under 200,000 miles.

Shhh! It's just lulling you into a false sense of security.

brian47 said:

Shhh! It's just lulling you into a false sense of security.

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That's why I didn't want to post anything!

Steviecops said:

That's why I didn't want to post anything!

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You probably shouldn't have.....now its gonna get you when you least expect it

Have you changed where you get your fuel,
Mine runs better on Shell than any other

wastegate siezed shut?

It runs on my home made bio diesel, which definitely performs better in warmer weather than cold. But we haven't had ant really cold weather this year, so can't put it down to that.

I haven't got a clue about waste gates? I wouldn't even know where to look. If it's seized, is that a bad thing?

Steviecops said:

It runs on my home made bio diesel, which definitely performs better in warmer weather than cold. But we haven't had ant really cold weather this year, so can't put it down to that.

I haven't got a clue about waste gates? I wouldn't even know where to look. If it's seized, is that a bad thing?

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If you're happy with the way it's running then that's all you can ask. Don't worry about the wastegate, it's the thing that brings in the turbo when the engine calls for it.
As the old saying goes "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Apart from if it's siezed shut and not bleeding off the exhaust gasses to control boost it may over boost

Being a diesel and having the sort of fip it has it's not really going to do any harm unless it boosts sufficiently to heat the intake alarmingly, then things could start to get a bit too toasty

Grem said:

Apart from if it's siezed shut and not bleeding off the exhaust gasses to control boost it may over boost

Being a diesel and having the sort of fip it has it's not really going to do any harm unless it boosts sufficiently to heat the intake alarmingly, then things could start to get a bit too toasty

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TBH Grem, I don't think that the OP, @Steviecops was asking for advice, he was just saying that for once his Disco was running nicely but he was a little apprehensive that by writing about it he might be tempting fate.

I realise that, and I'm saying that although it's great that it's going so well but it could be going too well, and may end up doing damage

Steviecops said:

i almost don't want to post this because every time I think my 300 tdi disco is running nice, something goes wrong with it and it breaks down.
But, for the last few weeks it has seemed quite a bit more responsive and powerful than usual. I haven't done anything to it, except changed the timing belt a few months ago. I didn't notice any difference in performance then, so have no idea why it suddenly seems to have a new lease of life. It's like it's on steroids! Any ideas? It's done just under 200,000 miles.

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Know how that feels, my old D1 though it has been reliable,(relatively), it seems every time I use it, (which is not very often these days), something else on it is letting the show down. Last week it was front hub bearings, seems like if a wee doggie takes a pee on a wheel, the bearings fail, something up on the front axle is clunking and now the transmission has a whine in it, the windscreen leaks, but only if it rains, or I use the windscreen washers. Unfortunately mine has not had any mysterious performance improvement lately, but I still enjoy driving it, not sure for how much longer though, getting too old,(me that is), to want to persist with it's strange ways.

Grem said:

Apart from if it's siezed shut and not bleeding off the exhaust gasses to control boost it may over boost

Being a diesel and having the sort of fip it has it's not really going to do any harm unless it boosts sufficiently to heat the intake alarmingly, then things could start to get a bit too toasty

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I'd like to check it out, just in case. Where and what should I be looking for?

On the engine side of the turbo, there is a threaded rod which holds an arm shut (the wasteagate) then when it boosts the air pressure pushes the arm open and controls the boost.

With a struggle because it's quite stiff and pretty difficult to get to, you should be able to move the rod by hand, you have to move it towards the front of the engine

It's pretty unlikely but if you noticed a sudden increase in performance, then it would be worth checking

Grem said:

On the engine side of the turbo, there is a threaded rod which holds an arm shut (the wasteagate) then when it boosts the air pressure pushes the arm open and controls the boost.

With a struggle because it's quite stiff and pretty difficult to get to, you should be able to move the rod by hand, you have to move it towards the front of the engine

It's pretty unlikely but if you noticed a sudden increase in performance, then it would be worth checking

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Even if waste gate is seized over boost would only take place at max RPM static or with heavy load on engine on the move. The waste gate should not move at all until max boost is reached. Holding the revs at half throttle then blipping to full throttle, he should see the waste gate move. Should be able to be moved with difficulty if rod is held with grips.

Ok, thanks for the advice. I found the rod and the bit of metal it's fixed to, which is what I tried to move. I couldn't move it at with my fingers and even when I pushed on it with a bar, (tried to push the square of metal to the back of the engine to lever the rod), it didn't budge.

Edit: I never thrash the engine, it never goes above 2500 rpm.

Ok, just had another go at it. Couldn't move it, so revved the engine until I saw it move. It didn't move much, but it moved and it wasn't at full revs.