OK,
It's a couple of days later and TheBus is doing great. So here's a complete re-cap for anyone else who gets plagued with anything similar, here's the complete breakdown of everything I'd done for future reference. I retell the entire story as it shows how easy it is to overlook something.
I bought TheBus on Ebay on 30 July 2010 and drove her the 108 miles home. Gearbox was a bit sloppy but apart from the she was a lovely big beastie.
The following week-end I put her up a big set of ramps to make a start on cleaning underneath - soon abandoned this for other reasons and on the way home I started to lose gears.
Eventually, the gearbox got stuck in 1st gear and I tried to limp slowly home as I only had 2½ miles to go. There was a loud screeching noise of metal on metal and I stopped to do a quick investigation. Nothing hanging off or spewing fluids so I persevered and limped on. Very shortly after she came to a dead stop and wouldn't even start. Engine gave all indications of being seized. Wouldn't turn over even in neutral and/or with clutch down. While I was waiting for my tow coming with hazards on, I happened to change the cd in the player and I managed to blow a fuse. This was re-placed but the blew again when I touched the cd. So I left it. I happened to notice though that my interior light had also ceased to light with the door switches.
I was convinced that I'd probably murdered the gearbox or engine or even both and was dreading finding out what had happened. Got towed home by a nephew and approached a local independent (father & son) garage who mostly does Landies and have (the father having 50+ years experience.) They agreed to tow it in for me and see what was what. A couple of weeks later I got her back (they were very busy) and it turned out the screech was the top pulley on the drive belt had given up the ghost and the jammed gearbox was the infamous loose grub screw. I was aware of an oil leak near the hand brake drum so I'd asked them to check that too and check/re-fill my diffs etc.
When I went in to pay the £304 bill, I was talking to the son and he told me that when they went to collect her off the street they had hooked up the tow rope but he turned the key to see what was going on and she fired up immediately, so he drove her in, in 1st gear etc. This surprised me a lot because she wouldn't even turn over for me at the time of the breakdown & the old man mentioned that my viscous coupling was seized solid - harmless, but noisy, so I ordered a 2nd hand one of Ebay. Anyway, I got her back with new brake shoes on the hand brake (oil contaminated,) new gear box flange seal and new pulley fitted.
Next things I started on was to give her a full service and make a start on fitting some chequered plate, new headlights, spotlights and a replacement viscous coupling & fan.
Short version of the first time she died for no apparent reason was when I'd been setting my new headlights. She had been sitting pointing at a church wall with the engine running for about ½ an hour or so (I'd put some insulating tape on the wall to mark the original beam height etc.) Just as I was about finished, a youngish lad turned up with a defender 90 and started chatting to me. I gave him my old headlight units 'coz his were rusted badly and I got ready to drive off. I reversed back from the wall and went to drive off and she stalled. Now, at this point I have to say, I had stalled her two or three times as I went to move off and I'd just put it down to the incredibly stiff and sticky clutch pedal. But this time she refused to start. I assumed I'd upset her electrics with all my effing about under the bonnet playing with the wiring and I did a very technical wiggling of everything electrical I could see. She still didn't want to go straight away, but I got her started after about ½ an hour of wiggling and prodding all the wiring harnesses and connectors.
I joined this forum and found out about the "oil in the loom" lurgy. So I got some de-greaser aerosols from work and set about cleaning out the red plug and everything seemed a lot better. So, I fitted a new genuine LR replacement injector loom that week-end and repeatedly cleaned out the plug until no more oil appeared. Great stuff, problem solved - yeah right!
Next was the fan. A couple of days later, same church car park. The fan took a bit of effort to get off and I spend a fair bit of time hammering at the nut to loosen it. I'd been under the mis-understanding that it was a left-handed thread, but it turned out the TD5 is a normal right-handed thread for the viscous coupling. This wee job done and engine left idling to heat up while I checked the operation of the replacement coupling. I went to drive off and as my foot touched the throttle she cut out. This time I hadn't even got her into gear. So, I confidently wiggled and prodded everything in sight, but had to get towed home in the end. Eventually found that all my banging about must have tripped the fuel cut off on the bulkhead.
Next day was a trip to Dundee for a workshop manual and some relays. On the way back I'd sat at a junction for about 5 to 10 minutes waiting to get out onto a very busy dual carriageway. She died about 200 yards along the road. Another bout of wiggling and she started up again, but this time only for about 100 yards or so, then dead. More wiggling and I got a ¼ of a mile further before she died but she wouldn't go no further no matter how much I wiggled. I'd pretty much drained the battery by this time so once I got towed home yet again, I took the battery out and put it on the trickle charger. Due to work, I had no spare time to look at her until the following week-end. I re-fitted the battery and she started up 1st turn of the key.......... Strange, I'd done nothing except get towed home.
Now, I have to say, that when she is running, she runs very well, maybe a little rough before I'd put the injector loom on, but she always started immediately on 1st turn of the key, if she was gonna start at all, that is.
So next time she died, I decided I wanted to leave her standing without touching anything for a couple of days because I'd remembered that the garage had said she started for them 1st turn of the key. This done and sure enough, she fired up like a good un two days later. Ah hah, I had a cunning plan now. Get her to breakdown upon demand and find a quick way to get her going again. Then concentrate on finding the cause.
So, come the week-end, I sat out in the street listening to ClassicFM and smoking while my engine ticked over and at last she died on me. I locked her up and went about my normal everyday life for two days. She started first time. Next, I got her to die once again and this time I tried to start her after 12 hours - no go, 24 hours - no go, 36 hours - no go, 48 hours and off she went. Good, I'm getting closer. But, try what I might, I couldn't get her to start any quicker for ages. Then one day she died after only 4 minutes and started up a few seconds later. Different, I thought, it usually takes at least 15 minutes for her to die & two days to re-start. This was when I noticed that my interior light had stopped working off the door switches again. Just like the very first time I had to be towed in with the jammed gearbox.
After a lot of re-search, I found the interior light was part of the 10AS security ECU circuitry and this got me to thinking it was the immobiliser that was somehow kicking in and killing the engine. I spent, nae WASTED, a hell of a lot of time going down this route but all to no avail, in the end she would die as before. If anything, it was getting slightly worse.
Now, anyone who has ever tried to track an intermittent fault like this will know how frustrating it can be. I spend absolute ages trying to get my light going and even stripped out the headling, which was when I found a broken metal strip in the light unit. This repaired and everything back together and I was convinced I'd cured it at long last, somehow the light was confusing the 10AS and it was immobilising the engine. I should have found this sooner because so many people would state, with great alacrity and confidence "It's yer immobiliser mate" as soon as I mentioned my problem. She even sat on idle for more than two hours, while I dutifully smoked & chilled out to ClassicFM. I mention smoking only because I'd recently started smoking again after being off ciggies for almost 10 years, but I'd been angry at myself for starting smoking again and I was planning on making an effort to stop again which I'd implemented about the same time I'd bought TheBus.
Two days later she died again - Aww Fnck it!!!! - now what, same fault or something new?
Somewhere in amongst all this, I'd bought a Hawkeye diagnostics and, although it was useful, it didn't help me get to the bottom of the problem.
So, I started from scratch. First, ascertained it was the same problem and not something new. Waited two days and she started ok. Right, same problem. Needless to say, I'd cleaned just about everything I could find in the way of electrical connectors and sensors - no difference. New MAF sensor - I was getting funny voltages on this - no difference. EGR blanking kit - no difference. Stripped out the ECM & 10AS ECU, opened them and found nothing untoward - no difference. Checked & rechecked my injector harness - no difference. Found & cleaned out filthy oil in the CKP sensor plug and the blue header connector under the seat beside the ECM thougth I'd got it for a few days, but - no difference. Decided to re-place the CKP sensor in case oil had gotten inside it so ordered a cheapie on Ebay. It arrived during the week and when I'd bought the EGR blanking kit, I'd also won an inlet manifold on Ebay, with the intention of cleaning it all up before fitting it with the EGR blanking kit, but it took so long to get here I just fitted the kit while I was waiting. So by last week-end (Saturday 23rd October) now, almost three months down the line from when I bought TheBus. I had her towed to my nephew's car port armed with my new CKP sensor, immaculately cleaned intake manifold and new gasket. By this time, I couldn't get her to start off the key at all, or if she did I couldn't move her for fear of her cutting out. On the way down I bump started her (battery was very low) and she drove the rest of the way herself. I left her running for a while to help the battery and in the hope that she would cut out, but on this occasion she decided to behave and just kept grinning at me, mockingly, as she idled away happily.
So, I switched her off, disconnected the battery and stuck it on the charger while I was working. Took the bonnet off and set about whipping the manifold off - much to my surprise, I found that every one of the bolts on the manifold were no more than hand tightened. I didn't have to use any ratchet to loosen them, simply undid them all by hand with a socket and short extension. Yes, I have strong fingers and hands, but not THAT bloody strong! Anyway, all every sensor and all the connectors got sprayed with de-greaser aerosol and then the CKP sensor disconnected, the plug got thoroughly flushed out with de-greaser. At this point (I got a much better look at things with the manifold off) I noticed that the wires for the CKP sensor had become brittle and a little of the insulation at the end just behind the plug seemed to have fallen off one wire and the other was cracked enough to expose the copper underneath. Also, the wires were twisted in such a way that they were crossing over each other. At long bloody last, I had actually found something that was at fault, up until this, after everything I'd tried for the past three months I had never ever found anything that I could say was faulty or "out-of-place," apart from the oil in everything & the cracked metal strip on the interior light fitting. So, I carefully stripped off a bit of insulation from a spare bit of wire, sliced it lengthways to make a sleeve I could slip over the bare wires and taped in place with insulting tape. This done I fitted the new sensor and re-build everything else. Confidently turned the key and was ready to shout TTTAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA to my nephew and his son with an overly exaggerated flourish - yep you guessed it, she wouldn't start. So, with my chin dragging the ground, we pushed her out of the drive and towed her to try a bump start but she was totally stone dead. Nothing, nada, not even a hiccough. So now what the Fnck?
Anyway, after about ½ an hour of despondent leaning on the wing top staring at space with my face pointing towards the engine bay - minus the bonnet - standing out on the road at my nephew's house. I was so close to giving it all up as a bad joke. But as a last-ditch attempt I decided to put the old CKP sensor back in 'coz I had noticed tiny, tiny little bit of free play in the body of the replacement which wasn't there in the original one (the new one was a cheapie after all.) So I sent my nephew's boy up the driveway to get me an 8mm socket, short extension and ratchet, while I wiggled my big fat hands down into the wee space and pulled the plug off. I took one cursory glance at the plug and lo and behold, one of the brittle wires at the back of the plug had broken clean off, right as it disappears into the plug body. It must have happened when I was re-fitting the manifold and moving things about to get at the bolts. A quick hack at the plastic at the back of the plug to expose enough wire to work with and with my nephew lying stretched out over the top of the engine holding the wires for me (workspace very limited in there when the manifold is in place) and a very quick temporary solder job and a little kitchen foil wrapped round my temp repair to screen it (the original wiring is screened to prevent interference) and that has been seen to.
I just couldn't have taken another failure so my nephew's 10-year old son was instructed to switch the key on, then wait until the yellow picture of a spring on the dashboard goes out and turn the starter. I stood with my hands held in an attitude of prayer, my heart in my mouth & tears very close to my eyes (couldn't pull any more hair out 'coz I'd already run out a couple of weeks ago.)
Yep, she burst into life with the 1st turn of the keyand has been running like a trojan ever since, I know it's only two days later as I type this up. I know I have said, at least thrice times, before that I'd solved it. But this time I know she's finally sorted.
How do I know for sure this time?
That's an easy one to answer, when she is sitting idling and smiling at me mockingly, I am smiling back at her too.
An epic tale I know, but it just might help to inspire someone else not to give up, or even better, it might help solve someone else's problems too. I certainly hope it does.
Oh and finally. The real moral of this tale is? ..................................................................................................
Listen to Shifty's advice. A very, very, very long time ago, he, and only he ever, mentioned the CKP sensor. I'd been too bloody lazy to give it more than a cursory glance until I was so desperate to find the problem that I was almost in tears with frustration.
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But, in the process of finding this, I got to know a hell of a lot about my 2001 Defender 110 TD5 - now affectionately (once again) known as TheBus.
My best regards to everyone who has offered help and advice on this over the months. But one more big thankyou to Shifty, if you had been within arms reach on Saturday afternoon, I would have embarrassed us both by giving you one ****ing big hug and a full blown kiss on the mouth (it's ok, I'm not gay & I did get over the impulse very quickly, instead I went home with a fish supper and cracked open a bottle of wine to celebrate.)
Ron
