Disco 1 Power?

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
J

Jim63

Member
Posts
12
Location
Cyprus
Hello everyone, quick intro and then a wee question for you. My name is Jim and I live in Cyprus with my wife, many dogs and Discovery 1 200tdi. I have had the Land Rover for about 18months as a replacement to a very hard used Vitara, I do a fair bit of offroad, wood cutting and trailer towing (on and off road) and general Land Rover work. Parts out here are quite pricey but the guy that runs the shop is pretty knowledgeable but I try to get what I can when I'm in the UK.
My question for you is,when in high range my truck is pretty sensitive to revs and gear selection and does not like to pull away on a hill or slope unless i give it a good boot full of throttle, more than i feel it should need. Mostly i find it strong and it has no problem pulling my fully loaded Sankey when fully loaded itself, off road and in some difficult situations when in low range. I have developed a technique to driving it but I'm not sure it should be as sensitive as it is. Any ideas?
 
Hard to say without comparing it to another one but they aren’t by any means fast, keep the turbo spinning and you should be able to keep up with traffic when it’s flat at least, hills are all about choosing your gear early in my experience.
 
Jim63 said:
Hello everyone, quick intro and then a wee question for you. My name is Jim and I live in Cyprus with my wife, many dogs and Discovery 1 200tdi. I have had the Land Rover for about 18months as a replacement to a very hard used Vitara, I do a fair bit of offroad, wood cutting and trailer towing (on and off road) and general Land Rover work. Parts out here are quite pricey but the guy that runs the shop is pretty knowledgeable but I try to get what I can when I'm in the UK.
My question for you is,when in high range my truck is pretty sensitive to revs and gear selection and does not like to pull away on a hill or slope unless i give it a good boot full of throttle, more than i feel it should need. Mostly i find it strong and it has no problem pulling my fully loaded Sankey when fully loaded itself, off road and in some difficult situations when in low range. I have developed a technique to driving it but I'm not sure it should be as sensitive as it is. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Sensitive on the clutch?

Low power all the time or just at low engine speeds?

Has it always been like this or gotten progressively worse with time?
 
Jim63 said:
Hi, the clutch is fine, it just seems to be at low engine speeds and its been like since I got it
Click to expand...
The situation can be improved by increasing the "off boost fuel", the problem is I believe common to stock Disco 200 and 300 tdi's, (set at the factory to achieve pollution compliance), it involves a slight adjustment in the boost diaphragm cap on the top of the Bosch VE injection pump, the adjustment changes the position of the "boost pin", you only need an allen key and a ring spanner, but I cannot recall exactly the correct direction of the adjustment, it was about 8 years ago I did it.
I have done the adjustment to my 300Tdi and it made it a little more responsive down low in the revs, there will be a comprehensive "how to" on here somewhere. It would take me too long to describe adequately for you to do it.
 
Jim63 said:
Hello everyone, quick intro and then a wee question for you. My name is Jim and I live in Cyprus with my wife, many dogs and Discovery 1 200tdi. I have had the Land Rover for about 18months as a replacement to a very hard used Vitara, I do a fair bit of offroad, wood cutting and trailer towing (on and off road) and general Land Rover work. Parts out here are quite pricey but the guy that runs the shop is pretty knowledgeable but I try to get what I can when I'm in the UK.
My question for you is,when in high range my truck is pretty sensitive to revs and gear selection and does not like to pull away on a hill or slope unless i give it a good boot full of throttle, more than i feel it should need. Mostly i find it strong and it has no problem pulling my fully loaded Sankey when fully loaded itself, off road and in some difficult situations when in low range. I have developed a technique to driving it but I'm not sure it should be as sensitive as it is. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I assume you are using low range to pull away with trailers on uphills?

Try what Gazbo suggests^^^^^^^^^^^. But don't expect miracles, Tdi are not a powerful engine in a vehicle of that size and weight.
 
Turboman said:
I assume you are using low range to pull away with trailers on uphills?

Try what Gazbo suggests^^^^^^^^^^^. But don't expect miracles, Tdi are not a powerful engine in a vehicle of that size and weight.
Click to expand...

My 200 has a slight tweek on the pump and wastegate, its way better than it used to be with 11.5psi of boost at the inlet and running 235/85r16 tyres.

I forgot to ask what tyres you were running?

Standard tyres on a D1 200Tdi were 205/80r16 or 235/70r16, roughly 29" in old money or 735mm in new monies, a common swap is to 235/85r16 roughly 31.5" or 805mm is a 10% increase in diameter, this is quite a lot and it is never recommended to go above a 3% increase in diameter. Would be good to know if you've got some 35" trepadors on it ;)
 
As above, some good advice there IMHO. Mr Gazbo is spot on, you might consider a boost pin too...

Also some useful info here:-

www.jeremyjfearn.co.uk

The 200's boost can be increased a bit without damaging 't injun.

Worth checking all your boost pipes - they can delaminate, and this can make the thing more dull than a blown lamp. Also worth measuring the boost at the plenum with a decent gauge - you could even fit one permanently if it floats your boat :)
 
Ok, thanks everyone for the input and advice, This is my first (and long awaited) Land Rover, this is only a minor thing and to be honest nothing I haven't already adjusted to but with nothing to compare it to your help is invaluable The power characteristics of the Vitara and Pajero I've had are completely different and I don't recall this effect on the Hi-Lux or Terrano I've used, I'll have a look for the Boost pin how to guide (does the Fourby Boost ring do the same job?) I'm running on 245/75s and like i said generally it is strong, a hard worker and fantastic offroad, (which there is a lot of here).
 
I am also on 245/75’s in my 300, it felt slower after fitting them but the speedo is now spot on where it used to under read by a bit, I suspect it’s made a slight difference but is mostly in my head.
 
i am also running 245 75 16 , did the tweak on the pump and there is plenty of power after all its never going to be fast but the pump tweak is easy and makes a huge difference
 
The Fourby boost pin and ring are the bolt on if you will tuning parts that enable you to tune it a bit without having to know too much about what you are doing, worth fitting for a novice who doesn't want to risk killing it by over tweeking the original parts.
 
dieseldog69 said:
The Fourby boost pin and ring are the bolt on if you will tuning parts that enable you to tune it a bit without having to know too much about what you are doing, worth fitting for a novice who doesn't want to risk killing it by over tweeking the original parts.
Click to expand...

Best to get running at it's optimum first, then throw money at the shiny bits ...
 
Dippypud said:
Best to get running at it's optimum first, then throw money at the shiny bits ...
Click to expand...

You can tune them easy enough if you know what you're doing but the shiny bits bring it to a close to optimum state without tweeking and adjusting star wheels an clocking diaphragms, adjusting wastegate rods etc,.

Get a bit over enthusiastic with the fuel and it'll have a melt down!

The bolt on bits pep it up without ever getting near melt down mode.
 
dieseldog69 said:
You can tune them easy enough if you know what you're doing but the shiny bits bring it to a close to optimum state without tweeking and adjusting star wheels an clocking diaphragms, adjusting wastegate rods etc,.

Get a bit over enthusiastic with the fuel and it'll have a melt down!

The bolt on bits pep it up without ever getting near melt down mode.
Click to expand...

It'll still run like shite tho ... gotta fix that first ... :D
 
Dippypud said:
Best to get running at it's optimum first, then throw money at the shiny bits ...
Click to expand...
Maybe just work out what type of vehicle and performance they need then buy that vehicle, cut out the middle man, I have found that very small performance improvements are possible with "old tech" type diesels, but I emphasise small.
I have a good friend who has sunk many hours and dollars into his D1 300tdi, to soup it up with lots of bolt on goodies, the performance difference between his much invested performance improvements and my bog standard with off boost fuel adjusted D1 of the same year is almost imperceptible.
We have another friend with a Mitsubishi Pajero diesel turbo common rail diesel, it is streets ahead in engine performance all round compared to our Discos but it's not a Landy, it's chassis dynamics are sh1t off road, but I would love that Mitsi engine in my Disco, it has more low down grunt than a pig farm.
So I reckon buy something that'll do the job you want, but be prepared to compromise otherwise it's just chucking good money after bad.
 
Thanks Gazbo, i hope no one misunderstands me, I am not at all dissatisfied with the Disco it was merely a question to try determine if there was a problem, it does everything I want and is way better that anything else I have used off road. Like I said its my first Land Rover and I'm made up with it. The advice is much appreciated
 
Hi, just thought a little update was in order... I have solved the problem, it appears to have been a problem with the lift pump not pumping at full efficiency. I removed it, cleaned it, re-seated it, fitted a new gasket and torqued it up and its like a new truck. Next time I'm in the UK might get a spare for my spares box just... just in case!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

9
300TDI hazards
Replies
8
Views
247
discool
discool
D
Disco 3 (LR3) LR3 Immobilized After Unique Situation
Replies
1
Views
169
gstuart
gstuart
Z
Power steering fluid
Replies
3
Views
317
zombiecar
Z
Parv
Times Climate menu?
Replies
12
Views
426
Graculus
Graculus
D
RED WARNING LIGHT - Land Rover Discovery Sport 2020
Replies
12
Views
786
Shedload
S
Back
Top