Disco 2 Starting problems - where to start looking????

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Paul Leinichen

Active Member
Posts
110
Location
Weston-super-Mare
So the old bus was running fine, been using it for the daily jaunt up and down the M5 to work and back all week, little extra trip on Wednesday evening - only an extra 40 miles or so. All was well (emphasis on "WAS")!
Then jump in, ready to go to work on Friday, pop the key in and turn it over and it doesn't catch and start (normally starts almost before I've turned the key - one of the reasons I chose this one was that it fired up so well). Try it again, same thing. Ended up really cranking it over on the starter and eventually (after about 20 seconds turning over) it fires up, big puff of smoke from the back (think it was grey but harder to tell through the window tints!!). Then drives perfectly, short run of about 15 mins, 45 min stop, jump in and starts no problem and runs perfectly all the way to work.
There's me, naivety kicking in, thinking to myself "oh well, must be nothing, all's fine now". Then get in it to go home after a long and ****ty day at the office. Same thing as the morning, absolute pig to start, eventually fires up with a puff of smoke (much to the disgust of my colleague parked behind me in her new 208 French rubbish thing that she only took through the car was at lunchtime - never mind, rain will clean it off again!!). Then runs fine all the way home.
This morning it does it again - pig to start, once it's started then it seems fine and starts again no problem whilst it's still warm.
Not sure if it's me being paranoid and "looking" for something to be different / wrong, but i'd swear it seems to run slightly more responsive but a tiny bit noisier (not unpleasant noise, more like increased exhaust note).
It's a 2004 D2 TD5 15p engine, 134k on the clock, major service 3k ago, EGR removed and blanked, de-cat, TD5Alive remap and a snorkel and breather kit (can't see how that would have any adverse effect though - or am I missing something?).
Only thing I've done different this week is that I've put BP fuel in it (normal grade not the fancy stuff, from 2 different stations, about £25 in each), normally use Tesco (clubcard points keep the missus happy and they'll pay for the ferry to France with caravan included next year!). Have run on Tesco fuel for 4 months now with no issues at all, only used BP for convenience as the Tesco station on the way home from work is being refurbed and i'd let it get down to the fuel light coming on.
Not certain, but think it might be drinking a little more at the moment too.
Don't have a posh nanocom / hawkeye thingamebobby so can't plug it in and ask what's wrong. Currently hoping a neighbour is going to come round this afternoon with his.
Anyone got any suggestions for what it might be or where to start looking (other than the obvious of "under the bonnet") if I can't get a diagnostic plug in?

Cheers in advance for any suggestions.
 
injector washers / seals (guessing these are the same thing) - would they go suddenly or would it begin as intermittent and build up? I'm working on the theory that any other "seal" would normally either slowly start to seep and show intermittent / minor problem, or would blow dramatically and cause major instant problems - how far off the mark am I?

If it's the seals, then how easy is it to do? Is it something a real amateur can do at home or something for the garage to empty my wallet of hard earned beer tokens to fix??
 
injector washers / seals (guessing these are the same thing) - would they go suddenly or would it begin as intermittent and build up? I'm working on the theory that any other "seal" would normally either slowly start to seep and show intermittent / minor problem, or would blow dramatically and cause major instant problems - how far off the mark am I?

If it's the seals, then how easy is it to do? Is it something a real amateur can do at home or something for the garage to empty my wallet of hard earned beer tokens to fix??
Doing it yourself would obviously depend on your abilities and level of self confidence and whether you can obtain or otherwise fashion some extra tools.
Take a look at this page and decide for yourself, but yes, it can be done by "the amateur" at home.
http://www.discovery2.co.uk/Injector Seals.html
 
Doing it yourself would obviously depend on your abilities and level of self confidence and whether you can obtain or otherwise fashion some extra tools.
Take a look at this page and decide for yourself, but yes, it can be done by "the amateur" at home.
http://www.discovery2.co.uk/Injector Seals.html


That's brilliant, thanks for the info -- I guess it's going to the garage then (better than me buggering it up completely by trying it without the tools or the expertise!)
 
Hi mate it won't be glow plugs a good td5 doesn't really need them

But it will most probably be injector seals and washers

If you do the seals make sure you remove all fuel from the engine first

Do not touch the throttle when trying to start or you risk causing damage

One thing to try is do the purge procedure first thing and see if that helps
 
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Hi mate it won't be glow plugs a good td5 doesn't really need them

But it will most probably be injector seals and washers

If you do the seals make sure you remove all fuel from the engine first

Do not touch the throttle when trying to start or you risk causing damage

One thing to try is do the purge procedure first thing and see if that helps


will give it a try, cheers
 
ok, so managed to get a neighbour to plug it in to his diagnostic machine (iCarsoft LRII) it's come up with "open circuit" on injectors 3 and 4 but not giving the error codes for some reason (machine he's using maybe?). Anyway, problem got worse so off it went to the garage yesterday - yes, I know, but it defeated my mechanical ability (not a huge challenge to do that really!).
So today it's sat with them being diagnosed and (hopefully) being fixed over the next few days. Luckily it's coincided with being off work sick, so haven't had to rely on it to get to work or i'd have been really knackered as work right by the motorway and buses are almost non-existent and the nearest train is about 3 miles from the office - so need to drive to get there really.

On a plus side, while it's there the serpentine belt is being replaced which saves me another Saturday of up to my elbows in engine, and they're going to fit the straight through centre pipe for me. So there are some advantages to having a friendly local garage - bloody well ought to be, I've probably kept him in business over the last 20 or so years (and paid for his shiny new Merc M Class and luxury caravan no doubt!!).

Fingers crossed it'll be back in a couple of days working perfectly.

Whilst it's been off the road and I've been sat at home I have managed to secure me a Hawkeye via eBay, so next time it breaks I should be able to get to the bottom of what's the problem (and keep the garage costs down).

Hopefully all be fixed and ready for Landyzone weekend - unless I manage to break something else by then?!?! Just got to trace which hub is causing the T/C to kick in way too often, replace the tyres with something all terrain, replace the rear sunroof motor, upgrade the intercooler, fit heavy duty bumpers, mend the ................ and probably more than that! But that's just day to day Discover ownership from what I can tell.

Does it ever come to the stage where I get a weekend to cut the grass, walk the dog and maybe go to the pub for lunch?
 
I hope it all goes OK, and it's a good thing that you've secured yourself a Hawkeye. Trying to use anything iCarsoft on a diesel Disco 2 won't give you answers you can rely on, they say it will work on the Discovery, but only for the petrol vehicles and bits of the diesel engine ECU, and then not all of it.
My advice would now be to get the last ever mowing of the lawn done now and show the dog how to get to the pub, 'cos he'll be going on his own once you get the Disco back from the garage.
 
So car came back from garage yesterday - had rear fuel filter replaced and housing rebuilt including replacement of the non-return valve. I got them to order the injector seals and washers but the repair to the filter housing seems to have cured things for now, so I've got the seals ready to get done along with a few other bits and bobs next time it goes in (and once I've got a little spare cash).

The garage owner said something about a plug at the end of the cam now being obsolete and these causing a minor oil leak and, if they get bad they can pop out completely. He was talking about gluing it in place - personally I much prefer the idea of replacing worn components rather than repairing (or bodging up!) so though it best to check with you guys a) what's he on about? and b) are these parts really obsolete? I had thought the TD5 was still easy to get all the bits for, are there other bits that i'm going to struggle to find as they wear out and need replacing?

When it goes back in and gets the injector seals and washers done I want to ask him to replace the hubs / bearings and see if that sorts out the annoyingly over-sensitive T/C. However, it's getting to the stage where i'm going to have to watch the spend (the missus is actually starting to growl when I mention "i'm just going to get xxxxx for the Disco done this week"!!), so want to shop smart. I've seen various hubs - front and rear seem similar prices - up to about £160 each. However I've also seen this on eBay - anyone had any experience of these? Are they any good or are they to be well avoided?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVE...covery&hash=item3f3c61e58f:g:Ep8AAOxyHBBSOGiH

Much appreciate any comments and suggestions. It's got to go back in a few weeks (when I can let them have it for a few days to get everything done) so want to make sure I order the parts soon so I get them in time and don't end up with the garage just ordering from their preferred local motor factors and me having to pay whatever their prices are (sometimes they're competitive and sometimes they're worse than Halfrauds!
 
The garage owner said something about a plug at the end of the cam now being obsolete and these causing a minor oil leak and, if they get bad they can pop out completely. He was talking about gluing it in place - personally I much prefer the idea of replacing worn components rather than repairing (or bodging up!) so though it best to check with you guys a) what's he on about? and b) are these parts really obsolete? I had thought the TD5 was still easy to get all the bits for, are there other bits that i'm going to struggle to find as they wear out and need replacing?

I don't know exactly which "plugs" you garage is on about actually, but I don't think the blanking plug/seals on the cylinder head are obsolete, or will be for some time.
  • The front one is part number: LDI10003
  • The rear one is part number: ERR5369
The front seal just pops out with a bit of levering with a flat blade screwdriver and the replacement just pushes back in. The rear one is a bit of a trial to change because of the lack of space between the back of the engine and the bulkhead. If that one isn't leaking, then leave well alone.
Both seals can be bought as a kit for under a tenner:- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Defender-Discovery-TD5-Bearmach-Front-Rear-Cam-Shaft-Oil-Seals-ERR5369-LDI100030-/321865168454?hash=item4af0a8b646
 
I don't know exactly which "plugs" you garage is on about actually, but I don't think the blanking plug/seals on the cylinder head are obsolete, or will be for some time.
  • The front one is part number: LDI10003
  • The rear one is part number: ERR5369
The front seal just pops out with a bit of levering with a flat blade screwdriver and the replacement just pushes back in. The rear one is a bit of a trial to change because of the lack of space between the back of the engine and the bulkhead. If that one isn't leaking, then leave well alone.
Both seals can be bought as a kit for under a tenner:- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Defender-Discovery-TD5-Bearmach-Front-Rear-Cam-Shaft-Oil-Seals-ERR5369-LDI100030-/321865168454?hash=item4af0a8b646


That's brilliant, thanks very much. At that price i'll get a set ordered and had them to him - no chance of him making excuses for a bodge job then!
 
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