TD5 110 Non starting woes

Story so far: Original problem - failed to start one morning about 2 months ago. Had it towed to an independent LR mechanic. Kept it for a week and reckoned it was the fuel filter housing which he told me he had replaced. ( a bit dubious though as the brass connectors were not that shiny and still a fair bit of oily deposit around the top. Certainly the filter had been replaced but at a cost of £430 for housing, time and tow?) It is true that the pump had been whistling like it was purging air most of the time. The battery was also dubious and has since been replaced with a brand new Optima.
Things went OK for a while but still whining occasionally and at times unpredictable to start. Cut hole in rear tub and replaced fuel pump. Went OK for a while but starting still a lottery. Dismantled fuel pressure regulator to check filter, no problems. Ran for a while, now refuses to start. It will run after several minutes cranking. It cranks very fast, almost catching, then when it does catch and you keep the revs up it will go for about a minute albeit lumpy at lower revs, then it will die, never to start again until left for about an hour.
I have checked the ECU plug and yes as ever it had oil in it. I have a new harness on order but in the meantime I have cleaned the connectors (several times), and electrically tested for continuity from the ECU plug to each injector. Also tested for s/c within the harness wiring but all ok.
Have removed and cleaned the CKP sensor, visually OK but local stealer needs £115 for a new one so reluctant to go down that road unless I have to!
Now running out of ideas so any suggestion from this forum would be most welcome. Sorry to go on, but was hoping some of these symptons might ring a bell with someone.
Also may invest in a nanocom or a hawkeye for the future, any suggestions which would be best option? Or if anybody in the Aberdeen area has one they would like to try out they would be very welcome here!

DerekT said:

I have checked the ECU plug and yes as ever it had oil in it. I have a new harness on order but in the meantime I have cleaned the connectors (several times), and electrically tested for continuity from the ECU plug to each injector. Also tested for s/c within the harness wiring but all ok.
!

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Read a little snippet some where and waiting to see what develops.

Have yet to see proof that oil in the loom is actually the TD5 problem.

Let me rephrase that, yes they do get oil in the loom due to the seal leaking but

From what I can gather the actual problem of not starting and hesitating is down to the loom having chaffed and shorted out, the oil I believe is a bit of a red herring.

"Whats your reasoning behind this?" I hear Ratty asking

Well I have oil in the loom and no problems...... so far

I have looked the loom over and seen no chaffing ...... go figure

If out of curiosity anyone has had or is having this fault and replaced the loom, have you/will you had/have a good look at the loom for chaffing please... Ta

Bromsgrove Defender said:

Read a little snippet some where and waiting to see what develops.

Have yet to see proof that oil in the loom is actually the TD5 problem.

Let me rephrase that, yes they do get oil in the loom due to the seal leaking but

From what I can gather the actual problem of not starting and hesitating is down to the loom having chaffed and shorted out, the oil I believe is a bit of a red herring.

"Whats your reasoning behind this?" I hear Ratty asking

Well I have oil in the loom and no problems...... so far

I have looked the loom over and seen no chaffing ...... go figure

If out of curiosity anyone has had or is having this fault and replaced the loom, have you/will you had/have a good look at the loom for chaffing please... Ta

Click to expand...

as the loom that gets replaced is the injector harness and lives under rocker cover its unlikely to get chaffed

johnlad said:

as the loom that gets replaced is the injector harness and lives under rocker cover its unlikely to get chaffed

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Ah so what yer sayin is I've missed the point of the snippet I read....

The injector loom is inside the rocker cover but is connected to the ECU and it's somewhere between the two where the chaffing occurs is it not

I thought the whole lot was replaced

I need a lie down

Just to complete this thread, motor now 100%! The problem? The "new" fuel pump was faulty! Now running on the old one, noisy but at least it works....

Bromsgrove Defender said:

Read a little snippet some where and waiting to see what develops.

Have yet to see proof that oil in the loom is actually the TD5 problem.

Let me rephrase that, yes they do get oil in the loom due to the seal leaking but

From what I can gather the actual problem of not starting and hesitating is down to the loom having chaffed and shorted out, the oil I believe is a bit of a red herring.

"Whats your reasoning behind this?" I hear Ratty asking

Well I have oil in the loom and no problems...... so far

I have looked the loom over and seen no chaffing ...... go figure

If out of curiosity anyone has had or is having this fault and replaced the loom, have you/will you had/have a good look at the loom for chaffing please... Ta

Click to expand...

I thought it was the capillary action of the oil in the loom 'widening' the electrical connectors and causing lack of contact on the connections due to either an oil contaminated surface or the connectors becoming loose.

sometimes with a dodgy loom you can clean the connectors up and then gently pry the connectors closed to make them tighter and it will sort itself out enough to get you home.

i had this same starting issue ,and it was a faulty injector washer on the #1 injector . 5 new seals and washers sorted it

ratty said:

I thought it was the capillary action of the oil in the loom 'widening' the electrical connectors and causing lack of contact on the connections due to either an oil contaminated surface or the connectors becoming loose.

sometimes with a dodgy loom you can clean the connectors up and then gently pry the connectors closed to make them tighter and it will sort itself out enough to get you home.

Click to expand...

Yup thats what happens.

Either clean the oil off the contacts or as you say tighten the connectors and away you go.

Meant to say. Yet again Q.E.D. oil in the loom may be a problem, but not always the cause of non starting or rough running issues.