TD5 Help Needed South Wales

Firstly hello all from Sunny South Wales, been regular user of forum for a while but for life of me cant find log in details so have registered again.

I have a 2001 TD5 110 Hardtop - I use it alot for towing and recently have experienced a loss of power (as if the turbo isnt kicking in) when under load. I tow a 24' tripple axle box trailer weighing around 3 tonnes - until now it has towed like a dream but is starting to play up a little.
1st & 2nd gears appear ok but in 3rd, 4th & 5th the power goes and will struggle even on the flat let alone uphill - I have looked at the hoses for splitts etc but cant find any.
Are there any simple / obvious things to try myself before I have to send her to the garage ??

Im know this would of been asked many times before but any ideas will be greatly recieved.

Cheers, Ryan.

Hello mate

Can't help I'm afraid but am in the same situation as you.

I tow a 3.5T tipper trailer and ever since we got it, it has struggled to tow it (in my opinion). Fully loaded with chestnut posts I'm sometimes down to 1st / 2nd coming up some of the hills in Sussex.
It just doesn't seem to have the grunt to pull through the gears?

So far I have:

- Replaced injector harness as slight trace of oil in ECU red plug
- replaced MAF with genuine one
- Removed and cleaned MAP sensor on inlet manifold
- Checked waste gate for movement (slightly stiff but ok now)

It recently went for a service and they plugged it in but all reading came back ok. Without the trailer it seems to pull fine but once under load (even with the trailer empty [about 1T]) it struggles. I've checked the trailer as well any it free wheels fine plus I regularly tow a 3.5T forestry road trailer and its the same.

Been looking to getting it chipped but not sure unless the engine is running as it should.

Only thing I haven't checked yet is the EGR valve which from the out side looks quite oily - not sure whether this could be causing the lack of power?

HTH

Do TD5s have a lift pump that could be packing up, like they do on a 300 TDI?

Ive cleaned the sensor that is under the engine cover (not sure what its called) but that was in a bit of a mess to say the least and Ive blanked off the EGR, it appears to have alot more go in it now - the test will be when I tow the trailer again on Sunday !!

There is a pump in the tank and if it packs in the engine will still run but power will be way down. You can hear the pump whirring, put the ign on and press the throttle pedal 5 times this will run the pump for a few mins. the valves in the filter head can get blocked or stick shut so check them.
Air flow meter faults are common, ambient pressure sensor (if yours has one) in the air filter box if it is reading low it will cut the boost (so the turbo don't over rev at high altitude).
Cam timing is another thing to look at especially if it is stumbling at idle when cold, very easy to check and alter.
Check the exhaust isn't blocked. Boost pressure, check the little pipes and that the modulator works.
There is a filter on the EGR modulator check that isn't blocked.

Hi Ryan,

did you get any joy with towing after removing the EGR?

Might also be worth posting this in the Td5 section for more responses?

Cheers - Tim

It appears a little beter but still has intermitant flat spots - going to look MAF sensor tomorrow and the injector loom.

RyanWales said:

It appears a little beter but still has intermitant flat spots - going to look MAF sensor tomorrow and the injector loom.

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We has the same issue with our TD5 disco, the MAF sensor was knackered, we tow 3.5 tonnes with it and before it was horrificly bad at towing, replaced it and now it's full of power

Thats my next place - I checked the injector loom and that has oil in the connectors so Im going to replace that along with the injector O rings and seals. Hopefully fingers crossed that will solve the problems !

RyanWales said:

Thats my next place - I checked the injector loom and that has oil in the connectors so Im going to replace that along with the injector O rings and seals. Hopefully fingers crossed that will solve the problems !

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might be worth removing the intercooler and giving it a good flushing with turps or white spirit (be sure to let it all drain out before refitting it