Td5 weak/ stalls when towing - gutless!

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

keany

New Member
Posts
9
Hello everybody,

I have a 54 Defender and wanted to run this one past you as I'm quite inexperienced.

I was towing my father in laws old Mazda pickup up the yard ( slight incline) and three times as I took up the slack my Landy stalled no matter what revs I gave it. Revs died and engine stalled. As soon as it needed to make an effort it just died!

I resorted to switching to low range which did the job but not too convincingly. Wasn't a huge weight to tow. I should be able to tow 2 ton of cattle trailer with this thing!!

Could this be a problem with the clutch - haven't noticed any obvious slipping but does occasionally it gives a little "bump bump bump/ judder" when pulling away in first. Feels like it couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding......

Thanks a lot for your help - I'm learning slowly but surely!
 
Hi thanks for your reply.

The MAF was replaced recently as I thought that might have been the problem. Didn't show any improvement .
 
Has it been misfiring? Check to see if there's oil in the ECU plug under the seat.

Is the turbo boosting okay?

You may need to get a diagnostic machine plugged in to see if there's a fault, and how the turbo's doing.

It could be a stuck turbo actuator if it's not boosting well.
 
Hi,

My TD5 did similar when I first got it. I noticed that I'd stalled it a couple of times ... I found it quite amusing that I could stall an engine like this. Then it became easier to do. Eventually she started to cut out on me for no apparent reason. In the end it took me 4 months of trial and error and eventually, as a second last resort, I dropped the fuel tank to fit a replacement pump and that was when I found my tank had a lot of contamination in it and the build up of "gunk" was partially blocking my pump's intake filters. That was almost two years ago and she's been going like a train ever since.

I hope this helps, I started by cleaning the oil out of the ECU plugs, then replaced the injector harness. Then the MAF sensor. Then the fuel Pressure regulator. Even changed the Crankshaft Position Sensor, which helped me discover that the wires were brittle due to the heat, I know 'coz I broke one and had to repair that too. I got right into the 10AS security ECM as well. Basically, I found lots of things that MIGHT have been the cause, but in the end it was "gunk" in the tank fouling my fuel pump. Each time I did something I thought I'd cured it, but no it still kept cutting out (when it did this, I found if I left it untouched for 36 hours she would start up again.)
 
The judder when pulling away in first gear could be a warped pressure plate my. Brother had it on his 300 tdi also as said take your tank off an clean the pump out had that on a mates td5 after he ran out of derv. his gauge would read half full an it was empty after we cleaned it out it was like new an the gage even read normal don't forget you will need to bleed the fuel system if you take the tank off .......switch the ignition on an press the accelerator 5 or 6 times an let it pump through
 
Thanks very much for all your replies - I'll look into the points you mentioned when I'm off.

Cheers!
 
keany said:
Thanks very much for all your replies - I'll look into the points you mentioned when I'm off.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Let us know Keany when you solve it ... too many people come on and get help and never say if he got the solution. We aint looking for gratitude, just knowledge.
 
Hi. My td5 was lacking in power whilst towing too. Turned out it was the catalitic convertor clogged up. Replaced it with a stainless straight through pipe and it pulls like a dream now! Hope you get it sorted.
Pughy.
 
Clanforbes said:
Let us know Keany when you solve it ... too many people come on and get help and never say if he got the solution. We aint looking for gratitude, just knowledge.
Click to expand...

Clanforbes - will def let you know, thanks for your help.

The problem I have is lack of confidence to check stuff out. Always worried I take something apart only to discover I should've left it well alone!! Expensive things these Landy's as you know!

Cheers!
 
keany said:
Clanforbes - will def let you know, thanks for your help.

The problem I have is lack of confidence to check stuff out. Always worried I take something apart only to discover I should've left it well alone!! Expensive things these Landy's as you know!

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Oh I know, but if you do decide to drop your tank be very very careful. Dropping the tank is easy enough, but if you let it fall too far before you disconnect the fuel lines the plastic clips on the pipes will probably break. So you need to lower it gently until you can get your hand in to disconnect the pipes (they are colour coded and just clip on, to remove them you squeeze the clips to get them off.) You can see the clips I'm on about here in my photo I think:

Off.JPG


Ignore the white pipe, that's an extra one I put in and the colours of my connectors will be different as I had to replace the broken ones.
 
Clanforbes said:
Oh I know, but if you do decide to drop your tank be very very careful. Dropping the tank is easy enough, but if you let it fall too far before you disconnect the fuel lines the plastic clips on the pipes will probably break. So you need to lower it gently until you can get your hand in to disconnect the pipes (they are colour coded and just clip on, to remove them you squeeze the clips to get them off.) You can see the clips I'm on about here in my photo I think:

Off.JPG


Ignore the white pipe, that's an extra one I put in and the colours of my connectors will be different as I had to replace the broken ones.
Click to expand...

Have you fitted a boat access panel too?
 
ratty said:
Have you fitted a boat access panel too?
Click to expand...

Yeah it was an obvious choice for me as I have a boat and used to be into kayaks in quite a big way. These port covers have been used for a multitude of purposes by me and many others. Perfect for the job, but I shoulda gone with a black one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

styleruk
Another A frame towing question
Replies
9
Views
430
MrF
M
S
2023 Defender 90 - towing issues
Replies
9
Views
833
tottot
tottot
GPHDISCO2
Engine stalls when brakes applied?
Replies
13
Views
1K
GPHDISCO2
GPHDISCO2
nevillen
Towing Advice
2 3 4
Replies
67
Views
4K
myfirstl322
M
kyamon
Series 3 runs rough, rich, then stalls
Replies
8
Views
1K
tottot
tottot
Back
Top