Land Rover Discovery won't start

YourName

2000 Land Rover Discovery.

I have had a screaming fuel pump for a few weeks now, eventually last week it wouldn't start, ordered a new pump and changed it out. I am still haveing the same problem.

The car is trying to start, and if I put it in gear and try to pull off while its starting it will move a little, its like its not getting diesel.

Any ideas?

gctest50

You need to be careful working on the high pressure pipes around the injection pump /injectors , it will happily drive diesel straight through your skin and be a lot worse than it looks - see pic

YourName

Oh that doesn't look too pretty. I hope thats not your hand.

Any idea on how to bleed the pipes.


Cheers

gctest50

YourName wrote: »

Oh that doesn't look too pretty. I hope thats not your hand.

Any idea on how to bleed the pipes.


Cheers

Better if you can get someone used to doing it to give you a hand , they will make it look so easy.

All the below is just general rough idea of air-bleeding on older yokes

Suss all the bits below out before you start , it goes easier if you can do it all in one smooth run at it.

You need to make sure there is no air in the fuel between the tank and the injection pump first.

Don't know what is on your Discovery but sometimes there is a little pump on top of the fuel filter and a bleed screw beside it.

Or there may be a lever on the lift pump if it has one.

Put a little pressure on the button/lever , then loosen the bleed screw , then start pumping until the diesel arrives air-free , then close the bleed screw while you are pumping.

There might be a bleed screw on the injection pump itself - suss it out and start the pump,loosen screw, air-free diesel , tighten screw thing again with that.

Bear in mind for the next bit the photos rant etc above, it does happen.

You should now have diesel as far as the injection pump.

If there is air in the pipes between the injection pump and the injectors it probably won't be able to force the air out - air is way too squishy.

Loosen and retighten the nut that holds the high pressure fuel pipe on each injector ( in case any are super-tight)

One by one:
crank over the engine ( not for too long or you'll cook the starter)
slightly loosen the nut holding down the fuel pipe on each injector
wait for air-free diesel to arrive - should only take a second or two
tighten the nut back up again
stop cranking
Be mindful of the little starter motor working so hard
Move on to the next injector

101sean

Look in the handbook or download a RAVE manual. Td5s have an air purge procedure which must be followed. Normally when doing any work on the fuel system or just changing the filter you need to just turn the ignition on for 30 secs, off to rest the pump for a few secs, back on for 30 secs etc until the air is purged out, you'll hear the pump stop gurgling and go fairly quiet (it will always run quietly in background, you'll only just hear it)

If this doesn't work you have to make the ECU go in to full purge mode. Turn ignition on for three minutes then press throttle to the floor and try to start it, take foot of floor when it catches properly. Don't turn the starter for more than 30 seconds or you'll wreck it, rest it for a bit and try again.

If it doesn't go then, check you've seated the pipes properly back on the pump and in the right order. It's also been known for non genuine pumps to fail straight out of the box.

gctest50, the Td5 doesn't have an injector pump, it has EUIs fed by a common rail in the head, nothing to bleed in the old fashioned way. Good reminder of the dangers and how to get an older diesel going.

There's an ongoing Discovery Td5 thread over on the 4x4 forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056210148&page=10

YourName

101sean wrote: »

Look in the handbook or download a RAVE manual. Td5s have an air purge procedure which must be followed. Normally when doing any work on the fuel system or just changing the filter you need to just turn the ignition on for 30 secs, off to rest the pump for a few secs, back on for 30 secs etc until the air is purged out, you'll hear the pump stop gurgling and go fairly quiet (it will always run quietly in background, you'll only just hear it)

If this doesn't work you have to make the ECU go in to full purge mode. Turn ignition on for three minutes then press throttle to the floor and try to start it, take foot of floor when it catches properly. Don't turn the starter for more than 30 seconds or you'll wreck it, rest it for a bit and try again.

If it doesn't go then, check you've seated the pipes properly back on the pump and in the right order. It's also been known for non genuine pumps to fail straight out of the box.

gctest50, the Td5 doesn't have an injector pump, it has EUIs fed by a common rail in the head, nothing to bleed in the old fashioned way. Good reminder of the dangers and how to get an older diesel going.

There's an ongoing Discovery Td5 thread over on the 4x4 forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056210148&page=10

Cheers folks, going to try that in the morning. I was trying pumping the accelerator a bit, would it be possible that I could have flood the engine at all???

The pipes should all be seated right, checked and double checked, and no leak of fuel. The pump runs for a few seconds with the ignition on and then goes quiet, I presume it is still working away when it goes quiet?

How come I'm still able to pull off a little, but it still won't catch and stay running???

Ronnie Beck

YourName wrote: »

How come I'm still able to pull off a little, but it still won't catch and stay running???

Thats your starter motor driving the jeep. Don't be at it or you'll need a new one of them too. Did you get a diagnostics check done since this started happening?

YourName

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

Thats your starter motor driving the jeep. Don't be at it or you'll need a new one of them too. Did you get a diagnostics check done since this started happening?

Ok I'll stop at that so.

No I didn't, just got it towed home and got the fuel pump and fitted it today, don't have the money at the moment to go near a garage that will just start ripping me off. If I had a trustworthy mechanic I would be straight there but even when ringing around about the fuel pump I was getting told all sorts about the fuel tank having to be lowered and all.

crosshair1

Replace the injector copper washers if youve checked all else, the in tank pump is two stage - from 1st to filter in rhs rear wheel arch back to second stage and on to engine with return through filter head.
This has stopped the "miaoww" on more than one occasion for me.
Also there is a procedure for refitting the injectors

YourName

101sean wrote: »

Look in the handbook or download a RAVE manual. Td5s have an air purge procedure which must be followed. Normally when doing any work on the fuel system or just changing the filter you need to just turn the ignition on for 30 secs, off to rest the pump for a few secs, back on for 30 secs etc until the air is purged out, you'll hear the pump stop gurgling and go fairly quiet (it will always run quietly in background, you'll only just hear it)

If this doesn't work you have to make the ECU go in to full purge mode. Turn ignition on for three minutes then press throttle to the floor and try to start it, take foot of floor when it catches properly. Don't turn the starter for more than 30 seconds or you'll wreck it, rest it for a bit and try again.

If it doesn't go then, check you've seated the pipes properly back on the pump and in the right order. It's also been known for non genuine pumps to fail straight out of the box.

gctest50, the Td5 doesn't have an injector pump, it has EUIs fed by a common rail in the head, nothing to bleed in the old fashioned way. Good reminder of the dangers and how to get an older diesel going.

There's an ongoing Discovery Td5 thread over on the 4x4 forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056210148&page=10

Tried all he purging procedures this morning and still nothing. The pump sounds perfect, a small murmer for30 seconds and then quiet.

I'm not meant to have it in gear when I push the trottle in purge mode am I???

YourName

crosshair1 wrote: »

Replace the injector copper washers if youve checked all else, the in tank pump is two stage - from 1st to filter in rhs rear wheel arch back to second stage and on to engine with return through filter head.
This has stopped the "miaoww" on more than one occasion for me.
Also there is a procedure for refitting the injectors

Won't have time or expertise to the the above, looks like a mechanic for me so ! ! !

101sean

I think you have a different problem with the non starting, in or out of gear makes no difference and changing the washers probably won't make a difference unless you can smell diesel in the oil.

The only thing that will stop a TD5 dead is the Crank Position Sensor, either through a poor connection, swarf on it or a dodgy starter motor. If the starter is failing you may not notice it but it's sending a dirty electrical spike up the loom close to the sensor. If it bump starts that the problem. Any other sensor gone doesn't stop it, the ecu just guesses the fuelling.

Ideally you need someone familiar with Td5s with the diagnostic kit. Whereabouts are you?

YourName

Just to finish this one off.

It was the fuel pump in the end and I had installed it correctly, but it was heavily air locked. A mate of mine came down and cleared the air lock for me in the end.

So alls well that ends well. Cheers for all the help on here everyone. !!

101sean

That's not a problem I've heard before, glad you've got it sorted.