Hawklord

I have always used 15w40 mineral oil for my 300TDI which has now done 210,000 miles. You may remember from a previous post I have a problem with the oil pressure in as much that the longer between starting the engine the longer it takes for the oil light to go out and this has been going on for many years so I now start the engine daily and the light goes out quickly. Would using a different grade such as 10w/40 or different type of oil such as semi-synthetic possibly improve this issue.

I had also replaced the plastic sockets which the relays plug into and cleaned up the spade sockets on the end of the wires before pushing back in. The strange thing is that the low beam wires for both headlights are soldered together and come out of the same terminal so odd that only one was working. However pulled all connectors to the lights apart once again to cleaned and now both headlights are working again 😁.

Why is nothing simple and easy with a Land Rover ☹️. Changed the relays and all works except for the passenger side low beam, put the old relays back in and same issue. Pulled off the headlight bulb connector and there is 12v going to the low beam spade terminal in the connector when low beam is selected but when the bulb is inserted into the connector the voltage measures 0v. How is this possible ?. I have checked the bulb on a battery and both low and high beam filaments work.

Update Bled the PAS with the wheels on the ground and noise still there so jacked up the front axle and could hear the noise when turning the steering wheel lock to lock. Got the wife to turn the wheel with me laying under the front and found it to be the steering damper groaning as it extended and compressed. Thankfully much easier fix compared to replacing the PAS pump or steering box. Any advice on which make to go for, I only use the vehicle mainly for road use.

I had an issue with the low beam not working and found the fault to be corroded pins on the Boomslang relay. I would like to replace this relay but can't match the code on it anywhere, are all 5 pin relays the same. Halfords sell one which has the same pin diagram on it apart from the 85 and 86 pins swapped and a picture of a diode between them which my relay doesn't show.

Checked the pully with the belt off and there is no play and will bleed the steering box to see if that fixes the issue.

Not the HB shoes as I have the X-Brake conversion and the noise is definitely coming from the front. I will check the PAS pump pulley shaft as you have suggested in the morning.

Thanks Steve but definitely not UJ's as I replaced the front prop only 2 weeks ago.

Every so often there is a strange noise best described as "groaning" when driving and turning right or left. It is very difficult to pinpoint where it is coming from as a 300TDI engine is not the quietest. I have checked the power steering fluid level and it is okay and the fluid looks clean but hasn't been changed for a long time (how often should it be changed). Any ideas on what it could be.

Thanks Mike for the reply and clarification, GKN prop has now been ordered.

Can someone please offer some guidance regarding a replacement front prop shaft for my 1994 300TDI defender. The original part number FRC8386 seems to have been superseded by TVB100610G but some advertisers state this being a wide angle prop shaft. Are all prop shafts now wide angle for some reason and are they better than non wide angle, I only use my vehicle for road use and occasional dirt track. Also Hardy Spicer seems to now be an Indian company, are these going to be good quality as I can't afford a genuine one (which may also be made in India).

Problem now fixed 👍 Tried the lights today and they didn't work. Then remembered that the Boomslang wiring harness has a relay for the low beam so wriggled the relay and saw a small spark from one of the connectors and the low beam came on. Pulled out the relay and the terminals were very rusty, so cleaned them up and now all good.

Frustratingly my headlight issue has returned, went to come home last evening and no low beam so had to drive with high beam. When back home I toggled the light switch and indicator stalk multiple times and eventually the low beam worked again but I don't knew which of the 2 switch operations fixed it. When not working the low beam does not come on with the headlight switch in either the low dip or on position but in the on position the high beam and high beam flash both work via the indicator stalk. When working the low beam comes on full brightness with the light switch in both low dip or on position but this I think is due to the fact that I have a Boomslang wiring harness for the headlights. One other observation is that when moving the headlight switch from low dip to on I can here a clicking noise like a relay from behind the instrument gauge panel which I can't say I have noticed before, is there a relay there and if so what does it do and could it possibly be the cause of my problem.

When I had the same problem, replacing the hazard switch fixed it.

Thanks for your replies and I today fitted a new Lucas headlight stalk and cleaned the relay contacts (which looked clean anyway). Fingers crossed that this will fix the intermittent problem but then again it is a Land Rover.

On the Island 4x4 website there are 2 options for part number STC439G, one states Lucas and the other states Lucas Classic but the latter is £12 cheaper, does anyone know what the difference is ?

I haven't checked the fuses yet but looking at wiring diagrams it seems that there are separate fuses for right and left low beams so it would be very unlikely for both to fail intermittently at the same time. I am now suspecting that it could be the indicator stalk switch as recently it has sometimes been difficult to keep the indicators on as the switch flicks back to the central position without turning the steering wheel back and the mechanism seems quite loose.

Went out yesterday evening and lights working fine but when started the engine to come home I had no low beam headlights only high beam. Luckily the drive home was on country roads and only annoyed a few drivers with the high beam. Tested the headlights this morning and they are working correctly and can't get the low beam to fail. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I am now apprehensive about going out in the dark.

Should a 300TDI Defender 90 have a plastic bowl that the headlight fits into as mine has never had them in the 20 years I have owned it. From memory when I last changed the headlights I bought the bowls but couldn't get them to fit but they do have a rubber boot which does cover most of the back of the light. I am asking as it is time to replace the lights again.

The oil thermostat and spring were the first things that I replaced as I had the same thought although I must admit I didn't use genuine parts. Thanks for the suggestion of the touch test which I will do to make sure that the thermostat is not still stuck open.

I have finally had the oil pressure relief spring, plunger and the oil pickup 'O' ring replaced which have made absolutely no difference to my problem and so I am completely at a loss of what to do now. If I start the vehicle daily the oil light goes out after a few seconds but if I leave it 2 days it takes about 10 seconds and the time will increase the longer I leave between starts. This has been noticeable now for a few years but maybe has always done it for the 20 years I have owned the vehicle as until I retired it was driven every day of the week. As a reminder the oil pressure readings (gauge fitted) I get are as follows which seem acceptable for an engine having covered 205,000 miles.. Cold start idle 58psi Cold engine at 60mph 48psi Hot engine idle 18-20psi Hot engine at 60mph 28-30 psi. To me it seems that when stationary the oil is somehow slowly leaking back into the sump meaning that the pump has to recover the lost oil before showing a pressure. The engine doesn't make any noises above what a 300TDI normally sounds like and pulls well through the gears. Clutching at straws but Is there anyway that the oil between the filter housing and pressure switch can drain so creating an air lock which takes time to clear and register a pressure. Any further ideas/advice would be more than welcome.

I had the same question a few years ago for my 1994 300TDI and there is a post on this forum if you search for it. I ended up fitting the spacer as the splined part of the CV measures 22mm and the shaft splined length up to the clip ring is 30mm meaning that there is 8mm 'spare' which happens to be the length of the spacer TYF000010 so I 'assumed' that is should be there.

Have you tried Last Transmissions in Newbourne, they have overhauled the gearbox and transfer box on my Defender in the past. https://www.lasttransmissionslimited.com/ Craig Last was the contact back then and he was into Land Rovers.

Steve, what colour is the Dirko HT sealant.

The Britcar site doesn't show an image, was it in a tube ? I am only a few miles from Britcar so can collect. Thanks for your help.