sussex-landy

Did you manage to do this as one I have recently acquired has the same, I thought it was me as my range rover was auto so hadn't had a manual 300 tdi before. Be interested to know how you got on and any pics on the way are always good. Thanks

I have diligently been working through everything on my 98 disco 1 ready to take it to its new home in the alps and have bought a set of boot seats 1. To give us some flexibility if we need them and 2. To fill the gap on one side where the previous owner had a fuel tank as he had veg oil in the main tank and I took it all out for France (it's n eBay if anyone is interested item 230981355359) the seats have come with lots of fittings and belts but no idea how they go in or if I need to modify things, even if they are worth tittle ie hassle vs benefit Does anyone have any pics or notes on doing this. Thanks

At the end of the day when you go through everything it could be the cylinder liner, I had the same on a V8 where everything looked but the air kept coming back and the first thing it hits is the heater matrix, when I removed the heads I saw small amounts of rust colouring around the edges of cylinder 3 which none have so I assumed the liner was slipped but hadnt moved as they are better than the old ones but there is still seepage around the cylinder it appears so ran it for a while and checked and the spark plug was damp with water when I put it on a tissue, not sure if this happens on diesel and which yours is. I went through all the recommendations above and looped out the heater in the end to see if air was still getting into the system and moving around the engine as the heater wasnt there to capture it now and there was loads and it kept coming and coming. If in doubt check the cylinder again for issues around the edge of the liner which will push air in and keep blocking the heater matrix, loop out the heater matrix and run it to be sure air is moving around. Mine hit 138000 and got much worse even though now i suspect it had been the source of issues over the last 12 months but the air was not enough to keep killing it and my oil was clean as it was burning off the small amount of leakage so there were no abvious signs and I just assumed it was head gaskets. Could be build up in the heater as well if you squeeze the outlet pipe you should be able to feel the flow.

I have had this on my early discovery and my range rover P38 its air in the heater matrix I had to rev the engine to clear it when it was cold in the morning with the cap off the tank so the air could be flushed through and feel the pipes to make sure its flowing around leave the heater off as its a pass through and the outlet pipe should get hot and if its not the heater wont do anything anyway. I found revving around 3000 rpm then letting it settle squeezing the pipes then revving again got it moving as its getting hot put the cap on the tank and run it upto normal temp then rev it some more and let it cool as you dont want ari blocking the thermostat and pushing it into bypass mode causing it to overheat. I had a heater matrix with air for three weeks no heat and the temp sat in the middle but I was just cruising around under 2000 rpm so it never shifted it until I revved it up and down randomly. If you get the heater working ok and cant feel any air in the pipes and it does it again chances are your introducing air through either the head gasket or slipped liner if you have checked for the basic leaks and stuff. I wouldnt use the car unless you have to as its a dodgy situation if the air moves in a large volume and blocks a pipe somewhere, I had it happen to me and coolant blew out the tank all over the road.

I did disconnect something on the back of the lhs head (as your sat facing forwards in the vehicle) but I am sure I reconnected it, its a little strange as no fuel comes out either feed and I would have expected it to squirt out with the bleeder open. Will check it all again today, been through RAVE this morning and there is nothing special like with the diesels so should just pump the fuel up unless I have missed a sensor off. thanks

After over twenty years of owning series 3's I have now sold them and bought a left hand drive discovery 1998 5 door which amazingly had 1 owner from new and will be preparing it ready for the alps. If anyone is interested it has a veg oil system in it for cheap fuel which works well but I don't want it for the alps so I will be selling it, it would go directly into discos or defenders from what the info says and will take new or used veg oil lightly filtered which you can get for around 10p per litre is still fitted so can be seen running and fitted at my place as it would need taking out of my vehicle first. I also have a small issue, the wheels have a locking nut which the owner can't find does anyone know how I can get a specific one or does anyone have this one in the pic I could borrow to remove them.

Done the gaskets and put it all back together 100% but won't start just turns and no fuel comes out the two feeds eieither to the injection rail or auto choke in the air intake. It's was all good before I took the heads off, even opened the bleed valve on the backnof the injection rail and put the key at position 2 a few time to give the pump time to pump fuel and yes there is fuel in the tank. Is there some process to get it moving or would something cut out the pump even though its turning over fine. Thanks Robert

If the liners are loose but dont have visible signs of dropping is there any good places that can refit decent liners to the block if I take it out. Also is there any stuff you can put in the coolant to seal them not that I would with cracked heads or blocks but liners might be worth it. thanks

Got down to the injection manifold which will be coming off today but wanted to know if anyone puts the heat shields back on the exhaust manifolds as mine didn't play ball so got opened like a can of tuna not sure it needs much shielding or if I should get new ones. also the plenum gaskets looks a little worn and bent with some black sealant type stuff so wondering if I should get as new one as I suspect this has been opened before due to how loose some of the bolts were which on the injection manifold is a little surprising especially considering mine is a 1 owner vehicle so could have had some minor issues found then sold on, still have my fingers crossed it wont be a slipped liner or cracked heads might even be the bolts have been loose and loosened off even more on the runs up and down to the alps since I bought it. I got a bunch of what looks like valve guide seals any changed these before and are they easy to do and worth doing, never had stuff like this on my old 3.5 V8. thanks

Looking through rave for torque setting for heads and I was not sure what this means. get to 20nm then add 90 degrees seams a little vagueanyone know of a specific value like the 3,5 v8 had Cylinder head bolts: +* Stage 1 20 Nm ................................. 15lbf.ft Stage 2 Then 90 degrees ................................. Stage 3 Further 90 degrees .................................

Thanks, I take digital pics at stages so I can check where it all goes got used to doing it on my hybrid which had nothing standard. When you say timing chain I wasn't going to do that yet as I shouldn't need to take the cover off for the heads so wanted to prove everything was good with new gaskets before working on the timing cover oil leaks and a new chain. I would prefer to finish the head gaskets before I start another job then do the oil change and timing just in case there is a liner issue and I px it. Thanks Robert

My head gasket needs changing and while I have rebuilt a few V8s on my series the p38 4.0 looks a little messy. Anyone done it and any areas to look out for or jobs worth doing at the same time. Looking to get one of the full gasket sets with bolts and do it in a day, give the heads and rockers a good clean up. Thanks

As a follow up I have found the issue and now konw why air is getting in. just removed all the plugs again after they looked good a few weeks ago and now one is pretty wet with water so its a head gasket change. The oil showed no sign of water which didnt help.

I have had two p38s and one I bought new on a Y plate back in 2001 top of the range HSE diesel 2.5 loved the car but went like a snail and I released the more loaded they are the more there is to go wrong although nothing major broke but sold it after five years (lost £30k) on it) and bought a used one V8 4.0 as its faster than the diesel and more reliable than the 4.6 went for most basic I could find no sunroof, electric seats etc etc i bought it 5 years ago on a 2001 Y plate with 119000 on the clock, full dealer service history with 1 owner and paid £4000 it's had little things done by me, brake discs, pads, mac, plugs, leads and exhaust and been great for running up and down to the alps and as much as I am having an annoying overheating issue at the moment I have had almost five years of trouble free use and taken it to some harsh environments where bmw, Audi and VW 4x4s were getting stuck and needed a tug from me. With a few spares there is nothing you can't fix and parts are easy to come by as long as you have space. I just replaced the front bumper and wings as the wife had a small argument with a tree and it cost me £60 and some spray and it looks like new. Well worth the diags tool but I don't think there is an OBDII interface on older than 2000/2001 cars from what I was told and personally I would get the latest model you can find and stay clear of LPG from what mechanics I know have said as they are always fixing them and the pipes can have problems or the engine will not run as good as it did on petrol. I get 25 mpg cruising down to the alps on the motorway with four of us and the dog sitting around 65mph as a guide worse was 22mpg but plugs, timing, maf and air leaks can all change this so regular maintenance on a P38 is a must in my opinion. Good luck with what you decide and stick with this forum there's a great bunch of people on here and wealth of experience.

Did you visibly see a leak, I have bypassed the heater matrix to rule it out and bled it to death until no air it present then I run it and the header tank goes down upto a 1cm and I can fell more air gurgling around which blocks it up sometimes and the temp goes up at which point I turn it off. When the heater was connected I used to feel the matrix and return pipe go cold and I knew air had moved but can find how the air is getting in and there are no leaks. I have checked the oil and still no cloudiness and all spark plugs are the same none look steam cleaned so doesn't look like heads, I kind of wish it was then I would just get on with doing them although its a bitch to do. I could bypass the throttle housing as it doesn't do much just to make sure, I think it's just an in/out setup to heat it n cold weather. I have to sort this as I like this car and it's Ben great for over for years but now it's randomly breaking down the wife is on my back to get rid of it for an audi 4x4