JB750

I spent many a long day/night trying to get to the bottom of my Disco 1 overheating issue, and after various components, head skims, gaskets etc. I found a pinhole in the core plug at the back of the block (the one buried by the bulkhead! > ) I whipped the engine out - over a whole day! - and replaced all the core plugs for the hell of it, I figured if one was going then the rest would probably be not far behind. That was around 1600 miles ago, and 'touch wood' she's been solid as a rock temperature-wise since. Hope that is of some help

Thanks for the replies guys I'll try the clean-up, extra earths etc. and if that fails then I'll go with a new battery. The last thing then will only be the starter motor I guess. Fingers crossed it's an earth, but knowing the way my luck runs, I doubt it.......

Cheers Peter, I'll try that in a while, although it started fine the last two times I tried

Ross, I had it on charge for the best part of 24hrs while I was putting the engine back in after sorting the coolant leak. But I guess it may have a cell on the way out which means it wouldn't hold charge properly? I did think battery because she seems to start on the first turn with a jump-start. Peter, I had to remove the earths for the engine and engine-bell housing when I removed the engine, so I think they should be OK, but i will take them off and try anyhow.

Well after spending what seems half of my life sorting out the overheating problem, I think it's sorted! (hope I'm not tempting fate ) The trouble is now, I have had an intermittent issue with starting. Sometimes she will start fine, especially when warm, but other times it will only just turn over as if the battery is flat. The battery is probably around 2 years old, but has not done many starts in that time as i have been chasing different faults on-and-off for most of that time! We went into town today (around 10 miles) and she was fine, started OK when we stopped for fuel, went into the store for some odds and sods and she started fine. Got almost home, nipped into the paper shop for no more than 30 seconds, came out and no start! Luckily someone gave us a jump start. She starts straight away when jumped so I am guessing it is only a battery issue and not earths etc.? Would the battery fail if not being used that often? When it fails to start it turns extremely slowly then after a few seconds all I get is the starter relay 'click-click-click-click' like a bl**dy woodpecker! Thanks guys

OK thanks Iain. I did think of peening over the edges slightly to help retain it. Not sure how long the washer has been 'free', but you can see marks where it has been bashed against the cover. I'll give it a go and start looking for a replacement electric version, maybe second-hand will be OK as I need to spend as little as possible now seeing as how I've spent plenty on everything else! As long as I can keep the servo assistance that is the main thing.

I thought exactly that! I wondered if that was why it had come out. Iain, I guess I would like to change it for an electric pump as you suggest, not sure how much they will be here in the UK or what spec I will need (apart from 12V) but as the pump so far seems to be working OK, would I be alright to put it back without the retaining ring temporarily as it was just floating around in their anyhow and was probably the ticking sound I got sometimes when running? I could try opening it up slightly with heat and re-fitting it which may give it some tension back but not sure. (BTW, I saw your reply about the electric pump from OZ-drag, but have no idea what I am looking for regards spec hence the question above) I did a quick eBay search but the ones I saw were almost as much, if not more expensive than the Wabco pump! JB

After finally (I hope!) sorting out my overheating/loss of coolant issue, oil change, new coolant etc. I got the engine back in and started last night. Unfortunately I now have an oil leak from the dreaded Wabco vacuum pump I found the info on re-sealing the front cover and removed the rivets and front cover to find the insides as shown. There was a washer-type piece just loose in the casing! At first I assumed it was from the part without the star clip/washer (the black valve on the left) and that it had somehow come adrift. But the valve that is in there does not seem to be able to come out of the recess so I am assuming the very small lip on the casing stops it coming out. It fits perfectly in the other recess on top of the star clip but will not stay so i am assuming it does not belong there. My last theory is that it is used to seat the clip in place evenly (I removed the clip and then reseated it and used the washer to tap it in evenly). I wondered if it is possible that it was a 'Friday' build and some wally had left it in the pump? Clutching at straws i guess but I can't think where it goes or how it has come adrift. Any help/advice is most welcome. BTW, the brakes were fine last time I had the truck on the road. JB

Finally got everything back together, engine started up pretty quickly and ran sweet. I let her run until the temp stabilised and it seemed steady and no signs of any water leaks so far. I will check her again in the morning and then try a short run to get the thermostat fully open so I can check the radiator and top hose for leaks. I did find out while searching the forum that there is a core plug behind the water pump and mounting which I didn't know about! I am not sure whether to try and replace it in-situ as I have replaced all the other core plugs as a matter of course while I had the engine out. Only thing is..........damn vacuum pump is leaking oil!! I'm going to do the repair that has been posted on the forum as the brakes seem fine, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time before the pump gives up the ghost. I am now after information on fitting an electric one (any recommended types?) and blanking off the block where the mechanical one fits. Any info would be gratefully received. Cheers

Cheers guys. New bolts are on order now, seems a small price to pay for peace of mind. After all, I am spending a fair bit of cash and a whole lash of time on it this time so I might as well go for it! I just hope after all this that the damn thing runs for more than a couple of hundred miles without issue!

OK thanks. All I've got to do now is find somewhere to buy them without paying an arm and a leg.....

I've been advised by someone else that they will be fine to re-use? Not sure what to do now

Anyone know the part number for the 8 flywheel bolts for the 300TDi? I've searched around on the internet but not having much luck. Apparently they are supposed to be replaced once removed and tightened to 146Nm Cheers.

One option I was given was the replacement of the ECU or throttle sender, but as both are ridiculously expensive and there is no guarantee they are 100% OK unless you buy new, I decided on the latter route. It was a good while ago, but if there is any info you need that I can help with just let me know. I can always take a look at ours to see what runs where. Hope you get it sorted, and keep us informed

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but this sounds awfully similar to what happened to ours a couple of years ago. I got the man with the computer in to fault find and it came back with a faulty sensor in the top of the bell housing (used in conjunction with the stupidly expensive injector in #4 pot). I spent 11hrs along with a more knowledgeable chap separating the engine/gearbox because the sensor actually broke off in the casing when trying to remove it. When we eventually got it all back together, started her up and hey presto! No change!!! Following much more 'try this and try that', including another injector pump, another stupidly expensive injector and a few other oddities, I gave up and decided to replace the EDC system. I replaced the injector pump with a non-EDC one, layed another throttle cable from the pedal to the injector pump (making the fly-by-wire throttle inactive). I removed the ECU and EDC sensors on the intake side. After sorting out all this, the truck started the easiest it had since we got it, almost zero smoke from the exhaust (pretty impressive for a Disco 1! ). From that time on she had always ran sweet as a nut. I say 'had' because I am now mid-engine removal/refit to sort out a knackered core plug at the rear of the block. Fingers crossed that your issue isn't quite so dramatic, but it certainly sounds ominous. JB