piper109

I am suspecting the master cylinder too but I cleaned it out thoroughly a couple of months back with very fine wet and dry and replaced the seals with the original brand. The bore was good and it has been working fine otherwise. I kind of feel that if the slave cylinder was faulty, the reservoir fluid level would have dropped and air might have got in but does not seem to have happened. Steve

Clutch lever was replaced 6 months ago and it recovered completely so I don't think that is the problem. Steve

My wife was driving my 300tdi. New seals were fitted to both clutch master and slave cylinders a few months back. She came up to a light and the clutch pedal went to the floor and the engine stalled. The pedal would not come up so she pulled it up with her foot and it came back with a pop. A couple more tries and it started working again, coming back with a pop each time. She was able to drive on and by the time she got home the pedal was completely normal, engaging at the usual height. I asked her to check fluid level and it was normal. I know the pedal has an over centre helper spring which will hold the pedal down if there is no resistance so that's why it stayed down and then came back with a pop. I'm trying to figure out what happened. Maybe there was some ice inside the cylinder which pushed the seal open and then moved away. It was above freezing at the time but it had been below overnight. I don't think air got in as these seem to a devil to bleed but the pedal seems normal again. Any ideas??

I have found it frustrating even using an Eazibleed kit. I agree it works better but my purged clutch has always engaged very close to the floor but after a couple of weeks it seems to have remedied itself. Somehow the air works out. I think its because the clutch line goes above the reservoir. Steve

Purging the air out of the clutch hydraulics can be frustrating. If it's drivable, go ahead and use it. It will probably get progressively better. Steve

Disco 1 SD. More of the white stuff to come over Christmas !! 2nd try

Disco 1 SD. More of the white stuff to come over Christmas !!

I have done a swap to replace a V8/auto in a 99 D1 with a 300tdi/5 sp from a 96 model Disco. Its quite straightforward going that way because the electrics become simplified. The tdi only needs a few wires to run especially if the EGR is removed. The Disco 1 I believe is very similar to the RR classics of the same period. It is necessary to remove the fuel pump from the in tank unit and replace the pump space with a piece of fuel tubing. If you are careful to keep the transfer case in the same place, everything will fit nicely but the engine mounts on the tdi are set back further than the V8 mounts. I cut mine off and rewelded the tdi mounts in. Most of the other stuff, rad, expansion bottle, air cleaner etc fit straight in with very little effort as holes already exist. I had the added job of fitting the 2 pedal arrangement with a clutch pedal etc using parts from a RHD assembly to my LHD assembly but even that turned out quite simple. As for me, I have a hard time understanding why folks want to drop in such a gas guzzler engine when its so easy to tune up the 300tdi. Sure its a slower engine and noisier but its also a lot of work to create a thirsty beast. Given the abundance of 300tdi engines, I would think that getting a good used one would be a better proposition than repairing one that had had a big breakdown. Steve

The valve stem seals I found before were blue and are for the V8 engines. I have found an ad for ETC8663 for the 200tdi which are green. As far as I can tell the 300tdi uses the same. Steve

I have removed the valve cover and looked at the valve stem seals. They are very hard to see, buried inside the valve springs. I removed the rocker shaft to improve visibility. I believe they are all in place. I had to spray some WD-40 in there to see them clearer. These seals are yellow whereas the ones I have seen on the internet are blue. It must be very tricky to push down those seals with the springs in place. I'm intrigued to know how you did it, what tool you used and how did you achieve visibility? I also removed the breather pipe and it was slightly wet with oil but only a little. Same with the intercooler pipe. I ran the engine with the intercooler disconnected from the intake manifold and no oil seemed to be coming out, just air, even at higher revs. I suppose if there is sufficient oil in the intake manifold, some can run in through an open valve. Oil consumption of this engine is not really high, about 1/2 litre in 5000 miles. I suppose I'm a bit suspicious of the stem seal quality as there seems to be so much "aftermarket" stuff around of dubious quality and reputation. Are the OEM seals blue? Steve

Thanks, What did you do. Did you manage to push them down through the springs somehow. Any tricks you used? Can you home me in on the recent discussion? Thanks again, Steve

That connector is just a way of allowing air to escape from the system both from the top of the rad and the thermostat housing. I think its shaped the way it is to discourage the bubbles from getting trapped. I recently had a slight overheating problem also. The needle would climb on very long gradients. Mine ended up being a partially plugged up radiator and a good pressure flush (water plus compressed air) at a local radiator shop fixed it in seconds. Some black rubbery stuff was forced out of the passages. It runs cool now. Steve

It looks like good old fashioned oil burning blue to me...a bit whitish. If you have ever heard a 2 stroke engine that's too rich,on choke,it sounds like its firing every other stroke. While its putting out smoke it sounds like that, that's why I said it was 8 stroking. A while back when I replaced all 4 glow plugs, 2 of them were wet with oil. I'm not sure how they can get oil on them unless oil is dripping off a valve in open position and I cant guess whether its inlet or exhaust. If its getting burnt its probably inlet but I'm assuming they might all be bad.

Repaired 300tdi engine. Recent rebore and new AMC cylinder head about 20k miles ago. Engine was bought used. Repair was done in a shop somewhere in Shropshire. Car is 99 SD Disco, last of the D1's When I start up from cold in the morning, I sometimes get a fair bit of blue smoke. When it smokes, the engine does not rev cleanly but rather "8 strokes". The smoke clears up after 100 yds or so and oil consumption is very little, almost negligible. A rebuilt turbo was supposedly fitted, with larger impellor. I think it is bad valve stem seals (probably poor quality when fitted) as the 8 stroking I believe tells me that oil is messing with the combustion whereas a turbo leak would not do that. I live in 2 places, one is in the lowlands about 300 hundred feet above sea level. The other is at 3200 ft above sea level and it smokes much worse at the high altitude. My neighbours are contemptuous of my smoky old Land Rover as it fogs the neighbourhood. Any opinions? Am I on the right track thinking its valve stem seals? Anything else to check before I replace them? I plan on doing them with the head on as the engine runs great otherwise and it seems a shame to lift the head just for that. Thanks for your help.

Clean concrete with muriatic acid. Use Red-ex soak to free engine. Steve

I have used a 2 speed fan from a Volvo 92 on 740/960 (from breakers) mounted in front of the engine to replace the viscous. This fan is designed to cool the engine not just the a/c. Note that I have 300tdi not V8 but the viscous fans look about the same size...just turn in opposite directions. The Volvo fan pulls 8 amps in low and about 14 in high. I use the Volvo relay to switch it with an X-fan switch.

I found that in heavy rain it worked very well. I also put in on all side windows, rear window etc as that made the water dispel much quicker. The problem I had was when rain was very light or misty, using the windscreen wipers left lots of tiny water balls over the wiped area which I found really annoying. I still use it but I keep it off the windscreen which seems to defeat the purpose but I love it on all the other windows, mirrors etc.

Excuse my ignorance but what is a poly 2 pack or poly 3 pack and who makes them? Thanks

Usually the diesel oils are a bit heavier duty but I think the real differences are in the additive package. Diesel oils have to contend with more soot. I would not hesitate to use a good diesel oil in a gas engine but I would hesitate the other way round. Check the ratings on the lable My personal preference is for synthetic oils.

According to Consumer comparisons (TireRack) this side of the pond, Firestone Destinations are very close to the top. I am very pleased with mine. Time will tell how long they last.

Felicitations pour un travail bien fait !!

If you can access the flex plate on the section below the ZF, you could bolt a stop into a flex plate hole to prevent rotation. I have done this with a bare engine (no g/box). Alternatively bolt in something to lock into the starter ring after removing starter.

Then how do you know when you have the right amount of fluid? (read how do you know you havent overfilled it)

Might you have a leaking front shaft seal? I have seen that problem on Bosch VE pumps but it might be possible on that pump too. Some people mask the problem with an electric fuel pump that operates for the duration of the glow plugs' glowing. Not needed on the tdi's I have heard too that if you fill the IP with transmission fluid, leave it for about 24 hours,it will swell seals ever so slightly and fix leaks very temporarily. If that works then returns, it might give something to go on.

I had heard (but get confirmation) that the only body part the D2 has in common with the D1 was the back door.