nickwilliams

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/consumers-urged-to-check-vevor-products

This thread is now 15 years old. It would be nice to think there have been some improvements in the technology since then, although I fear that's probably not the case! I slung my Abnox side handle cartridge loaded gun across the yard last night in frustration at it yet again failing to mange more than one nipple's worth of grease before it stopped pumping. What's the current thinking on good and reliable greasing technology?

Over the last ten years or so, I've managed to destroy five of the standard Denso 300TDi arcon pumps by using them for this. I've tried lubricating them with grease, PAG and mineral oil and both by having a facility to squirt oil direct into the inlet end of the pump and by having a mister dosing oil into the inlet -coming air stream. I have to admit that I've usually been doing a lot more than just airing up a set of tyres: multiple sets is more common, or I've been driving air tools such as a nail gun for fencing or using it for blowing optical fibre down a duct. On every occasion, sooner or later the pump overheats and seizes up (usually fairly quickly followed by a loud squealing noice and failure of the drive belt in a cloud of black smoke...). So, I'd be interested to hear from anyone who really has managed to get this working in the long term with one of theses Denso pumps. Before I swapped the 19J engine for the 300TDI I had a Sanden compressor which worked without any issues for some years, but it needed a custom mount made to fit it to the engine. The 300 TDi has the mount ready and waiting so it seems a shame not to use it. I suppose it would not be too difficult to make a thermal cut out which would disengage the clutch when the pump reaches a pre-set temperature, but my favoured solution is to use the air compressor off a Merlin.

Just make sure they pack them properly.....

Does anyone have any experience of this: https://www.onlinegearboxparts.com/product/defender-300tdi-red-booster-clutch-assist-servo-kit/ Or maybe if not this specific product then any feedback on the supplier would also be useful. I’d be interested in how it compares with this: https://www.paddockspares.com/clutch-pedal-assist-kit-defender.html Apart from being 20x the price!

Response from Simon (who is on moderated posts since he is a new member here):

I'm posting this for my brother, Simon, who has recently taken delivery of a Series 88in Station Wagon re-build project from my son, Zak. Simon has actually owned the vehicle since the 1970's and it's the vehicle I learned to drive in. However, it fell into disuse around 1985 or so and has spent the intervening years slowly dissolving away in a field. Then, a couple of years ago, Simon came to an arrangement with Zak for Zak to re-build it onto a galvanised chassis with view to getting it roadworthy again. To briefly summarise the (much longer) account below, the problem is that the engine runs for about 15 minutes and then stop abruptly. Simon has tried lots of tests and substitution of bits such as the injector pump but none of them have made any difference. We're now looking for ideas of what to check next. Here is Simon's account of the problem. ---------- 1. Background Land Rover Series 2A 2.25 litre 3 bearing crank diesel, vintage 1980 ish, rebored and new pistons. Bottom end unchanged at rebuild. Probably needs a new oil pump – oil pressure low (20 psi) with engine at running temperature. Engine is fitted in vehicle (88in station wagon). Reconditioned DPA pump fitted, timed using the recommended jig and the procedure as per the Rover instructions. Injectors checked and re-fitted as serviceable initially, though events superseded this and they have since been replaced. Coolant level in radiator is normal, oil level in sump marginally low (but needs replacing). 2. Symptoms Engine starts OK, not eager and needs heater plugs but then it always did. Copious blue smoke clears after 5 mins or so. Runs at idle for about 10 mins then you can hear the idle speed slowing. Over the next five minutes or thereabouts idle gets slower and some black smoke from the exhaust. If you rev the engine with the throttle during this phase the engine revs rise very slowly despite snapping the throttle open (poor throttle response), when you let go again the idle speed is lower until it eventually peters out. Engine stops abruptly as if it has seized (no compression bounce). As quick as I can insert the crank handle and turn the engine with no evidence of seizure. Cylinder head temperature is 70 to 80 deg C measured with non contact IR meter. During the latter stages of running the engine loosening the fuel feed banjo at the DPA pump shows a shower of fuel, there is no evidence of lack of fuel. I have fitted transparent pipes to the fuel supply, no bubbles. Engine will restart though reluctantly – needs a lot of throttle to keep it running. Allow engine to cool back to ambient, then engine will restart exactly as per the above, idle for the same time, shut down in the same way. Absolutely text book fuel starvation! Except there is plenty of fuel at the DPA pump top banjo. Driving the vehicle shows normal level of power for the first five mins or so after start, then rapidly diminishing until the vehicle won’t propel its own weight (low ratio on level ground!), then the engine dies as above. 3. Investigations/activities tried so far - Advanced injection timing. Initial setting as per setting gauge sounded retarded, so DPA pump advanced till it sounded right. Improved the initial start up, also reduced the quantity and length of time blue smoke emitted from exhaust. May have contaminated the engine oil with diesel fuel running it with the original setting for the injection timing. Injector 4 not contributing (much) to running – exhaust manifold at cylinder 4 cold for several minutes after start. - Checked fuel pick-up pipe in tank for leakage/blockage. Nothing to see. Fuel tank is open to atmosphere. - Changed fuel pipe from pick-up to lift pump for flexible hose. No change. - Changed fuel filter. No change. - Re-piped fuel lines looking for obstructions. Checked connections are exactly as per published diagram in the work shop manual. Fitted transparent piping looking for air bubbles. Nothing. - Swapped engine mounted fuel lift pump for electric one. No change. - Reverted to mechanical pump. Measure fuel delivery pressure at fuel filter outlet, steady at about 2 psi unchanged as the engine slows and stops. Obviously this pressure collapses once the engine has stopped. - Swapped rebuilt DPA pump for another of indeterminate parentage (ebay purchase). Set the injection pump timing (position) as per the pump taken off. No change. - Check cylinder compression pressures cold and hot. Results as follows: Cold 1 = 23bar, 2 = 31 bar, 3 = 30 bar, 4 = 24 bar. Hot 1 = 23 bar, 2 = 30 bar, 3 = 29 bar, 4 = 26 bar. So effectively unchanged. Cylinder head temperature (IR probe) measured 20 degC cold, 85 degC immediately after engine stop. Pressure checked by removing all four heater plugs, and connecting the compression tester with an adaptor into each glow plug port in turn. - Removed exhaust and inlet manifolds check for obstructions (rag?) Nothing to see. - Ran engine with exhaust loose at exhaust manifold (is the exhaust blocked?) No change. - Checked injection pump actual timing. I bought a Gunson piezo sensor based adaptor to trigger a timing light from the injection pulse. This showed the engine running solidly at about 12 deg BDC injection start, not 15 deg as per workshop manual, measured at tick-over. As the engine heated up and slowed the light flash got less reliable, though what flashes it did trigger showed the injection timing didn’t change as the engine slowed. Not sure if this shows the sensor/trigger operation is not 100%, or is this evidence of a poor injection pulse (indicating no fuel?) - Changed all four injectors for reconditioned ones. Testing of the originals elicited the comment that 3 was OK, 1 and 2 were “not the best”, and 4 was useless. Fitting the replacements made the blue smoke emission immediately after start better (less of it) and for less time, but has made no difference to the engine shut down after about 10 to 15 minutes. - I have a minor leak on the injector pipes 2 and 4, but slackening any injector pipe causes the engine to run rough and slow. Exactly as one would expect. Haven’t tried this with the engine hot and slowing. - Removed thermostat capsule hoping to prevent engine heating up. No change, though the measured cylinder head temperature was much the same at engine stop as with thermostat fitted. - Ran engine with radiator cap removed. Plenty of coolant circulation, no evidence of bubbles at the radiator header tank. Engine stops after 10 – 15 mins exactly as above. 4 Suggestions for Further Work My understanding is that it is possible to measure the DPA pump transfer pump fuel discharge pressure by removing a blanking bolt on the side of the DPA pump. If the DPA pump is being starved internally this could cause the symptoms seen. But how come I have two the same? Can anyone confirm how to do this and that the bolt opposite the body bleed screw is the right measurement port? Would need to make a special banjo fitting – no problem. - Take cylinder head off, looking for evidence of scuffing in the bores pointing towards momentary seizing. It’s an expensive experiment when I have no real evidence of seizure. - What are symptoms as of a cracked cylinder head? Note no evidence of bubbles in the radiator whilst running or water contamination of the engine oil. - Engine breather generates considerable fumes once it reaches running temperature. I can’t see why this should cause it to shut down, but any thoughts? ----------------- I'm of the view that this problem need solving by measuring various parameters such as fuel delivery pressure, injection pressure, exhaust temperature etc until we understand exactly what's happening when it stalls. It's not going to be cured just by swapping bits until it works properly. So, suggestions of what to measure and why it would help would be welcomed. We'd welcome any further ideas for things to check, or any other insight!

Galvanising on the inside of the tank will be stripped off by the fuel, usually in little flakes which will block your fuel filter (if you're lucky).

Does that mean it's 250mm across the outside of the flanges? I made mine out of 100 mm, and I can confirm it's not really strong enough for use with a 35t ram, never mind a 50.

The chequer plate was necessary because the floor panel and the side panel had started to part company. The base plate is made out of 5mm plate and the side is made from 3mm and they are welded together along the joint (it was the first piece of aluminium welding I did when I got an AC/DC TIG more than a decade ago). The assembly is pop rivited in place with mudguard washers on the back of the pop rivets to stop them ripping out. There is a steel bush held in place with a single M8 bolt which is the anchor for the inboard end of the door stay. The bush is fixed and the end of the door stay has a slight clearance on diameter and thickness so it rotates around the bush as the door moves. The M8 bolt is screwed through a piece of 3mm thick stainless and the 5mm plate and held tight with a flange nut. The stainless plate is in turn pop rivited to the aluminium to give it the maximum possible rigidity. No, they were some I just bought from Struts-R-Us or something similar I found on line. Yes, the wind caught the door when it was left open in a high wind and just ripped the piston out of the strut. Cue one oily puddle on the floor and a door straining at the hinges trying to fold itself right round the side of the vehicle! I think the main reason to be using a gas spring is because it makes opening a door which has a spare wheel hanging off it much more manageable. I don't keep my spare on the back door so the novelty of having the door spring open when I opened the latch was fine for a while but got a bit tedious eventually since the door either had to be shut, or fully open. It's pretty good, actually. I have had it blow closed once, I think, but that was in a real hoolie. Because it has a defined open position with a detent it doesn't bounce around as the wind gusts like the gas spring used to. Of course, the Disco door is a lot heavier than the Defender rear door, but that just makes the positioning of the Defender door more positive. One thing which at first I thought would be a nuisance but I've come to like is that the Disco strut has a half-way open position which is surprisingly useful for example if you want to leave the back door partially open when the vehicle is in the garage drying out. Another major benefit of the Disco strut is that now I'm of an age where standing on one leg for any length of time isn't always a recipie for staying upright, it's clearly capable of handling the strain of using the door to lean on when changing before or after a caving trip!

At risk of being accused of hijacking the thread, coming back to the original topic, I have managed to destroy two gas struts (one and then another) when the wind caught the door, so I gave up on struts and instead fitted a rear door stay out of a Discovery.

I'm not familiar with the layout of the wring on a TD5 era vehicle, but the headlight wiring probably runs down both wings between the outer skin and the wheel arch liner, just as it does on earlier vehicles. Unlike earlier (pre 300TDi era) vehicles, however, the wiring on a TD5 uses Econoseal connectors instead of the bullet connectors used on earlier vehicles. Splicing into a loom with bullet connectors is a doddle but your options on a TD5 loom will be more fiddly. I would not normally recommend anyone to use Scotchlock connectors for anything, but in this case your only other option is probably to cut the main beam feed wire, slide some self-adhesive lined heatshrink over the one of the cut ends, strip back the insulation on both cut ends for about 20 mm and twist together and then solder the two ends plus the connecting wire before slidng the heatshrink back and shinking it. You wil then have a joint with one wire coming out of one end and two out of the other. While it is still hot, take a pair of snipe nosed pliers and squeeze the heatshink between the wires on the side where there are two and this should help the heatshrink to fully seal around both. You'll need a heatshinking gun to do the job properly, and it will still be fiddly as hell and awkward to get at pretty much everywhere except possibly behind the headlight bowls. Using a Scotchlock connector will be much, much quicker and easier, but they leave a hole in the insulation when they are removed and if you use the wrong size you can end up damaging the original wiring. I would fill the inside of the connector with silicone grease (or Vaseline) before you fit it, since although it won't repair the holes, it will do a lot to keep water out of the joint, which is the usual reason why they fail.

Download the TD5 electrical diagrams book (widely available on the web) and that will help you identify which wires do what.

The cranking current on my 300TDi is about 160A, but that number doesn't really have much to do with the rating of jump lead connectors since connectors are rated on the basis of continuous current whereas the starter current is rarely applied for more than a few seconds. If all you are doing is providing a boost to a vehicle which has a battery which is flat (e.g because someone left the lights on) but is otherwise known good then your jump leads don't need to be very big because all you need to do is put enough charge in the flat battery for it to be able turn the engine over a few times so it will start. The flat battery will help keep the system voltage within reasonable lmits and there isn't much chance of damaging any electronics on either vehicle. However, if you are dealing with vehicles which require a significant amount of cranking to get them started, and/or which have a knackered battery, then you will potentially be drawing the full starter current through the jump leads. In these circumstances you need at least 25mm sq cable, and preferably bigger. You also need really hefty crocodile clips on the ends of the cable, and a good joint between cable and clip. Sizing of the cable in these circumstances isn't about the current rating of the cable, it's about keeping the circuit resistance as low as possible so that the starter motor on the vehicle being jump started spins as fast as possible. IMHO jump leads should be made out of the thickest wire you can reasonably afford. Mine are made out of 35mm sq welding cable. I use these connectors: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/industrial-power-connectors/3826215/ which I think are superior to Anderson connectors since they have a bigger contact area (and hence a lower contact resistance). I've got one connector mounted on the front of the seat box so it's easily accessible with the passenger door open, and a second one mounted on the box which covers the back of the near side rear lights so it can be used with the rear door open. I've found this combination means that you can pretty much always orient the donor vehicle and the one being jump started so that my 2m long leads will reach far enough (although I do have a 2m extension cable as well if I need it). Having the connectors inside the vehicle protects them from weather and road dirt, which otherwise would cause undesirable corrosion on the contacts. Both connectors are linked back to the battery in 35mm sq cable and can be switched on or off using a battery isolator switch mounted on the seat box.

I have heated screen front and rear and heated mirrors. They are all just controlled through a 30A relay by the rear window heater switch. This means they have the voltage sensing relay which stops them working unless the engine is running, but there is no timer - and in winter I frequently leave them on permanently. I also have a 100A alternator. I'm not saying thiis the 'right' way to do it, but it works for me.