dooroy

Actually it could be the gasket as you say . I had the impression that coolant came into the oil cooler through one pipe and out through another - so if there was a leak the cooler would have to be replaced . But there is only one coolant connection I now see. However what you say makes sense - the leak is from the front rounded part of the cooler so there is a gasket at that point . Thanks very much for that - will ask dealer about the gasket and try that first

Have been losing coolant for a while and it would seem the engine oil cooler is where the problem is . There are traces of a leak around it at the front end - and you can smell it when you lift the bonnet with the engine hot . I have been trying to find one on Craddocks/Paddocks sites etc but no luck . I would be afraid to ask the local main dlr the price - but I think I read somewhere that non genuine ones can fail soon again . Any ideas on where I might look for one would be appreciated . As I live in Ireland I would have no choice apart from the LR dealer . Have had a look at Rave and fitting doesn't seem too bad a job .

Was it cold at the time - were you driving slowly ? Did the gauge drop completely ? I have seen mine drop sometimes when I presume the vehicle is not generating enough heat to keep the temp up . A good check is if the heater continues to give out heat - then you should be OK . A gauge going down can be as serious as a gauge going up - if there is no coolant around a sensor then the gauge wil go down. I always pay great attention to what the heater is doing - if heater goes cold then check level no matter what the gauge is saying .

I have had the headlining out of my 2001 Td5 for the last few weeks to try to pinpoint leaks : water would drip from the sunroof handles and sometimes come out on the seat belt when you went to put it on . Has leaked very little since I took out headlining - one or two slight drips from front handle and once from where pipe is attached to rear sunroof . I think the headlining was carrying the water all over the place and it could drip down anywhere . I have read up a lot on this and hope to : (a) remove both sunroofs and reseal them to vehicle roof . You could , alternatively , run a line of wide tape around where the sunroof frames contact the vehicle roof - some have been cured in this way and it's easy to do . (b) it would appear that blocked pipes are rarely a problem but you could blow through them just in case - there is a pipe attached to the two front corners of each roof . Some have found that the boxes to which the pipes are attached are the problem - remove and reseal . © you could also check the seal the glass makes contact with - it could happen that the seal got pulled up out of its channel at some time and wasn't reseated properly . Apply some silicone grease or Vaseline to the seal to improve its sealing properties . If seal has gone hard or is damaged you can get them off ebay . (d) some reported that water was getting in from the gutters which run along the edge of the roof - again the sealing agent had failed for whatever reason . Clean and reseal .

The coolant level alarm would be a definite advantage on the 300 Tdi due to the high mounting position of the water pump - as I said earlier a small drop in level can mean the pump fails to circulate coolant leading to problems . Without the alarm you need to check level VERY regularly - and we all know that if it remains constant for a long period you begin to leave the checks further apart ; especially if its lashing rain , freezing cold etc . Of course in cold weather a sudden loss of warm air from the heater wiil usually get your attention.

When I switch on my 2001 Td5 I always hear the pump for a few seconds so it sounds like the pump has packed up . There are 4 wires going to the pump - you could check that one comes live when you switch on the ign just in case of a broken wire . And as bogmonster pointed out the feed is cut after about 30 secs or so if the vehicle isn't started - to prevent pump burnout I presume .(Spent some time on a Freelander Td4 thinking there was a wiring fault in the pump circuit before I thought of this )

1) Did coolant level drop ? I presume you checked the level before you restarted ? If it took a lot of coolant to top it up you could now have an airlock . 2) Do you mean you had some heat until the temp got up to normal - and then lost it ? 3) When you say cloud of grey smoke - was it in daylight ? Was the outside temp low ? The fact that the water pump is mounted high up on the 300 Tdi means that if the level drops in the system it can easily fall below the level of the pump - so no circulation , and likely overheating .

Failed spider was my first thought - but then realised there was no spider . Was going to run a wire to stop solenoid and by pass spider - instead I had to 'remove' the immobiliser unit bolted on to the rear of the pump ( using ***** shear bolts of course ). I then connected the wire that came live when you switched on the ignition to the stop solenoid and away she went . TBH I wouldn't have had a clue what to do without the forum .

Success - Disco is running again. Managed to get the black immobiliser box off the pump , connected middle wire of the 3 to the solenoid and it started up fine . Many thanks again for all your help - keep up the good work .

Thanks for all advice - the starter works normally and there is no red light flashing on the dash . Will check out fuel supply when rain stops - bucketing down at present . As I said I tested all 3 wires and one had a voltage which went up and down from about 10V to 11.5 V on the meter. It wouldn't light the test lamp whereas the middle one would . Lots to go on here , this was the first place I thought of when I got the call : wouldn't know where to start otherwise - will post back .

My sister has a 1998 300 Tdi which refused to start for her this evening . She drove to work as usual , no problems . When she left work this evening the Disco wouldn't start . Called the breakdown service - Disco recovered to my place where it now awaits repairs . The injection pump has 3 wires going into a black plastic cover on the rear of the pump . One of these is an earth , one has battery voltage and the third has a voltage which varies from 10.5 up to 11.4 . Does anyone know if this wire should have battery voltage . I feel that due to the nature of the problem it could be connected with immobiliser etc . Any ideas greatly appreciated . The pump has an accelerator cable - I thought by 98 they would all be EDC. ( And it is a 300 Tdi - noticed heading after posting but couldn't change it )

If the oil is being forced up the dipstick tube I would get the PCV filter changed ASAP - my bro in law's Td4 lost all its oil and he had to replace the engine ( which had only done 70K at the time ) . There was a spate of these problems around the time of his one but the problem is more widely recognised now (hopefully ) and filters are changed . I had been looking up info on this and apparently BMW supply a filter which is considered more effective and less likely to block than the the LR one . You can only get it from BMW and these nos may help : BC 10 32J1A 11 12 7 799 224 . I got these nos. of a site and the item is described as a breather .

It was a pattern part - not the genuine LR item . Have often used pattern parts in the past with no problems - these pumps though seem to be a problem . I fitted a pattern in tank pump to my own Td5 Discovery a few months back - works fine but gets noisy if fuel level allowed below about a quarter . Hope it lasts longer than the Freelander one . Thanks for reply - will see how I get on re warranty .

Last Nov I changed the in tank fuel pump in my bro - in - laws Td4 . I also replaced the engine compartment pump and filter around the same time . In January the tank pump failed again and I got a replacement under warranty - from the supplier in England . Last Wed after about 12K mls the tank pump failed again . Has anyone come across this in other Td4's - Freelander will probably be parked up for a while waiting for replacement . As it has to come from Eng it can be a long drawn out process . Is there an ongoing problem with these pumps - I got one from England in the first place as the local dlr wanted something like €488 for one one .

Thanks nicks90 - every thing looked so good I thought the problem might be elsewhere . As you say the sealant etc looks perfect . Will take them out and give them an overhaul .

I have a 2001 Td5 and as the sunroofs leaked a bit from time to time I finally decided to remove the headlining and sort them out properly . I expected to see some evidence of leaks as water dripped off the rear sunroof handle on a few occasions and sometimes when the front seatbelts were drawn out they gave a soaking to the wearer . However when I removed the headlining there was no trace of rust whatsoever - and to me both sunroofs appeared almost new . I have the Disco 2 years and it was a company vehicle and very well maintained in every way . The new appearance of the sunroofs would suggest they were replaced - and if they are relatively new where is the leak ? Would anyone with a Disco of this age have removed headlining ? and if they did was there at least some traces of rust or water ingress ? I still intend to remove them as the problem could be the seal between sunroof frame and vehicle roof . The boxes in the corners etc are perfect - sealer in place , not a speck of rust .

From past experience I don't think this is the release bearing - seems a heavier sound . And as les pointed out the SH box could mean doing the job twice . Looking at the Ashcroft site I see they have various sets for sale for the R380 such as a 7 pc bearing set or a complete set of baulk rings , bearings etc . Was wondering if anyone here has experience of fitting these kits as I feel that the bearing set for example could sort out my problem for a reasonable price . The box is fine other than the noisy bearing .

Will try what you suggest - the release bearing was replaced less than 20K ago but could still be the problem I suppose. Will ask around about a good source for a SH box - new / recon units seem very pricey considering age and miles on the Disco . I'd like to be fairly sure of a SH one as removing/refitting is a lot of work . And some breakers seem to think that ' try it and see how it goes ' is acceptable . A big difference between thinking it's OK and knowing it's OK . Thanks for your help .

Thanks for reply jimmy . I drained the box yesterday and refilled with Evo 1 from Difflock which I had lying around and it seems a bit quieter today - but as you say the problem won't go away . I live in Ireland and Land Rovers (and info about them) are a bit scarce - so a forum like this is a great source of info to me . Will see if anyone round this neck of the woods do recon boxes as I imagine getting one over from Ashcrofts would be costly -especially sending the old one back . I got a steering box from Paddocks 2 yrs ago - they added €15 carriage to send it to me . But it cost me €48 to send the old one back .

My 2001 Td5 has just over 200K on the clock and for the past few days there is a noise ( from what I suspect is the gearbox ) when the engine is idling . The noise/rattle stops when you press the clutch so I'm thinking its the bearing on the input shaft . This would be the only part turning with the box in neutral ? I fitted a complete new clutch last year including DMF - another reason I think the noise is from the gearbox . What I would appreciate opinions on is : (a) whether replacing a bearing would only be a short term fix due to the mileage ? (b) would one of the bearing and seal kits which I have seen for sale be difficult to fit properly ? © can a noisy bearing rattle away for long ?

The dual mass flywheel failed on my 2001 Td5 last year . I decided to remove the engine as I had done this before with a 300 Tdi . I do have an engine hoist and this managed the job easily enough . I took my time as I also changed the front and rear crankshaft seals ; the injector harness ; water pump ; thermostat ; a few hoses which were beginning to look the worse for wear ; and I also took off the sump and Loctited the bolt on the oil pump sprocket . I also treated the power steering pipes which run across under the radiator and were quite rusty in places . There are a lot of things you can do much easier with the engine out - and the wiring looms etc are easy enough to manage . I couldn't say how long the job took in total - but the access was great . I put back most of the spring type hose clips - if I was doing it again I would replace them with new worm drive clips . I had to replace most of them over the first month or so as they began to leak .

The first thing to check is your front wheel alignment (tracking). From your description it would appear that your the front wheels are ' toed out ' - leading to wear on the inner edges . Bear in mind that when you get the alignment set correctly , and the tyres wear evenly across their width , the inner part will become illegal before the rest of the tread . Looking at the outside of the tyre could then be misleading - make sure the wheels are turned so that you can see the full width of the tread when checking .

I used to have one of those also - until the pointer fell off . Accuracy seemed to be of concern here - these are relatively cheap tools and I don't think the manufacturer would consider them to be accurate all across the range . I have changed many belts on diesel and petrol cars and do as Jim says - being able to turn the belt about 90 degs for example on its longest run . And have never had a problem . The first time I read in the manual about changing the belt in a Disco I thought the adjustment method described was OTT.

As cipx2 says you can rig up your own ' torque wrench' - I have used a kitchen scale in the past when the required figure was low . A bit fiddly but not much point in buying a wrench for a once off job as in my case . Or else you can hang a known weight on the end of a bar - at least it will be accurate . As you say a wrench which goes up to 150 ft.lbs. will probably not be very accurate at say 10- 12 lbs . I once used a 56 lb weight on the end of a 6 ft bar to tighten the crankshaft pulley bolt in a Transporter to the required torque of 336 ft.lbs. I was amazed at how tight this was .

Had the sump off a 300 Tdi last year and put it back using RTV as Bogmonster advises . Has been leak free since . Just be sure to leave it long enough to set before use - in my case I left it 24 hrs.