Sheffield

If it is fitted with EDC a faulty throttle position sensor will cause the engine to run at a steady fast idle, about 1500 as a "get home" feature. Pumping the pedal can cause the sensor to send some signals to the EDC, causing the engine to respond and run faster, but as soon as the signal is lost it returns to the fast idle. The usual problem is worn tracks on the sensor where the wiper runs to vary the reisitance in the circuit and tell the EDC how far the throttle pedal is depressed. Some say the sensor can be cleaned and restored, but in my experience that is only a temporary pallative.Tthe main problem will be getting a good sensor as a replacement as parts for the EDC system are hard to get. The other solution is to replace all the lot with the mechanical system fitted to manual gearbox vehicles.

We had a somewhat similar experience with a Range rover. I found you have to insist on keeping the vehicle to repair it, and let it be known that if they agree you will go away and be quiet. If not you will be difficult. Once I had got the message over I had no trouble at all, and even made a small profit. Because by usual standards it was an old vehicle they seemed to just assume it would be written off. I agreed to accept their offer provided I retained the vehicle to repair and they accepted that, even continuing the insurance cover.

While I understand why LR changed to the greae I do not think it is a satisfactory replacement for the oil the swivel was origially designed to use. Short of dismantling the swivel I do not see how one can check that the grease is in place and in good order, or replace it to the correct level.. Mostly it seems to be treated as a put in and forget arrangement, and that means when the grease is done so is the bearing. If the swivel leaks badly the answer is to repair it, not put in grease. If it leaks the water can also get in destroying the grease. And I agree it is better to let the wheel bearings run in oil, but the later drive flanges can leak, letting oil on the the face of the wheel. I cured this problem by using the stronger type with a screw on cap with O ring.

The problem as I see it is that when they have finished off diesels they will start on petrol vehicles. They will never be satisfied, and motorists, especially those who drive older vehicles, are an easy target. I have recently heard people saying that the wood burning stoves we have been told to use because they are "green" give off harmfully particles, so we can see how they are preparing themselves for future targets.

Our 300TDI, Discovery with an auto box, has no mechanical fan, just an electirc fan with a simple on off switch in the cab. No temperature sensor. In five years I have never had to switch it on. With the radiator and engine thermostat in good condition they just don't seem to need a fan in road use.

It seems to me that banning older diesels is inevitable. It is ideal for politicans, It does not hurt MPs themselves, nor upset the rich who pull their strings. It sounds good with most voters, who drive newer cars. It only hurts the poor and that recently discoverd group, the "just managing", who don't really matter as they don't vote, or if they do, tend to vote for the wrong parties. Make the most of your TDIs, you do not have long to enjoy them. whether it will make much difference to global warming or air pollution is neither here nor there.

I have registered two Discoverys in France, and am about to register a Freelander. I had no problems and found the French easier to deal with than DVLA.

With one of the two fobs I have it is necessary to press the unlock button after I have put the key in the ignition and turned it to position 2. Without the fob will not talk to the sensor in the ignition switch. Our 1996 Discovery no longer has an EDC, it is now on the garage shelf following failure of the throttle position sensor and conversition to a "mechanical" injector pump. However I still need the fobs to operate before it will crank the engine over. It does rather sound like a poor connection somewhere. Have you checked the engine fuse box, including underneather? Corrosion there can give interesting problems.

The only problem with the EDC system is geting replacement parts.

May I restart this thread, and ask just how critical is the 1mm measurement? Can it be more? I have changed the EDC injector pump for a mechanical one and find the throttle travel is longer, leading to problems with the kick down cable, causing harder later changes. I have made a new lever at the connection between the kick down cable and the cable from the peddle to change the ratio of the two arms, and now the throttle is fully open without over pulling the kick down cable. But with the end of the outer of the kick down cable at the 28mm stated in the manual, I can not get the gap between the crimp and the cable less than about 3mm, even with the cable from the throttle fully slack. The kick down cable inner does not want to pull in any more to reduce the gap. Does this matter or must the relaxed position be 1mm? I assumed the 1mm is to ensure the cable is not still tight at closed throttle, and I am sure that given the amount of wear in the old lever there was more than1mm there before, but I do not want to cause a gearbox problem. I am after smooth changes at fair low revs rather than hard performance. Before the throttle position sensor went bad I could hardly feel the changes and would like to restore that situation. Any advice would be appreciated.. .

Lubricated for life means the life of the lubricant. Once that is done the bearing will follow very shortly. Suitable for the throw away qucik profit society in which we appear to live, but poor engineering.

When you say slightly retarded injector pump timing, do you mean that when the engine was timed the timing pin did not quite fit properly, or is it possible to get the timing correct, ie pins all in properly, and still be enough out to give this blue smoke?

Once upon a time the design of a car was what one or two men thought a car should be. Which is why cars of the 1950s and 1960s say were so different. Now a large number of people run customer serveys, computer programmes, design studios and follow fashion. Not surprising they all get the same answers. They have come to realise that people are like sheep and follow each other.

Land Rover seem to want to look after the "Classic" market, and provide parts for it, but the prices they want to charge seems to show a desire to drive away customers looking for parts for older vehicles. I would have thought that if they were to offer reasonable prices a lots of people would be pleased to buy genuine parts from them. We question the use of Britpart items, but it is not difficult to see why people buy them.

This is of course one of those questions that will never get a definate answer. Some like them, some don't. Some have had success with them, so haven't. Take your pick.

I can recall the outrage that came from the media, including Land Rover Magazines, about the first Discovery when disguised examples were first seen on test. It was declared a lemon that would never sell. What did LR think they were doing? Something simular with the Freelander 1. Both, of course, went on to be very good sellers, and I wish LR every success with their new Discovery.

My wife has purchased 2 new Freelanders from main deallers, and in both cases the service was fine. They provided loan vehicles without any issue or charge. In the case of the second vehicle when it went in on recall the dealer in Lincoln provided a loan Discovery without being asked.

I keep a tyre, a spare from a now scrapped caravan, for the Ezibleed system, that I can inflate to around 10psi. A smaller tyre is also much easier to lift on to the engine bay to connect up. The air pipe with the kit was not long enough to reach the vehicle tyre. The kit seems to work alright for me, which is as well as I am usually on my own doing it.

In my opinion if you are going to buy 20ft of pipe you may as well replace it all, fron to back rather than try and join it. If you can work carefully it is not a difficult or heavy job. The worst part is getting all the air out afterwards, which may require a certain amount of persistance. I think some thing like an Easy Bleed kit to allow one man bleeding is also a worthwhile investment.

Is it not the purpose of the MOT to ensure a vehicle is roadworthy? So if it fails it is not roadworthy? So how can it be roadworthy enough to be driven away after failing a test? And now you know it is unroadworthy, so are breaking the law with intent, rather than in ignorance. I suppose it depends on the definition of "roadworthy" but it all seems a bit vague. I am not advocating that vehicles that fail should be impounded, but how the law can tie itself in knots to confuse us.

Thanks. I now see there seems to be a French stockist I might be able to use.

Interesting that Bowie's graph shows peak power and torque at around 2,000 to 2400 rpm, which is the engine speed the automatic gear box in vehicles so fitted ties to maintain. Suggests to me that is what Land Rover intended and the graph is about right.

There is of course a great difference between what is legal, and what people do and get away with. The law is so complicated it is difficult to be sure which is which. but it all fine until there is a serious accident. If you read the reports on, say, an airliner crash you may well read about operational errors and failings and wonder how they can be allowed to occur. But until the crash they were not an issue and no one worried about them. Eventually the matter may be resolved by the law saying no modifications what so ever to maker's spec on road going cars. That will take the fun out of it. But again how they will police it is another matter.

Do Victor Reinz have a UK outlet? Their web site does appears to indicate they do not sell them in the UK,

In the case of the Discovery 1, ABS was an extra not fitted to all of them. This suggests that the vehicle is considered safe without it, and if it was all removed, rather than just disabled, there would not be a problem with the MOT or equivalent. Does the MOT show which ones had ABS when the vehicle number is entered at the start of the test? If not how would a tester know if it was originally fitted or not?. So it would seem the test manual ruling is reasonable. But that still leaves the insurance problem, which I suggest is the bigger issue. With the MOT the worst case is that it fails; with the insurance you could be stuck without insurance and facing a very large claim. With a "normal" claim the insurance may not find out that ABS was originally fitted, but what if you caused a really serious accident, perhaps something along the line of Great Heck? Every tiny detail would be gone over. Seems like they are the people to talk to before making a decision.