Jode

X2

Well spotted - as I had done a complete strip and rebuild of the pump, I was obliged to reset the timing using a gauge. I figure I'll use the pin for random timing chekcs, but set the timing with the gauge when replacing timing belts.

During the rebuild of our 300 TDI engine that I undertook last year, I decided in my blissful ignorance to rebuild the injection pump as well. I was able to collect a lot of very good information regarding how to do a complete strip and rebuild, however I came up blank with regard to how to set the pump timing statically prior to fitting it back onto the engine. Having now graduated from the school of hard injection pump knocks, I've written up a "how to" for setting the pump timing (attached). I hope this proves useful for other DIY mechanics. How to Set the Lift on a Bosch VE 250 Injection Pump.pdf

The battery earth points are at the transfer box IIRC; the lights earth "locally"; the instruments behind the binnacle I think. They're all over the place....

That's one way to remove the pump. However another way as mentioned is to remove the front cover, timing belt etc., and then remove the pump. This results in the pump "falling off" its advance, but it's fairly simple to reset the advance on the workbench, provided that you have a locking plug to hold the pump shaft advanced on its lobe prior to reinstalling the pump and timing belt. Final adjustment of the timing would then be done after removing the locking plug by following the usual belt timing guidance in the WSM (or the Difflock guide - even better!).

And oil doesn't just help the bearings - it also lubes the drive member splines and prevents fretting, a common fault with the "dry" later hub assemblies. If you're worried about oil spilling out of the hubcap you can fix it in place with instant gasket.

Welcome to a great forum. You'll also find lots of knowledgeable Puma owners on www.aulro.com, the Aussie forum.

A simple way to check your tracking is to jack up the front, remove both road wheels, and then - starting with yhour steering wheel in dead centre (what you believe is dead centre), count the turns to full lock left, return to centre, then count the turns to full lock right. The correct centrepoint would be one-half of the total number of tunrs.

I believe that the pump provides fuel to suit the idle - otherwise the engine would die for lack of fuel (which is of course how the diesel engine is "killed").

No harm in checking the stem seals, as they're certainly cheaper than the turbo. You can (carefully) lift the collets off if you have the appropriate tool to lever the washer+spring down (I made one up following a guide that I found somewhere on the net - can't remember where), and then lift the seals off to check their condition. But youi'll need to rotate the engine to ensure that the relevant piston is at the top of its travel so that the valves don't disappear down the cyllinder!

The 380 requires synthetic oil - MTF94 is fully-synthetic, GL4 gear oil. Other manufacturers can provide an acceptable alternative, but make sure that the viscosity figures match up (the spec sheet for MTF94 is attached here). Adjusting the bias springs is dead easy and really makes the gear change easier. If you don't have an lr workshop manual for your vehicle you'll find several sources on the internet, or you could buy a paines manual (although these come in for quite a bit of criticism) or a RAVE cd. Caltex MTF-94.pdf

Why don't you just pull out the bearings and take them with you to the stealers?

If you really want to rebuild the diff you'll need to do a lot of research so you've got a handle on the tools needed, and more importantly how to set the diff up (crown wheel backlash, pinion bearing pre-load, and pinion/crown wheel engagement). To start off you should look at the how-to manual on the Yukon Gear and Axle website, as well as that on the BillaVista website (these are for Dana diffs, which being similar to the Salisbury can help you work out what the work involves).

Rick on the AULRO site advises that it can take up to 1000km for a synthetic MTF to remove deposits on the baulk rings etc., so you may need to live with rough shifts for that kind of distance before you notice any improvement in shift.

Serg, what are you up to? If you're fitting a cooler to the R380, then won't you just use the FTC2104 and source some hoses? If I can find a used adaptor I'll probably order a Derale 10-row alu cooler plus flex hose and couplings, and mount the cooler in front of the rad as was done on the Wolf.

That sounds like your best bet. OOPS - I see you've already done that... Helps to read all of the thread before replying...

Could it be that that the threads of the "loose" gloplug are worn and it is not sitting sufficiently tight (you meantioned a "watery oil" leak around it), which is causing compression loss and hard starting? Did you replace the plug or just clean it and reinsert. Also, have you checked that all the gloplugs are working. IIRC the LR wsm has some info in the specificatins section or somewhere regarding resistance values, which you can check with a multi-tester.

The alternator on the standard 300 TDI puts out 65A at "normal" load. As current demand increases, especially that from large-draw items like headlights (or here, the glo-plugs - 40A is a very big load), the voltage being produced by the alternator drops; this causes the voltage regulator to signal the alternator to increase the amount of power that it produces. As the alternator output increases, friction within the alternator also increases. Overcoming that friction requires the engine to work harder (you can hear this if you turn on your main beam when idling), which results in greater fuel consumption.

I have read on the aulro website of this being an issue on some Defenders there, so yes it could be the alloy casting is out of true and causing the belt to misalign. A bloke there took the auxiliary mounting bracket casting off the block and used emory paper lain flat on glass (so he wrote) to ensure an absolutely plumb mating surface, sanded the mating surface evenly, then refit it.

The diff-lock lever has to move over quite a fair amount to lock the diff. I have never knocked it over unconsicously, and have never heard anyone complain of doing that either, so I wouldn't worry if I were you.

And you can get the journals reground if necessary - you mentioned one was slightly scored.

Try this first - it's the cheapest fix and a common fault.

By spider I gather you are refering to the diesel fuel cut-off solenoid. If you want to drive without it (which means you'll have to kill the engine to turn off fuel delivery), I suggest the easiest way would be to remove the solenoid and remove its plunger, then replace the solenoid. Fuel will be delivered as long as the engine is driving the fuel lift pump.

There is even an interview with Dave Ashcroft (IIRC) on YouTube that states the same - majority of LT230 failures arise from over-generous right foot when the vehicle has lost traction. I seems like your problem is related more to hi-lo selection than to diff lock selection. As suggeted, drain the diff and have a look, especially at the hi-lo selector fork and selector sleeve/hub. The sleeve/hug should move easily to allow you to change gear.

Great tip, Lewis - thanks!