Sabre

In 2010 we were returning from a trip to Mana pools in Zimbabwe, when I applied the brakes to stop for elephants that were crossing the road. And the pedal went straight to the floor ! Because the road was in bad state, my speed was very low, and I could stop within a few meters ("yards" for the non metric people 😉) After the elephants were out of sight, I got out of the D1 to search for the problem. The brake fluid supply to the caliper is a metal pipe, after the flexible pipe, that takes the fluid into the caliper. The metal pipe is supported in a bracket, fixed to the shock absorber. A sliding, spring type, device is used to keep the pipe affixed to the bracket. On my vehicle, this spring thingy got lost somewhere on one of the badly corrugated roads that we were travelling, and the metal brake pipe was free to move around in the bracket. This very quickly wore a groove in the pipe, and when I touched it, it broke off completely So, always check that those spring attachments are still in position, and securely fitted

When my 300TDi D1 started whisteling suddenly one day, the problem was a leaking intercooler tube. Had a crack right at the bottom where the tubes go into the bottom chamber

Thanks W and B69, appreciated

Next question : Should the flywheel bolts get a locking compound before they are fitted ? The ones I took out definitely had locking compound applied. The Haynes manual also mentions that the bolts have a locking compound, and will be difficult to loosen But, neither the Haynes, nor the Rave manuals specified a locking compound when fitting the bolts

Not sure if I should thank you for this; it looks like a site where I can spend more money than planned....... 😁 Thanks, I did not know about them. 👍

On the same topic, is it possible to overhaul these pumps ?

I have lost the dowel pin on the camshaft. It is an 8mm pin. Can I use the unthreaded part of an 8mm bolt, or maybe the top part of a HSS drill ?

Thanks Daan. We installed a new booster with a new O-ring

Nope, I checked it, and the pedal does not go down upon start-up

The pedal feels quite normal; goes down a bit then solid. You then have to press it really hard to bring the vehicle to a standstill

My son recently returned from a trip with his TDi D1, and had virtually no brakes when he arrived home. First thing we did was to bleed the brakes, but it made no difference. We then replaced the brake booster with a brand new one, bled the brakes, no improvement Because the vacuum pump was leaking oil again (after we fixed it a few years ago), we installed a brand new vacuum pump. Still no brakes. we bled the system again, and a few air bubbled did come out, but there was no improvement. We are now in a dead end Advice needed (and appreciated 👍)

A spare pump is small enough to carry as a spare. I am not sure what the prices of LR spares are in your country, but in South Africa spares are rather expensive, so one cannot carry as many spares as one would like, but I do carry a power steering spare pump with (well, it is an old pump that I swopped for a new pump, as a matter of recourse) What I would recommend, is that you look at the routing of the pipes, and make sure that they do not chaff against anything. On my D1 I had a hole in a pipe where the pipe rested in a bracket. When I fitted new pipes, I put two small split rubber hoses on the pipes so that the metal portions could not chaff through on the bracket. I did not put the complete metal portion in a split rubber pipe, as I suspect that the pipe offers some cooling to the power station fluid

You will still need a sturdy pipe (about 1 meter long) to slide over the handle when you turn the bolt 90 degrees after the initial 80Nm. On the same subject, do you use a half-inch drive when tightening the final 90 degrees ?

Will check, thanks

Thanks, will check these possibilities

The tensioner bearing was renewed just before his recent trip

My son has a 300TDi Discovery. About 3 months ago he lost the power steering ability on his car intermittently. We started off by bleeding the system as per the Haynes manual but there was no improvement.We then fitted a new power steering pump, and as the steering box was leaking, we also exchanged that for a reconditioned box. The power steering then worked for about two months, but has now stopped functioning again. And as per the previous occasion, when we now bled the system again, the fluid coming from the bleed nipple flows very slowly Any advice ?

Maybe nobody here has tried this way yet, and we are all waiting for your feed back about the success of said process 😉

Got it, thanks ds

I have heard from a few people that the engine number on a 300 TDi is rather difficult to locate. With my engine stripped, cleaned and re-sprayed, I thought that this is now a good opportunity to see the number The only number I can find (cast into the block) is on the FIP side, near the rear, and about half-way between sump and head. And that number bears no resemblance to the engine number indicated in the car's documentation. So, where does one find the engine number on a 300TDi ?

The pump that I have is the STC3407G (PR2). I will fit that Thanks for the advice

Thanks John, will do so

Advise please. I am busy overhauling the engine of my 300TDi Disco. After a strip down, and seeing the oil pump rotor destroyed, I bought an All Makes pump. It was only when I cleaned up the timing belt rear cover that I noticed fine cracks in the oil pump cavity. I then bought a new cover/housing The new Britpart cover comes complete with an oil pump installed. I did not know that the oil pump was standard with the cover The Britpart pump rotor looks different from the All Makes' pump rotor, so it is not from the same factory (assumption) Does anyone have experience of the Britpart oil pump, or should I rather install the All Makes pump, The reason why I'm hesitant, is the the BP pump might be better suited to the BP cover

John, I bought two 2nd hand ones at the recent George Old Car show. Who is the distributor in SA ?

Toby, I bought 2 Britool wrenches 2nd hand (different models), and want to know all the do's and dont's of the 2. Also if any maintenance is required, and who the representative in South Africa is Thanks