disco_al

Because i suspect i have a problem with them...... Basically, it's like this. When you start it up, and leave it idling for any length of time, as soon as you pull away there is a large cloud of blue smoke, that smells rather oily, this will clear fairly soon after starting off, as long as it doesn't idle for too long. Last weekend for example, we went to Aberdeenshire for a short break (why drive i hear you ask? because it was nearly £100 cheaper than either flying or taking the train - £140 diesel compared to £230 by train and £260 by plane), we stopped at Gretna on the way up and slept in the car (i know, i'm a cheapskate) and around 4 in the morning it was rather cold, so i started the engine to warm things up, no revving, just straight to normal idle speed. The following morning when we left, the smoke out of the back was terrible, and lasted for at least two miles before clearing - in fact it was so bad that we got pulled by a copper for the "smokey motor". After that, i refrained from letting it idle for longer than necessary, and the problem never came back. It doesn't use any oil as already stated, and when warm there is no smoke from the back end, other than the usual black smoke you get from a diesel at high ish revs, which leads me to believe that the turbo is fine, otherwise i would get blue smoke under load at all times. Power delivery is fine, and she pulls like a train, economy is also good (averaged 34mpg over the weekend). So, that is why i suspect that they need doing, as it is idling, oil is building up and running past the seals, and into the cylinders, leading to the large plumes of occassional smoke when cold, as soon as it's off and running and warmed up, the offending seal stops the oil from getting past, and everything is fine and dandy.

I sit corrected, i was under the impression that the rocker shaft was fixed in by the head bolts. hmm, looks like it could be possible to do without removing the head then..... that is one worry - true - although as it doesn't burn oil (used naff all on the 1300 miles over the weekend - probably less than 0.1 litre) i'm not expecting any major wear in the bores or block.

I did this on mine a few months back, and did notice a very slight improvement, but not by much. The Paddock "performance" exhaust (basically a middle box replacmenet pipe and rear silencer) and 110 downpipe improved it no end, on the motorway at 60 it just pulls when you floor it to overtake Not had chance to clean the intercooler etc out yet, that will get done when the head comes off.

that is where the problem is with the LR diesels of course.....oh well, head off it is then

I was thinking along the lines of one of these Valve thingy. My other dilemma is that at 165k, wouldn't it be better just to whip it's top off anyway, and replace the HG etc as a matter of a top end strip down/decoke?

Anyone know if it is possible to change the VSS on a 300tdi without removing the head? Obviously the hardest part is to make sure that the relevant piston is at the top of it's stroke so the valve doesn't drop into the cylinder, but that should be fairly easy to accomplish with a bit of common sense

It was on Tesco Belmont Roundabout last night, about 6:20pm.

On my way home tonight i saw an unusual Defender. It belonged to a grounds maintenance company, had a box body on the back, similar to the ones that Eon use, along with a pick up style bed behind that, strangest thing of all - and this is what caught my eye - it had two rear axles Now i know that LR have a special vehicles division, but this on stood out from the norm. Needless to say, if i see it parked up i will try to get some pictures to post up. This didn't look like something that had been cobbled together, but looked like a proper conversion to me, and it was fairly new as well, i would say TD5 era, although it was heading in the opposite direction to me, round a roundabout. Anyone seen anything similar?

Right, i think this one has been diagnosed as valve stem seals now, after a 1300 mile run to Aberdeen and back over the weekend, and a run in with the local constabulary at Gretna services about my "smokey motor" it's time to whip it's top off and change them. Now renovating heads is no bother to me, done it a few times before, but a few questions for the guru's..... According to Rave, the head bolts can be reused upto 5 times - is this correct - or should i go for new ones? I have the head removal guide printed and ready from the tech forum - anything else to watch for? cheers all.

that was another thought, although no coolant loss, or excessive oil consumption, in fact it uses next to no oil at all

only using standard diesel though

This one has me confused...... Recently my 300 tdi has started to randomly emit blue smoke, not continuosly though. if left idling for a few minutes after intial cold start, then you will get quite a plume of blue smoke for about 100 yards, which then clears, and it can be fine for the rest of the journey. if it's then left for a few hours, the same thing will happen, blue smoke from the exhaust, usually under load when accelerating, which again clears, and doesn't reappear - although not to the same extent as from cold start. my thoughts are either valve stem seals, or turbo seals going. oil consumtion is virtually nil, so i don't think it's rings, and power delivery is fine as well. it has done 164k, although it runs perfectly, and sounds nice and quiet. the only other thing i can possibly think of is one of the injectors, as number 4 looks quite "wet" - initially i put this down to the leaking injector leak off pipes (which have now been replaced), although it still looks wet. any ideas guys n gals

don't stare at that image for too long - it does funny things to the eyes....

most of them now pull the fuel from the filter, rather than dipping the tanks. they caught onto the twin tank setup a few years ago, IIRC when the prices went silly before (and we protested and the country ran dry of fuel - strange no one has done the same since though.....)

There will be times when you get like this owning a Landrover. I've had a similar dilemma this week with my disco. This was the horror behind the front wing, and it extended all the way round, as far as the washer bottle. Then the sill needed plating at the back, and as for the inner rear arch, there is now more new metal in there than the original, i had one hell of a job chasing the tin worm round there - but i love it - it gives me a sense of satisfaction that i am not going to be scrapping what is essentially a sound truck - plus it's got to be more enviro friendly than buying a new one, as it's already paid it's carbon debt many times over in my eyes.

To be fair, in the event of a rear end shunt, i wouldn't like to be sat in the rearmost seats anyway.

There isn't one AFAIK

www.interparcel.com have always been good for us - no problems, even when sending international

in the 2nd pic, they are the 4 small circular items, with a small rectangular hole in them. common problem you find is that they will crack. you won't necessarily get any running problems, as they are there to help with the fual atomisation as it enters the cylinders. check for small cracks around the sides, as the head casting around them can crack as well.

misfire could be anything, plugs, leads, cap and arm would be a good start. coil maybe, ignition amp on the dizzy. could even be a dodgy fuel pump. does it misfire on both fuels, or just one? that will help to identify which is causing the problem.

try >these< people, they can make any coil spring, at any length, for any vehicle. may be able to give you the desired drop that you are after. personally, i would go with the combination of a 2" drop, and some larger wheels, to give the appearance of being low, coupled with some extended side sills, maybe make some up using the original plastic trims as a base, just extend them lower with some glass fibre - or for real bling, carbon fibre.

are you sure that he wasn't looking at the a/con rad and fans??

Does anyone have a picture of the 300 tdi "performance" exhaust that paddock's sell? i am thinking of getting one to replace the rusty system under mine at the moment, especially as the MOT is due soon, the main reason being is that it is cheaper than i can buy a standard middle and rear section for.

got a copy of that in the attic somewhere need to get a suppressor for mine, got terrible interferance when the wipers are running (which they are a lot at the moment)

nice one. i always get a sense of satisfaction when my cars go through the test without advisories - especially as they are all over 15 years old.