Yakko

All sorted. For anyone interested, or anyone who's found this after a search... I took the diaphragm cover off again this morning, but couldn't get the diaphragm out. Even with the diaphragm rotated so that it was at it's shallowest angle, it still wouldn't pop off. (Note: there's a small fullstop sized dot on the metal disk on the top of the diaphragm, the diaphragm can most easily be removed with this set to 12 o'clock) Getting some WD40 down past the nylon washer and into the tube where the diaphragm pin goes eventually got it free. With the diaphragm off I could see the problem, there was a small amount of rust on the diaphragm cone, and the fuelling pin hadn't retracted fully (nor could it be pushed in with a screwdriver) hense the difficulty in getting the diaphragm out. A good soak in WD40 and gently working it in and out by pushing it in with a screwdriver and moving the throttle lever slowely to move it back out again eventually got it moving freely. A thin smear of grease on the diaphragm cone, reassemble and test drive shows that it's now working fine. Interestingly, it also seems to have sorted the under-performing issues i've had since getting the 90. I'd always wondered if it was underfuelling, as there was never a hint of any smoke, even at full throttle up a hill (i.e very high load). There's now a nice dark haze behind me and performance is restored. Cheers for all your help/patience.

That is depressing. Sounds like it might be the cause though, if you've had the same problem. I remembered while lying in bed last night, but it was such a small thing I never considered it might have been the cause. How much does a pump refurb cost? Where would you go? That means taking the pump off, which looks like a bit of a mare.

Just been out and had a test run. No improvement. Starting to run out of ideas. It's running smoothly, it just has absolutely no power, won't pull itself along in 4th or 5th. No smoke at all. I've gone over everything that I did the day that this all started. I did try and remove the diaphragm on the Injection Pump (having adjusted it by 90 degrees a long time ago) to get to the star wheel (and because I believe it to be seized, which is why it may have been so slow before all this), but couldn't lift it out. I didn't force anything, and the diaphragm is back in the same position as before. I wonder if the pin has got pushed back and isn't returning? And is limiting the fuel? I didn't consider that it may have been a contributing factor, but think i've nearly exhausted other ideas. I'll try bleeding the injectors at the weekend too. Thanks again for your help with this.

Ignore this. New pipe on - £1 later, it's v. handy having a local LR specialist with a very old 110 tucked away in a barn that I can cannabilise for parts.

Finding problems all over the shop... Just put the new filter head on, started the car, noticed that the fuel pipe that goes from lift pump to filter housing has a leak. It's leaking at the connection from nut to pipe (so, where the nut on the pipe is and the pipe itself there's a leak). New pipe time?

Thanks Steve, now have a replacement one, will put it on Wednesday and report back.

I've found one. Called the local (very local - 5 minute walk) LR specialist, they've got a breaker in, said I could pinch it from it for the price of a drink. Will go down tomorrow afternoon with some spanners. Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

Hmm, if the fuel filter housing IS leaking a little (and, judging by the size of the crack it would just be a little) would this cause the issue I have, maybe it's sucking air in? I've just looked at it, it looks like maybe it's been previously bodged together, with some liquid metal or something in the past. Any ideas where I can get a new one, none of the obvious suppliers list it. Cheers again all. Once i'm through this problem, i'll not post for a while!

Air filter and inlet hoses are fine, as is the turbo - no play. Starting to look at seemingly unrelated things. How do you get the diagphragm out of the injection pump? I can get the housing off, but the diagphragm doesn't want to lift out? Cheers.

Right, old (known OK) pump is in, no improvement. Any more ideas? I've not bled each injector yet - but it's running smoothly, it's not running on 3 cylinders. It's just got no power, won't hold 20mph up hill. Only making 0.2 bar turbo pressure. I'm going to try and get hold of a new fuel filter housing.

OK, there's a hairline crack around the bleedscrew on the fuel filter housing. I don't know how likely it is that air could be being sucked in through it - i'ts not really possible for me to see how deeply it runs. I'm going to stick the old pump on, as it shouldn't take long. In the meantime, has anyone got a fuel filter housing they wouldn't mind parting with?

First off, thanks for all the help everyone - much appreciated. Yes, pipe unions the same. No olives required on the 200tdi, the fuel pipes screw directly into the lift pump housing. It's piped up the right way. The confusing thing is it was working fine on Friday, after the fuel filter and pump had been changed, it's only now post-bleeding that i'm having problems.

Yes. I'm confident the lift pump and filter are bled ok - any idea what's next on the check list? How do you bleed the injection pump?

I like your thinking... Just tried it, no improvement. Cheers though. Bit of further explanation. Friday, changed lift pump and fuel filter - but couldn't get it to bleed properly, though it ran ok. Today, tried bleeding it again - can get fuel out of the bleed screw on filter housing, but now the car isn't running right. It starts and revs fine, but is severley lacking in power, top speed is now 52mph and it's only making 0.5bar of turbo pressure. I've not touched anything "over there" near the turbo, have pressure tested the hose from IP to turbo and it's fine. It's like it's only making partial throttle. No smoke (it never has smoked, ever - which makes me think it's always been underfuelling slightly). I cracked open the return on the lift pump and pumped, fuel coming out there. Wish I hadn't messed with it now.

*Sigh* Truck has now lost all it's power, it starts, runs and revs but couldn't pull the skin off custard. No smoke, just no power. I guess there's some air got somewhere?

That worked very well (almost too well, as a spray of diesel got me in the face), took about 10 seconds of cranking to get all the air out, you could see a lot of air bubbling out. I'd driven the car for about 20 miles since changing the pump and filter, so I can only assume that letting the car run doesn't expel all the air from the system? To satisfy my own curiousity, I also put he car into 5th gear, and allowed it to roll down the slope of my drive, stopping it every metre or so and checking for resistance on the hand pump. After 2 or 3 goes, the handle firmed up, and a strong flow of bubbleless diesel came out of the bleed screw. Cheers,

I'd bet the "high lift" style LR jack he's talking about is this one: It's the same one I have in my 90, in it's favour it's very slim, fits tidily behind the front seats. Slots into the standard jacking points in the front bumper and rear crossmember. Downside is that my A bar stops it from working on the front. I'm hoping I only get punctures at the back.

Hi, In an ongoing attempt to track down why my 200tdi is not performing as it should, today I replaced the lift pump and fuel filter. Car starts and runs alright (which in itself is good) but I can't get any diesel to come out of the bleed screw on the fuel filter housing. The pump is brand new and is not "on the cam" as I can move the priming lever the full amount. Nevertheless, I can't seem to get it to bleed properly. Any ideas? Thanks,

Not a fan, standard grill in black with black headlight surrounds for me. That grill looks far to bulky - looks more like something you'd see on front of an American 4x4.

Thanks Western.

Evening, First off, sorry for all the threads recently. Bit of a noob to all this, after cutting my teeth in Japanese turbo coupes. Replacing the lift pump on my 200tdi this weekend - do the joints require olives? (I've seen from searching that the 300tdi does, and the RRC 200tdi does - but some threads i've found by searching suggest the Defender does not). Cheers.

Brand new Beermach pumps are £20 delivered (about £16.50 not including P&P) on eBay. I bought one last night.

Sorry for bumping an oldish thread. How could you tell - I guess the second stage is caused by the diaphragm pushing the pin? Should I be able to push the pin with my finger when the engine is stopped? Only interested because last night I took my car out (while researching it's temperature issues) and realised that it's maximum speed is 71mph, downhill. The engine NEVER smokes, even at full throttle, which has got me wondering if it's not getting adequate fuel.

So many great replies! Thanks loads all! (This is THE best Landrover forum i've found!) Looks like i've got loads to check tomorrow - will report back after a day's fault finding. Thanks again. Where abouts on the unit is this spring? I thought the VC unit was pretty much sealed up?

Thanks, that's made things much clearer. I have already cleaned out my rad by removing the grill and spraying it with a hose, but have not taken off the cowling and done it from behind. Before doing anything I will try this - see if the radiator is so blocked that no hot air is passing through to the fan (and thus, it is not activating the viscous coupling). Good job I didn't have anything else planned for tomorrow!