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Power steering and starting


jerseydiscovery

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Hi, being a recent Discovery owner I'm seeking advice on the following - on turning the steering wheel on my 1997 Discovery 300TDI ES Auto model there is a slight groan - almost as though something is rubbing - especially when manouvering in a tight space, aditionally when the vehicle is first moved after standing overnight there is a shuddering noise on full lock either way - almost feels like the wheels are fouling the bodywork but having looked they are well clear. Searching the web I see various things mentioned about tight steering due to preload, could this be the rouble or is it likely to be run of the mill steering wear. For the brecord the PS fluid has not dropped at all and there are no visible leaks. I also want advice on a starting query - when starting in the mornings the engine turns an excessive number of times before firing - a new battery has improved matters but it still doesn't kick into life until the 7th or 8th turn of the engine - whereas when warm its after a one or two turns (engine turning over rather than key turning). I bought some glow plugs off ebay and replaced 3 out of 4 - the 4th is inaccesible due to the air con compressor (any ideas on this ?) but still no improvement, I would have expected a healthy engine to start quicker bespecially as in all other respects it runs well, economically (30mpg) and powerfully, doesn't smoke and seems in good condition.

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Hello and welcome to the forum,

Not sure I can help on the steering front although if the noise occurs at full lock with the vehicle is moving it might be worth checking to see if the tire is touching the suspension arm rather than the body work. easiest way is to get some body to hold the steering over on full lock and see if the road wheel is hitting anything. (Don't hold on full lock for to long ie more than thirty seconds at a time as it can damage the pump.) If the wheel is hitting you will need to adjust the lock stop on the opposite hub to correct the problem.

On the starting front my 1996 300 TDi does a similar thing on cold mornings always starts but takes awhile. I replaced the heater plugs about a year ago with some cheapo ones and I suspect that might actually be part of the problem. It is worth making sure that all the connetions to the heater plugs and between the plugs and the head (the threads on the plugs and in the head are clean and corrosion free and that the connector on the timer relay has not corroded. It is probably worth checking and cleaning the earths from the engine to the chassis and chassis to the battery.

Hth

Pete.

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Also to get the 4th heater plug out does require you to remove the aircon pump from it's bracket but the only thing from memory that you have to disconnect is the drive belt. IIRC the tensioner for the belt is 3 10mm bolts that you slacken then you can swing it out of the way and lift the belt off. Then to remove the pump you will need to undo the 3 or 4 13mm nuts on the top of the pump and lift the guard off and then undo 3 or 4 more 13mm nuts that hold the pump down on it's studs. It should then be possible to lift the pump off it's studs and move out of the way enough to replace the glow plug. then as they say in the haynes manual refit is the reverse of removal. I can't remember the setting for the belt but I used to tension it till I could just turn the longest run 90 degrees.

Pete.

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