300TDI starting problems

Goc3k said:

Sounds like classic lift pump failure, have you changed it before or is it original? Have a search on the forum and you'll see pretty much everything else it might be. Wouldn't worry about the bad fuel, probably coincidental if it was a trace amount / teaspoon worth

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Ady Gancz said:

Hi there,

My 1998 300tdi disco1 has seen its fair share of mechanical problems, but has always been quick to start - 2-4 seconds, not more.
Two weeks ago, while travelling in the desert I fueled it from 2 containers. The diesel was not old, but one of the cans previously contained some unidentified fluid, which I thought I have washed off well before using it. This may or may not be relevant.
After fueling (about 30 liter in all) I started having ignition problems. It would take the car 2-3 attempts of 10-15 seconds each to start. After starting it would run ok with the exception of 2-3 times that it lost power and/or shut down.
Suspecting it was the fuel from those cans, I topped the tank with about 50-60 liters of fresh diesel and added 2 cans of 44K cleaner. After that I had no more incidents of losing power, but it would still start slow as before. I replaced the fuel filter and filled the new one with another can of 44K. So far there is no change. It still takes 2-3 long attempts to get it started. If I start it right after shutting it off it only takes 5-6 seconds, but if I wait a few minutes it's slow again
The starter was replaced about 2 months ago and sounds good. The battery is good too.
Any suggestions?

Thank you!

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Goc3k said:

Sounds like classic lift pump failure, have you changed it before or is it original? Have a search on the forum and you'll see pretty much everything else it might be. Wouldn't worry about the bad fuel, probably coincidental if it was a trace amount / teaspoon worth

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Dippypud said:

Also check the leak-off pipes, they may have perished and be letting air into the system ...

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Ady Gancz said:

Thank you all for the useful answers. It was indeed the lift pump. It has been replaced and the line to the tank was flushed. Back to normal.
Cheers
Ady

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Dippypud said:

Well as normal as a Landy is for now ...

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Gazbo said:

Couple of things here Dips, 1/Considering the age of some of the Landies discussed on here they ain't all that bad, it's a mass collection of a lot of old vehicles, in fact they will/have outlasted many of the "throwaway" newer generation vehicles. 2/My disco turned 20 this year, it had a rough early life in the hands of people who are notorious for not being able to look after their vehicles very well, (an indigenous community in a very remote area, not a criticism), I have to say it has been absolutely reliable since I took posession of it and fixed the few neglected bits, much of what happens since has never stopped it from running and doing its job of getting us about on some very bad roads, it leaks oil, a bit, but other than that, hey it's old, it's owner is old, but we both keep on going, i.e we both still have a bit of usefulness in us.
So although we spend a lot of time on here talking "problems", thats a big part of what is done here, I think deep down we all have great respect for the brand and it could just be some of us have "masochistic" tendencies.

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