disco '95 300tdi auto fuel problems

Hello everybody,
I am new to all this so please bear with me if I ask obvious questions. I have wanted
to get my feel wet in the l/r world for some time the opportunity arose recently, I was offered (and bought) a '95 disco 300tdi auto (edc) which had been buggered up. The faults were; 3 ltrs of engine oil too much, camshaft pin sheared & wheel slippage, 8 bent push rods & a broken rocker. Possibly all of these faults were caused by the overfill? It is now working and I'm driving (happily) about BUT although it runs as sweet as a nut and drives very well when it starts (hot or cold) it smokes like dave allen, I mean clouds of oily white / grey smoke, a real show stopper. The throttle is unresponsive and it even pops and bangs. Has anybody any ideas what may be causing this problem. Sorry about the length of this post but I'd like to get as much info out as possible.

Cheers

Sounds like you're burning oil......Stretchie (bf) had the same thing with his bike last year and it was the piston rings.

Try and get yourself a Haynes manual for your Disco as an easy refernce guide for trouble shooting. They can be a pain, but also can be really useful!

newtodisco said:

Hello everybody,
I am new to all this so please bear with me if I ask obvious questions. I have wanted
to get my feel wet in the l/r world for some time the opportunity arose recently, I was offered (and bought) a '95 disco 300tdi auto (edc) which had been buggered up. The faults were; 3 ltrs of engine oil too much, camshaft pin sheared & wheel slippage, 8 bent push rods & a broken rocker. Possibly all of these faults were caused by the overfill? It is now working and I'm driving (happily) about BUT although it runs as sweet as a nut and drives very well when it starts (hot or cold) it smokes like dave allen, I mean clouds of oily white / grey smoke, a real show stopper. The throttle is unresponsive and it even pops and bangs. Has anybody any ideas what may be causing this problem. Sorry about the length of this post but I'd like to get as much info out as possible.

Cheers

Click to expand...

Hello matey and welcome to the wonderful world of Discovery ownership.

I also have a '98 Disco TDi 300 auto EDC, so we're in the same boat !!!

All diesel engines will smoke a tiny bit, especially on early morning start-up, due to unburnt fuel being thrown out the back until the engine catches. The longer the engine has to turn over before starting, the more smoke there will be.

If I were you, the first thing I would check is the ignition timing. It sounds to me like it's out by quite a bit.

On the general subject of starting, you do let the glowplugs go out before turning the engine over, don't you? And don't EVER touch the accelerator pedal until she's fired up, ok.

There really are only two main things that will stop a TDi300 from firing up immediately (therefore reducing the plumes !!). As said above, timing is crucial. But in addition the engine has glowplugs to help the engine start in colder weather and over time these deteriorate 'til they cease to function.

Check and adjust the timing, then if the problem remains, change the glowplugs - you can buy a set of 4 for about £10+vate from www.paddockspares.com.

Cheers and good luck

Dave

Thanks for the info I will check the timing, I had the plugs out and they lit up a treat. The throttle I will admit has been touched while churning, will stop today. Once the engine has caught and reaches tick over it runs perfectly no smoke picks up and goes all I could ask for in fact as soon as it runs smoothly the smoke disappears straight away. On another note I noticed the 'lard way round' are you running any on WVO. I ask because I had an old astra van 1.6D that I ran with a twin tank system fuel heater etc. Or is this a step too far.

Cheers, Damon

newtodisco said:

Thanks for the info I will check the timing, I had the plugs out and they lit up a treat. The throttle I will admit has been touched while churning, will stop today. Once the engine has caught and reaches tick over it runs perfectly no smoke picks up and goes all I could ask for in fact as soon as it runs smoothly the smoke disappears straight away. On another note I noticed the 'lard way round' are you running any on WVO. I ask because I had an old astra van 1.6D that I ran with a twin tank system fuel heater etc. Or is this a step too far.

Cheers, Damon

Click to expand...

Hi Damon, "The Lard Way Round" was a bit of a pun on the Ewan & Charlie thing, The Long Way Round - and was the name of me & my mate's trip to Morroco !!! And it may have had something to do with girth !!!!!


There is a cunning mod you can to do these EDC cars which can help early morning starts, but we can come to that once you've checked the timing.

I didn't think the timing was adjustable on the EDC pump????

lerk said:

I didn't think the timing was adjustable on the EDC pump????

Click to expand...

The static timing is, in just the same way as on a non-EDC car.

The electronics come into play once the engine is running.

Hello,
and thank you I had a look at the timing and it was wound fully clockwise in the slots (advanced?) I moved it back a few degrees and it seems cured, I will drive it far a few days and see if it's a ex-grumble. Once again thanks, it would have been an age before I thought of looking there again.

Cheers, Damon