Disco 2 Intermittent Starting Problem (and lack of power)

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Seeing the fuel tank was very hard to fill - took forever and a day to fill (fuel foamy and like trying to fill a champagne flute) - could this problem be linked with a blocked fuel tank breather? Will have to check the breather.
 
Yes, the breather system is a good call, what i've seen once on a friend's D2 was that the pointed ''loop'' was choked but on your's nr 3 can be suspect too

D2 tank breather.jpg
 
Okay, will have to check both these breathers as a start tomorrow then and work out exactly where they are first and how to access! Looks like a fairly easy job to find and diagnose if there's an issue and then see if this issue (tank taking forever to fill) is linked with the other problem/s. Thanks for your help Sierrafery - much appreciated!
 
Okay, problem diagnosed now! Opened fuel flap, took fuel cap off and started Disco 2 Td5. Started first time - no issues - no rumbling or rocking of engine, no rough running, no smoke of any description coming out the exhaust, and the engine just "purred" (not really the right word for a diesel) all the way while I accelerated whilst idling in the driveway! Looks like the problem has been found then - vacuum in the fuel tank due to blocked breather.

So, now I need to unblock the fuel tank breather - assume it's the one in the filler tube? Anyone done this before? Is it straightforward?
 
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It's a big step that at least you found the issue, nice one.... be aware that even the tank's cap is a valve itself so first call would be a new one to be ruled out:

from RAVE:
"The filler is closed by a threaded plastic cap which screws into the filler neck. The cap has a ratchet mechanism to
prevent overtightening and seals against the filler neck to prevent the escape of fuel vapour. The filler cap has a valve
which relieves fuel pressure to atmosphere at approximately 0.12 to 0.13 bar (1.8 to 2.0 lbf.in2) and opens in the
opposite direction at approximately 0.04 bar (0.7 lbf.in2) vacuum."
 
Yes, correct! Just had a look earlier at the underside of the cap! So, breather (valve) in the cap, breather on the fill tube that goes back to the fuel tank (?), and another breather line on the fuel tank that connects to the diesel filter housing (?)
 
Well, fuel cap held on with retainer strap and Phillips screw. Don't suppose filler cap can be dismantled, checked and cleaned? Will have to have a look and see how much a new one costs?
 
My cap is original from when I purchased the Td5 from the showroom in 2003. The filler-cap includes a white symbol of an opened vehicle manual. Had a look at a picture of a "genuine" 2003 filler cap on ebay, but no manual symbol? Might see what the LR dealership want for the genuine filler-cap?
 
New L/R genuine fuel cap was fitted and the engine is just perfect now - starts first time every time, no engine rumble or rocking, no white smoke, great throttle response and much more power than before! Hard to believe the fuel cap was the culprit!
 
The line, "Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back Into The Water" comes to mind! Okay, fuel cap replaced and all has been very good for almost two weeks with the 2003 Td5 - several decent drives with no issues whatsoever. Anyway, two nights ago I needed to go out - started her up and a faint rumbling (like rough idle), even though the start was bang on in what was a very cold night. Anyway, drove down the road and things progressively got worse - engine wouldn't go above 2000rpm and lost most of its power so made a dash to get home - got to the bottom of our street where I had to park her up! Last several hundred metres home it was bad - just crawling and then just conked out at the bottom of the street where I luckily parked! Tried re-starting, engine cranks but doesn't fire; released fuel cap and tried starting again - same thing. Now in bed with bad cold, thinking what I need to do next in a couple of days.:(
 
The fuel pump is suspect... maybe it got "tired" due to that vacuum issue while the cap was bad... even if you hear it running it might have lost the HP stage, so if you jear it running when you turn ignition on the correct diagnose is to insert a gauge instead of the FT sensor in the FPR and see if you got 4 bar there, provided there's not some crank sensor fault code logged
 
It's often the case with many things that when they're "left on the edge" for a while they start to fall over in a domino effect - pump is original and can't go on forever - maybe, as you say it was "tired" and the issue with the faulty fuel cap breather has taken it over the edge. Still recovering from very bad cold, but reckon tomorrow though I'll check for any codes with the Foxwell first. Need to find a relatively cheap pressure gauge out there somewhere to then test for pressure at the FPR FT sensor - guessing eBay?
 
My fuel pump died immediately after I changed the fuel filter. I guessed that it was as you say a domino effect - having to work harder to purge the system.
 
Okay, sufficiently recovered enough from the flu to head down the road. Opened bonnet - all looks to be in very good order, no fluid leaks on the ground.
Turned ignition to first position and plugged in scanner, fuel pump started and sounded like normal (has never been noisy). Noted two fault codes that showed up on th scanner:

Engine Speed outside bounds for cruise(Where Fitted) Active

Vehicle Speed outside bounds for cruise(Where Fitted) Active

Not sure those fault codes really mean anything? Anyway, then I turned the ignition, started first go, engine rocked and "conked out" after less than a couple of seconds. Started again - same result. Recorded live data whilst starting, will try and get it uploaded here but recognise that no faults with fuel supply will be indicated.
 
sierrafery said:
The fuel delivery system is not covered by diagnostics so it's suspect
Click to expand...

Okay, next step is to remove the FT sensor at the PRV and stick in a pressure gauge and check >4 bar at the PRV? Don't have any pressure gauges or a workshop to knock something together, but I saw this, should do the job?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Univers...rentrq:b116ea181640ab6b66e780b6fffa1ed3|iid:1

Any thoughts? I think the FT sensor has a 12 mm dia thread, so the male fitting on the pressure gauge hose has to fit into the 12mm dia female FT sensor well?
 
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