Someone Else's Problem: 1994 Land Rover Discovery ES

Nice! Good to hear your LR is rolling again. I can see why the cherry-picker upended, those legs are really short for a hoist.
 
Awesome!! :thumbsup: Glad to hear it's back on the road. I'd love to see it in action again sometime soon.
 
Yes it'll hopefully be back out as a toy quite soon, hard to believe that it's been 2 months since I parked it up and decided it needed a new engine. I'll be ordering a snorkel for it very shortly to stop any mishaps with this engine.

I had to do a but of minor tinkering tonight to stop a fuel leak that had developed on the lift pump, dripping soon stopped and it should be dried out by tomorrow. On the plus side it has degreased the side of the engine.
 
Good to hear the 'ol gal is ready to sling some mud once more!
 
I'm glad to see this is progressing! Good work on the engine.

I'm pulling my own next month. :|

I really wish the engine was as small and light as the Angleboxs, would make things so much easier.

Hoping the rain stays away today so I can get the workshop cleared up tonight.
 
I think I need to get the glow plugs out of the old engine and swap them over. It's freezing out there tonight and when I started it for the first time today it cranked about 10 times, caught and immediately died. Cranked again, it started quickly but died again. Third time I gave it a little bit of loud pedal to keep it going and it was fine.

Clearly these engines hold a lot of heat though because a couple of hours later it started without a problem. Another thought would be air in the fuel system but after it conked out today I'm pretty sure it's the glow plugs. I need to buy myself a new battery anyway, going for this highly recommended Numax with 1000amps cranking power.
 
I'm sure you probably know this, but with a diesel, you can put it to the "ignition" setting for about 30 - 45 seconds before you start the car and it will (in a sense) pre-heat the glow plugs for colder starts.
 
I'm sure you probably know this, but with a diesel, you can put it to the "ignition" setting for about 30 - 45 seconds before you start the car and it will (in a sense) pre-heat the glow plugs for colder starts.

Yeah it heats on a timer, then they shut off automatically. It isn't a fixed time but I don't know how the timer knows when to shut off.

You can't manually trigger the glow plugs unless you get under the bonnet, but now I think about it I can just cycle the ignition to heat them again. I'll have to give that a try later, cheers. :)
 
Excuse me while I go start the Series with no problems at all. :tease:

At least I hope it starts since it's going in tomorrow to get the driver's door welded back on.
 
Yeah it heats on a timer, then they shut off automatically. It isn't a fixed time but I don't know how the timer knows when to shut off.

You can't manually trigger the glow plugs unless you get under the bonnet, but now I think about it I can just cycle the ignition to heat them again. I'll have to give that a try later, cheers. :)

If it's like the PowerStrokes, the length of time the computer trips the glow plug relay for is determined by what it sees the ambient temperature to be per one or more of the temperature sensors. It indexes that temp against an internal table and trips the relay accordingly - it can be as short as 15 seconds and as long as 2.5 minutes. I'm reasonably sure that your diesel isn't terribly different than that. And yes, you can cycle the ignition to reset and start the plug timer again.

Before you swap the glow plugs, make sure you check your glow plug relay. A lot of current goes through those and manufacturers tend to under-spec them; after a while the contacts start burning and power to the plugs is reduced. Lots of people swap glow plugs only to find that the problem remains because for some reason nobody ever remembers the relay. Also check the wiring to the glow plugs for damage or burning.
 
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If it's like the PowerStrokes, the length of time the computer trips the glow plug relay for is determined by what it sees the ambient temperature to be per one or more of the temperature sensors. It indexes that temp against an internal table and trips the relay accordingly - it can be as short as 15 seconds and as long as 2.5 minutes. I'm reasonably sure that your diesel isn't terribly different than that. And yes, you can cycle the ignition to reset and start the plug timer again.

Before you swap the glow plugs, make sure you check your glow plug relay. A lot of current goes through those and manufacturers tend to under-spec them; after a while the contacts start burning and power to the plugs is reduced. Lots of people swap glow plugs only to find that the problem remains because for some reason nobody ever remembers the relay. Also check the wiring to the glow plugs for damage or burning.

I'm glad you said that, I was concerned that the timing is determined by resistance or current, which because the plugs don't stay on very long would point to them being fine. The relay should be fine, it was a month ago when I last drove it with the old engine. Nothing would surprise me though.

Gives me plenty to look at though, thanks.
 
Well tonight I cycled the glow plugs 3 times before attempting to start the old girl (additional cycles were considerably shorter) and still she didn't want to start. It's really taking the kick out of the battery so I'll get a that new one ordered tomorrow, and look in to trying the other plugs. My other thought is it could be air in the fuel lines.
 
Another post! Got some new glow plugs today and it seems OK for now, it hasn't got really cold out there yet though. I've also ordered the new battery.

Edit: Great success! At the moment at least it seems that the new plugs did the job, fired up first time, every time tonight. :D
 
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Many posts, lots of progress. I bought a pair of propshafts in the week because my old front one is seized solid. Maybe over a couple of centuries it will free up but for now I have a replacement.

Prop shaft this morning after being cleaned up and greased (the first time I've successfully managed to grease a propshaft too):



The new battery has arrived and has been fitted, along with the new glow plugs the Disco now starts first time, every time. It doesn't even seem to need to turn over once.

I've made progress with swapping the light clusters for ones with indicators. After having no luck in finding the correct type of female space connector I've decided to forget using the multi-plug at all and solder standard female spade connectors to the steel 'tracks' that run along the back of the cluster. I can now sort the wiring and get the job done.



Progress on other upgrades is at the decision making stage. I've been offered a front winch bumper with spot lights (but no winch), which would transform the front of the truck along with adding welcome extra lighting, but up to that point I was going to buy a Safari snorkel. I'm not sure which to go for first, the bumper deal seems too good to miss (it's a used bumper but will be cleaned and painted, and is a fraction of the cost of a new bumper alone).

I need to decide what I'm doing with the side trim. I keep looking at it and thinking that it really spoils the look of the truck being all mismatched, peeling off in some places and generally nasty. I think it needs to come off when I fit the chequer plate but I don't know if I'll replace it, kits start at ?80, a genuine Land Rover set is more than ?200.

Finally I'll be taking the headlining out at some point, ripping off the fabric and foam and painting the lot with plasti-dip. Note sure on the colour yet, I could go for black, white (to lighten the interior) or a mixture. I'll have to order enough of the stuff that a mixture would be very possible.
 
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1994 Land Rover Discovery ES - Heart transplant time

1994 Land Rover Discovery ES - Heart transplant time

Since you have an affinity for water, I would suggest a snorkel first. Consider offering the bumper guy a deposit and then pick up the bumper when you get paid next?
 
Since you have an affinity for water, I would suggest a snorkel first. Consider offering the bumper guy a deposit and then pick up the bumper when you get paid next?

This, or get the bumper and stay out of the water. But seeing as the latter is not likely, I'd follow Spectre's advice-it never hurts to ask!
 
Since you have an affinity for water, I would suggest a snorkel first.

That's why I'm trying to get the snorkel as soon as possible. I've been avoiding deep water but there's always a risk.

Sounds like a good plan, I'll send him a text message and see what he says. He's actually out playing at an off road site today, I was invited but I'm not prepared to take the Disco to an off road site yet (for obvious reasons).
 
Most people seem to be fine with the 'leave a deposit and come back for it shortly' idea, so you should hopefully have good luck with that. I've lost count of how many vehicles and vehicle parts I've gotten over the years that way.

It's when you ask them to hold it without a deposit (to show you are serious) that you run into objections. :p
 
Well I've spoken to him and he won't be able to get it sorted until the new year, which is fine for me because I can save. He's also looking for another turbo after the oil seals in his went today (familiar?) so I can let him have my old turbo in return for a discount on the bumper. :)
 
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