Thread: Puma engine Problems

Sorry to hear of your plight.
I don’t have any answers for you, just a similar problem I had with mine.
March this year the Family, the Fender, the dog and I were all packed up and heading down the Freeway for four days of family fun and togetherness etc. About an hour and 15mins out of town the Fender, with only 8,000 odd clicks on it just died? One minute we’re traveling along at 110Kph the next, nothing. No warning lights, nada. Coasted to the side of the Freeway and pulled over. Tried to start the vehicle and it fired up and idled on problem, gave the engine a bit of a rev, once it hit 2000rpm it died again! Fired it up again and limped it (kept the engine under 2000rpm) until I was able to park it safely down a side road. I started thinking about fuel problems, where I filled up before I left home etc. Checked all the fuses and checked for sediment in the fuel filter. Nothing. Rang ‘Land Rover Assist’ and they sent out the RAC!! (What the?) He had no idea. To cut the story short and stop boring people to death. It was a tilt tray job back to the house and the next morning it was another tilt tray to the dealer ship. 10 hour round trip back to the house.
We went on our holiday in the wife’s shopping trolley and I picked the Fender up the following Monday.
Cause: #4 cylinder injector plug had come loose? I found that al little hard to believe? But the fault has not reoccurred? Questions where asked like ‘Were you driving on corrugated roads”? “Had you been 4wding”? No and no, but as mentioned before “these are off road vehicles and should not suffer from minor problems that stop you from doing what I perceive they were designed for.
I do hope they sort your problem out and get you back ‘off road’ again soon. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Barra1

Am I being sarcastic? No - I just can't understand why there are any unexplainable engine problems - it is not as if it was the TD5 - a completely new engine.

you might be forgetting Murphys law. Ive got plenty of experience with series rovers and every now and then something thats been around for 30+ years still manages to throw a curve ball.

the transit engine is a relatively new bit of kit and its a ford engine which isnt something that Rover have much to do with.

Its kinda like having a BBQ and demanding to know why the aussie at the grill cant do you a sausage meat doner kebab because after all its still food and its got the same basic ingredients.

thanks to all for your suggestions & similar stories. I have involved Landrover Aus. since day one, and have worn out the re-dial button on the phone to them. The dealership has refused to do anymore work to the vehicle until we conceed that we may have to pay for the repair as they have found contamination in the fuel tank. Big deal I told them,I could drain the diesel tank on any vehicle and find contamination in it. What I want to know is how enough crap got through a 5 micron filter to damage the injectors after only 11 000 km. I put it to them that the filtration system on the vehicle is not up to the job. I feel this "contamination " b/s is a ploy for them to avoid honouring the warranty. I have heard from a few other people who were told the same thing, and were good enough to stump up the money (we are talking $8,500 - $10,000 !) I personally feel these common rail engines are not up to the job, they may be fine on the bitumen in Europe, but here we have long distances, high temps, rough roads, dust etc. These being the reason most of us choose a 4WD in the 1st place. Be warned fellow Puma owners, the fight continues!

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

if the injector is stuck open,,
wont the cylinder eventually hydraulic?

Yes, that was my reply to the dealer.He claimed it had "hydrauliced" causing the piston to bounce back down, starting the engine in reverse. I said b/s, as the piston travels down & overcentre then up again,the diesel will still be above the piston and it will hydraulic again as it approaches top dead centre, sending the piston spinning forwards ?

What a load of cobblers. IF the cylinder had hydraulic lock enough to force the engine in reverse, it would've bent the connecting rod.

As to the fuel contamination subject, I would be asking for a copy of the fuel report. Perfectly useable and saleabl;e Diesel can 'fail' an industry standard due to very small particulates and moisture, which wouldn't effect the running of the engine. Once diesel fuel is exposed to the atmosphere, with its hydroscopic properties it will soon 'fail' stringent moisture test results, even though the fuel is quite OK for normal use.

JC

Originally Posted by LowRanger

Is the reason that they think it is running backwards the fact that it is blowing smoke out the intake? If so,that is a very broad assumption.
It could be something as simple as incorrect valve timing??????
How do they know that no1 injector is stuck open?? Have they physically removed it and checked? Or have they just seen fuel in no1 cylinder?
Maybe the injector is being held open by an ecu or loom fault??

I think I would bring the matter up with your state automobile association and or consumer affairs,due to the time frame involved already.
It isn't rocket science,after all it is only an internal combustion engine,with minimal electronics to supply fuel,and the engine has been around for quite a few years,so there is no new technology.Obviously the people working on it are either incompetent or it is stuck in the corner of a workshop,where someone just looks at it occasionally when all the paying jobs are out of the way.

Wayne

thanks, I have made around 15 calls to L/R each time asking for the next highest monkey up the tree. Was finally told I had reached the "end of the road" and could take my complaint no higher, but she "understood my frustration". I feel it is my Landrover that has reached "the end of the road" and she'll "understand my frustration" when I drive through the front door with a tank! Happy Landrovering.

Originally Posted by Dieseldog

Yes, that was my reply to the dealer.He claimed it had "hydrauliced" causing the piston to bounce back down, starting the engine in reverse. I said b/s, as the piston travels down & overcentre then up again,the diesel will still be above the piston and it will hydraulic again as it approaches top dead centre, sending the piston spinning forwards ?

not quite.... but then

for the same reason that you are incorrect the dealer is also incorrect. (thats to do with the phasing of the strokes)

if it was a 6 pot the logic for the "bounce" start off of a hydraulic'ed piston would be "technically" feasible but then you come up against the problem of... if the piston was hydraulic'ed to a stop and liquid doesnt compress and therefore cant be made to expand how does it push the piston back past it initial point given the entropy of the engery used to compress the air in the cylinder means that the piston wont move back past its starting point on compressed air alone....

so lets asssume that the non atomised fuel that was flooding the cylinder actually managed to compress and ignite and try to fling the crank backwards whats happened to the sprag on the statermotor that pulls the drive pinion out of mesh with the flywheel when the engine is started. For that matter what has happend to the teeth on the starter pinion and the ring gear.

While we're at that... get the dealer to put in writing that the engine was observed to be running backwards as evident by white smoke exiting the air intake.

once youve gotten that I'll provide you with the irrefutable documentation that should get you a new engine.

Originally Posted by Dieseldog

thanks, I have made around 15 calls to L/R each time asking for the next highest monkey up the tree. Was finally told I had reached the "end of the road" and could take my complaint no higher, but she "understood my frustration". I feel it is my Landrover that has reached "the end of the road" and she'll "understand my frustration" when I drive through the front door with a tank! Happy Landrovering.

As I mentioned,it is time to get some external entities involved,ring RACQ and Consumer affairs,they have special departments to deal with Automotive disputes,once you have spoken with them,then let the dealer and LRA know that you are taking it to the next level.Most dealerships don't like it when Consumer affairs become involved.

Wayne