My Dodgy Disco, an update and a plea for advice....

Ah! I just re-read the post in this thread from Tank - I now know what the MAF is and where it is located. I will follow his instructions. Is there any way to test the output of this if I do get a multimeter?

Thanks everyone. First stop tomorrow will be supercheap auto, there is onw 10 miutes from here, then total tools, which is right next doot to it. Then a day of tinkering.

Steep learning curve, but I have always wanted to learn more anout engines, here is my chance lol. Will report back tomorrow on how things go.

Then post some more questions, there is a lot needs doing to this car. Despite that I am loving the vehicle, it is sooooo cool! lol

save your money and hold off from buying a torque wrench just yet, it is not necessary for the small beginner jobs you are doing at the moment

supercheap have multimeters for $10-15, cant go wrong at that price!

A bit worried about getting the plugs back in tight enough, and not too tight. How critical is it?

do it by feel, it is pretty easy to tell how tight they should be, once it is home, just a small nip past that

Thanks Jazza, will do that then.

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A bit worried about getting the plugs back in tight enough, and not too tight. How critical is it?

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Agree as above.
Old plugs are different to new plugs where you have to turn 1/2 turn as they have crush washers. On old plugs the washers are already crushed so you just take them down until they feel tight , then just a bit more.
Regards Philip A

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Originally Posted by Mattskii

Hi,
Looks like the plug going to the coolant temp sender has a brown plastic housing, and the one goinng to the fuel temp sensor has a grey plastic housing. Is this right?

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same as on mine. i had mine apart recently but took photos incase had a brain fade along the way and went to put them back in the wrong way around.

OK, work done today so far:

Removed and cleaned the IAC. Not sure I understood the instructions well though, I could not find any springs or a cone? just a rectangular slot which had something at the bottom of it. The hole going through to the plenum was just a hole, there was something inside it I could feel with my finger. I looked in the Haynes manual and I think I was feeling the air ram tube for the rear cylinder.

I sprayed the hot wire on the MAF.

I removed all spark plugs ans reduced the gap to exactly 0.8mm. Most were dry and caked with hard black carbon, in positions 1 and 3 (The front 2 on the left hand side) were damp and smelly. All had nice sharp edges on the electrode.

Started easily and drove well on my test drive. I will leave it a few hours to cool and see how it starts from cold. The engine was slightly warm as I had driven to the shops to purchase tools etc about an hour and a half before starting, only a 5 minute drive away. I waited until it was cool enough to touch - about the temp of a half drunk cup of tea! lol

I checked the bulbs behind the SRS light on the tacho - they have been removed by someone. Dodgy! (And remember, this car just passed it's RWC a week ago)

After some lunch I will try and fix the dodgy high range/low range selector. Another update will surely follow that!

Thanks eveyone for your encouragement and help.

Hi matt, sorry to hear of your troubles. I learnt alot about my disco from asking questions on here, plug away at it, you'll find the problem eventually and you will learn alot of diagnostic skills along the way.

I cant help a great deal with the V8 side of things, mine is diesel. But I can help you out with work shop tools if you havent sorted yourself out. Check out the link to my shop in my signature, I can help set you up with some discounts if you need any more tools.

Matt

OK, some more re****s:

Tested the coolant temp sensor. Set the multi meter to 2k and when the engine was almost totally cold it was reading 1.50. Went for a long run, came back with the engine hot, and it reads .259. So it seems to be working. Not that I know much about what these numbers mean?! lol Not too sure about how well the connector is working though - it slides on and off easier than a hot knife through butter.... is there any way to check it is making a good connection?

It is still not starting well from cold. Takes about 7 or 8 secconds of turning over before I start to get any ignition, then it chugs away and stops when I release the key. On the seccond attemt it is the same unless I give it some throttle when it starts chugging, then it crawls into life. Once it is running it seems to run nicely though.

Idle speed is just under 750 rpm. The guy I got it from was adjusting the hex nut by the accelerator cable on the air intake with an alan key to set the revs. Not sure this was the right thing to do as the haynes manual says this should be left for a workshop with test gear? Do you reccon it will be OK?

Big question is - do I go to Vicroads tomorrow and put this in my name, or do I fight him for a refund? Given the list of faults, the missing bulbs behind the SRS light - so I assume the airbag system is bust...... What to do? Should I threaten him with dobbing him in to Vicroads?

Well, here I am again, bloody annoyed that a so called mate has done me. Who can you trust? :mad: