Thread: 300 Tdi POWER LOSS

Sounds like you have split a turbo hose, check the elbow off the turbo and the other hoses to and from the intercooler, some insulation tape should get you out of trouble, for now, check thoroughly as the split can be hard to detect, Regards Frank.

Thanks Frank. I noticed the elbow from the airbox was soft even at ambient air temp. Does the intake air exit the turbo at the bottom hose at the intercooler and exit at the top then into the intake manifold?

Mine is doing that intermittently as well which is making it a bugger to find. Most of the time I have good throttle, but, then for a while I have to put the foot flat to the floor to get 90 and it uses a heap of fuel. I have all new hoses and a new intercooler. I am going to investigate a manifold leak next, but want to buy VNT Turbo first so I don't have to pull apart twice.


A mate did a manifold gasket and had this problem. The other thing I have not looked at is a diaphragm in the injector pump or a sticking pin in the pump.


Mine is manual and I am also having the trouble trying to accelerate in 5th.

Yep. Under high load the noise does sound like a badly leaking exhaust manifold gasket. My first diesel though so nothing to compare it to😕

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Originally Posted by WillsTdi

Thanks Frank. I noticed the elbow from the airbox was soft even at ambient air temp. Does the intake air exit the turbo at the bottom hose at the intercooler and exit at the top then into the intake manifold?

The air exits the turbo via the 90 degree bend onto a metal pipe then another hose at the bottom of the intercooler and out of the top hose of the intercooler to the plenum manifold.
I had exactly the same symptoms as you described, but when I ran my hand around the first 90 pipe and the others I could feel no splits or holes.
I had to remove the 90 hose and actually deform this hose to expose the 50mm split along the back radius, this was the test drive of this current Disco, so I reinstalled it and took it back to the car yard and said it wouldn't pull a greasy stick out of a dogs bum, the salesman agreed and I knocked $2500 off the price.
So you really need to remove the hoses for a proper check, inside and out, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by Tank

The air exits the turbo via the 90 degree bend onto a metal pipe then another hose at the bottom of the turbo and out of the top hose of the intercooler to the plenum manifold.
I had exactly the same symptoms as you described, but when I ran my hand around the first 90 pipe and the others I could feel no splits or holes.
I had to remove the 90 hose and actually deform this hose to expose the 50mm split along the back radius, this was the test drive of this current Disco, so I reinstalled it and took it back to the car yard and said it wouldn't pull a greasy stick out of a dogs bum, the salesman agreed and I knocked $2500 off the price.
So you really need to remove the hoses for a proper check, inside and out, Regards Frank.

Thanks Frank. Guess what I'll be doing New Years Day before the Sun gets too hot in Sydney.

Originally Posted by WillsTdi

Thanks Frank. Guess what I'll be doing New Years Day before the Sun gets too hot in Sydney.

Pulling a greasy stick out of a dogs bum?

Update. Pulled all the turbo hoses, they are all fine. The line from the turbo to the wastegate actuator is intact, as is the line from the turbo to injector pump. The fuel filter is new. The lift pump is also new. One thing I forgot to mention was several time over the last month I've smelled diesel after switching the engine off, but could see no visible leaks anywhere.

I started the Disco this morning and even at idle the tell tale sounds of a blown exhaust manifold gasket can be heard. Once up to temp, the noise is still there but not as loud, full throttle under load the noise is louder as the tach approaches 3000 rpm. It still sounds like a blown manifold gasket, and at idle the tic,tic.tic is coming from the passengers side of the engine.

I'll get a new manifold gasket fitted and see how it goes.

I think the 'down on power' feeling was because the Disco was loaded up with camper and stuff and maybe I was expecting little too much. I know from my job as a heavy vehicle driver that high ambient air temps can have a noticeable effect on turbo diesels.