Thread: td5 running problem riddle

BTW 'they' are the RAC in Mildura apparently.

My money is on the fuel pump

Is there a way of checking the fuel pump pressure and flow rate on a td5? Being an ex Ford mechanic I know how to do it on a Falcon!

Here is the email I just received from the gent. I have also asked him which are the green lights that flash just before the problem happens, so I'll see what he says. (I recommended that he sign up to AULRO):

"Hi there David,
Thanks for sparing me the time to speak about the dodgy diesel system in my car. Please convey my sincere apologies to Catherine for accosting her in the street and asking her lots of questions about the LandRover. I do hope I did not delay her too long.

If you are going to post on AULRO (for which I am much obliged) the following may add some clues.

1. The two green lights seem to predominate in this problem and have often given me problems before but not to this extent. (I use the lock/unlock sequence to get out of it.)
2. First started to cause a major problem shortly after coming from Sydney and travelling from Yass, through to Jerilderie and up towards Robinvale where it first came to a halt.
3. It was the start of that very heavy rain at the end of last week (9th,10th & 11th)and I drove through the rain continuously from Yass.
4. I got about 50 km short of Robinvale and I started to feel a strong vibration a bit like going over a corrugated road.
5. I pulled over to the side of the road and the engine juddered to a stop.
6. I tried to start it but it just started to run like it was on one or two cylinders and just juddered to a stop again.
7. Called roadside assistance and was eventually taken on a trailer into Robinvale.
8. RACV in Robinvale did not have a computer diagnostic machine so on the Monday they put it on another trailer and took it to Mildura RACV where they had a machine.
9. The vehicle spent the next 5 days at this garage where they checked the fuel system and found a bad leak coming from the fuel regulator. This they replaced.
10.A subsequent road test revealed an engine miss but no fault codes became evident.
11.They cleaned the injector loom front connector and replaced the diesel soaked crank angle sensor.
12.They noted that the fuel pump is very loud and the fuel pressure is 20% too high (100kpa)

From my observations I note the following.

1. Throughout all this, the engine temperature gauge did not move and stayed at 3 O?clock
2. The ABS warning lights (the 3 amigos) constantly on and always were.
3. Prior to this incident, I would often at slow speeds in a carpark or similar situation, have the engine stop on me and the two green lights start flashing on.
4. Recently however on this trip I noticed for the first time the Transmission temperature warning light flickering on and off but only for a second or two.

Further information that may have a bearing:

1. About 3 or 4 months ago I picked up the wrong hose at a servo and put petrol in the tank by mistake. The car was not started but trailered to a nearby garage where the tank was drained and the fuel filter at the back was replaced. It made no difference to the running of the car at the time.

Well David, that's about all I can tell you. I figure as a mechanic you may possibly see a pattern form there and the answer might be very simple. I hope so.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards
Simon"

Yep sounds most likely the fuel pump but it is a Landy so it could be another thing guising itself , Easy way to check fuel pump is turn ignition on and listen to the pump, if the pump takes more than a minute to pressurize or runs for ages its done, when mine went it took about 3 minutes to run up

Yes the pump in ours was noisy and ran for ages with the key on just before it packed up. Interesting that the RAC said the pressure was too high.

The fuel pump making alot of noise is the give away , They do make a noise but more of a whirl than whine .
Tell him next time it stops to cycle the ign then get under the rear and belt the fuel tank and if the pump starts good chance the engine will .
The pump still needs to be replaced ASAP

Originally Posted by Davetd5

Is there a way of checking the fuel pump pressure and flow rate on a td5?

Yes, to screw in a gauge instead of the temp sensor in the FPR, there must be 4 bar or above, the engine will run with lower pressure too but not well

as long as there are no fault codes logged it's more likely that it's a fuel delivery issue cos that's not covered by diagnostics... that symptom can happen if the injector washers/seals are worn as well and there will be no faults logged either