TD5 Power Loss - SE Service suggestions?

[africa-eko]

Hi all

I am having a similar power loss while on motorways cruising along: suddenly (for me) the tem gauge signals increase in temp, i get loss of power and accelaration, the temp gauge goes up to red and then straight to zero while the red light lights up and power decreases further. At times, it goes no more than 30 miles, if that. For a motorway, this can even be dangerous ad I am concerned as I do not know how dangerous it is.

There is no problem with mild traffic and in town, but on motorways, after the first hour (perhaps also when I have the heating on - is this related?) it starts playing up.

I need to have it checked but do not know where to go as I know no one who has had a decent service garage (LR or independent) - bought the car a couple of months back.

Would anyone recommend some place for servicing within an hour from Bexley Kent?

Cheers
Evina

[Jimbo]

This sounds very much like the dreaded Td5 head gasket problem - have you checked the coolant (water & anti-freeze) level in the expansion tank ? You'll find the expansion tank just behind the battery - the water level should be near to the max when the engine is cold.

Check the oil filler cap - if it's got a creamy/gooey/mayonaise muck on it then the head gasket is definitely trashed. If the oil filler cap is clean, you could still have a gasket problem - as the gasket can breakdown between a cylinder and waterway, allowing exhaust gases into the cooling system.

What year is your truck ?

Jim

[africa-eko]

Hi there Jim, the disco is a late 2002 model and has already clocked 90k.
I will look into the gasket issue you described and hopefully this will be it.

How dangerous is it to still be driving around without having fixed the problem?

Apart from servicing it properly, would a small garage be able to fix this and how much do you think I should be lookingto pay?

Evina

[Jimbo]

It would be worth getting a reliable garage to check for combustion gases in the coolant (never done it myself, but I believe it's some sort of chemical-type test) - this will prove if it is the head gasket.

In theory a late 02 model will have metal head-locating dowels, the earlier Td5's had plastic ( :shock: ) dowels, which melted and allowed the head to shift very slightly on the block.

If you keep driving the truck whilst it's overheating, you will at best wreck the head (approx £1000 for a new one + fitting), at worst you could frazzle the whole lump.......and that's gonna be a whole lot of wedge.

Best thing to do is check the coolant level when cold, and check it everyday (depending on how often/how far you drive each day), and keep it topped up, but I'd get it looked at as soon as poss.

It is possible that you just have a faulty temperature sensor, which is causing the gauge to go into the red, and at the same time signalling the ECU to go into safe mode (the 40mph limit thing). On way to check this is to (carefully) make the truck overheat, then stop in a safe place, lift the bonnet and look for steam venting from the expansion tank (the screw cap on the top has a pressure relief valve in it). If the coolant/water level is normal, and there's no sign of coolant being expelled through the cap then it sounds like you might just have a duff sensor.

You could also check the expansion tank when it's cold - if there is a pinky/orange stain down the side then it's almost certainly blowing coolant out.

Personally, I'd get it looked at quick, by someone who knows the Td5 lump - a lot of small garages will either shy away from the Td5 or charge you a fortune for doing the head gasket when it doesn't need it.

Best of luck,

[Jimbo]

Duh, just realised my stoopid mistake in my first reply - as this post is in the Defender section, the coolant expansion tank will not be behind the battery............cos that's under the passenger seat  (the battery that is !).

[africa-eko]

Jim , mine is a discovery anyway, did I post in the defender section?????

Thanks for the long reply, I m going to be printing off the entire thread and head for the garage tomorrow morning.

Only problem is, apart from an all rounder garage around here, I have no clue how to find a decent garage within a radius of say 50 miles from where I live (Greenwich/Bexley Borders SE2).

If anyone knows anyone good in NW Kent, SE london or Dartford area, please let me know.

Otherwise, I ll see what they say tomorrow morning and take it from there!

Evina