thirsty disco 300tdi auto any ideas

[landyrangey]

hello everyone ive got a disco 300tdi auto ive had it for twelve months now and kept it well serviced but only gettin 15 to the gallon its a p reg with the edc pump and i dont no wether to convert it to the early manual pump to try and improve it.has any one any other ideas wot it could be causing it 

[SteveGoodz]

I recently sold my 300Tdi auto (EDC) and replaced it with a V8 - which is doing better mpg than the diesel even on LPG!!

I spent ages trying all sorts of tricks but still have no idea why the Tdi was so bad.

Good luck with finding the problem :-)

[Cheggs]

My 300 Auto seems very thirsty too, I'm getting 16mpg in normal use and 22mpg on long runs, will K&N filters and blocking the EGR help, I have flushed the intercooler, and don't usually exceed 2000rpm. Sorry for jumping on board your topic. :)

[muddyjames]

Blimey. This has made me feel slightly better! Mine gets anout 23mpg running around town and 19mpg towing my twin axle caravan.

I did 300 miles last weekend, 200 of those was towing and at 1 stage it was up a 14% hill for about 2 miles and in 1st gear still loosing speed!!! I was down to 15mph at the top!

Anyway. I have found that taking off the kick down has helped mpg by about 2-3mpg. Dead easy job to do. It stops the gearbox kicking down on slight hills and you can plant your foot to the floor up a hill and wont change down and will hold that gear a bit longer. Only thing is though when you pull away you need to hold it manauly in 3rd then at 3000rpm move the lever to D otherwise it gets into 4th at about 30mph and struggles to pull away.

I have a safari snorkel and think that has improved things a bit. also a clean air filter helps loads. My last one was so blocked up it had mis shappen from where the engine was trying to suck the whole filter into the engine!

I do tend to stick to 55mph on a roads. It gives the gearbox time to get into lock up or what ever it is called and cruises nicely then when I see a hill speed up to keep momentum and stay in 4th hopefully.

[Cheggs]

would a fuel lift pump cause these issues? Mine has no resistance when I operate the lever so must be D

[stageonesimmo]

Not really as all it does is deliver the fuel the engine needs (plus a bit in reserve which goes back to the tank if not needed), so in essence - if the lift pump's working below par, the engine cant use more fuel as the pump cant deliver it.

Have you got any smoke issues - i.e. big clouds of black stuff on pull away or on heavy throttle?  This would point to it over-fueling and is a good indication as james points out, of a clogged air filter.  I'd start there then put a good couple of doses of injector/fuel system cleaner through it  then watch the MPGs for a bit and see if they improve.

Other than that, not much to add as I'm not too familiar with the EDC or autos as all of my LR products have, or had, no such tomfoolery attached.........

[muddyjames]

re the clouds of smoke under heavy throttle.

Mine does that and I can only see it when towing up a steep hill as the smoke is only visable on the white background of the caravan front! I was told it is the timing or fuel pump has been tweaked. Maybe this might be an issue for you to look at too if you have smoke.

I am guessing on mine it is the fuel pump as it is an ex police engine.

what does the edc do, look like? Dont think I have it on my M reg.

[Cheggs]

I  Only get smoke if I use excessive revs About 3500+ rpm but only did that once, when seeing how hard I could push it when I first got it, I have had one load of Reddex for Diesel through her, I'll try that again, once I have had the Pulley stud helicoiled, How would I be able to check if the fueling has been turned up, because it certainly doesn't show in the performance?

[stageonesimmo]

In essence, you cant!  The bolts and diaphragm aren't marked at manufacture so if they've been moved you wont be able to tell.  You can however look at the fuel stop pin, (under the diaphragm with lives under the round cap with the bolts at the timing case end of the FIP), and see if it has evidence of an older wear groove on it, this would show that the diagphragm has been moved so possibly the other settings have as well............ The old groove would be anti-clockwise of the current one as will show that its been rotated to allow the stop pin to move out further before halting the fueling, thus putting in more fuel for any given boost.......