NewBie needs Mechanic Help

Recently purchased a 1999 Discovery 1 SD with 113K miles and was loving it.

After running good for a couple of months I took her for a run this Tuesday evening
and she just stalled on me. Initially she fired back up and ran for about 20-30 secs and
then shutdown. Now she will not restart.

She has gas and the fuel pump sounds as if its kicking in, so I guess I need to check
and replace crankshaft position sensor & Fuel Filter but any other suggestions to
try and resolve the cause would be useful.

I live near Poughkeepsie NY so if anybody knows a good independent Landrover mechanic
with the necessary diagnostic tools that they would recommend to get me back on the road and my
love affair resumed asap that would be appreciated also.

Thanks in Advance

you have been using hi-octane gas right? 91+? you sound like you are on the right track with the fuel filter and CPS, i would do the filter first and then the CPS. im going to Albany next week for a conference. If you are around next sat i can stop by on my way back down.

Thanks for the offer of assistance. I have been using 91+ since purchased but do not know
what has been used previously. I will order the parts from Atlantic British and let you know
the outcome.

Before ordering parts I would troubleshoot a little more. Any car needs the 3 basic things, air, fuel and spark.

You say you can hear the fuel pump so if your injectors are getting fuel you will start. Even if only a few don't work I would think it would start but just run poor. Check to see if you are getting fuel at the injectors to rule out the fuel filter being clogged or the fuel pump being dead.

Then move onto the spark plugs. Pull a spark plug and check to make sure it is getting spark while turning the engine over.

Then air is easy. The maf plugged in?

I woudl do that to narrow down the problem instead of just throwing money at parts that may be good.

Maybe there is a huge vacuum leak somewhere and all you need is a new vacuum hose. Cheap fix.

KingKong8247 wrote:

Before ordering parts I would troubleshoot a little more. Any car needs the 3 basic things, air, fuel and spark.

You say you can hear the fuel pump so if your injectors are getting fuel you will start. Even if only a few don't work I would think it would start but just run poor. Check to see if you are getting fuel at the injectors to rule out the fuel filter being clogged or the fuel pump being dead.

Then move onto the spark plugs. Pull a spark plug and check to make sure it is getting spark while turning the engine over.

Then air is easy. The maf plugged in?

I woudl do that to narrow down the problem instead of just throwing money at parts that may be good.

Maybe there is a huge vacuum leak somewhere and all you need is a new vacuum hose. Cheap fix.

A+ or try starting it in neutral if it works like my truck :-) (still need to look into that)

Here's a decent write up I found

first determine if you are getting fuel to the engine. You could remove one of the spark plugs and see if there is fuel on the plugs.

If there is fuel on the plugs it could indicate that 1) fuel pump is working; 2) not enough spark exists to ignite this fuel - engine is 'flooding'.

IF fuel is present (you can smell it if you deliberately try to flood the engine) then you have to look at the spark. Its possible that your coilpack has problems. One way to test this is (wear protective gloves) remove one of the sparkplug wires (be organized and start with cyl.8 then 7, ...) and hold it very close to the enging block (solid ground) while the engine is running. You should see a spark as the electricity jumps to ground. Do this will all the wires.

In your case, its more ignition related. Could be fuel pump (random delivery of fuel), clogged fuel filter, injectors fouled, vacuum hose cracked or blocked. It could also be spark related, worn spark plug wires, bad coilpack, loose spark plugs, failing alternator.

SO..first determine if you have fuel delivery then determine is sparking exists. At this point could be coilpack related (I've seen this on my vehicles). Some say the coilpack is more likely to fail over the older coil/distributor combo. If you've not changed your plugs and wires for the past 2 years, now's the time.

Most of this Billy covered just gives you a couple ways to do some testing so you can target the issue.

you guys are right i should have never assumed he already checked for spark. if he just got the truck a $15 fuel filter is probably not a bad idea even if it's not the problem. when i pick up a rig i do all fluids and filters just because you never know what the hell the last owner did.

Hilltoppersx wrote:

you guys are right i should have never assumed he already checked for spark. if he just got the truck a $15 fuel filter is probably not a bad idea even if it's not the problem. when i pick up a rig i do all fluids and filters just because you never know what the hell the last owner did.

I'm still waiting for the one the last owner bought and never put in. I'm about to just buy one myself..

Thanks for all the useful information. I have been far too busy at work to progress,
but will let you know the outcome.
Thanks Again.

britnusA wrote:

Thanks for all the useful information. I have been far too busy at work to progress,
but will let you know the outcome.
Thanks Again.

good luck! I'm battling a overheating issue..

It was ECU after all. The workshop diagnostic could not even access the device.

After obtaining an exact replacement unit from Tomsforeign in Waterbury CT for $150
with a 6month Warranty and after reprogramming the unit, I am now back on the road.

Hoping this is it for the the time being.

I have been feeling the effects of withdrawal after nearly 4 weeks so glad to get
her back on the road.

Its great to belong to a forum where you can obtain constructive and
helpful comments.

Thanks everybody

cant beat $150!!! glad you are back on the road!