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BecauseLandRover

Member Since: 27 Oct 2015
Location: Portsmouth/Cambridge
Posts: 17

Non starter after head rebuild-(fixed)-Now running in issues

Hi all, just finished rebuilding the head.

(Back story) Car has just had a complete new set of parts, water pump, timing chain, thermostat, new gaskets, filters and radiator etc. Head had been pressure tested and there are no leaks or issues with the actual work that has been carried out. We steam cleaned the engine prior to disassembly to get rid of oil and grease and excessive dirt. yr2000/99 model Defender 90

(Main issue)The engine is turning over, but it isn't starting.

The ECU had the usual oil in and was throwing codes, so it was removed cleaned (electrical system cleaning product used) and dried then plugged back in.....No joy!

The fuel pump isn't engaging, is there any possible reason for this? The car had a piranha alarm/immob system which had been removed (although bits of it seem to still be in place) car would start fine with no immob key prior to rebuild- Do we rekon there might be a connection??

Tomorrow the fuel pump will be hard wired, to see if the engine will start. If anyone has any advice on what could be the cause, I would appreciate it. Also if the ECU is duff, where is best to source one at an affordable price.

Any help much appreciated. Thanks

Last edited by BecauseLandRover on 17th Nov 2015 6:44pm. Edited 1 time in total

9th Nov 2015 7:19pm

Skeggy 90

Member Since: 07 Oct 2013
Location: Skeg Vegas
Posts: 233

Does the fuel pump run if you floor the throttle 5 times with the ignition on, this is used to bleed the fuel system. It should go on and off for about 5 minutes and the engine light should flash during this. If not it's a fault with either fuse, relay or pump. You could give a squirt of either WD40 or break cleaner in the air box to see if it fires without fuel. Only give it a tiny squirt but this will prove everything else is ok. 90 300 TDI SW (sold)
130 TD5 Utility (Foley SV) (sold)
110 TD5 Hardtop (sold)
110 TDCI Utility (sold)
1st Edition Range Rover Sport Supercharged
Velar P380 HSE
Discovery 1 V8 auto
Puma 130 Double Cab (sold)
R35 GTR
Defender 110 300 TDI CSW (sold)
2010 110 XS Utility

9th Nov 2015 7:33pm

derbywill

Member Since: 25 Mar 2010
Location: Derbyshire
Posts: 556

Try resetting the fuel cut of switch on the bulkhead you could have knocked it doing the rebuild.
Regards
Will 2005 90 XS
1954 86'' Series 1 tilt
1968 88” 2A 200tdi
2002 110 Hardtop

9th Nov 2015 8:52pm

BecauseLandRover

Member Since: 27 Oct 2015
Location: Portsmouth/Cambridge
Posts: 17

Thanks for the reply Skeggy, I will have to see if those methods work tomorrow. It does sound like there are a few tricks that we missed there, so will relay that info and see what comes back.

It's pretty frustrating because by the level of the rebuild there's not many things stopping it from working. Hopefully it may be as simple as bleeding the system.

9th Nov 2015 8:54pm

BecauseLandRover

Member Since: 27 Oct 2015
Location: Portsmouth/Cambridge
Posts: 17

Thanks Derby Will, these are good simple suggestions, that we may have overlooked, pretty much every problem so far has been the nuclear option, its easy to over look the simple stuff.

The ECU was still throwing codes, not sure if that will go away if we can get the engine to run properly.

9th Nov 2015 9:03pm

derbywill

Member Since: 25 Mar 2010
Location: Derbyshire
Posts: 556

If the cut of switch is tripped I beleave it can cause errors in the ECU
Will 2005 90 XS
1954 86'' Series 1 tilt
1968 88” 2A 200tdi
2002 110 Hardtop

9th Nov 2015 9:06pm

BecauseLandRover

Member Since: 27 Oct 2015
Location: Portsmouth/Cambridge
Posts: 17

Well just an update, the priming and bleeding didn't work although the engine light flashed as stated. The immobiliser (which was supposed to have been removed) was then fully removed (proper job) and the loom restored to factory.

It turned out the fuel pump is knackered...oh and the ECU might still be duff, but apparently there were some bad earth's which may be why the ECU was throwing up odd codes. We had a special visit from an AA guy with a preloaded diagnostics kit for the TD5 who helped narrow it all down.

so we are going to drop the tank and hopefully just fit a lift pump that we have lying around, if not we will have to order one of those too.

Fingers crossed that's the end of it, but who knows... Apparently the pressure was simply drawing the fuel through with out any need for the fuel pump, so that's fairly impressive if a little scary. It seems this car prior to the work being done would have been a ticking time bomb of problems.

Thanks for all the advice so far, it did all help.

11th Nov 2015 8:25am

BecauseLandRover

Member Since: 27 Oct 2015
Location: Portsmouth/Cambridge
Posts: 17

Update**

So the car is running well now and it was dropped off for an MOT, however there are 2 things that dont sit well with me and need sorting. In the end we had immobiliser completely removed from loom and new fuel pump fitted.

The temp gauge doesn't move even after a good run-might be why the head gasket situation got so bad, no way of telling how hot it was getting. What would be the fix here? Is the sensor more likely to pack up before the gauge itself?

The other issue is: Now the biting point is really different to how I remember. The clutch pedal travel is very minimal before it engages, making it a pain to change gear/sit in traffic. What's the normal fix for something like this, bleed system or tweak pedal?

Any answers much appreciated.

17th Nov 2015 6:54pm

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