So I bought a beat up 97 Disco in hopes of having a project to teach my son how to work on cars. This thing was filthy, so I have been pressure washing everything (I mean everything)
It had a check engine light, so I bought a code reader and replaced the O2 sensors, changed plugs, wires, oil, etc. and I cleared the light and it was running great. I also pulled the ECM and cleaned that and sealed it up tight (British engineers are morons). Because it has leaks seemingly everywhere, I wanted to clean the engine to isolate the source(s).
So yesterday I emptied a couple of can of degreaser on it and once again got out the pressure washer. I was careful to only use low pressure in the engine bay because I didn't want inject water in connection etc.
Now I have a sparkling clean engine! But........ It only idles really well. If you press the accelerator it is undrivable. It pops, sucks, backfires, misses, etc. I now have codes P1317, P1316, and P0300.

Where do I look first, what is wrong with this hunk of crap?

 

Well if you can teach your son how to work on a disco, you've jumped in with both feet IMO, he'll also be able to work on pretty much anything.

Anyway, here's the codes, water got somewhere it sounds like.

P0300 Misfire On Multiple Cylinder
P1316 Misfire Excessive Emissions Fault P1317 ABS Rough Road Line Low Fault

 

In the search for oil leaks don't overlook the front crank seal, it will throw it everywhere. Elsewhere in posts some have cleaned it, and put a skim of RTV around it, as a temporary fix, which IMHO allows you to find even more leaks. As far as British engineers being morons - I work at a research university and I can assure you that problem is not restricted to the United Kingdom. With respect to teaching your son about vehicles, bravo!

 

Thanks guys, thank God I have lots of tools and a background as a mechanic and Avionics technician. This thing is going to test those skills!
Also thank God I have an actual vehicle to rely on so this garage queen can rest comfortably while my VW TDi carries the load!
I will check the front seal when I have time. I also know the power steering box is always a problem.
I recently bought a donor vehicle to cannibalize. It have a blown motor (go figure) but a straight body. So I can always shotgun parts at this thing! LOL

 

Let it idle in the driveway for a hour with the hood open so it can get nice and hot and dry out.
I have found it best to leave the dirt and grim on the engine, thats half of whats holding all the fluids in!

 

Good call Spike!!!!! I have also put some thought into a plan to cure what I foresee as a long future of reliability problems. Maybe I will pull the TDi behind it wherever I go, like the snowbirds. I will never get stranded then! LOL

 

The D1 isn't that bad about leaving you stranded. My D1 was immobile twice, once a bad fuel pump, once a bad starter. Those are parts that will get you every time, whether you drive a Lexus or a Yugo. Fortunately for me, only the starter left me stranded away from the house.

My D2 has never left me completely stranded, but when the crank sensor started to die, it did die on me in the middle of the street. Fortunately I was able to restart it after about 20 cars drove around me. And then I parked it until I got the new sensor.

 

Problem solved, I cleaned the MAF (yes with MAF Cleaner), and it is now running well again. It must have gotten some moisture on it. Thanks everyone.

 

Good deal.
Glad it was something simple.

 

I spray Simple Green on the engine and wipe it with old rags or whatever I am wearing as I work on it it gets cleaner everytime. Avoid the pressure sprayer totally.

I was a Navy Aviation Electrician during VietNam era. Those skills do come in handy. While you are redoing it, you may as well take a close look at the wire harness. They were poorly built with things like internal spices in the middle of a bundle that will corrode because they are poorly done. They also used one common harness with all possible wiring connectors for all options such as rear air and heated windscreen whether your vehicle has those options or not. Simpler to mfg.

As I have been redoing various things, I have rewrapped and redone the existing harness. Removed some of the unused wiring, broke the bundles into smaller individual groups, re-wrapped, re-routed and such.

You should do fine with your project using your approach.