I have a 96 Discovery 1, the 3 door model.

I parked the car on a slope the other day near home with a quarter tank of fuel in it. Next day it wouldn't start. I tried repeatedly and then assumed it had something to do with the angle and fuel not pumping through the line.

I put another 20 litres of fuel in but still no luck.

So I rolled the car down onto a flatter area of the street and tried again, nothing. I tried manually pumping the lifter pump for 15 minutes, still nothing. I tried loosening the bleed screw on the fuel filter and pumping, no air. There's fuel in the fuel filter too.

I had NRMA out who tried using a compressor to blow into the fuel filler hose and nothing. They gave up.

I rang a mechanic here who suggested just keep pumping and to loosen the bleed screw on the filter occasionally to let air out.

Any advice on getting fuel running would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Steph

 

Steph,

When you say lift pump, do you have a Tdi? Different ways to skin this cat if you have V8 versus Tdi. If there is no pressure on the lift pump handle, it is probably because you do not have a cam lobe lined up correctly, if they are not lined up then you cannot hand actuate the pump, essentially you want to turn the motor until the lob is lined up OR (see below). You can hand turn the crank bolt to line the camshaft up, or you can bump the starter a bit to get it (it takes several tries).

If Tdi, try this (careful for fuel spillage). This is essentially a "hand pump" but you are just using the starter motor to turn the entire motor.

>loosen the bleed screw on the fuel filter assembly
>pull your fuel solenoid stop wire on the Injection Pump (should be the only wire)
>don't touch your lift pump handle
>turn the starter over with the key for a few seconds at a time, and have a helper watch the bleed screw (ideally hover over it with a rag)

What you are doing is turning over the whole motor assembly including the camshaft which powers your lift pump and will force fuel through the lines, if your bleed screw is open it is the quick way to get air out of your lines. When diesel starts spitting out of your bleed screw, stop and tighten it up, then put the fuel stop wire back on and try to start the car normally. Again, only use the starter for a few moments at a time, you wan't to be gentle on everything, especially as your IP is not as happy with no fuel being used.

 

Hey thanks so much, this is great. And yes, 300Tdi

Do I know that the lob is lined up by feel? Will it feel like there's more pressure?

 

No worries. Yes if it is lined up correctly on the cam lobe you will get the feel that the pump has resistance and will pump fuel. If there is a lot of air in the system try the cheater way I described above, this is quick and easy.