Hi everyone! I am hoping you guys have more answers than I have been getting. I have had my disco II since 2003. I love it! I have been reading the threads and replies regarding loss of power. I have been experiencing the same issues on and off for almost a year. At first everyone else thought I was crazy. Slowly my husband and my youngest son has experienced the same issues. It seems to be intermitted. I have had it to the shop numerous times and had work done on it. The last three codes have been the same "misfire on cylinder number 5". The service engine comes on and stays for days then goes off. I take it to the shop and they say "everything is fine". It isn't fine. The plugs and wires were all replaced in December 2009.

I experience the loss when hitting the gas. It is like being on a 250 cc motorcycle pulling out in front on someone hitting the gas and sputtering then all of a sudden getting a surge of power. Also I have started noticing that at 60 mph the transmission seems to have a problem.

I am at a loss.. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

How many miles are on your truck and what year is it?
It could be a couple of things, the fist thing that comes to mind is bad spark plug wires, there are 3 brands that you can use and not have any issues with, other brands will not last.
I have seen guys put on a brand new set and 100 miles later they are bad.

A weak crank shaft position sensor.

Low battery voltage.

Have your "M" and "S" lights ever both come on at the same time?
Are you loosing at coolant?

 

Spike555,

I apologize for the extreme late reply...between work, kids, school and deployed husband "real" downtime is few and far between. I outlined below everything that has happend since I first started experiencing the issue in 2008. I don't know what an "M" or "S" lights are. How would I know if it is a weak crank shaft sensor? Can it be tested?

2002 Land Rover with 106,000 mileages currently

In 2008 is when I first began noticing the loss of power issue. It seemed to be more when the heater was on. There were no codes listed. The spark plugs were replaced. This was at 87,489 mileages.

In March 2009 the engine began overheating. The oil was contaminated with coolant. There was NO oil in coolant. Drained 5 gallons of contaminated oil/coolant from engine sump. Coolant coming into sump thru failed timing cover gasket. The front cover gaskets and seals were replaced. Replaced oil pan gasket and reassembled. Replaced water pump and air filter. Removed intake plenum and cleaned contaminated oil from intake system.

In August 2009 oil leaking at valve covers. Replace valve covers. Giving gas the rover has slight hesitation and while sitting still it has slight surge

This is the first time code found for cylinder # 5 misfire. Spark plugs checked and made sure new wires were seated OK. No other problems found.

Later in August 2009 the ignition wire set was replaced.

In November 2009 again loss of power from a dead stop or any hard acceleration rover is sluggish. Found P0327 code. Knock sensor circuit low input B1 or signal sensor. Bank 1 knock sensor replaced.

Later in November 2009 same issue. Found two codes P0305 – Misfire cycle # 5 and P0327 – knock sensor B1 low input. Coolant found leaking at both the left and right cylinder head gaskets. Installed new cylinder head gaskets.

In March 2010 again P0305 cylinder # 5 misfire code found. # 5 plus wire damaged, leaking near plug causing misfire. Fabricated a new plug wire and installed. Same issue… loss of power from a dead stop or any hard acceleration rover is sluggish.

In April 2010 heater hose was replaced.

In July 2010 P0305 # 5 cylinder misfire code came on again. Again, can’t seem to find any reason for the loss of power issue or why this code keeps reappearing.


Any ideas? Thank you

 

The "M" and "S" lights are the Manual and Sport modes lights on the instrument cluster.

If those ever come on while driving the battery voltage is to low and the transmission goes into "limp" mode, you will have only 3rd gear and you will have a lack of power.

What grade of gas are you using? These things REQUIRE premium gas, using anything else can cause problems.

Who has been working on your truck?
The dealer? A friend? A indie mechanic? You?

Do you know about the front driveshaft?

 

The cylinder number five misfire with the coolant loss was the kicker.

cylinder number five has no coolant in it. When the knock sensor and the misfire gets tripped then something is fouling it up. I will bet a million bucks it is the cylinder sleaves slipping. I bet when the timing cover went it took the cylinder sleeves with it. You see when you get the misfire on one cylinder in the middle then by adding coolant dye you will see the coolant in the cylinders with a boroscope. Or sometimes you can spot the coolant on the spark plugs.

if that is the case its a new engine.

 

Red-he is a Rover Tech and knows what he is talking about.

 

So do I. Seen it enough times. Usually number four though. Coolant dye or the boroscope thats how you know. Seen the tell tale sign of coolant steam with the boroscope at least five times. Seen even more on freelanders.

 

Well guys certainly not what I wanted to hear. Nonetheless, I appreciate the help and honesty a great deal.

My rover is an automatic and I have a "mode" button at the bottom of the shifter. Once in awhile the button is hit and the sport mode is engaged. Usually not for more 5 minutes. As far as any other M and S lights coming on... no. I tried medium grade gas once right after I bought. On top of being sluggish I used twice as much gas. Use premium since then.

The individuals that work on the rover are a import specialist dealer for Rover, Porche, Jaguar, and some others.

I was suppose to drop off the rover on Monday but my dad went into the hospital today so it will be about a week before I get it in there.

Worse case scenario... it is exactly what you state. How long will the current motor last? Is there anything I can do to help the situation or prolong having to purchase a new engine? Other than the 4 hour one way trips to Fort Bragg occasionally most of the driving is in town.

If by the luck of the stars it is what you think...where would you go from there?

Thanks again guys! I really do appreciate all the information more than I can even state.

 

You can drive with the sport mode on, it will make the transmission hold its shifts longer for a "sporty" feel.

How long will she last?
Who knows, maybe forever, maybe she dies tomorrow.

Just keep a eye on the coolant level, check it the same time you check the oil, every Sat morning before you drive it for the day.
If you notice it is low on coolant top it off.
If you notice a "water fall" sound from behind the dash you are dangerously low on coolant and need to stop driving and top it off right away.
If you have to start adding alot of coolant, like every other day then the end is near.
Overheat the engine and it is toast so do not let it get to the red.

Do a search on here for "front drive shaft" and read up on that if you dont already know about it.

 

I have read through this post and how can anyone tell a slipped cylinder liner from a bad head gasket. If there is coolant in the cylinder could'nt it be either? Wouldn't you have to visually verify a slipped liner on the cylinder #5. Just curious?

Seems like at my local LR dealer they have a discovery every month they think it has a cracked block or slipped liner and its just a head gasket job. They give up too soon and are always Debbie Downer in my book!
Dave