I have a 2001 Disco II with a P0306 SES code. After a couple days of minimal driving SES light started flashing and truck rode rough. I changed the plugs with OEM Champion plugs but still get the warning and chugging at lower RPMs. Ran the engine at night (in the dark) to see any apparent arching. Nothing showing. Considered changing the spark plug wires so went to a local Land Rover repair shop (non-dealer) for advice. Mechanic told me changing wires is complicated and takes small hands. He thought it might be the coil pack instead. Appaerntly the intake valve cover needs to come off to replace the wires (and coil). I have been told that there is a metallic gasket on the intake cover. My questions are:

1 - Has anyone seen this kind of problem before?
2 - If the gasket is metallic, how do you re-seal it? Is there some other product used to make the seal airtight?
3 - Do I really need small hands?

I intend on removing the valve cover this weekend to take a peak back there to see if anything is apparent.

My truck has 63k miles. The owner of the repair shop told me this is only the beginning of the repairs I should expect at this mileage on the 2001 Disco. He recommended selling ASAP.

HELP!

 

PO306 is a misfire on cylinder 6.

PO 301 to PO 308 are all misfire codes from cyl 1 to cyl 8.

I have a Disco I, so I don't know about the spark plug wires placement.
From what I have seen here you may have to pull off the intake to
change the plug wires.

It sounds like the mechanic doesn't want to work on the truck.
I do not think that it is your coil pack.
Good Luck. Mike

 

Common code on DII's. Yes wires are needed, but don't put factory wires back on, go buy a set of Maganacor 8mm wires at
http://www.roverconnection.com/
You can replace the wires with out removing the top half of the intake manifold, but it is a hell of a job.
So get a set of wires ordered and don't use any cheap ones, they will fail in a heart beat.
Mike

 

Im having the same problem with my 2001 disco2.It has 72k mi. my mechanic told me the exact same thing.I change the factory plugs to bosh platinum2,and it fix my problem,it even turn off the service light off.Two days later the same problem came back.so i changed the spark plug wires 8mm and all that good stuf,but the problem didnt go away.I recheck the plugs and plugs 1,3 were black.so I changed those plugs again,but its still doing the same thing.If you come across a solution please let me know.

 

Are you sure 1 and 3 are firing, have you checked compression?
While the engine is running, pull #1 and see if it effects the running of the engine, do the same thing with #3. If it doesn't make a big change then either the plugs aren't firing well or lack of compression.
Try that and get back to me.
if I were a betting man I would go with a bad coil pack.
Mike

 

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.AS IT TURNS OUT, I DID THAT RIGTH AFTER I WROTE THE POST.AND GUESS WHAT?IT SO HAPPENS THAT I WASN'T GETTING ANY SPARK ON NO.8 PLUG,SO I TRIED A DIFFERENT WIRE(ONE OF THE OLD ONES I REPLACED).THE CAR IS RUNNING SMOOTH NOW,AND WITH AHOLELOT OF POWER.WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF A NEW WIRE BEING DEFECTIVE?THE CHECK ENGINE WAS ON,BUT THE COMPUTER WASN'T GIVING ANY CODES,SO MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT MOST PROBABLY IT WOULD BE THE WIRES.IT WAS A PAIN IN THE BUTT REPLACING THOSE WIRES.YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW I FELT WHEN I WAS DONE.I TURNED THE CAR ON,AND IT STILL DIDN'T MAKE A DIFERENCE.I WENT TO WAL-MART AND BOUGTH ME A FUEL FILTER ACCORDING TO THEIR CATELOG?!?! I WAS LOOKING FOR THE FILTER ALL OVER THE FRICKEN TRUCK,THEY ONLY PUT FUEL FILTERS ON THE DIESEL MODELS!!! WAL-MART DOESN'T TELL YOU THAT!! I MESSED AROUND WITH THE INJECTORS AFTER THAT,BUT FINALLY I GOT IT RIGTH.TO EVERY ONE OUT THERE!60K MI. TUNE-UP IS A MUST FOR ALL LAND ROVERS!!!!!!WELL AT LEAST FOR THE DISCO II.

 

So now that you have that taken care of, consider a good engine flush and decarbon at your next oil change, it is a healthy thing to do to our Rover engines.
Mike

 

YEP,DID THAT ALREADY.I JUST TOOK THE FAMILY ON A 400 MI. ROUND TRIP TO SAN DIEGO THIS WEEK END.THEY ARE VERY COMFTABLE SUVS.I HARDLY EVER DRIVE IT MY TACOMA GETS ME AROUND MOST OF THE TIME.I DO NOTICE A HUGE DIFFERENCE ON THE BRAKE PEDDAL.IT IS VERY SPONGY COMPARE TO MY TACOMA ,OR ANY OTHER VEICLE I DRIVEN.I BLEED THE AIR OUT OF ALL FOUR CONERS WHEN I FIRS GOT IT A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO,AND IT MADE VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE.I KNOW THAT IF YOU PUMP ON THE BRAKES BEFORE STOPPING, IF YOU GET INCREASED BRAKE PREASSURE ITS PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE AIR IN YOUR SYSTEM,BUT THE CAR IS NOT EVEN DOING THAT.ALSO I HAVE TO APPLY FIRM PREASSURE ON A STOP LIGHT, IF I RELEASE THE PEDAL A BIT THE CAR STARTS ROLLING SLOWLY.I DONT KNOW MAYBE IS NORMAL ON A LUXURY CAR,IT JUST FEELS KIND-A WEIRD.

 

You could get stainless steel brake hoses and that will help the brakes, if nothing else is wrong.

 

If you were to take a Disco II to the dealer, what would a job replacing plugs and wires cost?