1995 Disco 5 speed manual learning curve

[DiscoClay]

high underwood temps.

I'm not sure about...underwood..temps, but the fuel rail is nested pretty tight in an all aluminum engine.. Aluminum is great for heads because it sheds heat away from the combustion chamber so rapidly you can actually run more compression (generally a full point 8.0-->9.0) but the drawback is that nearby components are exposed to more heat. I am not saying this *is* the problem..indeed, it's likely "the problem" is actually a few problems (this doesn't help with troublshooting, btw ;-)

 

[DiscoClay]

4 seconds after a night cold and first start to have the oil light go out

Huh. I 've not had this issue, even when we lived up in America's Hat (it's a term of endearment... before the Canucks here get grumpy I think the coldest starts we've had must have been in the -40ºF/C range.. Maybe a little colder every once in a while.. but when it got colder than that we just didn't go out [friggin -50C/58F at LEAST once a winter].

I had to put a heater blanket on the battery (and a trickle charger) for those winters..but the engine always cranked over.
*I used 0-40 Mobile One up there ( https://www.amazon.com/Mobil-120760-Synthetic-Motor-0W-40/dp/B00HG76A9A )

Are you running modern style oil? like 0-30 or 0-40 in the winter?

 

[DiscoClay]

The idle control valve is calibrated by the 14CUX. It can be calibrated manually with the right diagnostic tool. I don't have one :-/ There was one that *rocked* the 14CUX.. but the Brit engineer who made and sold it retired and did not pass the frigging torch! The open source stuff (rovergauge ,etc) reads it but I do not know if it enables you to modify the params. It has a step range.

lights and AC are not much of an issue to balance for.. a rapidly decelerating rpm from high to low is a lot more momentum to arrest, and this is where the stock design struggles imo.

 

[DiscoClay]

cheap filter

This is where I like the idea of a two-stage filtration system seems like a great idea to me: use a high flow filter in the can, with it's normal bypass mechanism and separately, use a high-bypass micron filter to slowly scrape all the little stuff.. like an amsoil bypass kit ( https://www.amsoil.com/c/bypass-oil-filtration-systems-mounts/32/ ) ..the dual universals are not cheap!

 

[DiscoClay]

0-40 Mobile One ( https://www.amazon.com/Mobil-120760-Synthetic-Motor-0W-40/dp/B00HG76A9A )

Interesting review of this oil:

 

[joeblack5]

Amazing,

The vent hose from the tank to the filler has a duct tape "repair" . My mpg was pretty bad and it leaked there when I was filling up. Then there was constant this gas smell around the vehicle. So started repairing this..
I was not going to drop the tank. So I took some short cuts...pun intended..
The floor is in bad shape ,but that is a later project.. the center of the hose has probably standing fuel in it. Took the whole hose out now that I could disconnect from the tank.. reused the good sections and added a hard pipe in the center.. the get the hose back on the tank nipple I inserted a #8 wire thru the vent pipe into the tank nipple and so it stayed aligned. Will see if the smell is gone.

 

[DiscoClay]

Nice. I am tempted to cut panels and then dzus fasten them with a flange back in place... just to make it easier to work on.

Though its hesitate to use a cutoff wheel near the top of the tank

 

[pinkytoe69]

Though its hesitate to use a cutoff wheel near the top of the tank

I've welded over a fuel tank with a wet rag/welding blanket buffer

 

[joeblack5]

Clay, I used a thin aluminum sheet between the tank and the floor..
Still smell gas so there must be more going on.

Johan

 

[DiscoClay]

I've welded in places I probably should have taken more precautions with also Welding is electric as well as sparky... just keep that in mind.

Given the disco is sitting on a frame, I am fine with hacking up flat, horizontal panels and making them removable.. worse case: weld in a frame/bezel and put dzus or rivnuts in it. I am VERY tempted to do this on my tranny tunnel... as far up under the dash as I can get. Reaching those bell housing bolts is a PITA..especially when they are frozen on.

 

[joeblack5]

There is more gas going on.

Disco must have known that was willing to.put time in it so it showed me right away that the next thing was happening.

And after I pulled those fuel line out from above the frame is actually started pissing.
I have some stainless lines from Ford trucks and vans that are the same diameter.

Had to crack the lines at the tank to prevent syphoning.. good enough I still had the lid of and although they were corroded it opened up ok.

Tomorrows projects

 

[DiscoClay]

I cut my original hardlines out, from just aft of the filter (what a CRAPPY place to put a filter, btw) all the way to the engine. I ran "racing" stainless-teflon lines (top quality American made stuff.. used for aviation, nascar, etc) all the way to the starboard inner fender and mounted a high pressure spin-on filter on fender wall.. added a oil-filled (American made) fuel gauge at the fuel rail inlet..and heat-blanket wrapped the whole shebang. Now, I have a filter that will last another 100 years and can be Lefty-Loosey'd off from a standing position. *heat blankets are mandatory.

 

[joeblack5]

Replaced the fuel line from tank to engine.. all the lines from the tank to halfway the truck were rotted out. Fire waiting to happen.

Bend 5/16 stainless hard-line from engine bay to beyond body mount at a-pillar. From there rubber to tank.

Cut ferrules of tank, have to get some more hose clamps. Fuel filter comes in the engine bay.

Well that is for tomorrow..

 

[DiscoClay]

I'm too lazy to bend stainless. :-D It took me a while to find the ferrule size... "Metric or Standard?"....turns out it's both ;-P

 

[terryjm1]

Nice. I am tempted to cut panels and then dzus fasten them with a flange back in place... just to make it easier to work on.

Though its hesitate to use a cutoff wheel near the top of the tank

The tank isn’t too bad to remove compared to many. I have a car that I have to remove the rear axle to get the tank out. It’s a total PIA. Then, after doing it and getting it back together the fuel pick-up got clogged by debris the shop that relined (old mild steel tank) it left inside and I had to do the whole job again, Lesson learned… assure the tank, even a new or refurbished, is clean before installing it.

It definitely makes me nervous having sparks near a fuel tank, particularly one that isn’t containing the vapor. We all know a near empty tank has more potential to go the wrong than a full one. Years ago, in my former career, I responded to an auto repair shop that had a leak in a fuel tank catch fire as the mechanic was removing it when a handheld shop light ignited the vapor. It was almost empty as well, I would guess less than a quart of fuel in the tank. It was on the lift when it ignited. Fortunately the mechanic handled it well and they had fire extinguishers on hand. They extinguished it before we arrived. Also fortunately, his only injuries was burned hair (was wearing glasses) from the initial flash when the vapor ignited. His eyebrows looked pretty funny for a while. The mechanic was an old high school buddy.

I recently had a D1 that was leaking vapor from the filler neck itself as it had a slight imperfection in the plastic weld at the top. That was very challenging to figure out and caused me to have the tank out twice. This one has a skid plate in the rear which made it even more “fun.” But, I’d be happy to swap a D1 tank 3 times compared to one time on the aforementioned car.

 

[DiscoClay]

I have to remove the rear axle to get the tank out.

oooph. That IS a PITA.

TBH, any fuel tank that isn't a fuel cell sitting in the trunk, bolted to the floor, is a PITA to me. You just put the other end of the spectrum in focus

 

[DiscoClay]

leaking vapor from the filler neck itself as it had a slight imperfection in the plastic weld at the top

Wow.. how'd you figure that out?

*And what was the PITA car? I'm just curious.

 

[terryjm1]

Wow.. how'd you figure that out?

*And what was the PITA car? I'm just curious.

It was a Triumph TR8 that particular time.

On finding the vapor leak, it was a real process. If you want to see how it unfolded, look here, to the end.

Fuel odor in passenger compartment 1996 D1

I have a strong odor of fuel in the passenger compartment. I have dropped the tank and replaced the hoses and looked everywhere on the underside and engine compartment. I can’t find a leak anywhere. There is no odor in the engine compartment. I can detect a more faint odor on the exterior near...

discoweb.org

But, the short story is I pressurized the system and listened for leaking air. I didn’t want to spend the money on a smoke test tool. The air pressure “test” was my shot in the dark and after I replaced the vent hoses and pump seal.

 

[DiscoClay]

Thats fantastic. I have this problem often,the fuel smell thing. I figure(d) it's the canister vacuum pump not keeping up and just running rich at idle once it's warmed up.

 

[joeblack5]

Canister vacuum pump? I thought there was only a valve and it got sucked in with engine vacuum?

Sofar may gasoline smells are gone. I noticed that the tank develops some positive pressure when the environment warms up. So maybe the vent line to the charcoal filter is clogged or pinched.

Back now at closing the hole in the foot well.