Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and the Disco world, and look forward to getting my hands dirty.
I just purchased a 96 SE7 5-speed 4.0 with 127k miles, and am having some problems with it right off the bat. I have tried to find information on the problems by searching the forum, but have had a difficult time sorting through everything. If possible please offer advice. I will try to be as thorough as possible in describing the problem.
I bought the Disco and drove a few hundred miles to go pick it up (the previous owner drove about 120 miles to meet me). The intent was to drive there, and then tow my RWD, 4cyl, Ford Ranger a few hundred miles (its a small pickup). My first go around led to the following:
After driving for about 15 miles on the highway the Disco started running oddly. It would drive fine then kind of die for a second, then drive fine again, and then die again. I take this as misfiring. It feels kind of like it hiccups (maybe a fuel issue?). So I drove it back to the nearest town and took it to an import shop, since I was a few hundred miles from home. By the time I got there the engine was overheating, with the gauge about to hit red.
Here's what they found:
Misfire on cyl's 3, 5, 7
Compression is good with 180 @ each cyl and no water on plugs leading them to conclude that the head gasket is fine
Previous owner had the wrong plugs in it
2 of the plug wires were bad
air filter was dirty as a baby's bottom
air boot was ripped
So I had them put in new wires, plugs, air filter, boot, and coolant
Next morning I went to pick it up. It purred like a kitten. The engine ran so smoothly and was incredibly quiet. They ran it around town and the temp gauge stayed below 1/2 way, and no misfires occurred.
So I loaded up the truck and began the towing again. About 30-miles into it it starts doing the same thing, so I slowly limp it back to town.
This time there is a misfire only on cyl 5. One interesting thing is that according to the computer this error occurred under 60% load and @ 84.5 MPH. However, according to my GPS I was at 70MPH (VSS problem?)
So they tell me that the only thing they can think of is that the exhaust valve on cyl 5 is sticking. Their argument is that under normal load and driving conditions it is not noticeable, but when towing the problem is exacerbated. Because I was stuck hundreds of miles from home, I ended-up arranging to have it shipped back home, where I can work on it myself.
I have been scouring the forums trying to plan some way of approaching this problem. I did see that sticking valves are common on these engines. However, that is a high-cost fix and I wanted to see if you guys had any other suggestions before I go that route. (I know: Don't tow anything...)
Thanks for any help.
Salud,
Jon
I'm new to the forum and the Disco world, and look forward to getting my hands dirty.
I just purchased a 96 SE7 5-speed 4.0 with 127k miles, and am having some problems with it right off the bat. I have tried to find information on the problems by searching the forum, but have had a difficult time sorting through everything. If possible please offer advice. I will try to be as thorough as possible in describing the problem.
I bought the Disco and drove a few hundred miles to go pick it up (the previous owner drove about 120 miles to meet me). The intent was to drive there, and then tow my RWD, 4cyl, Ford Ranger a few hundred miles (its a small pickup). My first go around led to the following:
After driving for about 15 miles on the highway the Disco started running oddly. It would drive fine then kind of die for a second, then drive fine again, and then die again. I take this as misfiring. It feels kind of like it hiccups (maybe a fuel issue?). So I drove it back to the nearest town and took it to an import shop, since I was a few hundred miles from home. By the time I got there the engine was overheating, with the gauge about to hit red.
Here's what they found:
Misfire on cyl's 3, 5, 7
Compression is good with 180 @ each cyl and no water on plugs leading them to conclude that the head gasket is fine
Previous owner had the wrong plugs in it
2 of the plug wires were bad
air filter was dirty as a baby's bottom
air boot was ripped
So I had them put in new wires, plugs, air filter, boot, and coolant
Next morning I went to pick it up. It purred like a kitten. The engine ran so smoothly and was incredibly quiet. They ran it around town and the temp gauge stayed below 1/2 way, and no misfires occurred.
So I loaded up the truck and began the towing again. About 30-miles into it it starts doing the same thing, so I slowly limp it back to town.
This time there is a misfire only on cyl 5. One interesting thing is that according to the computer this error occurred under 60% load and @ 84.5 MPH. However, according to my GPS I was at 70MPH (VSS problem?)
So they tell me that the only thing they can think of is that the exhaust valve on cyl 5 is sticking. Their argument is that under normal load and driving conditions it is not noticeable, but when towing the problem is exacerbated. Because I was stuck hundreds of miles from home, I ended-up arranging to have it shipped back home, where I can work on it myself.
I have been scouring the forums trying to plan some way of approaching this problem. I did see that sticking valves are common on these engines. However, that is a high-cost fix and I wanted to see if you guys had any other suggestions before I go that route. (I know: Don't tow anything...)
Thanks for any help.
Salud,
Jon
