Land Rover Repair: 99 disco wont crank, pep boys, repair bills

Question
I have a 99 Land Rover Disco with 125,009 miles, About two months ago I had trouble starting , like it wasn't getting gas, finally it cranked and someone told me if it does it again to turn off the ignition key and pump the gas peddle three times. Sure as the grass is green it happened again and I did what he said it worked for a while. It was happening a few times a month but tonight my wife and kids were at the grocery store and it wouldn't crank even after this!! After about 15 minutes it started and I heard loud ticking coming from the engine so I drove it home. After a hour or so it cranked right up but I turned it off and tried again and would not start. The yellow engine light came on after I had the transmission replace 6 months ago and we took it to pep boys  codes P-1193, P-0138 and P-0301 came up.I recently replaced the steering gear box. I don't know. thinking about giving up on her really expensive  

Answer
Hi Anthony,

the codes you gave are O2 sensor and cylinder 1 faults.  Check the wires to Cyl 1 just to be sure.  Might be EGR or crankshaft postion sensor related...very hard to narrow this down and best to have qualified LR mechanic with diagnostic equipement to isolate this quickly.

I understand your concern about rising repair bills...send me an email if you are interested in finding an independent LR mechanic near you.  It might help reducd the 'ouch' of this repair.

Best wishes for 2010,
JohnMc
jmcinnis64@hotmail.com