QuestionJohn, thanks for responding. The gas is not old but probably less than 5 gallons. Garage is not heated but attached and probably never colder than 45-50 degrees. I drive it alomost every Sunday. Not sure about the tuneup but I know he spent a lot on polution control before he left 18 mos ago and I have only driven it about 350 miles since. Idle is smooth until I have driven it a couple of miles and then it won't idle.
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Followup To
Question -
My son has been out of country for 18months and I have his 97 LR in my garage that I start weekly and drive for a few miles. Last weekend, after driving five minutes, when I would deaccelerate and the engine slowed to idle, it would die. You could start it right away but then if you did give it gas, it would die. Any thoughts before I take it to a garage? They don't pay our guys a lot of money and I would like to try to do the repairs myself.
Answer -
Hi David,
just a few questions:
how old is the gas in the tank? Is it a heated garage? Do you drive it often? When was the last tune-up? When you first start the engine, is it difficult? How is the idle - should be smooth and steady, around 750 rpm.
It could be many things: fuel related, injector(s) fouled, weak spark, air filter or gas filter fouled.
You can try to drive off most of the old gas or use a gas additive to help out the fuel injectors. New gas is good too.
Check the spark plugs to see what condition they are in. Black is beautiful but not on a spark plug. Could be mixture problems.
Get back to me with some more detail and I'll try to help you out.
Regards,
JohnMc
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Hi David,
when first started, if it idles smoothly we can rule out bad fuel intake. I was wondering about sediment for long-standing vehicles but that is not the case here. It could be in need of a fuel feed adjustment or throttle position sensor is about to fail.
You mentioned that pollution control work was performed just before leaving it with you. Another possible cause.
This is a common problem with series I Disco's, depending on how many miles are already on the vehicle and how well they have been treated. Usually, its the TPS and\or the idle air valve that cause these woes.
Here are the most common faults:
1. Crankshaft position sensor (a loose connection?)
2. Stepper motor
3. Throttle position sensor
4. Mass Air Flow sensor (very expensive item)
5. Vacuum advance unit (may be ruptured)
6. Fuel Pressure Regulator
7. Oxygen sensor failure
8. Idle Air Valve
All require LR to run diagnostics to verify. Was there a "Check Engine" light on the dashboard? IF so, take it to your nearest Auto Parts store and see if they'll read the OBDII code associated with the light. Advanced Auto usually can do this for free (nice guys!). It will help in pin-pointing the cause or ruling out other components.
Best of luck David. Don't feel guilty here...LR's require routine maintenance - this is the norm.
...maybe its missing its owner!
Regards,
JohnMc
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