Land Rover Repair: Engine Staggering after Valve Job, land rover discovery, throttle position sensor

Question
Hi, John,

We were lucky...the mechanic felt so bad that he didn't find the problem BEFORE the valve job that he did not charge us any labor for replacing the transducer.  I'm not sure if that would have fixed the problem to begin with and we could've waited for the valve job, but I'm glad we went ahead and got the valve job, too.  The valves DID look terrible and my Disco has 170,000 miles on it, so I figured the cost of the valve job was worth it!

Thanks again!
Crystal



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Followup To
Question -
Hello, John,

Our mechanic did show us the valves and they definately needed to be replaced.  We returned the truck to the mechanic when we discovered that the valve job did not solve the engine staggering problem.  He replaced the speed transducer and our truck has run like a champ ever since.

Thank you for your knowledge and advice.

Crystal Smith

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Followup To
Question -
We own a 1996 Land Rover Discovery with very similar problems as the 3/7/05 posting by Kurt titled "2001 Discovery II engine problems".  I read the article that John referenced by Robinson Service and the article describes exactly what my truck is doing- after the engine gets hot (usually at highway speed) the speed drops, engine staggers, and then it returns to normal.  The staggering becomes almost constant.

What concerns me is that we just had a valve job done on the truck and the problem still exists.  We have also replaced the fuel pump, the plugs and wires, the speed censor switch, and the catalytic converter.

Any suggestions on why the valve job did not fix the problem?

Thanks for your input!

Sincerely,
Mark and Crystal

Answer -
Hi Crystal,

What has your dealer to say about this?  They were in a position to tell you how bad your Disco's valves were.  Perhaps the valve problem co-existed with another fault.  I could also be a TPS (throttle position sensor), timing belt or coil problem.  These three can also interfere with the engines ignition while in motion.

Best of luck and thank you for the followup.

JohnMc
Answer -
Hi Crystal,

I'm glad you found your problem quickly.  Most owners have to suffer thru several visits when dealing with ignition and engine performance problems.

Thanks for letting me know what was causing the trouble with your Disco.  I know just the owner who will benefit from your experience.  I hope cost of repair was not too expensive, in light of the valve job you had just been through.

Regards,

JohnMc.

Answer
Hi Crystal,

think of it this way, after 170,000 miles, your valve job gives your Disco more power and engine longevity.  It was well worth it.  From what I have read, it was bound to happen that your valves would start to stick and who knows what trouble it could have caused you.

The dealer was certainly nice to pass on the labour charges.  It was a very good customer relations move and it shows you that you have a good dealership.

Regards,

JohnMc