Disco stops dancing

 It was the week before Christmas. The current Mrs Ward was working late taking another load of children to perform a Christmas concert for the faithful parishioners out in the sticks. At the end of the performance, the Discovery Td5 wouldn’t start. Now the one thing this Discovery has always done – without fail – is start. In 153,000 miles, it’s fired on the first twist of the BL key. Sadly, the failure, not without warning, but with precious little notice, had struck.

The issue was one of a failed injector seal, which cost literally washers. Did any of the fitters fancy pulling out five injectors from an alloy head which had remained in situ since new – that’s 16 years? No. The risk of snapping one in the head was too great. But the risk was less than the grief, so the Wednesday before Christmas, the five injectors were removed. The miracle was they were removed and replaced in precisely book time.

The thought of the injectors being stuck in the head not only concerned me, but those who had to fix it. Heads for Td5s are no longer available, potentially rendering the old bus as scrap. I’ve seen the Td5’s smaller step-brother, the M47, cause no end of trouble. Once, in a valiant but futile effort, an M47 injector was hung from the rafters of the workshop for the full weekend. Attached to the injector was a 3-Series Touring…

The reason I’d like to think all five injectors came out of the head without a moment’s trouble was due to my efforts to minimise contamination over the years. By that, I mean I’ve religiously used a flush before changing the engine oil, which itself was changed frequently. I’ve used good quality oils and diesel, and regularly put a diesel additive in the tank, and also neat diesel into a new fuel filter when that was being changed.

The only benefits I’ve seen from flushes before now were a smooth engine and clean oil. Only now, 16 years and 153k into the car’s life, are the real benefits becoming apparent. It uses no oil. It doesn’t smoke. The injectors, theoretically at the end of their service life, are still fine. The performance is on the button.

If you can find the time and tools, and if you have the skills and the space, then I recommend you follow my lead in this area, because nobody should have to go shopping for a new, full-sized 4x4 the week before Christmas.