Glow plugs knackered

[Phil fox man]

One of the mk4 L200s (like yours) I built returns about 200 miles to a full tank after all the modifications

the mods on my l200 are only up rated spring's and shocks, suspension lift kit,and higher profile maxxis bighorn tyre's.
it returns 30 mpg with an average speed of 20 mph as 50% is off road but does 48 mpg on a run.
as for the oxygen mask at 60 mph that is off road

 

[Puds]

the mods on my l200 are only up rated spring's and shocks, suspension lift kit,and higher profile maxxis bighorn tyre's.
it returns 30 mpg with an average speed of 20 mph as 50% is off road but does 48 mpg on a run.
as for the oxygen mask at 60 mph that is off road

I put the 20% stronger springs on mine as I found that with a full load of logs in the back, I was more sailing it than steering it around corners

 

[Sharpie]

Nope, wouldn’t go with a jump. Starter was stuck and battery utterly knackered, so had to get a tow up the street from my mate then roll down and bump-start it after ****ting the starter with a lump of timber & a mallet.

My guess is that your "stuck" starter motor might simply be you have frazzled the solenoid that pulls in the pinion then contacts to connect power to the windings. typically you might hear it try to click in but nothing more. Contacts frazzled due to sparking with poor contact/low battery/repeated attempts. Usual answer "reconditioned" starter £££ but a good mechanic might be able to take off the solenoid, dress the contacts, and get it going again if that's possible. ****ting it sometimes works, for a while but is not a long term cure..

I don't know how primitive your 2002 L200 is, might be a good thing, but here is something to blow your mind about how say a WV PD diesel works (my 2007 GT PDi, utterly reliable, fingers crossed)

My 2010 Ducato with 2.3 multijet common rail likewise totally reliable. Both of these are utterly reliable so far and both have done many miles. they do need good batteries though, everything is entirely dependent on the electronics being held up well.

Leave them sitting unused for 3 or 4 weeks and the parasitic drain from all the electronics will flatten the starter battery. So leave them on a trickle charge, or the Ducato actually has a battery isolation switch under a cover for just such circumstances. A slight nuisance, resets the the MPG readout and trip meter when I actuate it.

 

[Smellydog]

I put the 20% stronger springs on mine as I found that with a full load of logs in the back, I was more sailing it than steering it around corners

And without logs it now skips around bends

 

[Sharpie]

Further to how a starter motor works. Two types, very old fashioned nowadays are inertia Bendix things that fling out the pinion into the flywheel teeth purely by inertia and probably have a separate simple solenoid switch to supply the power.

These can sometimes respond to tw@tting them if the pinion has got stuck, not fling out properly, motor just spins without engagement.

Almost everything nowadays will have a "pre-engaged" starter where the solenoid is a big chunky thing on the outside which first pushes the pinion into the flywheel ring gear, then powers up the motor itself, then retracts the pinion once engine running. Typically they may fail when the beefy contacts to supply power to the motor have degraded, but still the solenoid will move the pinion with a click. Not a "stuck" motor, just failed power contacts inside the solenoid. Which can be replaced for ££<<£££ for a whole new or reconditioned thing. Plus labour of course so mostly a complete re-con motor is used.

More explanation: How the starting system works

 

[Sharpie]

Try not to use easy start, there’s a theory it creates so much detonation it actually compresses the con rod. Hence why your engine becomes “addicted” to it, as it won’t start without it.

Not quite convinced about that theory. But yes an engine that has become addicted to easy-start may have more fundamental problems such as low compression, worn rings, bores, burned valves etc. If it regularly needs easy-start there is probably something badly wrong with it, but hey-ho, for some who dont care, it can keep some things starting, for a while, ignoring root causes.

If you do take the glowplugs out, please do a compression test before fitting the new ones, just might flag up any issues. Only takes a few moments.

Sophisticated test centres can indirectly measure individual cylinder compression by measuring starter motor current as the engine is turned over but not supplied with fuel. But that is unlikely to be available at your average service centre or back street garage.

 

[viking90]

It usually cracks the top piston ring, this causes a slight compression loss and you then need easy start all the time to fire it up hence they become "addicted". Brake cleaner sprayed in a mist is alot less harsh on the engine than easy start.