Land Rover 200 & 300 TDi 6,000 mile Service

OK, Have you got everything you need? a clean vehicle and a place to work. As we work through the service we will cross-reference the items needed to our checklists.

Ready to start? Great, then let’s get stuck into our first ever service feature: LandRover’s inimitable 200/300 TDI as fitted to countless Defenders, Discoverys and RangeRovers

Preparation

We recommend that you print out our handy Service Checklist and tick off each item as you go along. The Service Checklist will become a complete and comprehensive record of your vehicle’s service history in your hands.

We will start our TDI service under the bonnet. Make sure you are wearing your Finite Synthetic Nitrile Gloves. These are essential to stop your skin coming into contact with diesel fuel, old oil and other contaminants that can cause a variety of skin complaints or chemical burns. Note: Synthetic Nitrile gloves are far superior to plain latex gloves, being tougher, more chemical resistant and do not contain latex proteins which can give rise to serious skin complaints.

DIFFLOCK TIP: Your Finite gloves are great at protecting you from chemicals but poor at protecting you from cuts and bruises or burns. When you encounter a nut or bolt that is very difficult to undo (or near a hot item such as the exhaust), pause and swap your synthetic gloves for a pair of thick Kevlar Gloves. That way if your hand or spanner slips or the nut releases suddenly you will be protected from harm by the thick gloves. Do the same if you are swinging a hammer or using a hacksaw and you are sure to finish the day with the same amount of skin as you started with! Don’t forget to swap back to the Finite gloves to ensure your protection from chemicals

DIFFLOCK TIP: Always disconnect the battery before working on your vehicle. It is the only way to safely guarantee that the engine and electrical accessories will not start accidentally. It also ensures that electrical shorts cannot occur if you disturb wiring and connections. For convenience, you could buy and fit a Battery Cut Off Switch that also doubles as a security device.

Save Radio and Alarm Codes

Lift the bonnet and securely prop it open. You should remove any bonnet-mounted spare wheel and also make sure that if a breeze lifts the bonnet, the prop remains securely fixed. If your engine is cold, then start it and let it run for a few minutes to warm the oil since this helps the oil drain out by making it thinner. In a moment you are going to disconnect your battery BUT first ask yourself if you have made a note of any codes that the radio, alarm etc needs to make it work when you reconnect the battery. If you don’t have the codes then contact the manufacturer or your dealer to obtain them before you disconnect the battery.

Battery Disconnection and Removal

Turn off the engine and examine the battery. If its terminals are covered with corrosion (usually a white powdery substance) then wash this away by using very hot (but not scalding) water. You should also check that the positive terminal has a removable, red plastic cover over it and that the entire battery is securely fixed down with a restraining bracket. Car batteries store an enormous amount of energy and can release this almost instantly. An accidental release of this energy caused by making a direct connection between the two terminals (known as shorting) is EXTREMELY dangerous since it will cause massive heating effects (flash burns, molten metal, fire, toxic fumes) and possibly an exploding battery (complete with showering acid). In an accident, when offroading or simply when the bonnet is lifted, the red plastic cover and restraining brackets prevent this dangerous shorting of battery terminals.

When working on your battery, always use tools that are as short as possible and preferably much shorter than the gap between the two battery terminals. That way you can never make an accidental short across the terminals with the metal parts of the tool.

Let the battery rest for a few minutes (to allow any gas released during charging to dispel) after turning off the engine, then using a 13mm Spanner disconnect it by undoing the Negative or ‘earth’ terminal (-) and tying back the lead. This terminal is connected to the bodywork and engine of the vehicle and in doing so completes the electrical circuit needed to power things.

You must ALWAYS undo the Negative (-) terminal first because undoing this terminal first ensures that if your spanner makes accidental contact with the vehicle no shorting will occur. Note the battery retaining strap securing the side of the battery below the red positive cable. This must ALWAYS be fitted and the battery firmly secured with it

Only after the negative lead is undone and securely tied back should you then pull back the red plastic cover and undo the positive (+) terminal, again tying back the strap securely. Then using an 11mm Spanner remove the battery restraining bracket and lift the battery out of the vehicle. It is heavy and so you will require both hands and a secure footing. With the battery out you can check for corrosion in the well where it sits. Again use hot water to remove any white deposits. Rather than interrupt your service, apply Waxoyl or AC90 to any area of corrosion and make a note that you may want to return to it another day with rust proofing paint etc.

Draining Engine Oil

Take a pause from the battery for a moment and turn your attention to draining out your old engine oil. Locate the engine sump drain plug.

The engine sump drain plug on 200 TDI’s requires a 1 1/8” AF Socket or Spanner. 300 TDI’s require either a 15mm or 19mm Socket or Spanner

DIFFLOCK TIP: Whenever you go underneath your vehicle always put on safety goggles. That way your eyes are protected from any falling muck and dirt that escaped the pressure washer and might otherwise get into them causing severe irritation or damage

Check that the sump is not too hot to touch (or the oil inside will be scalding) and then loosen the sump drain plug WITHOUT undoing it. Place your Extra Large Drip Tray under the vehicle, centred about the sump drain plug. Place your 17 Litre Oil Drainpan under the sump plug but bear in mind that when you remove the drain plug the oil will first shoot out for a horizontal distance of 500mm or more before gradually falling back to drain out directly beneath the drain hole.

Extra Large Drip Tray and 17Litre Oil Drainpan are essential to prevent a major and very messy oil spillage.

When you have your drainpan in place, unscrew the loosened sump drain plug by hand BUT keep the plug pressed firmly against the sump at all times as you unscrew it. When you are satisfied that there is no more thread, just your hand pressure holding it in place, then double check that your drainpan is still in position and whip away the drain plug as fast as you can. If you have got things right a nice curved stream of black oil will be pouring out into your bowl not down your sleeve or onto the ground. Keep repositioning your drainpan until the oil is draining vertically.

		The sump drain plug is quickly removed and a stream of oil surges out. Initially, it will gush out quite a long way, but will gradually fall back to drain vertically from the sump. You must keep repositioning your drainpan to catch all this oil

DIFFLOCK TIP: Of course, if you fit a Difflock Drainplug you need never worry about a messy oil change again. You can read more about these amazing devices here. Fit a Difflock Drainplug and make messy oil changes a thing of the past!

DIFFLOCK TIP: If you do have an accidental spillage of oil or other fluids then always mop it up immediately with old rags or newspaper before it soaks in or get trodden everywhere (like the carpets or kitchen floor your partner admires so much!). Apart from preserving domestic bliss, this will also prevent you from slipping over and injuring yourself

Battery Checks, Topping-Up and Charging

Once the oil is draining vertically into your drainpan you can leave it to drain completely (unless it is windy and dust or dirt could be blown into the sump) and turn your attention back to your battery. If your battery is ‘maintenance-free’ and ‘sealed for life’ then you simply need do no more than check it for physical damage such as cracks, followed by topping up its charge using a Mains Powered Charger.

For anything other than a light top-up charge, you really will need a heavy-duty charger to correctly recharge your battery. Note that the six cell caps have been removed to allow charging gases to disperse

Follow the charger manufacturer’s instructions and ensure that the charger is properly set up for your type of battery (some have switches to select various types of battery). Connect your charger to the battery BEFORE you plug it in and switch it on. Conversely always turn it off at the mains plug and leave the battery to ‘rest’ for a few minutes before disconnecting the charger leads. This is because the battery (even a maintenance-free one) will release Hydrogen gas as it charges and Hydrogen is, you’ve guessed it, explosive in air so you don’t want any sparks when making connections. For similar reasons never smoke or use naked flames in close proximity to charging car batteries.

You may well find that the battery is almost fully charged anyway but in winter use or over frequent short journeys a battery will benefit from an occasional mains charger top-up.

If your battery is not maintenance-free, then after you check it for physical damage you will need to check the level of fluid (or electrolyte) in each cell. Before you do this put on your safety goggles because the fluid within ordinary car batteries is actually a very strong acid and your eyes are especially susceptible to this (it can and will cause blindness if it gets in your eyes). For a similar reason you should have a bucket of cold water and some good old-fashioned soap on hand as a precaution against accidental skin contact; flood any contact area immediately with the water and soap for at least 15 minutes and seek medical advice if the area is painful or feels like a burn. If by some unforeseen circumstance you get battery acid in your eyes (flood immediately with water for 15 minutes) or mouth (drink lots of milk - do not induce vomiting), then you must seek immediate medical attention without fail.

With these precautions taken, you can carefully unscrew, or pop up if push-fit, the small caps on top of each cell of the battery and look inside to check the fluid level. Top up each cell in turn using only distilled water since tap water may actually neutralise some of the acid and weaken the battery. Tap water may also react vigorously with the battery acid and so cause dangerous acidic fumes. If there are no maximum and minimum level markings visible then top up each cell until the metal (lead) plates inside are completely covered. Then thoroughly rinse off your gloves in the bucket of water. You can now top up the charge in your battery using a mains charger as previously mentioned, but leave the cell caps off while charging is taking place.

You must use de-ionised water to top-up your battery - our OilSafe System DF21 with Stretch Lid DF34 is perfect for this task

Refitting Engine Sump Plug

With the battery checked over and charging, you can return to the task of changing your engine oil. By now all the oil should have drained out of the sump with no more than a few drips left. Have a careful look for damage to the copper washer on the drain plug since this forms a seal with the sump to stop leaks. The washer actually gets a little harder every time it is tightened up so in theory it should be replaced each time so that the new softer washer can adapt to the plug and sump surfaces. In practice you can get away with reusing it a few times, but at just a few pence each we strongly recommend replacement. With a good washer, and the oil all drained out, the sump plug can be screwed back into the sump and tightened up to pinch the washer (torque 200 TDI = 40–50NM, 300 TDI = 35NM).

DIFFLOCK TIP: Always screw nuts, bolts, spark plugs etc in by hand for at least six turns before using a spanner or socket. This will prevent cross-threading that will otherwise damage the components. If it won’t screw in by hand remove it and clean the threads before trying again. Always use a torque wrench to tighten up nuts and bolts to the correct tightness, known as torque

Replacing Oil Filter

Now locate the oil filter which is ‘buried’ down the side of the engine.

The oil filter (200TDI engines) can be seen arrowed lower left of centre and is situated half-way down the engine. Note on 300TDI engine the filter is mounted vertically, not at an angle.

Reposition your drainpan under the vehicle immediately below the filter. It is practically impossible to remove the oil filter without spilling some waste oil over everything beneath it. Even worse, on LandRover’s beloved 200/300 TDI products you will find that the front propshaft and differential are directly beneath the oil filter and so prevent the neat capture of any oil drained out in situ. To overcome this, we recommend you stuff plenty of old crumpled newspaper or rags in a polythene bag and wrap this around the filter before unscrewing it.

DIFFLOCK TIP: Unless you are the world’s tallest man you will have difficulty leaning into the engine bay enough to comfortably reach the oil filter. Use steps or a strong crate to stand on

First loosen the filter using Oil Filter Pliers (these are far more convenient than strap wrenches or 3-legged grips) and then unscrew it by hand. As you unscrew it, waste oil will leak over the case making it slippier than an eel! The thread holding it on seems to go on forever so keep a careful grip as you turn. Once the filter is free, carefully lift it out of the engine bay keeping it upright and then invert it over your waste oil bowl. Don’t throw it in; you will only have to fish it out later! Instead wrap it in more old newspaper once it is empty and place it in an old polythene bag for disposal. Dry off your gloves with more newspaper or rags and remove the paper that you placed under the filter in the engine bay. Again place this in an old plastic bag for disposal.

Take your new Oil Filter and wipe a thin smear of fresh, clean oil around the rubber lip at its open end. Carefully screw it onto the engine and give a final stiff half turn with your hands so that is hand tight (make sure no oil is on your filter and gloves or you won’t get enough grip) but don’t use any tools to tighten it.

Smear the rubber seal with fresh oil before fitting a new filter

Refilling Engine with New Oil

You are now ready to fill up your engine with fresh Ovoline Goldex 10W40 semi-synthetic oil. For the 200 TDI you will need 6.85 litres, and for the 300 TDI 6.65 litres. It really is best to measure this out into the engine rather than try to guess using the dipstick. Our Goldex Oil is sold in containers that show clearly how much has been poured out and this takes the guesswork out of refilling.

Locate and remove the oil filler cap on top of your engine. Using a clean dry Funnel, pour in the correct amount of fresh oil but don’t pour too quickly or oil will flood back out the filler hole. At this point don’t worry about where the oil level is shown by the dipstick (it will be ‘wrong’ until we have run the engine later).

Refill engine using a funnel to avoid messy spillages

Removing the Flywheel Housing Drain Plug

Locate the flywheel housing drain plug (if fitted). Reposition your oil drainpan under the flywheel housing and using a 13mm Socket remove the drain plug. Ideally there should be nothing to drip out. Should more than a dribble of oil emerge then you have a problem oil seal on either your engine or gearbox and you should have this remedied by a competent mechanic before your clutch becomes contaminated and starts slipping. If the fluid that emerges is quite thin, then you possibly have a leaking clutch slave cylinder, which will also be evident by low clutch fluid levels (see later). Don’t replace the drain plug in the housing unless you regularly wade with the vehicle. Instead store it safely somewhere and only refit it to your vehicle if you intend to go offroad in muddy or wet conditions or if you expect to be tackling flooded roads.

Cleaning Up and Disposing of Drained Oil

Before you go any further, we recommend you clean up around you and pour all that old engine oil into suitable containers before anyone can step in it or kick it over. The empty plastic container that contained your new oil is ideal but you will need more than one. If you are using other plastic containers beware that some types can be ‘melted’ by oil. ALWAYS take your waste oil to either a recycling station, or your Local Authority-run disposal site that is equipped to deal with it. Never pour it down drains or throw it in your dustbin because you will pollute the environment as well as risk prosecution.

Pour the oil steadily and look carefully at the last dregs for any debris, especially metallic lumps that could indicate a damaging engine problem. Wipe out the bowl with old newspaper.

	Using a Solvent-Proof Hand Sprayer, apply a Heavy Duty Degreaser to any minor oil spillages so they can be easily washed away later
	Easy-grip handles and an anti-spill lip make for spill-free pouring of waste oil. Spray a degreasing fluid on any stray drips

Checking and Topping-Up Manual Gearbox

Locate the main manual gearbox filler plug and loosen it using a 13mm Spanner (200 TDI) or T55 Torx Bit (300 TDI) and relocate the drip tray and oil drainpan beneath it. Remove the filler plug and watch for a dribble of oil. If no oil dribbles out, top-up the gearbox with fresh ATF Type DII until a dribble appears. The filler plug is in a very awkward location and it will be impossible to get any oil into the box without a flexible tube. We recommend you purchase either an OilSafe Pump Kit or a Fluid Transfer Pump to make life easy, especially when the gear oil has to be changed in later services.

	The main gearbox filler plug is very awkwardly located but an OilSafe Pump Kit makes very easy, mess-free work of topping-up or refilling

Occasionally you will come across a gearbox that has been overfilled and in this case let the excess oil drain out until a steady dribble is seen. Wipe any debris off the filler plug and refit it, tightening to a torque of 25NM. (DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN since the plug thread is a taper variety and will damage the gear case if too much torque is applied).

DIFFLOCK TIP: Never, ever undo a drain plug until you have undone the corresponding filler plug FIRST. That way you are absolutely sure to be able to refill with fresh lubricant after you have drained all the old stuff out!

The main and transfer gearbox filler plugs are taper threads – DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN!

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DISCLAIMER: Repairing and servicing vehicles should never be attempted unless you have appropriate professional training and are suitably qualified. If you are in any doubt about the work you intend to undertake you should consult an appropriate professional vehicle mechanic. Additionally you should always read and follow any relevant manufacturer’s manuals and safety instructions in full BEFORE attempting any work on a vehicle. To the extent permitted by English law, Difflock Ltd accepts no liability for any loss, damage or injury arising as a consequence of any of the advice provided.