A couple of days before a big trip we did recently, we noticed a puddle of fuel in the driveway under the Land Rover 90. Now, anyone who owns a Land Rover Defender or dare I say any type of Land Rover will be well used to fluids appearing under your pride and joy.

We were not sure where the fuel was coming from, but the issue had to be figured out as the 20-year-old Defender would have to complete a 3000km round trip in just a couple of days. After some further investigation and after asking for some advice from our Land Rover Guru, Martin, we discovered that the issue was with the Fuel Pressure Regulator. This is not unusual in fact it can be quite common in TD5 Defenders. Basically wear a tear and aging seals normally can cause the issue. A faulty fuel pressure regulator can cause more than one issue if not addressed including leaks and a loss of fuel pressure but it can also affect performance.

Funnily enough, a couple of months ago the vehicle was losing power and we could not figure out what the issue was as nothing was coming up on the diagnostic machine, could it have been the issue with the Fuel Pressure Regulator, it probably was. Other issues can also include rough running when idle, misfiring, and stalling. Basically, issues arise when the injectors are not getting fed correctly, in other words, a fuel injector injects fuel at high pressure into the combustion chamber and this is an essential aspect for healthy engine function.

Td5 Fuel Delivery System

Removing some of the bolts can be tricky.

Bearmach Fuel Pump

 

A fuel system mostly comprises of a fuel tank,a fuel filter, a level sender unit,a pump, a fuel injection pump,a pressure regulator, injectors and associated components.The TD5 engine is not equipped with a fuel injection pump. Instead the fuel from the tank mounted pump is fed to injectors through channels in the cylinder head, where it is compressed to a very high pressure. No accelerator cable is fitted to TD5 models, instead a position sensor is attached to the accelerator pedal.

Replacing a new Fuel Pressure Regulator can be a tricky job, you should take your time when doing it for the first time and refer to your vehicle’s manual for advice. A fuel system mostly comprises of a fuel tank,a fuel filter, a level sender unit,a pump, a fuel injection pump, a pressure regulator, injectors and associated components.