My 1991 Land Rover Discovery Has Developed An Annoying Habit Of Cutting Out On Steep Hills, What Could The Problem Be?

This sounds very much like there is air in the fuel system. Check the steel outlet pipe on the fuel tank. It's mounted underneath the cover plate at the top of the tank, which can be accessed from the inside the rear of the vehicle. You will need to unscrew the sill trim, lift the carpet and push back the insulation to get at the cover plate.

The problem occurs due to corrosion of the steel fuel pipe. A tiny peforation can be enough to cause fuel starvation problems. You won't necessarily see any fuel leak. What happens is the air travels towards the engine with fuel and produces an air lock. Although the 200Tdi is self-bleeding, eventually the corrosion becomes so advanced that not enough air can be expelled quickly enough, resulting in fuel shortages.

Cutting out on long, steep ascents is one of the early symptoms. The fault can also show itself as sluggishness in pulling away. No matter, the only cure is an urgent replacement of the fuel pipe. A liberal dose of copper grease will help prevent corrosion of the new fuel pipe.

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