A contemporary diesel engine relies on high-pressure injector technology, and the Puma engine is no different. This Ford in-line four-pot diesel originated in the Duratorq TDCi for the Ford Transit, but it was used by several other manufacturers, including Land Rover in the Defender from 2007.
The 2.4 and 2.2-litre Defender TDCi (Puma) variants both use common rail fuelling technology which operates at incredible pressures: up to 1800 bar (that’s 26,460 psi) at the injector. That high pressure and the way the fuel is controlled helps reduce noise, emissions and fuel consumption, whilst increasing performance. However, those benefits rely on a fully- and efficiently-functioning injection system. If you’re noticing your Puma-engined Defender is idling roughly, cutting out, surging, or emitting faint white smoke from the exhaust, those are all potential signs of injector issues.
Symptoms and failure modes
There are several causes of injector deficiency. A common one concerns the bolts on the injector clamps stretching, allowing
