Sounds like something arcing. Take the cover of, and check for anything obvious wrong.

Leasing companies will also screw you for every bit of damage/misuse they can, once it comes time to hand the car back.

1.9tds never had hydraulic tappets. They’re good gold bucket + shim, like most OHC diesels of that era.

My Passat is rattly on startup. I am now wondering why. It’s only above a certain rev level (about 1800 ish so I’m not thrashing it) and it suddenly appears. I thought it was something to do with the ecu and injection timing on a cold map since it’s very on/off but now I am not so sure. Last two services were at the main dealer.

It most likely is the injection map. You’ll probably find the multistage injection drops to single stage at 1800rpm, meaning that with a cold engine, the diesel knock suddenly becomes apparent.

Quite a lot of diesels have that quirk, but it’s becoming even less noticeable as technology progresses.

There is no easy way to bleed these, but running it on easy-start will get it cranking enough to fire up.The ECU needs to see over 200 bar at the fuel rail to start the injection process.

120bar ;-)
And it’s the injector itself that won’t work until the pressure is reached. The ECU tries firing them as soon as the engine starts to crank.

Bleeding a 2.0 HDi is easy. You turn the ignition on, and crank it over. The electric lift pump takes care of bleeding, combined with a bit cranking. If you disconnect one of the plastic fuel pipes going to the high pressure pump or filter (or take the top of the fuel filter), fuel should pump out as soon as you turn the ignition on (pump should run for a few seconds after the ignition is turned on) and when the engine is cranking/running.

Under no circumstances slacken the steel injector pipes on a common rail engine. The pressures involved can cause serious injury.

That said, my memory says that the XUD has indirect injection, and therefore a separate injection pump bolted to the engine somewhere. These are without exception the noisiest thing in the engine bay of an old diesel – the common rail units do away with this part and hence sound far less dieselly. I’d be inclined to look at the fuelling side of things if the noise continues – filters, is there any fuel etc

Injection pumps aren’t that noisy.
What made the biggest difference with common rail (and the later fly-by-wire injection pumps), was the introduction of multi-stage injection, which meant diesel knock became far less obvious, and allowing direct injection to become common place in cars.

Any semi-decent oil that meets the specs for the engine will be fine.

The 1.9 is hardly a refined lump by any means, and the turbo will complain about the wrong oil long before the engine will.

Could be the electric fuel lift pump in the tank died, or not getting power. If you listen around the tank area, it should run for a few seconds when you first turn the ignition on.
Check the Inertia cut-out switch, as they sometimes trip for no apparent reason, and would cause the pump not to run. Also the fuel pump relays can fail, so you really need to check to see if the pump is getting power. If you lift the back seat, there may be a big round grommit that allows access to the tank.

The only thing I can think of that would cause a 2.0 Hdi to fire but not run, is lack of battery voltage. If the new battery only managed to crank the engine a couple of turns, then I’d be taking it back.

I can only speak from memory with the 306 Hdi I had, but if the thermometer in the centre of the tacho climbs to white, then its ready to go – if thats not turning white when you turn the key to preheat, then its your glowplugs

LMAO. That’s the oil level gauge. It has nothing to do with your glowplugs.

I am informed by the owner it is a home bodged thing – will print off this and check what he has under the bonnet…

Anything with a P3 is home bodged, as it was only available as a conversion kit from perkins, but I’m sure there have been numerous other engines fitted by others. It’s just that the P3 conversion was one of the more popular options.

Rifle is far cleaner ;-)

negative ghostrider, engines get addicted to that stuff, and once they have had it a few times wont start without it.

Engine don’t get ‘addicted’ to it.
However, if you use too much of it, you risk damaging the engine (not likely on a diesel, unless you spray that much of it in, that when the engine does fire it over revs), hence my suggestion of spraying in small bursts just to get the engine to fire – all you’re aiming for is the engine to fire a couple times to boost cranking speed.
The reality of easystart ‘addiction’, is people use it once, then never bother to fix the real reason for why the engine won’t start.

I see all the pub mechanics are out in force :-)

Unless it’s below about -15degC, then the fuel should be fine. Waxing up basically refers to the wax content of diesel seperating/freezing up in extreme cold.

Glow plugs on HDi’s aren’t really necessary, and if they do fail, the worst that’ll happen is the engine will take a bit more cranking than normal before it fires up, and will smoke more upon start-up.
And the glow plugs work anytime the engine temperature is below 60degC IIRC, and continue to operate for upto 2 minutes after the engine has started (post-glow is used on most modern diesels to improve emmisions immediately after start-up).

As for what could be wrong with your car, given the symptoms, and the fact it’s gotten worse in the cold weather, it could possible be sticking injectors. If it’s sticking injectors, it’ll probably start with either a bump start (make sure you get the engine speed above the usual cranking speed), or a bit EasyStart/WD40/some flammable aerosol sprayed down it’s throat (take the boost hose of at the inlet manifold, and spray in just enough to get the engine to fire while cranking – spray in small doses until it fires, don’t just spray and hold as you’re likely to blow the engine up that way!)

If it doesn’t start with any of those methods, it’s likely to be an electrical fault.

How long it lasts is anybodies guess.

It could either seize, or the bearings could fall apart, leading to whatever belt that drives it snapping/melting/falling off.

Personally, if you’re planning on scrapping it anyway and just need a couple more weeks out of it, I’d look to see if it was something simple that could be bodged to reduce the leakage (ie a chaffed/holed pipe that could have a bit split rubber hose put over it with a hose clip directly over the leak to reduce leakage when not under load).

Also, just top it up every couple of days, as even if the oil is leaking out, a bit fresh oil will help stop things seizing/falling apart.

Once you realise that you’ll never ever get past halway sorting out anyform of workshop, then you’ll be far more content with your workshop.

All I do is keep finding new additions, leading to a continual cycle of rearranging/magicing up empty floor space.

Oh, and any direct injected 3.152 engine that takes more than a few seconds of cranking in above freezing temperatures, has issues.

smiffy – Member
“mc – Member
Is that a 3 cyl Perkins 35?

It’s a TE20 with a P3 conversion.
The other option was the infamous gold seal diesel engine (basically the Standard petrol engine converted to diesel, which is what mcmoonter probably has), which was renowned for it’s poor starting.
The P3 conversion kit was supplied by Perkins, and was that succesful, it resulted in MF using Perkins engines as standard.”

My 35x is a Perkins 3; it starts after a night indoors with a Shogun jumpstart!

The 35 didn’t use a P3 ;-)

The P3 refers to the first of the perkins diesels, which also came in 4 and 6 cylinder versions, suprisingly named the P4 and P6.
The P-series of engines used inline injection pumps, and also the design feature whereby the con-rod big-end was larger than the cylinder bore, so you had to push the piston out the top, remove the gudgeon pin, then drop the con-rod out the bottom (they make for a lot of strong language when trying to get the things back together!)

The 35, used the newer 3.152 series of engine, complete with rotary fuel pumps, with the original 35s using the indirect injected version, before introducing the 35X signifying the move to the A3.152 direct injected version.
Which was then replaced by the AD3.152 with the introduction of the 135.

Massey continued to use the 3.152 in various versions up until they stopped production of the smaller 200 series tractors in the late 90s.

And yes, I know I sound far too geeky, but I’ve rebuilt numerous perkins 3-cylinders, and know them pretty well, including the variances between the different versions.

Is that a 3 cyl Perkins 35?

It’s a TE20 with a P3 conversion.
The other option was the infamous gold seal diesel engine (basically the Standard petrol engine converted to diesel, which is what mcmoonter probably has), which was renowned for it’s poor starting.

The P3 conversion kit was supplied by Perkins, and was that succesful, it resulted in MF using Perkins engines as standard.

Combos are classed as Light Commercial Vehicles. They’re only the same as a corsa upto the A-pillar/dashboard, but they are still under the 1800kg weight limit for speed limit issues.

Spooky, the particulate filter only regenerates when the ECU decides it needs it, and not just because you happen to be thrashing it down the road.
Provided they’ve had the latest engine management update, the particulate filter issue isn’t a problem anymore (PF’s weren’t fitted to all vans anyway, and some were even removed as a service fix).
In the past 3 years since affected vehicles were updated, I’ve only had to do one forced regeneration, and that was down to a fault preventing the normal regeneration cycle from starting.

<pedant mode>
Viscosity is a measurement of a liquids resistance to flow, not it’s thickness
</pedant mode>

Multigrade oils have their viscosity measured at 20degC and 60degC (IIRC! – it’s been a while since I done it), and are matched to the equivalent SAE grade of oil at that temperature.
For example, a 10W-40 oil, at 20degC is equivalent to a SAE 10 oil, but when heated to 60degC is equivalent to a SAE 40 oil.

As for mixing oils, for the occasional top-up, it’s not really an issue.

Floats you just need to put a spacer in.
Vans you need to cut the spring and put a spacer in.

When you reach a hill with packed snow – that’s when you need them

I survived going up hills with packed snow last winter, so why should this winter be any different?
Majority of places, provided you anticipate the road/terrain and keep your car moving, you won’t have any problems. The problem is the amount of idiots who have a total inability to anticipate, or think past the end of their bonnet.

But while we’re on the subject of winter, I loved watching all the smashed up Audi Quatros getting recovered into the dealer just up from my work last year. Just because the four wheel drive gives you better traction for pulling away, doesn’t mean it gives you extra traction for stopping :lol:

I always think of TIG welding as essentially gas welding, but using electricity instead of gas, and being far cleaner.

TIG welding still screws with my mind though, as I learnt to gas weld first, and I still have the habit of pulling the torch away from the work when things start getting too hot, which then makes things even hotter :-/

Given that the only time I got stuck in the snow last year was when the front bumper started acting as a snowplough, I don’t see the point.

http://www.bott-direct.co.uk/

is one I see a lot of just now. There are a couple other ones, but I can’t remember the names just now!

There’s a reason why Fiat vans are cheap, and no major fleets run them…

Renault/Vauxhall/Nissan vans are a bit delicate. OK if they’re looked after, but really don’t handle abuse too well.

Out of the LT35/Sprinter (of the same era), the Sprinter is the better van.
Both are pretty much identical with the exception of the engine and dashboard. VW engines still use cambelts, and are generally more tempremental. Also I think the VW dash looks hideous compared with the Merc one.

Out of the newer Crafter/Sprinter (906), the only differences are the engines. We’ve had some issues with both of them, although the Crafters havn’t yet seen the same amount of use as the Mercs.

And I wouldn’t personally touch a transit.
Older ones (pre-06) have major fuel pump issues (either breaks up, or the electronics pack in)
Newer ones have EGR, fuel pressure, and gearbox issues.

Ivecos are the cheaper option to buy, and that is reflected in their quality, but not in the spares prices!
Reliability wise, Ivecos are worse when being caned by fleet drivers everyday, but they’re ok if not abused.

Personally, given the choice, I’d go for a Sprinter, as the Merc engines are far better than the VW options, and Merc has the far better backup should things go wrong.

Because for joe public, google is free.

If there’s a sure fire way to destroy cars, it’s doing deliveries. There’s a reason why most pizza delivery cars are old bangers!

I wouldn’t be using my own car for it, and I’d be making sure I was getting paid enough to cover car running costs (the AA’s guide is pretty accurate, but you’ll need to play with the figures a bit), before I’d even think about considering it.

There should be a hole for locking the gear lever in neutral, then there are clips for adjusting the cables, which you release (the adjusters are spring loaded), then relock.

However, it’s that long since I’ve had to work on the piles of s**t, that I can’t remember how you access the adjusters.

I’ve stayed with T2R three times in the past 2 years, and can’t fault them.

I’ve heard the stories from the previous owners reign, but the current guys have got everything dialled. Having spoken to their head guide a fair bit, he spends a lot of time at the start of the season making sure the guides have ridden everything he expects them to guide, and won’t let any lead on trails they’re not confident on.

However, I’ve not been on any of their xc guiding, so can’t really comment. I can say their North Shore guiding was good (despite the lead guide exploding his bike!), and that their Bike Park tour was good fun :-)

They also put a lot back into the trails, compared with other companies. The guides are reguarly away trailbuilding at all the places where they do guiding/shuttling.

[/url]Project MaxMax[/url] by mc_mtb[/url], on Flickr

I was always somewhat skeptical of these conferences, but having attended the IMBA UK conference last month, I can see the benefit of them.

The big issue is mountainbiking is a very fragmented sport, with various organisations/groups with an interest in it, but there is no organisation who’s sole interest is mountainbiking.
At the IMBA conference, I think it was the Scottish Enterprise speaker who listed about 15 fairly major individual organisations with an interest in mountainbiking in scotland alone, and although some of them work with each other, none have mountainbiking as a core item in their remit.

These conferences give an oportunity for these organisations to meet up, hear some speakers talk about some of the big issues and related subjects, then discuss various topics, where ideas can be exchanged/built upon, contacts made, and hopefully everybody leaves having learnt something and have a better idea of what direction the sport is going.

However, I would tend to agree with ditch_jockey, in that very little will probably be acheived on the day, but it should hopefully set in motion some changes for the future.

If it’s not connected, then they can’t fail it, but you really need to show that it is disconnected. What car is it?

From the testers manual –

Additional stop lamps
Any additional stop lamps fitted and connected must be tested. Where extra lamps are fitted and there is doubt as to whether they are connected, the benefit of this doubt should be given to the presenter

High level stop lamps
These are lamps usually fitted in the rear window or boot spoiler of a vehicle and may consist of a number of light sources .
At least 50% of the light sources must illuminate

However, a high level brake light is classed as an additional light with regards to the MOT. Plod and insurance can still do you for it not working though.

Official title is a Slidebed Recovery Lorry, but recovery lorry suffices.

If a turbo fails with no warning at full load, then chances are you’d know about it, as it would self destruct quickly, and cause lots of blue smoke out the exhaust. Also, the engine management light wouldn’t come on immediately (it probably wouldn’t come on at all, as the only issue is likely to be lack of boost, which doesn’t always trigger a fault).

Sudden loss of power combined with a sudden increase in noise without smoke is far more likely to be something under boost pressure failing, and would bring on the engine management light pretty quickly, due to an increase of measured air being drawn in, without any corresponding increase in measured boost pressure (the ECU is smart enough to know roughly what related sensors should be seeing for given conditions).

Sounds turbo related.

Turbos are anywhere from £150 upwards, but I’d guess a turbo for a 1.4/1.6hdi will be about £300, give or take a bit.
However, given the sudden nature of failure, I’d say a hose/intercooler/housing failure is far more likely.