Maintenance & Repair: Zafira Diesel Fuel Consumption

"DervMan" <com> wrote in message
news:blrd8m$f6eh3$news.uni-berlin.de... 
 
or 

Just because a Merc motor does this you can't really extrapolate it to all
diesels, imho. If you go and fit reconditioned injectors they tend to be
noisier than used ones, doesn't mean that they are somehow worse performing
tho...

The chap i used to chat to a lot said that combustion noise (as opposed to
other mechnical noise) tended to decrease as the engine aged, though whehter
this was due to coke build up or wear he didn't know. Less noise doesn't
necessarily mean good news though.
 

If it was "looser" then it would do all those things.
 

In all fairness bore wear tends to be less on diesels because the increased
fuelling needed to start a deisel isn't so damaging to the bore oil film.
You need to take into account though that a 2litre diesel used to only be
good for 60-70bhp, now we're looking 150bhp, those rings are getting a much
harder life than they used to!
 
much 

Indeedy. I've seen a number of tests with engines where you thrash the
bananas off a new engines, initially it gives substantially more power than
the carefully run in engine, but then it tends to shag out early...

Cheers,

JH

"JH" <com> wrote in message news:blrq7q$685$bt.co.uk... 

It's a decent ball pack figure, though - by this mileage, lets say over four
years, the donk is nicely run in but the rest of the car is just starting to
age a little bit.
 

Yes, indeed, but you're talking about the initial process as used on older
donks.
 
based 
constantly.

I don't think it is nonsense, I think it's more accurate to say that modern
petrol engines should a similar amount to modern diesel engines.
 

I think this is an exaggeration; but there's a certain view regarding how
these vehicles are used. If somebody does a moderately high mileage - lets
say the annual mileage is 36K - on a Mondeo-sized car that's approaching ten
years old. It probably sees the inside of a service bay three times a year
and will spend a large chunk of time with the engine at temperature,
probably at a light load because it's cruising.

Compare this with the owner who lives one side of a city, and works on the
others, and does 6,000 miles a year. A higher proportion of these miles
will be with a cold engine, and under a varying load - and it'll see a
dealership once a year.

Over ten years, one will cover 100,000 miles, one will cover 360,000 miles,
which one will have a more worn out engine?
 
gloves, 

These direct injection Vauxhall diesels are renouned for using oil if
they're treated with kid gloves from new - but I didn't write thrash, just
use them normally. Not unlike the 2.0 Perkins-derived diesel as used in the
Maestro and Montego (and probably the same for the current variant of the
engine as used in the various Rover / MG products).
 

Oh indeed, when cold the engine deserves a lot of respect!

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"JH" <com> wrote in message news:blrqon$6o9$bt.co.uk... 
weeks, 
is 
30,000 
performing 

Aie, the Merc had the biggest difference between new and used. The 406,
Laguna, Mondeo and Vectra were similar, but less so - these were all the
older indirect injection donks (yeah, one of the original 1.7tds Vectras,
heh!) rather than the newer direct injection donks.
 
whehter 

That would figure, I suppose. Different engines do different things - the
Endura-E tends to get a much noisier idle with age (the tappets, heh), but
quieter on the move. Some people tell me that theirs suddenly got noisy at
around the 30,000 mile point, which just happened to be after the first
major service (when the spark plugs are changed). Well . . . I've not
noticed it myself, yet.
 
and 
don't 

Spot on.
 
make 
bores, 
increased 
much 

Yes, you're right, but of course it does depend on how it's driven.
Presumably at a motorway cruise, a modern engine will only be using what
power it needs - it's only under a heavy load that the donk has to cope with
the increased output. Plus I'd hope that modern engines have better quality
materials, or a better design, to cope with the additional stress.

Is torque of more concern? The Mercedes Benz 190D 2.0 produced 75 PS and
126 Nm, whereas the current BMW 2.0 diesel produces twice the power, 150 PS,
and "shed loads" more torque, at 330 Nm.
 
than 

That's interesting! I'm not advocating that a brand new engine is
thrashed - although my Ford dealership tell me that new cars are already run
in at the factory (to which I said, "so they're not really new, then?"), and
"can be driven like a racing car if you wanted to."

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"DervMan" <com> wrote in message
news:blrsbs$f7aup$news.uni-berlin.de... 
 

Strange isn't it? Curiously my ZX seems to smoke less than when i first had
it some 30k ago, but i put that down to it being used "eagerly" once in a
while, whilst it used to be stuck in London. ;-) More worrying is the sline
whine from the 'box. Third started at about 50k, now fifth is quietly saying
hello at 80 odd k.
 
at 

Weird. I had enough Valencia engined cars to recognise that they were quite
happy and sounded very sweet if they'd been used for longer journeys. Short
journeys turned them so horrid they really did sounds like the oil had been
drained out. Mine had often done 70-80k hard miles (but warmed through and
3k oil changes) and sounded very sweet.
 
with 
quality 

Very true, all else being equal it's better to use an engine with lots in
reserve.
 
PS, 

Wow, let's hope the gearboxes have been redesigned in that time! ;-)
 
run 
and 

I'm sure that's more down to the that people probably keep asking "how do i
run it in". Does it still suggest you do so in new car owner manuals as a
matter of interest?

Cheers,

Jon.

"Alec" <com> wrote in message
news:3f813b98$0$254$dial.pipex.com... 
20-40k 
last 

Zafira - Cd .33, CdA .78
Vectra Cd .28 CdA .61

Vectra is really much more slippery than the Zaf! Didn't expect that...

There is one thing though that everybody has missed.

Regardless of whether you thrash the living daylights out of the engine or
not, remember that you have a turbo charger and these things do require a
little respect.

First of all, take it steady when you first start the engine and set off to
give things a chance to warm up and likewise do not just switch off the
engine seconds after you have finished thrashing the thing. Try and take
things nice and steady for the last couple of miles of your journey.

After all, whilst the main engine might be happy being thrashed for 200,000
miles, I have seen mistreated turbos die in less than 30,000 miles and they
do not come cheap.

"Lou" <co.uk> wrote in message
news:com... 

Mpg does seem alittle low for this, but yes it will loosen up. However not
in 300 miles! 3000 maybe, more like 5000 before its fully loosened up.
Anyway, with these engines, and indeed all new Petrol or diesel, especially
diesel, it needs to be driven fairly hard from the word go. Do not run it in
gently else you'll end up with massive oil consumption, which has been in
these groups several times with the 16v DTi engines. For the first 500 miles
I wouldnt run it to the governor every time, but it needs driving hard- but
without labouring. Use the gears aplenty and make sure you see 3500-4000rpm
under plenty of load at least once a day.

Tim..


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> I can tell you it's tru for a diesel engine.. i recently had the engine in 
used 

Out of interest, how much did it cost to get it re-conditioned? I might run
my Fiesta up to 300k, then get it re-con'd, then give it another 300k worth
of use.

I could also treat it to a new shell at 20 years old when it's seriously
rusted away, and then it'll be like Trigger's broom in Only Fools and Horses
(20 new heads,10 new handles, but the same broom).

Peter