Astra G 2.0DTI woes

[Ben_O]

After weeks and weeks of nagging from my mother in law who owns the car, i finally took it out for a drive this evening to see if i could identify the problems she has with it.

 

I don't really know the cause of them so i was hoping that if i listed the faults here, someone might have an idea what the causes are.

 

The first thing and the most worrying is that when you turn the engine over the car shakes violently until it fires up and then it's ok. There doesn't seem to be any physical play in the engine and it the engine itself doesn't seem to shake badly when watching it turning over.

There is no worrying movement when driving and everything feels solid so i'm not sure it would be a mount??

 

The second problem is the fact that it is VERY slow with little or no turbo boost, especially when the engine is warmed up. When the engine is cold, it feels quite lively but as soon as the temp goes a third of the way across the guage, it is completely gutless to a point where you are in 2nd with your foot flat on the floor and it just won't pick up.

 

I have noticed that when the car is idling, the rod that goes from the actuator to the wastegate on the turbo just flops back and forth instead of being hard over like it should be.

I have tried another known good actuator and it is the same.

 

The only other things is that sometimes it is hard to start. often the Glow lamp doesn't come on on the dash even in cold weather with a cold engine but the times it is hard to start are so random. Not just in cold weather or warm weather and it makes no difference if the engine is cold or hot.....

 

The EML comes on from time to time too but only for a few moments and then it goes off again..

 

Any hints or clues as to what the problems are caused by?

 

Much appreciated..

 

Ben

[EssDeeWon]

Its a Vauxhall.

[Bren]

I have heard of these where the ecu is borked.

[djimbob]

Sounds rather like fuel starvation, sure someone will come along with more useful info

[andrew e]

Go for the obvious first - soapy water round the fuel pipes (bubbles), petrol (diesel I mean) cap off and investigate for choked diesel return, swap antique fuel filter for new one, clean out air box and ducting. Gaffer tape round turbo hose and check for crushing/collapsing. Apart from the filter all free, minus an hour of your time.

[Ben_O]

Thanks for the suggestions thus far.

 

That's given me a place to start

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[Cavcraft]

First check should be leak off pipes then any fuel supply lines. Fuel filter worth checking too.

These did have a bad name for fuel pump failure (plus all sorts of talk of sealed unit pumps costing a grand etc) but I'd say most cases are sod thing simple.

 

Is there some sort of control valve for the turbo? My Passat used to do similar to your car and it was the 'N75' valve and not an expensive job. Does yours start working again if you turn the engine off and back on?

[Ben_O]

First check should be leak off pipes then any fuel supply lines. Fuel filter worth checking too.

These did have a bad name for fuel pump failure (plus all sorts of talk of sealed unit pumps costing a grand etc) but I'd say most cases are sod thing simple.

 

Is there some sort of control valve for the turbo? My Passat used to do similar to your car and it was the 'N75' valve and not an expensive job. Does yours start working again if you turn the engine off and back on?

Cheers for the ideas.

 

This one does it all the time as far as i know.

 

Well every time i have looked at it.

[tommotech]

If EML has been on scanning for trouble codes would be a good start. Clear the codes then in order to see what pops back in to the error memory. Obviously use this in conjunction with the other suggestions here.

 

Good luck.

[SiC]

The second problem is the fact that it is VERY slow with little or no turbo boost, especially when the engine is warmed up. When the engine is cold, it feels quite lively but as soon as the temp goes a third of the way across the guage, it is completely gutless to a point where you are in 2nd with your foot flat on the floor and it just won't pick up.

You could try disconnecting the coolant temperature sensor when it's in this warm state, to rule out if the ECU is doing anything different when it's warmed up.

[SiC]

If the EML is coming on, there is a code hiding in there. You need a Vauxhall specific code reader to properly read it though, generic ones won't necessarily pick anything up.

 

If you have a ELM327 and a android phone, I've found ScanMyOpel on android to be pretty good for our Astra G. Alternatively you can pick up cheap knock offs for a op-com which will be good enough for code scanning.

[Ben_O]

Cheers for the suggestions.

 

I work in a body shop as a panel beater and the adjoining service dept there have all the necessary gear for fault reading.

 

Ill see if i can borrow it and check.

[twosmoke300]

Vac unit on turbo blown or not connected to the wastegate arm.See if you can blag a vac pump to test it.

As for poor starting - clean egr valve . Check fuel filter , if its black (engine oil) then injector seals leaking . Not a bad job just fiddly.

Leak off pipes as someone said are a favourite as are the plastic T pieces on them .

Glow plugs dont work until below freezing on these - at least the light doesnt anyway . The plugs themselves come on and off as needed

[Ben_O]

plenty to get me started

 

Cheers

[sierraman]

I look after a Corsa occasionally and it does exactly the same, 1.7 Isuzu engine. Shakes like a bastard for a few moments at first then ok. It has also been slightly reluctant to start on occasion now. I've bled the filter out and it's clean no water in it, I'm thinking possibly the Pumps on its way out, or some sort of control problem with it ECU related. I was asked what was up with it but given its 15 years old and it doing only 1500-2000 miles a year if it was the pump I'd be inclined to leave it until it gets worse, can't see that being cheap.

[SiC]

Are these the pumps have the engine ECU attached to it too? Also usually diesel pumps are connected to the cambelt/chain, so a fair bit of labour to change. Being a vauxhall its probably one of the really pain in the bum types that's timed on it too.

[sierraman]

I think so yes. The Corsa that has the same starting trouble is worth £350-400 at best. I didn't tell them i suspected the pump was on its way out, I just said I'd be inclined to leave it while it wasn't a huge problem. A tactful way of saying it wouldn't be worth doing.

[Rusty_Rocket]

What year is the Corsa Isuzu? If it's an oldie, the pump is a Jap Bosch copy and they seldom fail. It's more likely to be slightly closed up valve clearances. They're adjusted with shims so never checked, let alone adjusted..

[Lacquer Peel]

What year is the Corsa Isuzu? If it's an oldie, the pump is a Jap Bosch copy and they seldom fail. It's more likely to be slightly closed up valve clearances. They're adjusted with shims so never checked, let alone adjusted..

 

I think the 1.7 DTi uses a Bosch VP44 like the bigger engines.

[I_am_Diesel]

Check that the MAF & MAP sensors are clean.

[twosmoke300]

1.7 uses a jap pump with an electronic edu bolted near it to control the timing etc . They fail quite often but a chap called edu exchange repairs them for 50 quid

[Ben_O]

I still haven't had chance to look at it.

 

Weather is shit!

[Lacquer Peel]

1.7 uses a jap pump with an electronic edu bolted near it to control the timing etc . They fail quite often but a chap called edu exchange repairs them for 50 quid

Is it similar to a VP44?

[the judge]

38+44 plsthanx