1990’s Quality Diesels

[Cavcraft]

The thing with older diesels was they actually sounded like diesels. I know modern motors have to be nice and quiet now, but rev the (2.0 diesel) in my 2005 Transit and you can barely hear it. Rev a Transit Di, or drop a gear and nail it and it was pure aural (steady now) pornography. In fact, I must have wasted countless gallons of company fuel just enjoying the noise of the many Transits I kicked about in all those years ago. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

my b-i-l had an granada mk3 2.5 turbot-  wouldnt win the trafic light GP but by fuck could it tow!

i may have a soft spot for a Rover MDi in both flavours

[Split_Pin]

Agreed on the earlier Ford 1.6 diesels, sadly more 80s than 90s.

 

My old work had a MK2 Fiesta with one fitted and oddly badged, as they all were as a

Fiesta L

1.6D

 

Rather than a 1.6 LD or whatever. It was a bugger to start as it needed but never got glow plugs. I recall it had a lovely nasal diesel sound, utterly n/a but it wasnt notably slow or anything.

 

However the 1.8 D in the 93 Escort Van we also had was very unresponsive. The lack of speed I could understand as it was a fairly big vehicle but the deadness of the throttle response was frustrating. Nevertheless, this characteristic was unaffected by whatever load you asked it to carry!

[Jim Bergerac]

Why has nobody mentioned the L-Series yet?

[bezzabsa]

well after tonight, can I vote for the Lump fitted in my 1999 Skoda felicia.. 1.9 NON turbo Lovely sound, nice n smooth and fun too

[UltraWomble]

Why has nobody mentioned the L-Series yet?

Because B Series Boat Anchor:

[vaughant]

I’m not asking for a recommendation here but let’s hear about your favourite 80’s and 90’s diesels.

 

Personal favourite of mine is the seemingly scarce Mondeo Mk1 TD. There’s hardly any left! I’d love a Mk1 TD if I could find one.

Had one up until about 3 years ago and they are amazing, engine always springs into life and they do high forties at 80/90 all day long.

 

Keep up with servicing/cambelt changes and the engine will literally do a million miles as there's one still (or was until recently) in service doing airport runs where his only major replacement was a gearbox at 700k, not bad!!!

 

Ford 1.8td is DEFFO one of my fave 90's dervs.

 

I've got the ahz (ve pumped pre PD) whatever they call it in my Leon which is 2001 but it's effectively the same motor vw used since I believe the late 80's, another superb go forever lump.

[mat_the_cat]

 

1.7 NA Talbot square port diesel XUD

 

Is that still going then? (Obviously...)

I remember you buying it, and the write up on the old BXC forum - must be 10+ years ago now.

[UltraWomble]

Is that still going then? (Obviously...)

I remember you buying it, and the write up on the old BXC forum - must be 10+ years ago now.

It is, I was only talking to someone about it today - in many respects I wish I hadnt sold it - uber basic with no PAS and no sunroof, but also no rust.

Had zero soundproofing and oddly felt that 65 was the right maximum speed in that car - Drove it all over the NW when I was on the district and up and down the M55 each day. Did bloody good fuel consumption too - acceleration was measured in beard growth.

[mat_the_cat]

A blast from the past!

http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/36561/1989-citroen-bx-17tgd-saloon

[twosmoke300]

Can't agree about the Mondeo 1.8td - monumental turbo lag and so out of date compared to the 2.0 dti in the vectra or the vag tdis

[Lacquer Peel]

Essentially.

[twosmoke300]

A lot of the escorts with the TD were actually the low blow turbo tho

[CreepingJesus]

Sure the last of the diesel Sierras had that engine too. That would be early 90s.

[DodgyBastard]

[Kiltox]

I've a soft spot for..... wait for it..... Renault 1.9dti.

 

WHAT?

 

Well, it was the car my mum had (Megane shaped) when I first passed my test, so whilst everyone at college saved hard for a 1.2 Nova or something I got to occasionally borrow that. It shifted! Clouds of clag out the back too as she only used it for really short journeys.

 

Also, I admire what Citroen did with the ZX Volcane Diesel - pretty much the first non-grandad looking dervmobile.

Is the 1.9 non turbo the same lump sans blower? My Kangoo was unburstable

[Lacquer Peel]

1990s ('90s, 1990s, never 90's or 1990's) diesels are my passion*.

 

Here's a list of the ones I've had.

 

Nissan CD20

Total slug, unrefined and thirsty but tough and great on veg

 

Various XUDs NA and TD

Probably the peak of IDI diesels, almost unkillable and smoother than many modern diesels.

Fuel consumption isn't amazing but you can eke 50+ MPG out of them.

Never had any issues with the engines, despite what people say about HGF.

You can break a timing belt and often all they need is a replacement cam and a couple of valves.

 

VAG 1.9D. Unrefined but feels a little stronger than a non turbo XUD.

 

VAG 1.9 SDI. A good engine. 65MPG potential in the long-geared Fabia SDI. Not so fuel efficient in a low-geared Inca SDI, 40-45MPG seems to be normal. Great runner on veg.

 

VAG VE TDI, smooth, powerful, very fuel efficient engine but can munch heads and gaskets with high mileage, I know of three 110s including two of mine that started bubbling coolant. Also great for veg. The 90 TDI in my Caddy was faultless.

The 5 cyl TDI isn't so good on strong mixes of veg but can be fuel efficient and makes a great noise.

 

VAG/Volvo D24TIC, very old school, noisy and thirsty in a Volvo. Like the 5 cyl TDI it is not good on strong mixes of veg. Sounds like an old lorry engine but high revving, which suits me fine. A bit crap but likeable mainly for the engine noise.

 

Nissan LD23. Another old school diesel, as fitted to the Nissan Vanette, it's derided for being slow but it's no slower than a NA diesel Transit, once you're up to speed it pulls the lightweight Vanette along reasonably well and can manage 40MPG. Also brilliant on veg.

 

VM diesel. Excellent in a Rover 800, less so in a Ford Scorpio. Another generally unloved engine but it imbues the Rover 800 with a long legged cruising gait that suits the character of the car, yes it's noisy at idle and you have to alter your driving around the turbo lag at low speeds but it goes very well on boost. Gr9 for veg.

It feels a little overwhelmed in a Scorpio.

[andy18s]

Anyone ever tried a 1.9 straight diesel Renault c. Early mid 90s? I nearly bought a MK1 Clio with it in once, but felt it would have been ultra grim.

I had an L reg Clio with the non turbo diesel,fairly basic inside but nice and nippy to drive

Typical Renault battery posts would crack and leave you with no power steering at the most inopportune time...

Used to run from Kircaldy to N Shropshire on a regular basis and literally sipped on diesel

[fatharris]

Another vote for the L-Series, particularly the Di version as fitted to our Herbert. 110hp and weighs the same as a wet fart makes 60MPG easily attainable and is a very poky motor.

 

Very reliable too - it's recently tolerated 6 months and 9k of harsh (and I mean HARSH) high speed driving whilst fully loaded with 4 lads and their kit and didn't miss a beat, or return less than 42mpg.

 

I'd have another, no question. I keep looking for cheap 200-series coupes as apparently it's an easy conversion. Failing that, the tourer would do nicely too.

[Lacquer Peel]

The "round port" engines could be considered 9tie's engines.

The only major XUD breakdown I had was when I was running a Lucas pumped 218D on 100% veg in the winter, the pump broke.

[strangeangel]

Naturally-aspirated XUD. Accept no substitute.

 

Also what Billy said about Isuzu-powered Vauxhalls. I had an Astra estate with the Isuzu TD engine, an extraordinary combination of poke and almost unbelievable economy. Had the car not dissolved I might still be driving it, as the motor showed no signs of age whatsoever.

[scdan4]

Sure the last of the diesel Sierras had that engine too. That would be early 90s.

They're surely did. Had a j reg 1.8 td sierra for a good while.

 

Wouldn't agree it was a great engine.

 

It was very considerate when it expired though. It threw a rod whilst parking on arrival at the pub.

 

"Would you like a drink?"

"Well, I thought I was driving, but as it turns out yes, yes I would like a pint'!

[Lacquer Peel]

Oh wait, there's more!

 

Isuzu 1.7 TD.

Smooth and powerful, a decent rival to the XUD9TE but not quite as nippy. It's tuned to be as petrol-like as possible with minimal turbo lag. Good on veg but I killed two of them in short succession. I don't know if I killed them properly as I wasn't mechanically savvy enough at the time to investigate - my friend had similar issues with his Corsa TD running on veg and managed to fix it.

 

Rover L-series.

Sounds like a Perkins Prima at idle but goes well especially in intercooled form in an R3.

Not as parsimonious or smooth as a VAG VE TDI but proved that Rover could build a solid engine.

 

Renault 1.9D.

Goes well in a Clio, similar characteristics to a non turbo XUD, a bit gruffer and more service friendly.

[CreepingJesus]

They're surely did. Had a j reg 1.8 td sierra for a good while.

 

Wouldn't agree it was a great engine.

 

It was very considerate when it expired though. It threw a rod whilst parking on arrival at the pub.

 

"Would you like a drink?"

"Well, I thought I was driving, but as it turns out yes, yes I would like a pint'!

Ouch. I wouldn't call it a great engine either, but at least it was easy to work on, and the local Lucas CAV workshop always had a pump on the shelf for them, so they were rarely out of action for long. Unless they'd thrown a leg out of bed of course...!

 

Thinking about it, when I was at uni, a classmate was given an early Orion D from within her family to get to Aberdeen with. From Dumfries. When it already had 350,000 on it. It needed bodged back together a few times, and used as much oil as fuel, but it just wouldn't die.

[Zelandeth]

If we're also considering bigger stuff, the Cummins L10 with the right exhaust on it sounds absolutely epic.  Have experience with a Leyland Olympian fitted with one and a five speed ZF box, which will quite happily go off the top of the speedo on my private test track...

 

Detroit 8V71 sounds truly epic as well.

[sierraman]

Commer 2 stroke diesel!

[Steve79]

Anyone ever tried a 1.9 straight diesel Renault c. Early mid 90s? I nearly bought a MK1 Clio with it in once, but felt it would have been ultra grim.

Not far wrong about the grimness!

 

I had a mk1 1995 clio 3dr 1.9d rl prima in white for a few years when i was at uni in cardiff around 2001. Very very basic with keep fit steering and windows, no clock and 2 speaker radio. Was probably the noisiest idling car i've ever had and top speed was only about 90mph.

 

The only plus side was i never got less than 50mpg didnt matter how i drove it.

 

Verdict: Utterly hateful!

[CreepingJesus]

Detroit 8V71 sounds truly epic as well.

See also, the 12V71 I posted in the Truck Shite thread. It'll be a couple of pages back, but it sounds incredible. Not nineties though, but then the 'newer' 16L Scania V8 was in development then, so I guess it counts. R620 on open pipes...

Although post-VW versions have had reliability issues (fan hubs giving out springs to mind). There was a bad batch in the early days suffered dropped liners iirc.

[Steve79]

List of the diesels i've had.

 

• 1995 Clio 1.9D RL Prima - Terrible and slow, 50+ mpg the ONLY highlight

 

• 1994 Ford Mondeo 1.8TD GLX - quite enjoyable but not much gusto. GLX spec seats very comfy but ultimately snapped cam closed play. 

 

• 1999 Fiat Marea 1.9JTD Weekend estate - Unreliable, leaky head gasket, fllaky electrics. Got rid of quickly.

 

• Peugeot XUD

 

Stand out models were Peugeot 405 with the 1.8TD, 406 & 306 with the 1.9TD, and 406 with the 2.1td. Metro diesel always felt like hard work but the Citroen AX 1.4D was great and always over 60mpg.

 

Citroen ZX's always felt like the 306's much poorer cousin with Citroen seemingly having decided that if their customers wanted any kind of build quality what-so-ever then they could bugger off and buy a Peugeot instead.

 

Rover R8 with the 1.8 felt slow. 

 

• GM vs Isuzu 1.7TD - always found that the GM unit was a fragile boat anchor whereas the Isuzu was a delightful unit with plenty of go. Had a nice little earner going on these in the early 2000's just after finishing uni where i was buying damaged astra's cheap with the isuzu lump and getting £400 for just the engine from astravan owners whose's GM lump had blown. Was doing about 10 a month at one point!

 

• 1996 Renault Safrane 2.5DT - No ball of fire with only 114bhp being generated by the sofim iveco lump and most of that disappearing through the autobox. Having said that, drove very well and is still one of my favourites. 

 

• VAG 1.6TD and 1.9TD. All iterations in both mk2/3 Golf and Passat B3 are great. 1.6td performance is leisurely in the Passat but felt unbreakable.

[bramz7]

Think I'll not bother with the R19 with the NA 1.9 then. I'm wondering how horrific my Tempra 1.9 will be, it's certainly got a nice old diesel sound to it.

 

Are the R8s with the XUD7 turbo any good? I keep looking at them for sale...