This is a 1994 model and has done 175,000 miles. The engine surges when accelerating under load at relatively low speed. It doesn't do it at higher speeds ie. above 40 mph. Sometimes it does it quite badly, other times not so. If it was a petrol engine I'd say it was fuel starvation. It is NOT a misfire. Apart from this problem it runs well and is a really good car.
I have changed the engine mountings, injectors, injector pipes, fuel pipe between the filter and pump, all of the sealing washers, throttle damper, fuel stop solenoid, cleaned and checked the EGR valve, as well as regularly replace service items such as fuel and air filters. The engine is very clean and I change the oil & filter at least twice a year.
I have also checked the valve timing, pump timing with a dial gauge. I don't really suspect cylinder compression because it starts so well from cold.
But still I have this problem. The pump is a Bosch VE, and before I spend money to have it overhauled, I wonder if anyone has any ideas.
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do not know if this will be of help check all the rubber hoses from the fuel pump to/from the turbo for splitting perishing i.e bend them and see if you havea hole in one similair problem with mondeo td hesitating and it was the pump/turbo vacumn hose.
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Not knowing the Vauxhall engines, if yours is not a turbo, then this definately won't help, but...
My '94 Passat TDi had similar surging problem that felt like fuel
starvation. Initial diagnosis was injection pump also, but to cut a long story short, pointers from Diesel Car, plus dogged
determination from my VW dealer (good ones DO exist...) traced it to the wastegate control valve. Not cheap, but at lot less than the cost of new injection pump (+ belt etc).
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Have you managed to resolve this problem or find out what was causing it? My colleague has a 1995 model with the same problem.
Thanks,
Ian
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Over two years later and I have still not completely cured this problem. It has done 200,000 miles now and it runs rough for about 5 seconds after starting from cold with quite heavy diesel knock. After than it runs fine. The pump timing could be slightly too advanced, so I may retard it a tiny amount.
I'm convinced it's caused by wear in the fuel injection pump which affects the governor. I have replaced the injectors twice in the seven years I've owned this car, but using Millers diesel fuel additive does seem to be an improvement, albeit a small one.
The cost of overhauling the pump would be around £400, and engine compression won't be as good as it was, so refacing the valves and then re-grinding the crankshaft would simply be more than the car is worth, even though it's still in good condition with no rust.
This is not uncommon on these models, and it had to be said that it wasn't the best diesel engine ever made. Having said that they are quite reliable and robust, and relatively easy to work on....
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For anyone who's interested I now spoken to two different diesel fuel specialists, and both have told me that the cure is to replace the governor spring pack with a modified one. In fact one of these specialists had told me they've done quite a few of them, and tends to cure far more often than not. They said that the job can be done in situ even though it's fiddley, and the cost is about £250.
I haven't had mine done as the cost isn't justifiable for me.....
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