Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help

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Wed 19 Dec 2001 12:35
Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Phil Dando
I have recently bought a high mileage (know the driver of the company car) '96 2.0Di Vectra. It has proved reliable and trouble free apart from one issue.

Some mornings when starting the car it will drive very (and I mean very) sluggishly for the first few miles - very much like you'd imagine the car to run if it had no turbo and twice the weight.

This seemed to go away after a few miles until one morning when it resulted in the car stalling when doing 70 on the motorway and failing to restart. The AA were called and they suggested I'd run out of fuel. I knew the level to be quite a sizeable amount above the red so insisted it must be something else. They investigated a little further and said fuel was in the tank but not getting through too well so it must be the fuel filter. This was temporarily cleaned, the system bled and more fuel put in the tank and the car started fine. I replaced the fuel filter the following day and we've not had a problem for a few weeks now until a couple of days ago.

Upon starting one afternoon the car ran sluggishly (and sounded more diesel like!) for a good few miles, worried the same would happen again I instantly filled up with fuel and within a couple of miles the car was fine.

Any Ideas what it might be?

It appears to be happening more frequently when there is less fuel in the tank.

People have suggested it might be the Injector seals but I've been told they were replaced recently.

Could it be I have a load of muck in the tank, and would this only be and issue when the tank runs lower? I've not run it into the red.

Could the fuel filter be getting blocked again or the fuel pump be on its way out?

Has anyone had a similar problem or care to suggest what it might possibly be?

I would be most grateful for any advice.

Thanks, Phil
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 12:50
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - ian (cape town)
Could be the fuel tank has an air lock in it - as you use the fuel, there is no air getting in to replace it, and therefore a vaccum.
Check the tank breather pipe for blockages.
(a simple test is to open the filler cap in a quiet place. If it sucks air in, you'll hear it.)
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 14:43
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Jon L
It shouldn't make any difference if there is muck in the tank. No matter how much fuel is in there, it always draws from the same place (the bottom). Any sediment or muck will also be at the bottom.

That's one thing to rule out!

Cheers,

Jon
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 14:55
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Phil Dando
Thought as much. It's been something people have said to me, and my reply has been the same as yours. Cheers, Phil
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 23:48
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - john w.
Not necessarily, I suggest. When the fuel level is low it slops about and picks up sediment. It is exactly what you do when washing something out.
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 15:27
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - David Nicholls
might be air entering the high pressure side of the injection sysytem. there are a number of sensors on this engine, but if it is engine related the ECU should have logged it. underneath a cover between the handbrake and gearlever is a multiplug which can be connected to a TECH 2 handheld PC at a vauxhall dealer. this can spot little problems likes faulty sensors etc. these engines are pretty reliable, had on that did 113k with no engine probs except a main oil seal going.

they are and should be pretty good from cold, if noisy. just watch the oil consumption. think HJ has thoughts on GM's Di engine if memory serves me right.
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 18:05
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - STEVE D
YOU SHOULD TRY A NISSAN PRIMERA TD SLUGGISH IS TOO QUICK A DISCRIPTION I THINK TD STANDS FOR TIRED DIESEL OR TURBO DONE-IN
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 16:09
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Brian
My previous car had similar symptoms and it turned out to be a faulty seal on the manual priming pump on top of the fuel filter letting air be drawn into the system.
Bugger to identify.
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Wed 19 Dec 2001 20:58
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - alvin booth
Phil,
I was chatting to a Vauxhall mechanic at a main dealer some months ago and asked him if they had any recurring or general faults with the 2.0 diesel.
He was telling me that he only faults they had ever had to deal with was something to do with seals around the injectors. I can't be to specific but it was in this area. Is there a seal on the return pipe as I seem to remember this cropping up in the conversation. Anyway it was in the injector area he was on about and was a simple job to fix.
Alvin
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Thu 20 Dec 2001 09:08
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Phil Dando
Alvin.

Injector seals- A few people have suggested to me it might be this though I'm not to sure how the injector seals link in with it occuring more frequently on a low tank.

I'm hoping it's not the injector seals as I've been told they were done recently and correct me if I'm wrong but I've also been told it's a "top off engine" job to get at the injectors.

The tanks is starting to get quite low (takes a while!) so I'll do some investigation into the suggestions this weekend.

Thanks again.

Phil
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Thu 20 Dec 2001 06:49
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up Ltd.)
We don't do so much on diesels so are not as au fait as on petrol engines but I do know that GM have a problem with air ingress to the fuel system. My feeling is it could stem from these wretched "quick release" style connectors which we routinely chop off the fords! Seems these connectors are ok under pressure (on a petrol injected engine) but not so good under vacuum perhaps??
HTH
Andrew
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Thu 20 Dec 2001 09:10
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Phil Dando
Andrew.

I'll check them out. I know for sure there's two on the fuel filter and probably more hiding away elsewhere!

Cheers, Phil
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Mon 24 Dec 2001 13:55
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Phil Dando
Further to my previous plea.

A few days ago the car drove very sluggishly (could not hear the turbo) for a good half hour, on a near full tank. I put my foot down at one point and the the pipe that goes from the turbo to the engine blew off, which I've since secured but the sluggishness is still there sometimes.

This has led me to think the sluggishness might be something to do with the turbo.

Is there a sensor/valve that could be faulty/sticking and therefore causing the turbo to not function. This sluggishness has never occured mid journey so it would be something that sticks from startup then frees itself later.

The car has done a few mile (143K) but has been well maintained so could it be a warn out turbo?

Thanks, Phil
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Wed 6 Mar 2002 23:16
Re: Vectra 2.0 Di sluggish from cold, please help - Alf
Phil,

I'm a new owner of a 120k 1997 2.0Di, I'm having no end of bother with it.
I'm told that the lower inlet manifold has a set of butterfly valves on one of the 2 inlet ports per cylinder which open up at high rpm. Due to a combination of high miles and inferior fuel, these can 'coke' up and not operate properly. It seems relatively simple to remove the upper inlet manifold and take out the lower one with the butterflies to give them a decoke.

Please note this is third party info, I am not a mechanic. But I will be attempting this procedure myself unless any one has any better ideas.Phil Dando wrote:
>
> Further to my previous plea.
>
> A few days ago the car drove very sluggishly (could not hear
> the turbo) for a good half hour, on a near full tank. I put
> my foot down at one point and the the pipe that goes from the
> turbo to the engine blew off, which I've since secured but
> the sluggishness is still there sometimes.
>
> This has led me to think the sluggishness might be something
> to do with the turbo.
>
> Is there a sensor/valve that could be faulty/sticking and
> therefore causing the turbo to not function. This
> sluggishness has never occured mid journey so it would be
> something that sticks from startup then frees itself later.
>
> The car has done a few mile (143K) but has been well
> maintained so could it be a warn out turbo?
>
> Thanks, Phil
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