what would be the expected life before refurb/replacement of the diesel injectors in a typical engine. my haynes manual suggests 60k (vw 1.9 non turbo).
this seems a little low, making then a service replacement, like cambelts.
what sort of price are these things?
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Mike,
Citroen/Peugeot injectors about £40 - £50 exchange for Bosch boxed units. My personal view is that they should be fine well into the 100K mark as long as the car runs well.
The originals are still in a 215,000ml Citroen we have. My 30yr old tractor still has the originals fitted.
Some vehicles can suffer a problem of injector dribble at higher miles, this might cause glowplugs to fail or a very worse case piston/bore damage can be found.
The average owner will rarely want them changed unless there is a problem, after all it is a £200 - £300 job.
David
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dave, no need to call the citroen a tractor!
my astra's on the originals at 120k, and they seem fine, i wondered why haynes feel the need to sugest changing at 60k
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apropos another thread : do Champion make them? I think we should be told....
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The guys I trust say 80k for VAG standard (ie non PD) injectors. They may continue to work for another 80k after this with no obvious fuel consumption penalty, but the spray pattern gradually changes leading to bore washout and the bores gradually becoming very slightly oval. By 150k your VAG TDI could then become a serious engine oil burner.
HJ
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thanks hj,
now you mention it, i remember seeing the same reply in your telegraph column.
what about vauxhall injectors (ok Isuzu in my case), any ideas?
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Mike, it's probably a bit late now (I'm fairly new to this website) but....
One glow plug has recently burnt out in my 67000 mile Corsa 1.5TD (Isuzu eng., mechanically very similar to the 1.7) causing misfiring after a cold start. When I removed the faulty plug I noticed that its tip was quite eroded, which is a sure sign that injector spray pattern isn't what it should be. I've been using Millers Diesel Power Plus additive for the last couple of years. I have also noticed that fuel economy isn't quite as good as it used to be (700+ miles from a tankful used to be easy but nowadays more like 680) even taking into account the cold weather, and that brisk acceleration is producing slight exhaust smoke which it never used to. A telephone call to an extremely helpful and knowledgeable diesel injection specialist confirmed my suspicions that the injectors would benefit from refurbishing, cost £23+VAT per injector. He told me that most indirect injection diesel injectors usually start deteriorating due to wear after 50K - 60K and that ones in Japanese engines seem to wear quicker.
Hope this helps
David
PS. Replacement glow plugs from Vauxhall are - wait for it - £26 each!!! The ones in my car are made by NGK with a part number stamped on them so you can guess where I'll be buying them from...
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David
Are you saying £40 to £50 for each injector, plus £50 or £100 labour for changing the set?
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Brian,
Yes broadly speaking that would be a reasonable price range. Depends on supplier for the injectors and labour rates to change.
I think I can buy injectors for about £37 before uplift. That is for the Bosch OE exchange unit that are new/as new. Guess they'll be far more from Citroen.
Labour is 2hrs for all four in the book. That's almost £100 at dealer rates.
David
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would it make much difference to the performance of my 12yr old astra if I had the injectors professionally cleaned?
(I've tried the stuff you put in the petrol tank - makes no difference)
M
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M,
You only really need to look at working on them if there is a problem. Most older diesels can smoke a bit at times and feel sluggish.
Difficulty is working out if there is a fault or the thing just doesn't stand up to your mates new Golf TDi!
David
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And if I'd had read the post carefully and seen *petrol* tank I'd have guessed.
Having said that the advice is somewhat true of petrol. If it runs well without problems then leave well alone.
If you think there is a problem get them cleaned. I pay £10 - £15 each injector for this.
David
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Cheers DW, but my cars a petrol!
(I didnt make this clear did I)
M
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guess its a case of 'if its not broke dont fix it' then...
cheers anyway,
Mark.
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Ah! That may explain why my Audi 80 TDI (90K) is beginning to stink when idling - in spite of regular dealer maintenance, and use of Miller's Diesel-clean plus for the last few years as recommended by HJ. {Excellent stuff, by the way].
Am about to leave dealer to go to local chap (recommended). When I mentioned to him the problem he said it's possible to have the injectors re-conditioned (for about half the price of new) and they would be guaranteed for a good few thousand miles thereafter.
What's the view on this? Is re-conditioning by CAV a sensible move?
Great site, especially when confined to auto talk!
gareth
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Gareth,
Recon or exchange are fine. If you don't know the chap who's going to do the recon/clean/calibration it may be better to get boxed exchange units. It is those I was quoting for the Citroen TD.
David
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many thanks for advice, David.
Shall comply!
Gareth
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