A couple of weeks ago I had the injectors of my diesel engine serviced with new nozzles, the result was increased power making the car feel like new.

However last night is seemed to be limping and completely lack lustre. I checked under the bonnet for any obvious fuel leaks, but there were none. Initially I thought I would have to contact the specialist garage as it is probably a result of their work.

Well this morning the car was back to normal, very strange I thought. However whilst doing about 35mph I revved the engine hard to the red limit while declutched and the engine immediately went into limp mode again. The injector light came on briefly for a couple of seconds. Shortly I stopped and after leaving the car for about 10 minutes, I restarted and the engine was fine. Well I tried revving it again as before, immediate limp mode.

The fuel filter was changed only 5,000 miles ago and all recent fuel has been from an Esso station. An injector cleaner was used a few weeks before they were serviced. Many years ago on a boat I remember a fuel starvation problem that was caused by some fibres that had entered the fuel and clumping together. In normal use the engine ran fine, but when a high fuel delivery was required the clump of fibres was sucked up the pipe to a union angle turn and reduced the flow. When fuel usage dropped so did the blockage and the engine returned to normal.

My supposition is it is fuel starvation, possibly similar to my example. Am I right in my diagnosis?

Is there anything I can do to check the fuel supply myself?

The car is a Fiat Marea Weekend 2.4 turbo diesel (not common rail) 1998 with 93,000 miles on the clock. The pressure test on the 5 cylinders was reading 350 compared to a when new reading of 400. The turbo boost was checked at the injector service and found to be working correctly.


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Roger
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

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The car, an obscure Japanese model, with an even more curious model name, had been under the the occasional shade of a coconut palm for the last week as I passed by, heading out of town. At first it had seemed as though it were being given a thorough valet, but soon it was to my interest, a bare shell, a skeleton of a car, still on the road, in the position it had been parked.

Next door was a small sweet shop, a similar, grindingly poor corrugated roof and salvaged wood premises,selling candy and Coco Cola, which was bottled just down the road, all the better for the taste of sugar derived straight from the cane, growing along with rice paddies at the edge of town.

Or perhaps it was just my imagination being fed by the heat and exotic flora as large bats flew under the eaves at night and cockroaches as big as your thumb evaded the giant toads that crept out of their holes at dusk.
The iced San Miguel drunk on the veranda to the blare of musical air horns, two stroke engines and booming rock music, the moon seeming larger and tilted to an angle in a sky filled with unfamiliar stars.

Another 6am dawn, vocal armageddon to the cockerels in every backyard, flesh based trumpets preparing for their next big fight.

The shell of the car had now aquired a coat of primer, still `parked` on the road in its position and prior to that, welding with the shell held at a tilt by two beams of wood, had illuminated the night. Dusk at 6pm, the lessoning of the heat that made the concrete road surface and shell bearable to human touch.

The paint had gone on easily, and much flatting and polishing had transcended the harsh roadside environment, with familiarity of process and material gained over many years.
Soon, as in a freeze frame film on my twice daily passage, the shell reaquired its refurbished mechanical parts followed by reupholstered seats, it was on its wheels gleaming as new in cherry red and then, gone.

Regards Read more

Recently put my Terrano car in for service and on the test drive whilst driving the car after the service, the mechanic engaged the 4WD whilst the car was moving. The car then lost drive and they had to tow it back to the garage.

On inspection the clutch had broken with the inner part having sheared off from the outer part. There was no sign of clutch wear and tear.

Question is : do you have to engage the 4WD whilst the car is stationary or can you do it whilst moving.

I don't want to have to pay for the whole clutch replacement particularly as it wasn't my fault.

Also, myself and the previous owner have never used the 4WD.

Thanks and regards Read more

Hiya,

Noticed that the gearchange on my Xsara is getting a bit stiff - car is 8 years old now and as far as I know this has never been checked. No problems getting it into gear, just doesn't feel that slick. I am, somewhat embarrassingly, comparing it to a 2007 Ford Transit which is wonderful to drive.

Would changing the oil in the gearbox help? Likewise, are there any accessible bits or the selector mechanism I can lubricate?

Cheers,

David. Read more

I have a 1995 n reg corsa 1200cc .It somtimes cuts out whilst pulling away when warm, and will eventually start up after many attempts. sometimes after restarting it will rev very fast without the throttle being depresed, any ideas please Read more