Vectra Diesel - Sluggish

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Mon 24 Nov 2003 15:55
Vectra Diesel - Sluggish - helicopter
The helicopter company car is a 6 year old Vectra 2.0 DI LS Estate which has only done 14 k.
I inherited it from the previous incumbent and it passed MOT OK in July but it has been and still is very underused and getting very sluggish on accelleration, especially first thing after start up although no problems with starting at all.
I give it a blast of around 80 miles every week up and down the motorway to try and clear out the cobwebs and top end speed is OK once I get there but I would welcome suggestions as to what is the likely cause of the sluggishness and best solution please.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 24 Nov 2003 16:18
Vectra Diesel - Sluggish - CM
Have you checked the MAF sensor?

I have recently bought a 96 Audi A4 110tdi (60k) and am finding that a bit of a blast is beginning to slowly loosen things up
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 25 Nov 2003 16:24
Vectra Diesel - Sluggish - helicopter
Can anybody tell me where this sensor is on the Vectra and whether it is checkable without a laptop. The engine management light does come on when I start the car, flickers for around a minute and then goes off.

The local Vauxhall boys want £130 for a sensor and £35 for what I assume is a half hour labour.Oh and plus VAT.If I can I would like to check it myself but don't have the 'knowledge'ofyou guys out there.I assume its somewhere near the air cleaner fresh air intake.


Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 28 Nov 2003 09:55
Vectra Diesel - Sluggish - Cyrill666 {P}
Hello,

The sensor is located roughly halfway between the air filter box and the turbo - the sensor itself it quite small but is housed inside a large plastic casing. People have tried to clean their sensors with some claiming success and others causing terminal damage to the sensor.

I was quoted the following prices from my local dealer for supply only of the airflow sensors for these engines:

DTL & DTH - £155.10
Y20DTH - £95.76

However, contact these people, they're very friendly and knowledgeable - plus they can supply geniune parts at a reduced rate (I saved £55):

www.lmfvauxhall.com/

Hope you get sorted soon.

Cheers,
Cyrill666
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 28 Nov 2003 09:58
Vectra Diesel - Sluggish - Aprilia
If it is the MAF sensor then try a blast of 'brake cleaner' to see if it makes any difference. The MAF is dead easy to swap out (about 15mins).
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Dec 2003 20:26
Vectra Diesel - Sluggish - dieselhead

Could also be the Exhaust gas recirculation control valve that's stuck open..Might be worth checking out...
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 3 Dec 2003 14:35
Vectra Diesel - Sluggish - helicopter
Ok guys, apologies for my terminal 'terminal' ignorance on this but their appears to be two possibles. One white plastic box nearest the air filter and a black plastic job about half way to the turbo from the filter.

The white one has a black cap on which appears to be very loose / wobbly connection which may or may not be the problem. I tried gently removing by pulling with no success in the belief that if in doubt ask. The other has no apparent problem other than a break on the insulation exposing a couple of the wires.

Which is it and how do I remove either or both without killing them if they are still OK.

Aprilia when you say 'brake cleaner' I assume you mean a good old blast of compressed air.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 7 Jan 2004 12:59
Vectra Turbo Replacement - helicopter
My company 6 year old 2 litre diesel Vectra Turbo has only covered 14000 miles. Yes, I know its not good to do short runs only!

It has been getting progressively more sluggish on accelleration and I previously was advised by you good folks a couple of weeks ago to check the mass air sensor which appeared OK.
Yesterday on the Motorway the Engine Management Light came on and top speed and power dropped.EML later disappeared then reappeared

The local Vauxhall dealer reckons to have cleared all the EML faults and that 'turbo internal seals have gone' , new turbo required £650 please.

Any suggestions gratefully received.Its company money but I still resent paying that sort of dosh to anyone.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 8 Jan 2004 16:46
Vectra Turbo Replacement - dieselhead

I could be wrong here but I would think that if the turbo's 'internal seals have gone' you would notice engine oil either in the turbo to inlet manifold pipes and/or see blue smoke in the exhaust. This depends on whether the oil seals on the inlet or exhaust side of the turbo had failed.

Loss of power from an engine with turbo problems is most likely to be caused by a seized impeller rotor/ wastegate valve stuck open or an air leak.
If the car is used infrequently i would look at the wastegate valve first.


Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 8 Jan 2004 17:00
Vectra Turbo Replacement - Big Vern
If you are going to get the turbo replaced look into getting a reconditioned turbo as opposed to a new one to keep the cost down.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 9 Jan 2004 11:48
Vectra Turbo Replacement - helicopter
Thanks for the suggestions - to update the story I decided to take the car out of the main agents to let local independent have a look.

All that the main agent did according to the bill was a pressure check ( result OK) and clear the EML faults and report suspected turbo fault but they did it for free which is good news.

I noticed a distinct difference in the engine response after collection so I took it up and down the motorway and the turbo was kicking in OK , no smoke or oil anywhere and I managed an indicated 85 mph.

It still seems a bit below par on accelleration and top speed but not nearly as bad as last week when it just suddenly went so sluggish on the motorway and top speed 50 max .

I would appreciate any suggestions from you diesel experts as to what my independent should be looking for when it goes in to him next week.

Thanks in advance.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 9 Jan 2004 11:58
Vectra Turbo Replacement - Sooty Tailpipes
With that low mileage, I would suspect filthy black gunge in the wastegate, and the EGR valve, you may also get it in the ports of the head just before the valves. There is some foam cleaner you can buy from halfords (quite expensive like £30?) that is supposed to clean such gunge without the risk of the engine hydraulicing or over-compressing. Also be wary of spraying some cleaners into the intake of a diesel, as they have no throttle on a diesel, if the cleaner is a fuel, the engine will rev to max rpm or higher andeven start to draw on the crankcase oil and use that as a fuel before exploding. (at least that's what I'm told)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 9 Jan 2004 12:59
Vectra Turbo Replacement - helicopter
I have to say that I will not touch the car myself as it is a company motor. I authorise all my company payments in the UK and it just goes against my instincts to fork out loads of company money for a replacement turbo without being sure thats the cause of the problem.
What I am happy to do is pay my local independent to investigate and do the work if the cost is fair and reasonable. I will just ask him to check out all of the 'possibles'that all you diesel experts out there think may be the cause.
Thanks again for all the help.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 6 May 2015 23:21
Vectra Turbo Replacement - AndyHSR

VERY true. I was lucky, my Y20DTH only revved to about 7000rpm. It only broke 3 valve bridges and 2 hydraulic followers (probably from flying debris in the engine). Managed to replace broken parts and get the engine running again. Done more than 10K miles in it since so "all is good" for now...

BE CAREFUL with any EasyStart products on a diesel!!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Jul 2004 16:17
Vectra Diesel - helicopter
I raised this matter a while back

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=17875

but would be grateful for any further thoughts.

My company Vectra Diesel 2.0 DI is an R plate but has only done 16000 miles. It has just had a service and passed MOT but is very sluggish on accelleration ( I am overtaken by old ladies on bikes ) although it will get up to a reasonable top speed on the motorway.Speed drops off pretty quickly on a hill.

My local independent suggested the cause as the MAF sensor and has been given the go ahead to change it.

This will be done tomorrow (as the most likely solution) but any other suggestions as to possible causes will be welcomed. I don\'t want to throw a lot of my company money at the motor such as replacing very expensive EGR valve etc if something else is a possible.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Jul 2004 19:18
Vectra Diesel - gravybrowning
You need to make sure that there are no leaks on the vacuum system split pipes,leaking vacuum valves etc, as this engine requires vacuum to pull open the boost valve on the turbo as well as the EGR valve and the butterfly valves on the second set of inlet valves. My vectra had a vacuum/solenoid valve that was leaking vacuum, as a consequence the vac/solenoid valve operating the turbo boost valve couldn't pull the boost valve open hence no pressure from the turbo, valve replaced with one from a scrapyard (Vauxhall wanted £135.00 for new valve)and hey presto power restored.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 13 Jul 2004 13:36
Vectra Diesel - dieselhead

Expensive and time consuming to replace parts until the fault goes away. If the air flow meter is thought to be faulty would expect that garage has tested the voltage and found it to be given eratic or constant voltage if they think it needs replacing. The output of the sensor is maybe something like 0-5 V proportional to air mass flow rate so it's not that difficult to test once you know the exact specification.

EGR valves can be tested quite easily. Disconnect the vacuum pipe to the EGR control valve with a cold engine and feel the temp of the EGR to inlet manifold pipe which should stay cold if the valves is closing properly. EGR pipe should start to feel warm when the vacuum pipe is reconnected to the control valve. Somebody correct me if im wrong ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 13 Jul 2004 23:54
Vectra Diesel - helicopter
Well done the Backroom - The car is back and the diagnosis of MAF sensor was correct.The difference in performance on accelleration is quite phenomenal.
Thanks for all the suggestions and assistance.

{In that case, I\'ll merge this with your previous postings. DD}
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Jul 2004 21:06
Vectra Diesel - gbn
I just has intermittent "safe mode" light coming on.

Thanks to everybody for your thoughts.

I worked through the sensors using my Haynes manual and noticed that the the vacuum pipe for the turbo wastegate valve was half melted, blocking vacuum. Cut it out, bit of sleeving to join ends together, and bingo.

Cheers
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide