Sputnik comes back from the brink :-)

after a bad 2011 messing about with IMRC valve / new exhaust manifold and replacing MAF/MAP sensors I have finally got SPUTNIK back on track.

It was doing 36 mpg , smoking heavily on boost and stalling/idling irratically in cold ambients.

I luckily managed to get a full set of used injectors off ebay for £97 quid , paid £40 to get them ultrasonically cleaned & tested ( all were okay ). And finally my local garage wrestled out the old ones and fitted the replacments for £130. I know I wasted a lot of fuel in 2011 by not reacting quick enough, but the car feels MUCH better now, quieter , smoother , more responsive and certainly smoke free

I've just brimmed it with VPD and with the present amount of 50mph limited driving on the M62 I'm really hoping to see 45+mpg at the next fill.

I plan to strip off the EGR & inlet housing again to de-crud it all. But fingers crossed I'll do another couple of years out of her. Odometer presently 248000 miles

( only bummer at the moment is I think the A/C condesnser has finally give up the ghost. It does look rather like its been in front of a firing squad :-0 )

Quarter of a million miles? Really? Wow

Good stuff mate, glad it's sorted.

That's some serious miledge mate. Good for you keeping her on the road.

F6HAD said:

Good stuff mate, glad it's sorted.

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Yeah sorry Faddy I know I started to bug last year But things are not that simple to just fix for me as I had plenty of other more pressing things before I got round to addressing Sputniks woes. The fact that it never failed to start kind of went against it...b'cos it got put lower down the priority list.
Previous posts show I was toying with the injectors route whilst others were more fixed on me getting back to a std map first. Ultimately I got there in the end and hey..I've got spare MAP/MAF and a few leftover injectors I might get checked/cleaned. Certainly if others are having probs I've got a small collection of bits now ( also got a set of saloon roof bars too ).
Sputnik has had timing chain & clutch done, so its only downfall now might be an oilpump chain failure. Not sure whether its worth investing though as don't know how complex it is to replace. At the end of the day..she is destined to be replaced by a dull Corsa 1.3 diesel...but the longer she performs..the further away that day is.

Now she's on the mend I'll show more interest in keeping her tidy. One thing high on the list is time to scour/scrub the grubby tan leather trim & beige carpet. I don't want to chuck pots of money on snakeoil cleaning solutions, so I'm looking for tips on what cheap household cleaning stuff can DEEP CLEAN leather / carpet without damaging it. ( for example I recall cheap Tesco hairspray can remove byro pen off leather, so wondering if a few cans will get the scum out of the leather grain )

Ian, I think you need to consider why the injectors had failed (not withstanding the mileage of course). There was a reason I was suggesting going back to standard before trying to diagnose.

Consider this, when tuning a diesel, whilst there are multiple variables that are tuned, what is the other big variable aside from boost ?

F6HAD said:

Ian, I think you need to consider why the injectors had failed (not withstanding the mileage of course). There was a reason I was suggesting going back to standard before trying to diagnose.

Consider this, when tuning a diesel, whilst there are multiple variables that are tuned, what is the other big variable aside from boost ?

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yup don't disagree there. Listening to the engine before/after the answer was under my nose all along. I've had experience of poor injector sealing ( called chuffing ...making the engine sound like a tappet has broke ) on other cars, but was always unsure about Sputnik's injectors simply because she always started instantly..never failed. Essentially what was going wrong was one injector was not holding pressure and leaking off..but not significantly enough to register an ECU fault. The clue came from the dealer diagnosis tipping me off that no4 injector was constantly adjusting itself.

With the old injectors in, although the engine was quiet on tickover, it always had a high degree of 'rattle' on acceleration which strangely seemed to stop above 3000rpm. Now that acceleration 'rattle' has almost vanished ( certainly the smoke has anyway )

Ian, regarding replacing the oil pump chain, its quite an intensive job. The oil pump chain sits behind the timing chain so it would require the timing chain to be removed in order to fit it.

ebod said:

Now she's on the mend I'll show more interest in keeping her tidy. One thing high on the list is time to scour/scrub the grubby tan leather trim & beige carpet. I don't want to chuck pots of money on snakeoil cleaning solutions, so I'm looking for tips on what cheap household cleaning stuff can DEEP CLEAN leather / carpet without damaging it. ( for example I recall cheap Tesco hairspray can remove byro pen off leather, so wondering if a few cans will get the scum out of the leather grain )

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Cheap tesco all purpose cleaner is ace on all the plastics, I use baby wipes on the leather seats as they work wonders as well. carpet wise 1001 and a stiff brush to scrub it in seems as good as anything else I've tried.

entwisi said:

Cheap tesco all purpose cleaner is ace on all the plastics, I use baby wipes on the leather seats as they work wonders as well. carpet wise 1001 and a stiff brush to scrub it in seems as good as anything else I've tried.

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Now THATS' my kind of automotive interior maintenance. I used to spend all my wages on snakeoil formulas and hours coveting my ride. But that was when I was young.
Now I'm a middle aged old ****** with 3kids naf all money/time B) ( maybe I'll have a bit more money if I'm not hemeraging £10<>15 quid a tank sending unburnt fuel out the exhaust )

I'm less bothered about the carpet/plastics and will give owt a try. But my leather is really grimey deep to the grain and I'm not convinced baby wipes will clean deep enough. Its as if I'm in need of something more chemical/harsher ( if only Swarfega made cleaning wipes LOL )

Sam said:

Ian, regarding replacing the oil pump chain, its quite an intensive job. The oil pump chain sits behind the timing chain so it would require the timing chain to be removed in order to fit it.

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mmmm...then this could become Sputnik's downfall then. Don't get me wrong its not as if I can hear any telltale noises, and I know Sputnik was dealer serviced til 200k miles at 12.5k intervals ( I've since done 10k intervals with Opie Oils kits ). But if suddenly there's a clank and an oil pressure light popping up.....then I'm afraid I'll just be getting Greenflag to trailer her direct to a local breakers :-(

you may be surprised, they are surprisingly good. even removing dried on jam/dissolved sweets(Can you tell I've equally got two young ankle biters.... )

you could try the tesco APC as well, thats got the same level of sufectants that most posh cleaners have. otherwise there is Mr Muscle oven cleaner......

As another high milager, how do you find your drivers seat is standing up to teh wear, Mines gone really shiny in comparison to the others and the sponge is definately loosing its support. (@ 185K currently) My old V70 @ 240K was like new still.

Ian, there is a way around it if you have a good mechanic. When mine went, the side of the engine came off, the timing chain was loosened enough to get it off at the bottom, oil pump chain, tensioner and new oil pump fitted, and when the side was put back on, the gasket wouldnt seal (hence the top is usually taken off to fit a new gasket). However, my mechanic just had a new liquid gasket delivered that actually sets even when theres oil touching it. oil filter, fresh oil obviously and a few other bits, and my bill was around 800 or 900 quid. considering the oil pump was close to £300 if i remember, it wasnt too bad. thats was mates rates though

Sam said:

Ian, there is a way around it if you have a good mechanic. When mine went, the side of the engine came off, the timing chain was loosened enough to get it off at the bottom, oil pump chain, tensioner and new oil pump fitted, and when the side was put back on, the gasket wouldnt seal (hence the top is usually taken off to fit a new gasket). However, my mechanic just had a new liquid gasket delivered that actually sets even when theres oil touching it. oil filter, fresh oil obviously and a few other bits, and my bill was around 800 or 900 quid. considering the oil pump was close to £300 if i remember, it wasnt too bad. thats was mates rates though

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£900 bill on a 2004 / 250k miled car = bye bye Sputnik. I'm going to outlay £250 on fitting a new A/C condenser but that really is it now apart from tyres/brakes/servicing.