Five symptoms of expensive breakdowns in diesel engines

Here are the basic signs of serious malfunctions of diesel engines.

Diesel cars are more economical than petrol. But over time, the fuel economy deteriorates due to expensive breakdowns in diesel engines. Unfortunately, as a rule, the repair of diesel engines is much more expensive than gasoline counterparts. But how to recognize that in a diesel engine has problems that can lead to costly breakdowns?

It is noticed that owners of diesel cars extol the engines of their vehicles, boasting supereconomy fuel, only until the first serious damage. As we have said, the cost of repair of diesel engine is higher than petrol units. But any failure of the diesel engine, of course, still not facing a costly repair. It all depends on the engine type, make and model of the car.

For example, the same failure in a diesel engine can cost in tens of thousands of rubles, and in a few hundred. Thus, the breakage of the complex injection system in the diesel engine can empty the pocket of the owner. In the end, for the repair of the injection system, it is possible to give not much less than a new turbocharger.

Also, if you are lucky, even a regular replacement of spark in a diesel motor would cost a large sum of money. So in most cases, at the first signs of malfunction of diesel engines, the owner has two options: sell the car or invest a lot of money in repairs. Most owners of diesel machines choose the first option, displaying his probitie cars for sale on the Internet.

But how to recognize among numerous diesel cars for sale in the secondary market, those that have problems, which in the future will result in a major repair and expensive? For this it is necessary to know the basic symptoms (the so-called symptoms) that clearly indicate that the car will need expensive repairs. So, if you are trying to buy a used diesel car, read our tips that will help you to recognize dangerous symptoms, talking about expensive damage to the machine.

How to buy a used diesel car

1) Black smoke from the exhaust pipe

Modern and efficient diesel engine begins to smoke black when crashes particulate filter (or it was deliberately removed by the owner with the exhaust system). Sometimes the black cloud of smoke may appear during intensive acceleration of the car, which is normal for a diesel engine. In older cars where not installed particulate filter, or in machines where it was dismantled by the owner to save fuel and increase power, too much black smoke can indicate poor fuel or incorrect setting of injection in the engine control unit.

If the car has a problem with the injection, it is possible that there were problems with the nozzles which are clogged with soot. In this case, you can try to clean the fuel injectors (if possible) or replace them with new ones (recommended). But the injectors on diesel engines are very expensive. For example, even the old Mercedes diesel one injector for the diesel engine can cost from 5000 to 26000 rubles. How do you price tag? Yes, of course, as someone says, it’s German, and especially Mercedes. But if you compare the cost of spare parts for similar gasoline cars, the price tags on them are much less than for diesel engines.

As we have said, the presence of a strong black smoke in the exhaust pipe may indicate improper setting of the fuel injection in the engine control unit. Usually when the settings are incorrect, the injector of the diesel engine dispenses the wrong amount of fuel to flow into the engine (most often fed more fuel than required). In the end, the engine is not able to “digest” a large amount of fuel.

2) Noise when accelerating

Noise during acceleration (when you increase the engine rpm) which terminates with a decrease in engine speed, clearly suggests that the engine compartment started to make noise the turbine (turbocharger). Of course, there is a car in which a turbine, making noise, working properly. But in most cars this type of noise indicates wear of the turbocharger. Usually the faulty turbine noise at any time under any acceleration, but only after the engine warms up.

The sound that comes from the turbine, usually means wear of the bearings of the turbine, and also indicates the friction of the turbine blades on the housing. In this case there are two options to address the issue of faulty turbine: turbocharger overhauling, or purchase a new unit.

Naturally, you can iterate through the turbine is much cheaper. For example, here is the price list for the cost of repair of diesel engines:

Unfortunately, the overhaul of the turbocharger can not always save the turbine. For example, there are turbines with variable geometry, which are very difficult to properly adjust in order to achieve factory performance.

There is the turbine, whose design generally does not allow the installation of the kit. There are also turbochargers, whose bulkhead will cost not much less than the cost of a new turbine.

When choosing a Studio for the bulkheads of the turbocharger, be very careful. Not in a hurry. Suggest you first read the reviews about the technical center, where you are going to give the turbine for repairs. The fact that many small repair shops are often in the repair of turbochargers use cheap Chinese parts. Also, these small workshops do not have expensive equipment for professional bulkhead turbines. Pauguraine run into such services, you risk to throw your money away!

This is equivalent to saying that throwing their life savings into the mud or a puddle. Yes, of course, the best solution to protect yourself from overspending is to buy a new turbocharger. But, unfortunately, the new turbine depending on the engine brand and model of the car will cost very expensive. Not all car owners can afford to fork out for a round sum. Of course there is the option of buying used turbos, but it’s playing with fire. Here you are, in fact, can buy a pig in a poke.

3) Car jerks and swim speed

This is a typical sign of wear and tear dual-mass flywheel in a diesel car. Unfortunately, this failure doesn’t Bode well for the owner. Dual-mass flywheel would cost a lot. For example, here are some price tags for this part:

As you can see, the prices bite. And this is not the limit value. Often in dual-mass flywheel fail to the spring that when the engine is running or when it is off, produce the characteristic metallic sound. Including the metal bumps can be felt and if you change the load on the engine while driving (e.g., when while driving you take your foot off the gas pedal).

Also, in addition to the springs wear the flywheel may be in other places. For example, the apparent wear of the dual-mass flywheel can specify the crackling closer to the gearbox, which is usually heard at idle. When you press the clutch pedal this noise disappears.

When you wear the flywheel there are also two option: to give the flywheel on reassembly or purchase a new one.

4) Problems with starting the engine

The starter spins and the engine starts with difficulty or with great delay? Unfortunately, this does not Bode well. This may mean that the injection system very low fuel pressure required for normal engine start. Because of the low pressure injection system injectors cause the fuel to flow back into the fuel line.

Further, the fuel returns to the tank, instead of being carried into the combustion chamber of the engine. This is a clear sign of faulty injectors, which may have clogged with various deposits. It can also indicate a problem with the injection pump. Most likely, the car with such symptoms have costly repairs to the injection system.

5) oil Leak

Drip oil on the pipes connecting the intake manifold or into the intercooler may indicate wear of the turbocharger. We already wrote about the cost of overhauling turbine or replacement of defective turbines for a new one. However, these symptoms can also indicate a General wear of the diesel engine.

If the oil is derived from all possible gaps, replace seals and gaskets is not enough. It probably means that the engine has wear rings that allow too much gas into the crankcase of the power unit. This increases the pressure and pushes the oil through all the possible seals and gaskets. In this case, needed an expensive engine overhaul.