aston
The Torque Meister
Is an HDI engine and DCI engine the same? Thank's
dCi and HDi are different makers names for the same thing. But the engines are not the same. The 2.2 HDi is a PSA unit, the 2.2 dCi is a Renault unit.
I had a 2.2 HDi 406 Saloon. They're very rare. Most people went for the much cheaper and very much inferior 2.0 HDi.
The 406's 2.2 HDi was never used in the Mondeo. Ford's derivative was rated at 155PS. I've not heard of these having reliability problems.
Ford/Jag TDCI
Injector failure, Fuel pump failure, Cam chain jumping, Dual mass flywheel collapse, Wiring faults, ECU problems.
A pretty good engine (ermm!) Well documented the problems with these engines, especially the bearings in the pumps breaking up and shards of metal then ruining everything else. Ford knew of this problem but denied any knowledge until someone leaked a memo. it is somewhere on line, i'll see if I can find it
The 1.8 will return diesel-like economy but a 2.2 derv will mash it in performance terms. When it's working, that is
I'm a bit disappointed to read that the later HDi units are flakey - I found my 01/02 year 2.2 16 valve to be very smooth and quiet as well as reliable despite the ECU remap.
The PSA 2.2 dervs aren't magnificent in eco terms - they were designed to go hard rather be generic cheapos on fuel.
The later 172bhp is perhaps as yet untested in terms of reliability.
Strangely though, I've left diesel aside for now and have adopted a BMW 528i petrol model as a panic purchase. We needed a car in a hurry and BMW's petrol models are well regarded for being bullet proof.
It's not fantastic on fuel but I have seen over 38mpg on a motorway run (keeping under 80mph mind) and it does do nearly 30mpg in general driving. But in performance terms it's no match for the remapped 406 2.2 HDi.
So which 2.2 should I look out for, My mechanic reckons they are a real pain to work on as opposed to the 2ltr hdi, much more complicated and designed without maintenance in mind
Basically the seriving costs a lot more as it is more labour intensive. He rates the 2ltr hdi highly but had to do a cam belt on a 2.2 and basically everything was in the way including the manifold, he had to remove and lift the head just to do a cam belt wheras on a 2 ltr it is just a belt swap. So his advice to me was that pug and vw make the best diesel engines but with a vag unit you'd have to pay double for the same when buying a used car.It's impossible to account for your mechanic's opinion.
If we're considering the PSA units (2.0 HDi 110 and 2.2 HDi 136) exclusively then I cannot see why he thinks there is a problem with the 16 valve units.
They (the 2.2s) are far more sophisticated than the 2.0 HDi's - of that there is no doubt.
But in January 2011 he should be able to deal with diesel technology that was current in 2005. It has been superseded since.
Perhaps he likes good ole' 1989 1.6 petrol Astra's with the Vauxhall family one engine? 1 carb' and mechanical ingition timing????
Some of the VAG PD 4 cylinder units have had cambelt changes downgraded to be every 18,000 miles.
The PD injector setup is driven directly from the (one and only - it's an 8 valve motor) camshaft. This puts huge stress on the belt itself. I have heard of VW dealers charging upwards of £800 for a belt and tensioner change. Ouch!!
PSA's engines use the belt to drive the high pressure pump but it's a constant load device. VW's PDs are not common rail engines and therefore the loading on the belt is constantly changing with every 90% rotation of the camshaft.
The 2.2 HDi is very different to the 2.0 HDi. The refinement is in a different league, as is the power delivery. VAG's 4 cylinder PD diesels are crude and noisy in comparison to either of the aforementioned PSA units.
The belt only drives the intake camshaft in the 2.2 HDi (it's a twin cam 16 valve motor) - there is an internal chain within the cylinder head to drive the exhaust camshaft and this is maintenance free.
I've been telling people for years that VAG cars are over rated, yes they can be very reliable but when things do go wrong (and they will because no car is perfect) then they can cost thousands to fix, I mean they will change over £800 for a routeen maintainance item so who knows what they will charge when your air con compressor or power steering pump goes down the swany......