What do I look for?

[Jamie Read]

I`m going to look at a V plate, 2.2 Dti tomorrow and I`m wondering what do I need to look out for and where?
Apparently the speedo has stopped working and the alarm light flashes until the key is turned(?)
Any help would be great!

Thanks

[gregster]

History mate....lots of history...preferably including a new injector pump recentlyish...

[Jamie Read]

Hmmm... well the guy has only had it for a month, bought it for the Mrs, who thinks its too big( oooo- errr) and wants a smaller motor.

[Frenchfarmer]

[BoxCleva]

Common problems:
Vac pipes - replace them all if they haven't already been done - £15 'ish, dead easy job viewtopic.php?f=6&t=39514
Crank sensor - £40
MAF - second hand £45 ish

The engines themselves are pretty robust to be honest. The weak link is the injection pump as previously mentioned. Many have been replaced in their lifetime. Don't ever run it out of diesel or attempt to start it after a filter change without properly bleeding the system.

In general they are a good bus. A read through the 2.2 section should throw light on many of the issues.

EDIT: Another essential bit of kit is a code reader. The ELM 327 works well with the Dti and and at under 20 notes is good value.

[gregster]

[Jamie Read]

Awww... don`t say that French/Gregster! I`m really hoping it`s a good `un as I`ve sort of got my heart set on one now!
It does look fairly tidy from the pics, I know you need to look underneath etc, and I will beat him down from his £900 pricetag.
What are the "expensive problems" you usually find then?

[BoxCleva]

[gregster]

They get some rust up behind the rear bumpers, but the fuel pump has got to be the main concern on one of these...

In fairness if the pump is iffy, and you manage to knock him down a bit on the price, you can budget for spending as much fixing the pump as you did buying the car...they aint cheap I am afraid.

[Jamie Read]

Getting a little concerned now

[Jamie Read]

Tell tale signs for a failing pump?

[BoxCleva]

Jamie, I've seen dti's sell for scrap money on Ebay because ignorant owners assumed their pump was fubared, only for the new owner to fit new leak off pipes for less than £3. (One very recently )

Look at it , give it the full check over and post any concerns back here once you've looked at it.

[BoxCleva]

[Jamie Read]

Thanks BoxCleva, I will be giving it a good look over, plus I`m taking a mate who`s mech savvy so will have two pairs of eyes going over it.
Will I be able to notice problems with the pump, other than it conking out due to fuel starvation, such as noisy pump/ trouble starting etc?

[BoxCleva]

No noises, in general it just won't run.

[Jamie Read]

Well I know it runs, so thats a start!

[BoxCleva]

Make sure you give it a thorough test drive and you'll be fine. Make sure you can feel the turbo coming in (around 2000 rpm).

I think we may have inadvertently frightened you off, but go into it with open eyes and you'll be fine.

[Jamie Read]

It`s not that you`ve frightened me off, just made sure I know what to look for.
I got stung in the past with another disco, which siezed after 6 weeks, so have become more wary naturally. I really do have my fingers crossed for this one.

[Jamie Read]

Well, went to look at it today and it turned out to be a shed!
No brakes- none at all!
64000 miles?? mot history showed 164000 in 2008????
dials only worked when lights were on
perished bushes

That was enough for me to walk away, even after the guy lowered his price to £700