I've just bought a '95 ZX 1.9D auto estate off ebay for my missus and unfortunately it's come with a a load of problems, as follows:
It seems to be well down on power, on the 180 mile run home it had a top speed of 70mph downhill and gave less than 40 mpg. It also has a shocking diesel knock. Does that suggest that the injectors need cleaning or is it something worse?
There is a howl from the left hand side that increases with speed and gets louder when cornering to the right. I assume its wheel bearings are shot.
The steering is light and positive, but pulls to the left. Hands off, the wheel immediately turns about ten degrees anticlockwise. I seem to recall something about having to adjust the selector (pilot) valve. Anybody got any ideas?
The gearbox selector is 'orrible, stiff and notchy. I hope it's just lubrication that's required.
And she seemed such a nice young woman!
When you've all finished laughing, any help would be much appreciated.
Derek
Problem ZX
Moderator: RichardW
-
FrenchLeave
- Posts: 359
- Joined: 18 Jan 2005, 21:47
- Location: 5 miles N. of Boston, Lincs
- My Cars:
Engine knock and down on power - I wonder if the timing is out - as in the timing belt has not been fitted correctly? If its not smoking its worth checking - and even if it is really. I would expect the timing to be over-advanced.
Howl does indeed sound like wheel bearing. If its that bad it could I suppose cause a steering pull but there would have to be substantial slack for this to happen.
Steering pull might be tracking- easy if it is - and I would expect to find one edge of the tyre unevenly worn. I would expect it to be rather prone to road camber as well.
By 'Pilot valve' do you mean the pinion valve on the rack? As far as I know this is not adjustable but the rack itself may not be centred which will not help things. You can check this quickly by driving the car straight ahead and marking the top of the wheel. Now turn to full left lock and note the position of the mark. Do the same the other side and this should be a mirror image as the wheel should turn by the same amount for each lock. The rack can be centred by winding it across as it were with the track rods (x turns one side, -x turns the other)
Gear linkages respond very well to lubrication - I found spray grease an excellect product especially for doing the base of the gear lever. There are a couple of adjustable links at the front and these may have been replaced and not adjusted properly.
I expect she was a nice young woman - just a victim of the motor trade.
Howl does indeed sound like wheel bearing. If its that bad it could I suppose cause a steering pull but there would have to be substantial slack for this to happen.
Steering pull might be tracking- easy if it is - and I would expect to find one edge of the tyre unevenly worn. I would expect it to be rather prone to road camber as well.
By 'Pilot valve' do you mean the pinion valve on the rack? As far as I know this is not adjustable but the rack itself may not be centred which will not help things. You can check this quickly by driving the car straight ahead and marking the top of the wheel. Now turn to full left lock and note the position of the mark. Do the same the other side and this should be a mirror image as the wheel should turn by the same amount for each lock. The rack can be centred by winding it across as it were with the track rods (x turns one side, -x turns the other)
Gear linkages respond very well to lubrication - I found spray grease an excellect product especially for doing the base of the gear lever. There are a couple of adjustable links at the front and these may have been replaced and not adjusted properly.
I expect she was a nice young woman - just a victim of the motor trade.
jeremy
-
handyman
- Posts: 1111
- Joined: 20 May 2003, 18:38
- Location: In the clouds in the Land of South Saxons
- My Cars:
- x 2
Hi, have you checked for the obvious? Incorrect tyre pressure, worn front tyre, tyre out of round, damage to suspension, worn bottom ball joint, leaking front shock, worn wheel bearing or driveshaft? This may also account for the lack of power and the knocking noise! Did you kick the tyres, at least, when you went to collect the car?
If the previous owner sold the car to you with known faults, even in an auction, they are liable for the repairs, if they did not bring these faults to your attention.
If its worth it, get the repairs done and send them the bill. If they do not pay, use the small claims court. I did this when I bought a duff motor off Ebay, although it was not as bad as this sounds.
Handyman
If the previous owner sold the car to you with known faults, even in an auction, they are liable for the repairs, if they did not bring these faults to your attention.
If its worth it, get the repairs done and send them the bill. If they do not pay, use the small claims court. I did this when I bought a duff motor off Ebay, although it was not as bad as this sounds.
Handyman
I know how just how you feel has i have done the same.....Your in the right place now just prepare yourself for some work...At least Summer is just round the corner.
Service History : Do you have any ?
If not change the Timing belt and water pump as a first job while your at it put a 50/50 mix of Citgel into the water system after a clean flush.
Give the Car a full service with all filters (Haynes Manaul is good start)Then get yourself some injection cleaner to add to your Fuel you need to do this for least 2 full tanks i used MILLERS INJECTION CLEANER (Be prepared for a bit of smoke, but what a difference)
The Rumble sounds like a bearing and you can be sure the cars tracking needs doing.
My Car is still an on going project...With help from the Forum is getting better every month...It was ready for the breakers but will now live a good few years yet and is a pleasure.
It all depends on your Budget....If you have a bit to spend then the car will be a great family car giving years of service once put right and looked after.
Hope this helps.
Service History : Do you have any ?
If not change the Timing belt and water pump as a first job while your at it put a 50/50 mix of Citgel into the water system after a clean flush.
Give the Car a full service with all filters (Haynes Manaul is good start)Then get yourself some injection cleaner to add to your Fuel you need to do this for least 2 full tanks i used MILLERS INJECTION CLEANER (Be prepared for a bit of smoke, but what a difference)
The Rumble sounds like a bearing and you can be sure the cars tracking needs doing.
My Car is still an on going project...With help from the Forum is getting better every month...It was ready for the breakers but will now live a good few years yet and is a pleasure.
It all depends on your Budget....If you have a bit to spend then the car will be a great family car giving years of service once put right and looked after.
Hope this helps.
Life feels good just as you complete No4 Glow Plug on a ZX-TD
-
FrenchLeave
- Posts: 359
- Joined: 18 Jan 2005, 21:47
- Location: 5 miles N. of Boston, Lincs
- My Cars:
Thank you, gentlemen, for your advice - there's enough there for me to be going on with.
Handyman; your obvious checks -yes (but see below), yes,yes (no vibration), no, no, no, suspected. Whilst bowing to your diagnostic skills, what do you achieve by kicking a car's tyres? On my short test drive around town I thought it was a noisy little brute but put that down to it being a diesel. The bearing noise was not so noticeable at town speeds - the engine was the main noise source. I was told that the car had been SORNed for the past six months and that the front near side tyre was believed to be down on pressure so I put the steering pull down to that. On the way home (M25, A1(M)) it took some while to find a garage to check the pressures, I stopped several times early on to check tyre temperature but there was no heat build up. When I eventually found a garage the pressure was actually above recommended. I admit that to a large extent I was swayed by the alloy wheels and airbag, also by being a long way from home with no transport even to the nearest station. The car was handed over with a full tank of fuel, very good but in retrospect why didn't she check the tyre pressures when she filled the car? Afterthought is a wonderful thing.
Jeremy, so it's called a pinion valve. I thought it might be the same setup as on a BX and XM and thought I'd seen something about centring the valve - it must have been centring the rack as you suggest.
CitroenBX, yes, everything is fixable and time is one thing I've plenty of. At least the bodywork is reasonable although it needs lots of TLC. Ah well, that's my summer taken care of.
Derek
Handyman; your obvious checks -yes (but see below), yes,yes (no vibration), no, no, no, suspected. Whilst bowing to your diagnostic skills, what do you achieve by kicking a car's tyres? On my short test drive around town I thought it was a noisy little brute but put that down to it being a diesel. The bearing noise was not so noticeable at town speeds - the engine was the main noise source. I was told that the car had been SORNed for the past six months and that the front near side tyre was believed to be down on pressure so I put the steering pull down to that. On the way home (M25, A1(M)) it took some while to find a garage to check the pressures, I stopped several times early on to check tyre temperature but there was no heat build up. When I eventually found a garage the pressure was actually above recommended. I admit that to a large extent I was swayed by the alloy wheels and airbag, also by being a long way from home with no transport even to the nearest station. The car was handed over with a full tank of fuel, very good but in retrospect why didn't she check the tyre pressures when she filled the car? Afterthought is a wonderful thing.
Jeremy, so it's called a pinion valve. I thought it might be the same setup as on a BX and XM and thought I'd seen something about centring the valve - it must have been centring the rack as you suggest.
CitroenBX, yes, everything is fixable and time is one thing I've plenty of. At least the bodywork is reasonable although it needs lots of TLC. Ah well, that's my summer taken care of.
Derek