Xantia 99 1.9TD, lacks power and overheating

wonderd · Post by **wonderd** » 28 Jun 2008, 15:07

Hello everyone,
since i bought the car it was feeling a little weak, after a stupid mistake of mine (driving with no water..) i replaced the engine inc. the turbo.
all the accessories are from the old engine.
I also replaced the radiator with an original new one.
Now i have several problems:
1. the engine's temp gets to 110c sometimes with the aircon. on when going uphills.
2. the car still feels weak (Also, when i drove without the turbo one day, it wouldn't go over 60 km/h - is it normal?)
3. the fuel consumption is around 11 km/1 liter, my friend's car does 14/1 at the same conditions.

All those problems are not new, they were the same with the old engine.

Elad.

Post by **myglaren** » 28 Jun 2008, 15:19

Have you checked for binding brakes?

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 28 Jun 2008, 15:36

My bet is that the diesel injection pump is out of timing. This will eat most of the engine power.

As the Xantia is a heavy car (1200kg) and the 1.9L diesel engine gives you some 62Bhp no turbo - it feels sluggish. But still should be able to propel the Xantia at some 130kmh cruise speed no big trouble.

Does the diesel engine sounds soft like a petrol engine ? Then the injection pump is retarded and the fuel is injected too late.

Opposite : does the diesel engine sounds like somone is hammering on steel in a fast rate ? Then the diesel pump is advanced too much giving a too early injection.

The easy way to adjust the diesel pump, is to slacken off the 3 pump mounting bolts, then turn the pump body a slightly in either direction :
Turn the pump inwards against the car, to advance (giving earlier) injection - if the engine has a too soft sound.
Towards yourself to retard the injection - if the engine makes a distinct hammering/clattering noise

After a couple of tries, you should get it as accurate as any other method would do you.

IMPORTANT : when testing for correct engine running (how it sounds), the engine must be working hot. Never try judge the adjustment on a cold engine.
Also - make sure that any coldstart mechanism has released.

wonderd · Post by **wonderd** » 28 Jun 2008, 19:11

Thank you,
I will check the timing of the pump the way you described - i was told the same thing by the guy who sold me the engine.
And yes, the engine is too noisy.

The other problem i have (i forgot to mention) since i replaced the engine is that when the engine is worm it takes a long time for it to start.
The problem wasn't there before i replaced the engine.

Will 'play' with the timing and get back here to report.

Elad.

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 28 Jun 2008, 20:19

wonderd wrote:Thank you,
I will check the timing of the pump the way you described - i was told the same thing by the guy who sold me the engine.
And yes, the engine is too noisy.

The other problem i have (i forgot to mention) since i replaced the engine is that when the engine is worm it takes a long time for it to start.
The problem wasn't there before i replaced the engine.

Will 'play' with the timing and get back here to report.

Elad.

The hot starting issue could be related to the timing.

Although not strictly related to hot start problems, but did you check the condition of the glow plugs on the new engine?

wonderd · Post by **wonderd** » 28 Jun 2008, 22:15

The glow plugs are from the old engine, they are good.
timing should be set correctly too because the garage who put the engine together and installed it is not likely to make that mistake.
He says he thinks the problem is a compression problem when the engine is hot.

Sl4yer · Post by **Sl4yer** » 28 Jun 2008, 22:51

Don't expect a TD engine without the turbo to go like a N/A engine. The turbo engine has a lower compression ratio, so will be even worse than a N/A engine would be.

James

Post by **Peter.N.** » 29 Jun 2008, 08:51

Lack of power, dificult starting and overheating would point to the timing being retarded - but that would make it quiet, not noisey, so I think there must be another reason.

wonderd · Post by **wonderd** » 29 Jun 2008, 12:36

I just finished 'playing' with the injuction pump, the engine is a little bit quieter, i don't think there is any change in the engine power (maybe just a psycologicaly change..).
I checked and the engine is still overheating.

I will try to wash the intercooler and the aircon. radiator - maybe there isn't enough air getting to the radiator.

I am thinking about the catalytic converter being plugged or the automatic transmission adjusted not correctly.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 29 Jun 2008, 14:19

If it has a new radiator I cant understand it overheating unless the fan is not working. Can you hear it come on when the engine is hot. If you cant, just leave it ticking over, untill the temperature goes above normal, it should come on before it gets into the red.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 29 Jun 2008, 14:44

Is this due to the Xantia dodgy relays syndrome where no matter what the
temp the fan doesn't work to keep things literally ticking along happily!?

Andrew

wonderd · Post by **wonderd** » 29 Jun 2008, 20:03

In my case - the fans work good - i can hear them and feel them when the engine is very hot.