C5 estate - Very scared of hills

[Joncarpet]

Hi

I've got a 2002 2.0 HDI SX estate. It accelerates slowly but drives fine. Until it gets to a hill. And then it struggles massively.
Its soo bad with hills that i often have to drop down into 2nd. Which is not good on the M62.

The accelerator pedal was about 2 inch lower the others, but read on here how to sort that. I tried to take the slack out of the accelerator cable but not sure ive done it right.
Standing at the front of the car, do i need to slide the rubber/plastic cover back towards the cabin or pull towards me?
And does it matter which groove the little clip goes back into?

[h2ocooler]

Has it always been like that since you have had it as it sounds like its in limp mode, will it rev above 3000rpm? Is the EML on (if not does it light up when you turn the ignition on)?
Regarding the throttle I am not sure if there are 2 TPS's on them, if there is they will have to be set up corectly.

[Joncarpet]

I've had it since October and as far as i can remember it has been like it.
There's no warning lights on dash and it revs up to 4000 fine,and was doing 90 on the A1 yesterday .
I'll check that it comes on with ignition when i get home. Im pretty sure it does but I cant quite remember

[oscar]

Hi if same as bosch type? pull tube out till slack gone then clip goes outer cable side tight to the bracket that holds it idea being that when you prod loud pedal outer cable is trying to go towards nipple and clip stops it so you pull inner cable instead.
Check hoses are connected properly (air side) as could be if ones split/blown off where it fitted to you will have not much power you should if you stay in 2nd/3rd feel the turbo spool up and give you boost from around 2500 rpm if you don't feel that then either hose gone or fueling problem from pump as they have a pressure (small) hose to fueling to adjust when on boost or off etc
Can you hear any odd noises under bonnet if someone revs engine increasing slowly.
The pedal if you pull outer and sim to 1.9 has a little black box on cable (so typically frwench)which has a spring type affair inside that sort of dampens throttle and if say you hold throttle arm the spring will give instead check pull/movement of arm while someone pushes pedal down and try arm with engine running to see if get revs right!
Try pulling cable through if pedal low and cables ok then snip clip in while holding it you have to pull outer towards nearside

[RichardW]

If it will rev to the red line stationary, then there is no problem with the throttle cable. If there are no obvious boost leaks, you need to get it on a Lexia - check for boost pressure under load, and have a look to see what the MAF is saying. My guess is that the MAF has had it.

[Jeff]

I have the same problem. I changed MAF but it still strugles up hills. I noticed this week when i revved hard a few times and blew a lot of soot out of the exhaust the car was then very good going up the hill on the way home but today it was back to cogging into second. I think the revs drop very quickly on the incline and then lacks power.

Could it be the way I generally drive as I tend to not over rev the engine, someone once said i drive like I have a petrol engine and for economy

[KP]

You need to rev a diesel and work it hard every now and again to clean it out.

One option is park nose facing downhill and suspension on high. Squirt some fairy liquid up the exhaust and fill with water from a hose. Leave over night.
Make sure the engine had been warmed up before you do this, preferably after a normal run out so that the exhaust is toasty as well.

In the morning start the car as normal but give it a second or two to clear everything out the back. Don't stand behind the car or let anyone else while this happens as they will get caked in crud.
Watch as everything that comes out is pure black! Drive to work as normal giving it the odd bit of stick in 3-4-5th gears as that builds the heat in the turbo and exhaust and helps clear it out more.

Your car shouldn't have a DPF so should be ok in this respect but the exhaust itself can still get clogged with soot if not cleared out often.

[Northern_Mike]

I have the same problem. I changed MAF but it still strugles up hills. I noticed this week when i revved hard a few times and blew a lot of soot out of the exhaust the car was then very good going up the hill on the way home but today it was back to cogging into second. I think the revs drop very quickly on the incline and then lacks power.

Could it be the way I generally drive as I tend to not over rev the engine, someone once said i drive like I have a petrol engine and for economy

Yes. You need to rev a diesel occasionally and use it hard to clean out all the crud and soot. I used to find 1.9TD engines terrible for this, especially if they'd been owned by a careful driver. I bought a Xantia estate that was so bad it would barely reach 90mph. I did nothing to it other than thrash it for a few days, lots of filth came out the back, and it was back to full performance after as short while. Not had it on an HDi yet, as I've only had 3 of them. That said, our Berlingo was owned by a "careful driver". Now I've had it nearly 2 years, it'll actually show 10mph more on the clock flat out than it would when I got it, despite being 33,000 miles older.

[Peter.N.]

I do the same, I rarely drive at over 60 mph or 2000 rpm, the benefit apart from lack of stress is around 60 mpg the downside as mentioned is that the exhaust system soots up, it only takes a few hundred yards at full throttle and high revs to clear it.

Peter

[Joncarpet]

Thanks for the info on cleaning it out. Sounds a plausible cause.
It's an 02 plate and was owned from new by an old guy. It's only got 82k on it.
Going down to Brighton in in today so will give it some revs as i tend to drive it cautiously for fuel economy.

[Stickyfinger]

IF you are going to "scream" it, pls check your oil/water and WHEN did it have a cam belt change ?

[Jeff]

Is there an economical way of driving and keeping the exhaust clear?

[Peter.N.]

Not really, just boot it every now and again, you only need full throttle for a few hundred yards, just look out of the back and see when it stops smoking. It only needs doing every few thousand miles.

Peter

[KP]

The only way is by introducing something into the fuel that burns very hot and will help clear out the exhaust but thats not really possible.

Full boost in 3/4/5/ gear while joining a motorway usually is good enough as its the boost and massive flow of air thats needs.

The methd above for clearing the exhaust out that i showed above does help a lot IME.

[Joncarpet]

For one reason and a million others, only just got around to having a diagnostic check done.
It's been running as it was - great on the flat and a nightmare on even the slightest of gradients.

The conclusion was that the ECU was knackered. And would cost upto a grand to get a new one.
Is the ECU repairable? Can one be bought from a scrappy and fitted by me? or is it a new one to be fitted by the pro's?