High Mileage ST Tdci
Discussion
Hi,
Got my ST TDCI a few months a go now, I run my own business and cut a deal with the guy for his ST. It is in excellent condition, FULL service history all done at Ford on time, Paint inspections done and stamped etc etc, now stands me £1700 as I had to change discs, pads and a hub. The mileage is now 152k.
I had a light come on the dash the other day and when plugging it in it came back as P1211 (Injectors), Great!!
My first idea was to change the diesel filter which I done today, luckily it is now running spot on and the light is off.
This got me thinking, what extra precautions should I be doing with the mileage being so high.
The Clutch/DMF was done about 45k, both rear hubs have been done, EGR is blanked. It will be getting serviced soon as it is near the 12k service mark. What else do you recommend? Is it worth using an engine/injector cleaner once in a while, servicing little earlier (10k) and so on?
Thanks
Got my ST TDCI a few months a go now, I run my own business and cut a deal with the guy for his ST. It is in excellent condition, FULL service history all done at Ford on time, Paint inspections done and stamped etc etc, now stands me £1700 as I had to change discs, pads and a hub. The mileage is now 152k.
I had a light come on the dash the other day and when plugging it in it came back as P1211 (Injectors), Great!!
My first idea was to change the diesel filter which I done today, luckily it is now running spot on and the light is off.
This got me thinking, what extra precautions should I be doing with the mileage being so high.
The Clutch/DMF was done about 45k, both rear hubs have been done, EGR is blanked. It will be getting serviced soon as it is near the 12k service mark. What else do you recommend? Is it worth using an engine/injector cleaner once in a while, servicing little earlier (10k) and so on?
Thanks
Personally, I would avoid supermarket fuel and rugularly run Redex through the tank. Very cheap to buy if you have a Wilkinson near you. Regular oil changes are also a must.
I have just bought a 2.2 TDCI after selling my Audi to free-up a bit of cash. Mine is very smokey on start-up (white smoke), so I am thinking injectors. I have it booked in for a service/ health check on Thurday, so will find out then. They don't seem too difficult to replace on the TDCI, provided they are correctly coded to the vehicle.
I have just bought a 2.2 TDCI after selling my Audi to free-up a bit of cash. Mine is very smokey on start-up (white smoke), so I am thinking injectors. I have it booked in for a service/ health check on Thurday, so will find out then. They don't seem too difficult to replace on the TDCI, provided they are correctly coded to the vehicle.
I thought mine had gone, due to the power cutting out when you gave it some stick, glow plug light was flashing and the code P1211 came up which is usually injectors. I read somewhere that it is commonly the diesel filter and luckily it was.
I would definitely try changing that before injectors.
I found a few good used sets of injectors for about £300 and fitting+coding was going to be about £150.
I will run an additive through more often and like you said maybe service every 10-11k
I would definitely try changing that before injectors.
I found a few good used sets of injectors for about £300 and fitting+coding was going to be about £150.
I will run an additive through more often and like you said maybe service every 10-11k
Just thought I'd update at the request of Matthew.
I took the Mondeo to my local garage for a full service and had a leak-off test done on the injectors. Their diagnoses was that injectors 2 & 4 were leaking back excessively. This week I eventually got around to replacing the injectors (had a second car to use), so sent the two faulty ones off for refurbishment. I posted them on Monday (Special Delivery) and received them back on Thursday. The beauty of doing it this way is that I didn't have to worry about re-encoding the injectors. I simply put them back in the car this morning and cranked it over. It took longer to start as the fuel had to be pumped through the pipes/ injectors. There was a small amount of white smoke on start-up (not much), however, given that the car had to pull the fuel through following the injector change, I'll reserve complete judgement until I do the first normal cold start!
However, I have noticed that the car is noticeably quieter and smoother to drive, so fingers crossed.
The garage quoted me £136 per injector, plus 1 hour labour, plus VAT, which would have come out between £350 and £370. I did the job for £220, including the injector removal tool and special delivery to send the injectors off.
This is the place where I sent the injectors for refurb at £99 each is here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221215619414
Before replacing the injectors, I also fitted an EGR blanking plate, which I think has helped.
EGR Blanking plate available here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120995458659.
I have no affiliation with any of these companies.
Removing the injectors is simple. I purchased an injector removal socket from Ebay (1/2inch socket fitment). This allows you to correctly 'face-up' the injectors then you replace them into the head. The key here is to note which injector comes from which cylinder, so you can replace them in the same way. Placing the wrong injectors into the wrong cylinder will cause the engine management light to come on.
The pictures are pretty self explanatory, but start by removing the dipstick and pulling off the plastic engine cover. Once off, you can replace the dipstick. As for the injector:
1. Unclip the relevant leak-off pipes and the electrical clip of the pipes from the injectors you wish to replace.
2. Once done, unbolt the relevant fuel pipes from the fuel rail to the injector. Cover the exposed fuel rail with tape or a bag to prevent anything falling into the fuel line. A very small amount of fuel will leak out. It is not under pressure, so a cloth/ rag is useful for catching the dripping diesel.
3. Prise up the steel washer that fits into the plastic cover with a screwdriver (again, try not to let any dirt fall inside).
4. Use the injector removal socket and turning anti-clockwise remove the faulty injector.
5. Cover holes and send injectors off for refurbishment.
6. Use compressed air to blow through the pipes you have removed and clean any debris out.
Refitting is literally the reverse of removal. However, you will need to align the injector so that it faces the front of the engine. I simply used my thumb to prevent it from rotating and tightened the injector by hand. Once hand tight, I twisted the injector anti-clockwise about quarter of a turn (3 O'clock position) and then used the ratchet to fully tighten and allowed the movement to rotate the injector to face the front.
It was then a case of reconnecting everything again. Finally, it is worth applying a thin slither of Hylomar on the thread of the injector and the rubber washer that presses into the cover to create a good seal.
TIPS:
1. Note down which injector comes from which cylinder.
2. Change your fuel filter if you haven't had it changed for some time. The last thing you want is dirt entering your cleaned injectors!
Hope this helps!
I took the Mondeo to my local garage for a full service and had a leak-off test done on the injectors. Their diagnoses was that injectors 2 & 4 were leaking back excessively. This week I eventually got around to replacing the injectors (had a second car to use), so sent the two faulty ones off for refurbishment. I posted them on Monday (Special Delivery) and received them back on Thursday. The beauty of doing it this way is that I didn't have to worry about re-encoding the injectors. I simply put them back in the car this morning and cranked it over. It took longer to start as the fuel had to be pumped through the pipes/ injectors. There was a small amount of white smoke on start-up (not much), however, given that the car had to pull the fuel through following the injector change, I'll reserve complete judgement until I do the first normal cold start!
However, I have noticed that the car is noticeably quieter and smoother to drive, so fingers crossed.
The garage quoted me £136 per injector, plus 1 hour labour, plus VAT, which would have come out between £350 and £370. I did the job for £220, including the injector removal tool and special delivery to send the injectors off.
This is the place where I sent the injectors for refurb at £99 each is here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221215619414
Before replacing the injectors, I also fitted an EGR blanking plate, which I think has helped.
EGR Blanking plate available here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120995458659.
I have no affiliation with any of these companies.
Removing the injectors is simple. I purchased an injector removal socket from Ebay (1/2inch socket fitment). This allows you to correctly 'face-up' the injectors then you replace them into the head. The key here is to note which injector comes from which cylinder, so you can replace them in the same way. Placing the wrong injectors into the wrong cylinder will cause the engine management light to come on.
The pictures are pretty self explanatory, but start by removing the dipstick and pulling off the plastic engine cover. Once off, you can replace the dipstick. As for the injector:
1. Unclip the relevant leak-off pipes and the electrical clip of the pipes from the injectors you wish to replace.
2. Once done, unbolt the relevant fuel pipes from the fuel rail to the injector. Cover the exposed fuel rail with tape or a bag to prevent anything falling into the fuel line. A very small amount of fuel will leak out. It is not under pressure, so a cloth/ rag is useful for catching the dripping diesel.
3. Prise up the steel washer that fits into the plastic cover with a screwdriver (again, try not to let any dirt fall inside).
4. Use the injector removal socket and turning anti-clockwise remove the faulty injector.
5. Cover holes and send injectors off for refurbishment.
6. Use compressed air to blow through the pipes you have removed and clean any debris out.
Refitting is literally the reverse of removal. However, you will need to align the injector so that it faces the front of the engine. I simply used my thumb to prevent it from rotating and tightened the injector by hand. Once hand tight, I twisted the injector anti-clockwise about quarter of a turn (3 O'clock position) and then used the ratchet to fully tighten and allowed the movement to rotate the injector to face the front.
It was then a case of reconnecting everything again. Finally, it is worth applying a thin slither of Hylomar on the thread of the injector and the rubber washer that presses into the cover to create a good seal.
TIPS:
1. Note down which injector comes from which cylinder.
2. Change your fuel filter if you haven't had it changed for some time. The last thing you want is dirt entering your cleaned injectors!
Hope this helps!
Edited by chris1972 on Friday 26th April 16:06
Wow, now that's a post! Thank you very much Chris! I'm sure people will find that very helpful and I might use it myself if a road I've decided to go down doesn't pan out...
A week or so ago I decided to try Millers Diesel Ecomax fuel treatment. One treatment (60 ml into full tank), has had a very noticeable effect on the car, cutting down white smoke on cold start up from 20 seconds to less than 5 (after a day or so idle). Spots of engine hesitation (particularly at higher revs) seem to have vanished, but from the white smoke clues I think that while things are much better, they may not be altogether resolved. It's going to take time to do more treatments and gauge the results (one bottle has about 10x 50ml treatments I think). I should also mention that my MPG seems to have gone from around 58 to 61 for longer distance motorway driving at 70mph on cruise control. It's obviously a hard one to gauge as wind, ambient temperature and the ups and downs of a route come in to play here, but I do believe economy and responsiveness have increased.
If anyone does try a fuel treatment, I should point out that while I was on the treated tank, MPG fell significantly by around 6-8 MPG. It then seemed to come back a bit better as new fuel flushed it out. I was pretty surprised what a difference 60ml in 60l could make!
If the fuel treatment doesn't fully cure the white smoke at start up I think I'll be getting my injectors done and I'll be using that invaluable info Chris, thanks again!
A week or so ago I decided to try Millers Diesel Ecomax fuel treatment. One treatment (60 ml into full tank), has had a very noticeable effect on the car, cutting down white smoke on cold start up from 20 seconds to less than 5 (after a day or so idle). Spots of engine hesitation (particularly at higher revs) seem to have vanished, but from the white smoke clues I think that while things are much better, they may not be altogether resolved. It's going to take time to do more treatments and gauge the results (one bottle has about 10x 50ml treatments I think). I should also mention that my MPG seems to have gone from around 58 to 61 for longer distance motorway driving at 70mph on cruise control. It's obviously a hard one to gauge as wind, ambient temperature and the ups and downs of a route come in to play here, but I do believe economy and responsiveness have increased.
If anyone does try a fuel treatment, I should point out that while I was on the treated tank, MPG fell significantly by around 6-8 MPG. It then seemed to come back a bit better as new fuel flushed it out. I was pretty surprised what a difference 60ml in 60l could make!
If the fuel treatment doesn't fully cure the white smoke at start up I think I'll be getting my injectors done and I'll be using that invaluable info Chris, thanks again!
Update:
I'm still getting some white smoke on start-up, but not nearly as much. Thanks for the heads-up about the Millers. I'll give that a go to clean the remaining two injectors. I was also going to de-coke the engine as I noticed it was pretty mucky in there when I pulled the injectors out. After that point I'm going to leave it for a couple of months and then do another leak-off test. I'm not too worried. It seems to run really well and I'm getting good MPG.
I'm still getting some white smoke on start-up, but not nearly as much. Thanks for the heads-up about the Millers. I'll give that a go to clean the remaining two injectors. I was also going to de-coke the engine as I noticed it was pretty mucky in there when I pulled the injectors out. After that point I'm going to leave it for a couple of months and then do another leak-off test. I'm not too worried. It seems to run really well and I'm getting good MPG.
After the second fuel treatment completed over the weekend and two smaller top ups of diesel had gone some way to clearing the treatment out, today I went to see how much white smoke there was on start up.
I'm not sure if it was affected by the warm weather, but after turning the key and immediately checking the exhaust, absolutely no sign of any white smoke at all and no lumpiness, reluctance or odd immediate idling sounds, just started up without trouble or strangeness first time.
I'll keep an eye on this, but it looks like this has been a success.
I'm not sure if it was affected by the warm weather, but after turning the key and immediately checking the exhaust, absolutely no sign of any white smoke at all and no lumpiness, reluctance or odd immediate idling sounds, just started up without trouble or strangeness first time.
I'll keep an eye on this, but it looks like this has been a success.
Update:
The problem hadn't gone away but had got considerably better. However, a new set of glow plugs later and all is now totally smoke free on startup from cold! So don't forget it doesn't have to be one or the other causing the problem it can be both.
Replacing the glow plugs gave my trusted mechanic time to clean my inlet manifold for me!
The problem hadn't gone away but had got considerably better. However, a new set of glow plugs later and all is now totally smoke free on startup from cold! So don't forget it doesn't have to be one or the other causing the problem it can be both.
Replacing the glow plugs gave my trusted mechanic time to clean my inlet manifold for me!
chris1972 said:
Personally, I would avoid supermarket fuel and rugularly run Redex through the tank. Very cheap to buy if you have a Wilkinson near you. Regular oil changes are also a must.
Dads is serviced by Ford on time & has never had any issues with supermarket diesel. Only issue as been it needed a new alternator. Orignal clutch, flywheel, injectors aswell, but its does have a noisy bearing in the clutch, when you press the pedal, you can hear it. Mileage is now 125k on a '06.Gassing Station | Ford | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff