Noisy Rover Diesel

[Spydaman]

I drove my daughters Rover Streetwise 2.0TD this morning and whilst sat in traffic the exhaust note changed from reasonably smooth and quiet to clattery. When the traffic started moving again it was clearly down on power and a down few psi max boost (PO fitted a boost gauge). I know nothing about diesels but suspect a leaking exhaust or broken turbo. Any clues where to look first?

[Mr2Mike]

The timing solenoid within the injection pump is a known failure point on these engines, and results in a very clattery engine which is down on power and fuel consumption increases (aka tractor syndrome).

Another, less likely, possibility is the pump timing belt has slipped a tooth which could result in the same symptoms.

An exhaust leak from e.g. the manifold gasket or turbo-manifold gasket is possible, but it's unlikely for a gasket to suddenly fail whilst the engine is idling.

[Spydaman]

Thanks for the pointers Mr2Mike. I know nothing about diesels but will follow the tutorial.

Edited by Spydaman on Monday 1st February 17:15