Hi All,
I'm a long time reader, but first time poster on the forum. I’ve owned 4 diesel 200s / 25s over the last few years. I’m a big fas of the L-series and I thought I had them all figured out, but I’ve got an on going snag at the moment which just makes me want to tear down a tree branch a beat the car with it.
The beast in question is an 03 plate 25, with the 103 hp L series engine. I bought it with 70,000 ish miles and its now passed the 145,000 miles mark. Along the way, I’ve done a few of the common bits and pieces to it. I changed the injectors for SDi ones, put a panel air filter in and also fitted one of the oft’ talked about replacement mafams. The suspension was changed for a new ZR set when that started to get a bit rolly polly last year and it is generally well serviced – cam belts etc being changed at sensible intervals.
It never had a great clutch – it was always was a bit heavy / grabby and difficult to be smooth with, but it had to have a new one last summer after the thrust bearing went and its like it has never bedded in properly. It’s always juddery on pulling away an seems to snatch violently when you let it out regardless of finesse. This has, recently been compounded with what I had convinced my self were degrading engine mounts. It reached the stage where I started going out of my way to avoid the possibilty of getting stuck in queuing traffic or congenstion, because its so juddery and nasty. It certainly has many of the hall marks of the engine mounts – the characteristic clunk when pulling away etc.
Well, after convincing myself that it must be the engine mounts by reading threads on here, I ordered a full set of powerflex bushes and fitted them this weekend. The old ones certainly seemed unhappy, having a lot of movement and being so worn that they easily pushed out of the housings with one finger – great I though, problem solved – until I started the sodding engine. The vibration now, at idle is appalling, and having searched the forum again today for “powerflex + vibration” I see this is not uncommon. Now, that makes sense to me – If you change worn, soft, perished mounts for much harder new ones, you can’t be surprised at extra vibration. Its unpleasant, but with patience, might bed in, and if the worst comes to the worst, I can always change them out for genuine parts from rimmer bro’s anyway. The problem is, it has done nothing for the rest of the problems either. The engine still seems to be crashing around freely when I let the clutch out, juddering violently and lurching. I had to take it down to the supermarket earlier, and I had genuine difficulty parking it – it was just so unpleasant trying to control it with the clutch. It does all seem to settle down once your going, and gear changes are normal ish from 3rd gear up.
Can anyone shed some light on whats going on with the wretched thing before I have to resort to the Basil Fawlty school of engineering.
Many Thanks
Tom
I'm a long time reader, but first time poster on the forum. I’ve owned 4 diesel 200s / 25s over the last few years. I’m a big fas of the L-series and I thought I had them all figured out, but I’ve got an on going snag at the moment which just makes me want to tear down a tree branch a beat the car with it.
The beast in question is an 03 plate 25, with the 103 hp L series engine. I bought it with 70,000 ish miles and its now passed the 145,000 miles mark. Along the way, I’ve done a few of the common bits and pieces to it. I changed the injectors for SDi ones, put a panel air filter in and also fitted one of the oft’ talked about replacement mafams. The suspension was changed for a new ZR set when that started to get a bit rolly polly last year and it is generally well serviced – cam belts etc being changed at sensible intervals.
It never had a great clutch – it was always was a bit heavy / grabby and difficult to be smooth with, but it had to have a new one last summer after the thrust bearing went and its like it has never bedded in properly. It’s always juddery on pulling away an seems to snatch violently when you let it out regardless of finesse. This has, recently been compounded with what I had convinced my self were degrading engine mounts. It reached the stage where I started going out of my way to avoid the possibilty of getting stuck in queuing traffic or congenstion, because its so juddery and nasty. It certainly has many of the hall marks of the engine mounts – the characteristic clunk when pulling away etc.
Well, after convincing myself that it must be the engine mounts by reading threads on here, I ordered a full set of powerflex bushes and fitted them this weekend. The old ones certainly seemed unhappy, having a lot of movement and being so worn that they easily pushed out of the housings with one finger – great I though, problem solved – until I started the sodding engine. The vibration now, at idle is appalling, and having searched the forum again today for “powerflex + vibration” I see this is not uncommon. Now, that makes sense to me – If you change worn, soft, perished mounts for much harder new ones, you can’t be surprised at extra vibration. Its unpleasant, but with patience, might bed in, and if the worst comes to the worst, I can always change them out for genuine parts from rimmer bro’s anyway. The problem is, it has done nothing for the rest of the problems either. The engine still seems to be crashing around freely when I let the clutch out, juddering violently and lurching. I had to take it down to the supermarket earlier, and I had genuine difficulty parking it – it was just so unpleasant trying to control it with the clutch. It does all seem to settle down once your going, and gear changes are normal ish from 3rd gear up.
Can anyone shed some light on whats going on with the wretched thing before I have to resort to the Basil Fawlty school of engineering.
Many Thanks
Tom
