Rough running since new injector
 

Hi,
V50 diesel sport 2008 140000 miles.
Running well until injector 1 had a diesel leak. New injector fitted, since then has run badly at about 1500 to 2000 revs and has a "pinking" sound like a petrol engine in the days of distributors, but only when normal operating temperature, runs fine when cold.
My mechanic- who I have used for some years- advised that there might be another problem in the fuel system and due to mileage it's not worth spending more on it, so in effect get rid of the car.
I'm not sure about this. I know that any new injector has to be programmed in to the ECU. I'd be surprised if my mechanic got it wrong but this is a very good car so I'm considering another diagnostic before doing anything drastic. Would really appreciate some advice first.

Many thanks

Sounds like a classic fob off as they can't work out what's wrong or what they may have done.

140,000mls is nothing for looked after cars.

What was the original injector replaced with? E.g OEM Volvo unit, genuine Bosch unit? ebay cheapie/copy?

There's been many cases where people have changed injectors, for cheap fake Bosch units only to suffer issues which were only resolved by changing back to old or new genuine OEM spec injectors which are pricey.

OK, that confirms the need to try elsewhere. The little garage I use have been doing well with this car for the 7 years I've owned it, also other family and friends' cars, so I wouldn't expect rubbish materials but you never know, as you say they clearly don't know what's wrong. If it is a case of programming the ECU for the new part, that sounds like a main dealer, and I'm afraid of either a) going to a small garage that doesn't have the equipment b) going to a main dealer to book in with a nice receptionist, getting a cup of coffee and totally ripped off- I'm in Ilford Essex but don't mind a bit of a journey... any suggestions?

Thanks again

I’ve had the opposite experience, used specialists and ended up at the main dealers who’ve done a much better job. This was not with Volvo by the way but none the less.

TT

Sounds like you need to find a specialist injector company to look over your car and check the parts. A lot of these places can recondition your old injectors which is cheaper than buying new. Some can also test other fuel components also to rule out other problems such as bad fuel pumps etc.

Found a specialist company about 6 miles away, I'll give them a try. Thanks

They ran a diagnostic, advised the new injector was OK, and reprogrammed it into the ECU. This seems to have improved but not quite corrected the bad running and the car is useable, using only a little more fuel than before, but there is a slight diesel smell when parking, so I doubt it will pass an emissions test (MOT next April).

The injector company (who BTW were amazing, didn't want to charge for advice and would only accept a drink) said their diagnostic indicated no power to EGR valve. My original mechanic had said the same thing. Their advice was that only a Volvo garage could take the investigation any further.

Rang local Volvo. "£138 please" (for a diagnostic, no guarantee that they will identify the problem).

All I know about EGR valve issues is that they cost a bomb to fix. So my plan is to run the car until MOT time then replace it

Thanks for posting the update. Is it not a damaged wire to the EGR? Don't know how much an EGR is on yours but my dad just got one for his fiat and it was about £110.

To be honest, main dealers are usually filled with plug & play mechanics and not old school mechanics who can work around, back and forth from error codes and wisdom.

Sadly I think Volvo's diagnostics will come to a lot more than £138 as if the others could not get much closer to fixing the issue then I fail to see how Volvo would within an hour.

Also if it was just an injector change only after which the car started to run bad and only when hot, it has to be linked/simple as if it was something more severe then surely the car would run bad hot or cold.

I know you say that the injector company gave it a clean bill of health but...… don't diesel injectors need to be a matched set ? I know with early 163bhp D5's it was a common type issue (leaking injectors) & care had to be taken to get a matched set.

Agree totally 140,000 is only just run in plenty of life in the old girl.