Diesel Maintenance Tips

Hi

Getting my first diesel (BMW 2.0 Litre unit as fitted to the Rover 75). Are there any particular things I should make sure are done on an annual service?

With petrol cars I know about regular oil/filter changes and scheduled cam belt changes but anything particular things to note with this diesel?

Thanks in advance

Mal

Reply to
Mal
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Check and drain water from the fuel filter regularly. Easier said than done if you have the same damned inconvenient filter unit used by BMW.

You ask specifically for annual chores? Well nothing in particular other than what is contained in the official service schedule. If you follow this diligently you will be giving it all the attention needed for a long and as-trouble-free-as-possible life.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

Regular oil (use diesel-specific oil or synthetic) and filter change is even more important than petrol engines, as oil has to work harder to keep the engine clean of contaminants such as soot. If you use your car mainly for town driving, I'd change more often, some people do it every 6,000 miles. Also depending on engines, bring forward cambelt change. I tend to alternate water drainage and fuel filter change, no matter what the manual says. Ditto with air filter. Also keep an eye on the state of turbo unit, and on any slits or holes in the rubber hose.

Alec

Alec

Reply to
Alec

Although Rover recommend ACEA B3 specification oil for this engine, BMW specify BMW LL01 [I think the current spec is 01 with previous being LL98] which is specifically a synthetic oil.

and filter change is even

This engine is fitted with a service logic computer system in every application I have seen which will alter the service interval according to use. In any case it will seldom allow more than 15000 miles or two years between services and if service duty calls for it, the interval will be much less. Automatically calculated and indicated in the dash.

This BMW engine does not have a cambelt.

I tend to alternate

Although there may well be a water warning system fitted, those blasted filters have no facility to be drained. A penny pinching design.

Ditto

The state of the turbo unit is invisible ;-) Care of the turbo is rather more critical than most manufacturers like to admit. Let the engine idle for a few seconds before revving from a cold start and idle for up to a minute before stopping a hot engine. No need to be anal about it though and there are more important things to worry about in life. Just service the damned thing as the manufacturer thinks fit and sleep soundly.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

I take my own oil to the dealer (car under warranty) to be used. I've used Millers XFD fully synthetic diesel oil for years with good results. 5 litres costs me about £23 which works out cheaper than the dealer charging by the

0.5 litre and I know what oil I'm getting.
Reply to
Doctor D

Dont use the Rover specified oil, use the BMW one and change it at no more than every 12,000miles. These engines, certainly when in the 3series (at 150 or 160bhp) are known to lunch turbo's now and then, and its always down to poor oil and lack of changes (coked bearings / overheating)

Cam Chain on this engine.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

I'm curious about this. I'm guessing it's just a Diesel thing, why does this need doing? Is it because Diesel is thicker than petrol, and the water doesn't mix in with it, so it just builds up over time? Having said that I would expect water to go straight through the filter. How do you drain the water, do you need to dismantle the filter, or just pull the pipe off it?

Reply to
petermcmillan_uk

Because water corrodes the high pressure pump[s] and does not lubricate the elements which causes expensive failure in short order.

Is it because Diesel is thicker than petrol, and

Diesel filters have a sump to hold water, which is denser than fuel so it settles in the bottom

How do you drain the water, do you need to dismantle the

In nine out of ten applications there would be an agglomerator or filter bowl with a simple tap at the bottom to drain the water out. Those dastardly Germans tend to use a sealed filter that is the most inconvenient piece of shit imaginable. As far as I can see there is no drain and if a water warning light [if fitted] indicates a problem then the filter needs to be replaced as a whole. The damned thing needs pipes removed from the top etc. If I had one of these I would probably change the unit for an easy to replace spin-on version with a drain tap.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

I would go along with that but would not worry if the manufacturers interval was followed with the correct oil. ISTM that Rover have been somewhat lax about the oil it specifies. This applies equally to Land Rover.

These engines, certainly when in the 3series (at 150

Ruined bearings and turbo seals are much less common on today's water and oil cooled units which have coolant pumped through them long after the engine has stopped. Almost without exception any turbo failure can be attributed to poor driver practice at the start with a cold engine or when stopping from high revs or suddenly under load.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

In reality it doesn't. You are extremely unlikely to get more than a couple of drops of water in your diesel from one filter change to the next. I ran a truck for 5 years with a visual sediment bowl/water trap, and it accumulated about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of it during that time. If you do get any water in it, it is heavier than the diesel, so it sits in the bottom of the filter and goes when the filter gets changed.

Cue ludicrously exaggerated claims along the lines of "I had a diesel for only 3 weeks and had to empty the water out daily"

Ignore them. Your annual or mileage service will see you right.

Steve

Reply to
shazzbat

Well it's true. But it was a 150KW Genny & some git had filled it from a barrel that had had the lid left off in the rain.

Back in the real world he's right, acceptable water content in diesel for road use is very low.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Diesel water content from commercial pumps is variable and if you fill within an hour of a tanker delivering to the station and churning the shit up in the storage tank, you will possibly fill with more than an acceptable amount of water. This is not just a theoretical possibility but a fairly common occurrence, hence the normally fitted drain tap and warning systems. Only last year my Land Cruiser had such a fill which initiated the warning system and a good egg cup full of water was drained two or three times before the system settled down. No problem since. My Company has just last week changed a Delphi injector pump which was damaged due to obvious water contamination. I see probably up to half a dozen during a year.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

:-))

Reply to
shazzbat

I did but the cause was a leaking filler seal hence when it rained....

Agreed. You can get aftermarket replacement filters for the German styley ones that have a screw at the bottom so you can undo it and let it piddle all thr diesel and oil up your arm if you feel so inclined.

Reply to
Chris Street

"shazzbat" wrote >>

It's not that funny to the owners.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

Sorry, I was thinking of water staying in suspension for an hour after the tanker delivery, and not settling out in a matter of seconds like normal water, and about a tank/pump system that doesn't have a filter or water trap, and about water getting into a fuel pump, which means the filter must be full of water since the fuel is taken from the top of the filter which in turn means major major water ingress, which in turn means almost certainly enough to stop the engine since diesels don't run too well on water, which in turn would avoid damage to the pump because the water would have to be replaced by fuel before the engine would run again, and about all this occurring as commonly as you suggest.

But then I'm an old cynic. :-))

Steve

Reply to
shazzbat

You wouldn't be if you had seen as many as I have. Condensation in the vehicle tank can be a problem also but I have seldom seen enough water accumulate between filter changes for this to be a problem. Of course some people change filters more often than others ;-) Believe it or not, as you like. No skin off my nose one way or another.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

So it's good practice to leave it idling for a minute after a long hot run. And never blip the throttle before switching off-(why do some people do that?) DaveK

Reply to
davek

Yes

I don't know of anyone that does it. Paradoxically some modern diesel electronic management systems are programmed, by accident or design, to do exactly this for no apparent reason. Some Cat/Perkins do this.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

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