An Omega Elite Estate, 2.5TD (BMW donk) Auto. 260k on the clock, been used for private hire (you, stop laughing at the back).
Runs well, been serviced every 3k according to the bloke selling it, but no service records, mainly for the fact that he wasn't too bothered with taking them as he only took it in part ex on a more expensive car. He was happy enough for me to get in touch with the former owner to ask any questions or get any service history, but I bought it on trust, with the intention of getting in touch later for the history.
Well it runs well, autobox seems to work well, a fair bit of power there, though it does kick down a bit too easily for me - I'd rather it took more advantage of the torque in higher gears, but that might be related to the next problem.
Basically the timing chain is quite rattly (though if you listen past the chain rattle the engine is a real good runner), and the economy is crap. I've barely driven the thing, but a mate of mine's been looking after it for me and he's driven it to work a few times. On general around town driving it'll do 24mpg, on a gentle motorway run at 60mph it only managed 36mpg. Not good. A bloke at his work drove it and reckoned it was either a knackered diesel pump, or the timing on the diesel pump could be slightly out due to the slack in the chain. I'm hoping it's this, as I was worried about the diesel pump (is this the same thing as the injector pump) as I've heard these are a known issue on these, but even if it means getting a re-con one fitted it'll still be worth doing as I got the car at a pretty good price.
Only other issue is that the brake light switch is sticking - my mate took it out and gave it the WD40 treatment, and it cured it for a bit, but now it's sticking again (no brake lights) so off to the scrappy for one of them. Other than that, all the electrics work perfectly, and I'm in love with the electric seats, and the sheer amount of different ways to tilt, raise, lower and move forwards and backwards that's possible! Air con and climate seem to all work fine, as does the cruise control, and the leather interior is absolutely immaculate - in fact the exterior is pretty bloody good, and looking inside and out you could quite believe that it had only covered 60k, not 260!
So, back to the issue of the chain - I popped into Vauxhall today to get a price on the parts - they tell me it's got two chains, and the total price of both chains, plus the tensioner gear, is £125 (retail, incl. VAT). I've got a mate who's got a trade club account, so I reckon I could get this down to about £90 or so.
So does the theory that the slackness of the chain could be causing the diesel pump to be slightly out of time sound familiar, or make sense, to anyone? If not, could anyone recommend a reputable place that sells (and/or fits) re-con units, and how much would I be looking at?
And could someone recommend a decent mechanic with experience of these engines who'd replace the chain at a reasonable rate? Maybe a BMW mechanic who wouldn't mind working on a sheddy old N reg Vauxhall :-)
Peter