Paging Huw, or anyone else into shite old Diesels...

The message from "JackH" contains these words:

I'd suggest it's the injectors. Try pulling 'em out of the old head if they're compatible. If not you'll have to swap the piping as well.

If you're breaking the old one then the Monty/Maestro club might be interested in knowing.

Sounds like worn injectors. Bad starting is most likely the glow plugs, but bad injectors won't be helping any.

Does it have exhaust gas recirculation? Probably. If so then disable the damn thing and check that any valves associated with it are not stuck in a position that either limits air or lets exhaust gas back into the inlet on a permanent basis. That checked and done, then give it a good dose of injector cleaner as mentioned earlier. If all else fails and the problem persists then a diesel specialist should be consulted with a view to checking whether the injectors need a service or a setting on the pump needs tweaking.

Huw

Oh Heck! A Montego!

I misread and took it to be a Mondeo. Must take more care speed-reading....Gulp.

You are right. It is a s**te old diesel but there is nothing you can do about that. Even when new they ponged a bit but you have obviously got a problem. I suggest seeing a psychiatrist urgently.

Huw

& get the compression checked.

Hmm. A crude engine but economical and powerful - in its day. And pretty long lived.

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Mine's still going.

I am breaking it... but due to the really high miles anything I use for work tends to do, I'm going to be keeping hold of anything remotely mechanical.

I can't see there being a stampede for anything like the glass out of it, either.

-- JackH

It might be a s**te old diesel... but I've yet to find anything else available as cheaply, that will reliably lug around as much gear, as economically.

The damaged one used to crack 65mpg on a steady long distance run; more than the Fiesta or Corsa diesels I had before it.

-- JackH

If you can find a car that hasn't got the backside hanging out of it (which I have), they're a good, reliable, simple to maintain workhorse.

-- JackH

The message from "JackH" contains these words:

No, fair enough. Does the heat matrix leak?

The message from "JackH" contains these words:

Even grinding up and down Cornish hills for a week I got over 50mpg out of mine. As you say - long runs it'll return excellent economy, and considering the purchase price and depreciation it'd be a long time before you could repay the cost of anything more economical.

If economy is your top priority then there is no doubt it is still about the best. As for your problem, it could be as simple as pump timing or as expensive as an injector pump needing a service. It is not a complex engine so it should be fairly easy to diagnose if not cheap to repair.

I am tainted by owning a petrol MG Montego as long ago as 1984 and it was a disgracefully unreliable heap. Anything that could go wrong did, apart from the Honda supplied gearbox which was nice for its time. It put me off Leyland/Rover products for life. I cannot pass a Rover without wincing. I had a nice Rover 75 for a couple of days last month and I was nervous about ever reaching home from each journey. Unfair I know.

Huw Huw

Still lives on now doesn't it, in the Rover 25/MG Range, as the L-series (are the 2.0TDs in the 25/ZR still the L-series) ?

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

The 2.0i petrols in general, weren't too bad - IME, it's the 1.6 and 1.3 petrols, in both Maestro and Montego form, that gave more grief than anything, due to the Lucas sourced ECUs, which were very unreliable.

To be fair, when they worked properly, they were pretty good on fuel etc., due to the electronically controlled carb working vvery efficiently.

The diesels on the other hand, are pretty spot on overall, and I suspect my problems only stem from the previous owner not mainataining it very well in later life.

-- JackH

Nope - mechanically it's pretty good overall... can't say I'm all that enamoured by the prospect of ripping the dash out to get to anything like that though.

I might just sell the pair of them off, tbh; I've now been offered the chance of a Mercedes Vito at a very favourable price, and I won't need two back-up vehicles if I do get that, and would keep my Golf TDI over the Montegos.

-- JackH

The message from "JackH" contains these words:

And, of course, the Montego/Maestro/Metro habit of disappearing into a puddle of rust overnight.

I don't think there was an ECU in the 1.3. Electronic ignition, but nothing else fancy.

I wonder if I was just lucky. B reg 1.6 Montego never gave any problems until my sister discovered how hard bollards are, and I quite liked my E reg

1.3 Maestro (with 5 speed box - essential upgrade) - it was still happy at 130K miles (well, the mechanical bits. Body wasn't _too_ bad, but there was a certain amount of rot).

(Passed the Maestro onto my sister, who given the choice of my slightly battered but mechanically sound one or her bf's mum's nice looking but only ever used in town one, chose wrong. Mine may have looked a bit tatty, but the engine etc was in fine nick.)

cheers, clive

I'd have thought it needed it with a carb to pass emission regs?

The ECU itself was fairly reliable. It was that stupid vacuum sensor that failed - and couldn't be replaced. Although I'm sure it would be possible to find something that would work.

I had a 1.6 for a couple of years, and the carb and electronics worked very well - certainly much better than any other auto choke mechanism I've come across. But like all unknowns, I'll bet it sufferered from bodging at the average dealer.