1.6hdi Poor service history

[Noel Brig]

A couple of month ago I bought a 1.6hdi as a replacement for my 12 year old 1.9d. The vehicle was very cheap (£2700+vat) and at that price the fact it had missed a service did not put me off, until I now read how sensitive this engine is to getting its oil changed. In its 3 years and 25,200 miles it has only been serviced once after 1 year with 6300miles on the clock - so it has basically went the last 2 years and 19,000 miles without an oil change.

I have finally sold my old 1.9 and it heads off for its new life at the end of next week, so I need to get my new one up and running - it has sat on the driveway for the last 3 month collecting dust!

1/ Should I just change the oil and filter and forget about its missed service. - Trouble is I'm a worrier and I'm not sure I will be entirely happy with what I now know about this engine.

2/ Do an engine flush first. - If it is full of sludge, do I really want it all pumping round the engine, could do more harm then good.

3/ Drop the sump (it looks a fairly straight forward job) and if there is any signs of sludge, clean what I can out, put it back together with new filter, give an engine flush with some cheap oil - then change the oil and filter for the correct spec stuff.

4/ get rid of it soonish - I had my last van for 10 years and a 130000miles and I guess this one will have a similar life.

[3rensho]

After that interval I'd definitely check/replace the mesh oil screen for the turbo.

[Coco]

Option 3 together with a new mesh whilst you are in there

[j90xxx]

Agree.
Option 3.
Unless you can turn it round for a quick profit, or break even?
If you are worried about lack of TLC/FSH are you ever going to be happy and trust it for years to come?
Regular service history is vital for modern engines.

[Noel Brig]

Option 3 it is then!

But what should I be expecting to find with the sump removed - To be honest I am not all that familiar with what to find inside a well serviced modern diesel engine; I do remember stripping engines down at the time of the black death, however I would be utterly astonished if I was to find half a bucket of toffee come tar in any engine these days, no matter how neglected.

Would a little gungy stuff in the bottom of the pan be acceptable ? Other than a film of black oil on everything that is easily cleaned of with a dab of petrol I would hope it is quite clean in there and certainly no gung in the oil pick up.

Mesh on Turbo feed; is this some separate pick up to the oil pump that should be obvious with the sump off.

There does not appear to be a gasket available for the sump, so I am presuming it will be a sealant?

If I do decide to put some cheap oil and do an engine flush - any thoughts on what oil to use and any recommendations on engine flush - I will be using the ineo 5w30 as recommended when the job is done

[Coco]

Option 3 it is then!

But what should I be expecting to find with the sump removed - To be honest I am not all that familiar with what to find inside a well serviced modern diesel engine; I do remember stripping engines down at the time of the black death, however I would be utterly astonished if I was to find half a bucket of toffee come tar in any engine these days, no matter how neglected.

Would a little gungy stuff in the bottom of the pan be acceptable ? Other than a film of black oil on everything that is easily cleaned of with a dab of petrol I would hope it is quite clean in there and certainly no gung in the oil pick up.


I wouldn't let petrol anywhere near it. If it won't come clean with a wipe with a lint free cloth then you are in trouble.



Mesh on Turbo feed; is this some separate pick up to the oil pump that should be obvious with the sump off.

Yes. There are other posts on here covering this



There does not appear to be a gasket available for the sump, so I am presuming it will be a sealant?


Again, see other posts O.J. knows a lot on this subject


If I do decide to put some cheap oil and do an engine flush - any thoughts on what oil to use and any recommendations on engine flush - I will be using the ineo 5w30 as recommended when the job is done

Theonly thing that I would use to flush an engine would be new oil and a new filter

[800HDI]

Drop the sump, if it has no signs of sludge of any kind, then i'd bolt it back on, swap filter and fill with proper 5 30 oil, then make sure it gets good runs and the odd thrashing.

After about a 2 weeks of driving i'd drop the oil again and refill with new filter.

Then if it was me, i'd stick to a couple of 3 month oils changes, then after that keep to every 6 months.

I reckon if theres no crap sat in the bottom of the sump you'll be alright.

[Noel Brig]

Thanks for all the replies, will drop the sump next tues or wed, will let you know what I find and get some pics if I remember.

[Noel Brig]

Dropped the sump pan today and it seemed OK in side, no signs of any gunge, pick ups looked clean. Oil did seem a little more viscous than the new oil I was about to replace it with (when same temperature) And the bottom of the pan possibly felt a little over slimy, but no signs of any of the oil solidifying - drained it all through a kitchen sieve (took for ever) but it all went through.

I guess the oil was very much at the end of its life and wonder if another year and another 10k would have seen the oil causing major problems.

One thing that I did not like is how shallow the sump is, and how close to the bottom the pick-ups scavenge from - its easy to understand how any sludge would soon get sucked back into the engine and cause problems.

Also what a small amount of oil 3¾litres, I am sure the 1.9D is 4.5; So just going on quantity this oil is having to do 20% more work - 12,500 miles between services seems madness.

Conclusion - I think my van will be fine in the long term - will probably change the oil every 6K and probably drop the sump again after another 3 or 4 years.

[j90xxx]

Re 12,500 miles between oil changes.

Forum members seem to recommend 10,000 miles, 8,000 if you can.
My last 2 changes have been at 9,000.
Even with a flush (STP, though some members like to use Forte) the oil is pretty black the next day.
Going to change again after 5,000 this time, with a good flush first.:thumbsup: