[justruralspain]

Hi. I am new to the forums so forgive me if this has already been asked. I have just bought a 2007 Cmax with 167.000 Kms on the clock "103.000" Miles. It's a 2.0 TDCI 136 HP. The car has been very well looked after inside and out. The only thing I want to get done is the material on the doors inside has sagged which needs to go to a specialist to get sorted. I bought the car in Málaga Spain as I live here for 5.900 euros.... Yes the second hand car market here is crazy expensive as there are no new cars available at the moment, as cars do not rust here they hold a very high re sale vale. The care comes with a 12 month warranty from an independent insurance company. So, down to the actual problem. I test drove the car for 10 km's before purchase and was absolutely fine. I drove the car home after purchasing it 40 Km's but as it was almost running on fumes I had to find the nearest garage before I ran out of diesel, on finding a garage I put in 50 euros of diesel Extra! not knowing what the previous owner used. I got back home fine and left the car facing uphill. This morning I started it and the car was jolting slightly from left to right and white smoke from the exhaust pipe, I let it run for a few minutes then turned it off. Some 6 hours later I started it up and the same thing but not so bad and then turned the car around so the car was facing downhill and turned off the engine. After an hour I started it back up again and was fine, no rocking from left to right and no smoke. I did notice however around 1.200 rpm is is slight off par, 1.100 is fine and 1.400 is fine. Could this be because I have put a better quality diesel in it or a fuel pump problem that cannot send the fuel from the tank to the engine?. I will call the place where I purchased it from this afternoon and ask them if the warranty covers fuel pump and injectors etc which I doubt it does. Thanks in advance from anyone and input on this. From a very wet, cloudy, cold southern Spain

 

[Sevenspoke]

Hi Just Rural,
Your car is in amazing condition - it's interesting to hear what you say about cars not rusting, due to the dry climate, no doubt. Not quite sure what you mean by "the car jolting from left to right" - would that be the engine running moving on it's mountings ? or the whole car [ as with a problem with the chassis]. It sounds that your car is running a little rough - you could try it with some injector cleaner - get something that the trade uses rather than a non-trade product. Failing results with an injector cleaner - try it with an experienced workshop, that may run a diagnostics test and see if there is an obvious fault - rather just general wear and tear of the engine/fuel system at 103,000 miles. You probably won't get any redress from the supplying dealer - but, bearing in mind the car's good condition, it may be worth spending out on some new parts to give it a new lease of life.

 

[justruralspain]

Hi Just Rural,
Your car is in amazing condition - it's interesting to hear what you say about cars not rusting, due to the dry climate, no doubt. Not quite sure what you mean by "the car jolting from left to right" - would that be the engine running moving on it's mountings ? or the whole car [ as with a problem with the chassis]. It sounds that your car is running a little rough - you could try it with some injector cleaner - get something that the trade uses rather than a non-trade product. Failing results with an injector cleaner - try it with an experienced workshop, that may run a diagnostics test and see if there is an obvious fault - rather just general wear and tear of the engine/fuel system at 103,000 miles. You probably won't get any redress from the supplying dealer - but, bearing in mind the car's good condition, it may be worth spending out on some new parts to give it a new lease of life.

Hi Sevenspoke and thank you for your reply. I don't think I expressed myself very clearly. Have you ever had a petrol engine that has 4 cylinders and one is not firing it makes the car sort of rock slightly from side to side and the slight rock stops when the engine decides to run on all 4 cylinders. I have it facing downhill this morning and started it and it did the same thing but this time only for about 5 seconds and then run smoothly. I have bought some injector cleaner which I will put into the tank and then let it run until it's warm and at normal working temperature. I think you correct when you say it's worth taking to a an injector specialist and I have 2 in Malaga which I have noted down. I don't think it's a big issue but I am a bit of a fuss pot with my cars and the age doesn't help . Although the same car in the UK would probably cost half the price I paid here in Malaga Spain the cars here are crazy expensive but some "not all" are in exceptional condition. It took me 2 weeks to find this model which I was specifically looking for due to the famous life span the engine has if well looked after. My wife has an old Ford Focus with a TDDi engine with over 350.000 kms and is still pulling away pretty quick from a green light. I will keep the post updated as I sort the problem. Once again thank you for your reply. PS I did call the dealer and he was very concerned and assured me that the warranty policy I have with the car for 12 months would respond if it was anything major or if not he would, so he seems a straight up sort of chap.

 

[justruralspain]

Update:. I arrived home today with smoke pouring out from under the bonnet and wheel arches!!. I let the engine cool right down and took the plastic engine cover off. On close inspection at the injectors which were all flooded with diesel that one of the little black plastic parts that clicks onto the injector was hanging down. I started the engine and took a quick look to see diesel pouring out from it, so I have clicked it back on and re connected the braided pipe to it. I started the engine and let it run to normal working temp and all seems fine but I think I will have to change the filter bringing air into the car as it still stinks of diesel inside. Yet to go is the problem with the white smoke and rough engine running for a few seconds when I start it in the mornings. happy days