2.2dti vectra inlet manifold

Hum...........
Just found out why my 2000/X Vectra diesel is down on power - it helps
if the inlet manifold gasket is still sealed.
Looks like it's blown. What sort of job is it to change?
Main problem is that the injector feed pipes look as if they must be
removed to allow the inlet manifold to move out sufficiently to replace
the gasket?
Any comments?
Dave

 

Nothing exciting about this job - pipes are just 17mm nuts. Will be a pig to
bleed but a good battery will see you through Don't drop anything into the
inlet ports on the head - will ruin your day when it meets the
pistons/valves.

 

Is the gasket expensive? How fussy is the torque figure for the injector
pipe nuts?
The car is also behaving as if the leak-off pipes have failed (again) as
in "are letting in air" because it's being a pig to start after being
left standing for more than 24hrs. So that'll be another £13 for the
pipe and bits. I changed them almost exactly a year ago, was an easy job.
Dave

 

There are 2 gaskets - upper and lower - are you sure they have gone -
unusual? Upper one is a lot easier than lower - can't think they will cost
you much. Vauxhall have changed the type of leak off pipe they use now to a
thick solid rubber one - much better - change the plastic unions at the same
time. If you have engine oil in your leak off pipe then your injector seals
have gone and that really is a big job.

 

There is a slight oil leak showing up on the corner of the inlet
manifold next to the vacuum actuator and connector for the crank sensor
(gearbox end of the engine).
The car lacks "punch" on turbo and the fuel economy is down. Last time
that happened it was traced to a loose/damaged worm drive clamp that
should have clamped the 60mm dia air hose to the manifold. This time all
the clips pipes etc. are secure.
About 2K miles ago the EMU light came on while I was attempting to out
pace a Golf GTi (yes I know!). I was thrashing it "big time". No power
at 70++ while overtaking uphill on a dual carriageway, was a tad
embarrassing. A thorough check at the time did not show any problems,
other than soiled underwear.
I did use the new type of rubber pipe when I changed the leak off pipes,
the old ones were completely shot. Previously the Vectra was very hard
to start when left overnight. This time I'll change the plastic unions
as well.
There was NO evidence of oil in the leak off pipes *last year*. I know
about the injector seals failing - - - £ouch!!

Dave

 

Bet you gave the Golf a run for it's money - those 2.2's Vectras are a lot
faster than people expect. I would give the oil leak area a good wash off -
could be cam cover gasket or servo pump seal , both more common than
manifold gaskets. Did you get a diagnostic check done to see why light came
on? If your air mass meter is on it's way out you will get same symptoms
you describe.

 

Yep goes nicely does the 2.2 - particularly if I get a rolling start in
2nd! Uphill the torque tends too out drag a lot of quite pokey stuff,
drops off a bit in 4th though.

I had a chat with my local friendly dealer today, not that common a
fault. They have replaced more upper gaskets (about 6) than lower (1) in
the last 12 months.
Plastic unions on order (they had a run on them last week).
I'll clean off the oil as well as I can (access is a problem as you
know) and see if the leak is coming from anywhere else.
An air mass meter is on the list of suspects (£100 or so). The cars done
56K so they think it's fairly high up the list. A service is due in the
next 2 or 3 weeks, they'll do a diagnostic check then. Because the fault
was relitivly transient and I pulled into a very convenient layby with
10 or 15 seconds of the fault becoming apparent they felt that the error
code might not have been logged. Not really worth the £20 TechII fee for
an error that might not have been there.
I'll also check all the vacuum pipes for leaks/splits etc.
Thanks for the tips.
Dave

 

Hi All / Dave
Never had to do it, but I have a 2.2 petrol and it's reasonably quick for a
"family tub", but don't go replacing the MAF sensor without trying to clean
it. I seem to recall that you can do it with carb cleaner (£2-3 from one of
those cheapo shops [Scooby Doos - local to me] - or £5-6 maybe even more
from Halfords).
I have a link to the cleaning of it on a sierra cosworth somewhere and I
think the Vectra is very similar. They claim that it can be responsible for
all manner of strange things happening on the car.
Will post link later if I find it.
Cheerio for now
U W

 

Just found the link ...... it's a Scorpio!
http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/cleanmaf.htm
Good luck.
I'd be interested to learn if it works on a Vx and the complexity of the
job.
Cheerio
U W

 

Hum..........interesting.........
Anyone else any thoughts?
Worth a go or would the gunk/muck be too well baked on to shift with
carb cleaner?
Last think I would want is too bust it with no chance of getting a
replacement until mid-week.
By the way the link would not open in Mozilla, just gave a blank page.
Thanks
Dave