General Buyers guide?

[tubeway army]

Hi I'm looking to buy a Multipla diesel and would like to know what i should be looking for on these cars. I've previously owned a multipla petrol so i am familiar with the car,
What are the common faults with the diesels and how do i spot them. Are there any quirks of the diesel to be aware of? e.g are the clutches heavy but that's normal?
I'm encouraged to see plenty of high mileage multiplas' for sale, so i guess they are good for it.
Any info gratefully appreciated.

 

[momoe]

OK, diesel is a heavier lump so front suspension takes a pounding.
Check A-frame bushes, you can replace these but the kit is about half the cost of
a new A-frame which is about £50. Steering will be heavy and inside edge of the tyres will be feathered.
ARB bushes, average DIY job to replace - poly bushes available.
Check rear wheels for vertical alignment, if they're pointing in at the top, then the radius arm bearings are ******ed, difficult DIY job.
EGR valve will normally need either cleaning or replacing every 40k (or less), you can blank them without any issues.
Rear brakes, make sure both sides work. some Multi's around 2001/2 had disc rears which had problems with sticking calipers.
Clutch, biting point should be around halfway, if it's any nearer the top the clutch is worn, judder on take-up in 1st gear could be a worn DMF.
Gears should engage smoothly, it's a little notchy but if there's definite resistance it could be either hydraulic issues with the clutch actuating mechanism or worse.
Check all dash lights go out as they should.

 

[tubeway army]

Many thanks for the info, very helpfull. couple of questions-
Is the radius arm bearings an expensive garage job?
What is blanking the EGR valve mean?
cheers

 

[momoe]

I'd reckon on 5-6 hours labour for radius arms, bearing kit is about £40.

Most diesels have an Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve - The EGR at partial throttle settings allows exhaust gases to re-enter the inlet manifold, this reduces the amount of oxygen which makes the burn cooler.
Cooler temperatures reduce NO emissions, at the expense of increased soot and economy, not to mention the additional expense of the EGR and the fact that the engine is eating its own turd. (Take a look at the inlet manifold).
A lot of folk put a blanking plate in to stop the EGR doing this, doesn't affect the car and you won't have to clean or replace the EGR.
Do a search on EGR on this forum and you'll get more hits than Lennox Lewis.

 

[tubeway army]

Once again many thanks. Just out of interest we also have a Fiat bravo 1.6 eco, Can the EGR be blanked off on those?

 

[momoe]

Think the 1.6 Multijet has a DPF, if that's the case the EGR cannot be simply blanked as the ECU uses EGR, Cat and DPF parameters to get optimum efficiency.

You can overlay the existing ECU map with a new one which doesn't use the EGR, however you need a proper map not just some monkey switching off the error code.

 

[Snoo]

Don't buy any of the models fitted with a 'clutch'.

 

[tubeway army]

Once again many thanks.