Hi,
just joined yesterday, and have a problem.
When the car is stationary with the engine running, I gradually get an increasing smell of diesel fumes inside, which goes as soon as the car is moving again.
I have checked that the tailgate is closed properly, but have no ideas as to what is causing this problem.
Does anyone have an answer, or solution.
Bob

1.9 engine?

any signs of diesel on the floor under car?

If you're talking about exhaust fumes, this is almost certainly down to one of two things:-

1. leaking gasket on the EGR valve, or

2. loose clamp on the heat exchanger on the EGR line (between the engine block and the battery - follow the line)

If you mean a smell of diesel, it may be a leaking fuel filter - it sits close to where the cabin air intake is.

HTH.

Hi,

Sorry, I meant to say exhaust fumes rather than diesel, and yes, it is the 1.9 engine. I drove into London today, and every time I hit traffic, the smell became really obvious, and gave me a headache !

Meant to ask, where do I find the EGR valve, to check the gasket and clamp.

Rear of the engine, at the top on the passenger's side. There's a pipe that runs from the front of the engine along the side of the block (next to the battery) from the turbo to the EGR valve (item 8), the heat exchanger (item 5) is next to the block. You'll need a good torch, you're looking for sooty deposits in a dark engine bay!

It might be difficult to see the EGR valve connections as there's a small heat shield (not shown) in the way and the coolant bottle gets in the way too. The gaskets that might leak are items 3 and 9 - if the EGR valve has been replaced at some point in the past then the gaskets should have been replaced at the same time

If you have the time first thing in the morning then open the bonnet, have a torch ready and get someone else to start the engine while looking for exhaust fumes / smoke.



This could also be a massive red herring as there are many other exhaust components that could leak, but it's what caused the same symptoms on my car (a 2.4, but it uses the same components).

HTH.

DoIDon`tI,

Thanks for the suggestions, I will have a look at the EGR valve tomorrow.
Incidentally, you obviously attached a diagram/photo in your last message, but it hasn`t appeared in the posting at this end, there is just a little box with a red cross in it. I don`t know what that means in computer land , but I can`t see the picture.
Thanks for your help, I`ll let you know how it goes.

Bob

Sorry if it's something I've done - it worked on my PC last night but I can't see it on my work PC. It might be down to Flash or some other geekery - can anyone else see the diagram I posted of the EGR system? Ta.

DoIDon'tI said:

can anyone else see the diagram I posted of the EGR system? Ta.

Click to expand...

Nope. Null points for result but Dix points for effort

Taking no chances, here's an attachment!

DoIDon`tI,

Thats brilliant, thanks a lot.

Bob

Guys,
Had a look at the weekend, but no joy, so have booked it in to my local Main agent on thursday. I`ll let you know the outcome, thanks for all your suggestions and help.

Bob

Guys,
well the problem appears to be with the inlet manifold after all. Looking between the cam cover and the inlet manifold, there is a thin rod with a series of bends in it, which is something to do with the variable length business. On my car this is rattling around loose, not attached to anything. Apparently it is not an uncommon problem with this engine, as my main agents are also Saab dealers and they have had previous experience with the problem on 9-3`s.

Fortunately, the garage that I bought it from have been great, and are going to sort it out at their expense, (The main agent wants £935 to do it !)
Anyone else heard of this problem ?

Bob

yep, it's a swirl valves actuator, unfortunately to fix it you need to replace the whole inlet manifold that is why the price they quoted is so high
this problem is very well documented on vectra c forum - they even posted a how to about fixing it yourself without having to replace the manifold when your car is out of warranty

swirl valves actuator not working would have quite noticable efects on engine performance

i'm not quite sure how it's related to your diesel smell problem though

Guys,
Once the garage has "fixed" my car. How do I tell if they have done it correctly, and the swirl valve actuator is working. Can it be seen working when the car is running, by revving it up or something. I just don`t want to be fobbed off.
Bob

Guys,

The garage where I bought it are repairing it for me, but how do I tell if they have done it properly i.e all is working as it should regarding the swirl valve system, and haven`t just removed them completely and stuck it all back together.
Bob

bobhenry999 said:

Guys,

The garage where I bought it are repairing it for me, but how do I tell if they have done it properly i.e all is working as it should regarding the swirl valve system, and haven`t just removed them completely and stuck it all back together.
Bob

Click to expand...

The swirl valves are fully open above about 3000 rpm and should be closed at around 1000-1200 rpm. Not at idle but I suspect closed.

So if you get somebody to do the rpm variation you should be able to see the swirl valve actuator linkage across the top of the engine move and rotate the valves/cam arms.

Beyond this is there is not a lot else you can do other than try to see if you can see the valves in the air intake tubes with a light and telescopic dental inspection mirror.

Well it wasn`t !,
The smell is still there and its getting me down. I have looked everywhere, but can`t see where its coming from.

bobhenry999 said:

Well it wasn`t !,
The smell is still there and its getting me down. I have looked everywhere, but can`t see where its coming from.

Click to expand...

what i could suggest is to replace all gaskets on the pipe leading to egr, there will be 3 i think.

when i tried to fix my egr i have not tightened the bolts enough and it was blowing a little bit, it smelled badly of exhaust fumes inside the car:bang: