Hi everyone just joined.

Originally posted in the newbie forum which I think may have been the wrong place.

I have seen a nice Croma diesel 1.9 16 valve. I have just tried it on the forecourt and test driving it tomorrow. The only problem I can see at the moment is that the tick over is a bit lumpy and that the engine seems to surge a little.

Has anyone got any ideas what could be causing this. Although I am ok with petrol engines diesels a quite new to me so not quite sure where to start.

The garage selling the car say it just needs a service which is what I would expect them to say!

Hello and welcome. Hopefully someone else more knowledgeable will be along shortly, but IMO it could be anything. My identical engine runs perfectly smoothly on tickover, even when stone cold, so there's something wrong with it.

If a used car stealer says it "just" needs whatever then I'd be inclined to tell them I'll buy it after they've "just" fixed it. If it really is an easy fix then they'd be mad to try and sell it without sorting it.

Having said that, I bought mine with a yellow engine light (stuck EGR valve) and a jammed sunroof. I got the seller to confirm in writing that they'd pay to fix these faults if not covered under warranty (it was less than three years old). The seller in my case was a main Subaru dealer though, not a portacabin in a yard. In the end, all was well.

I'd walk away personally, but if you're getting tempted by a very low price then bear in mind that all Cromas are bargains, not just the knackered ones!

Thanks for that Doofer. I am about to go and test drive it. Must admit very tempted with this car. I will have to see how things pan out. The car itself is immaculate with 33000 miles. Wish I knew what could be causing the lumpy tickover though.

Well I have taken the plunge an bought the Croma. Test drove it and was very, very impressed. The lumpy tick over has gone. The garage said that is was caused by the car being left standing for period of time and must admit the tick over was rock steady. So I am now the owner of a Croma.

I dare say I will be logging on to this Forum in the future but hopefully not too often !

One thing I would like to ask is I drove it on a 60mph dual carriageway and the road noise seemed quite high. Not sure whether it was the road surface as it was pretty worn.

Excellent forum by the way.

What tyres are on the car.

When I replaced my original Bridgestone Turanza tyres with Kuhmo Ecsta Sports I notice progressive road/tyre noise as the new tyres began to wear.

I'll be due for some new tyres, probably this year and will probably go back to the OEM Bridgestones unless other people come up with some good reports for other makes/models.

Yet another Vectra C 'characteristic' - the camber setting on the rear wheels causes the inner shoulder of the tyres to scrub slightly and over time this sets up what is known as the Vectra-C drone. When it's particularly bad it sounds like worn wheel bearings, some Vectra owners have even had bearings changed for no reason...

Changing the tyres round every 6,000 miles is meant to help but Nick is right, some tyres are more susceptible to it than others. Try www.vectra-c.com for more information and recommendations on tyre choice.

HTH.

Hi s130

Dont know what tyres are on it as I dont pick it up till Wednesday. I will have a look then and let you know.

Quite looking forward to picking it up now and finally getting rid of my awful Renault Laguna.

Thanks for your input DoIDon'tI.

Do you, or anyone else know which are the best tyres to put on the Croma? My experience with the Laguna was that Continentals gave it the best feel. Anything else seemed to effect the whole feel of the car.

Lets start a new Thread for Croma Tyre Choice / Experiences / Prices / Durability etc.

s130 said:

Lets start a new Thread for Croma Tyre Choice / Experiences / Prices / Durability etc.

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My Croma had Avon ZZRs fitted, they were fine until about 2/3 worn when they started making a 'wowing' sound, particularly on smooth surfaces which was quite intrusive. I fitted Barum Bravarius tyres as replacements and so far they have been great, good grip in the wet and I was one of the few people still moving in the bad spell of snow and ice this winter, the only difference I can feel is that they are a little less responsive to rapid cornering (if you can in a Croma) as I suppose the sidewalls are slightly more flexible than the Avons.

Bob

DoIDon'tI said:

Yet another Vectra C 'characteristic' - the camber setting on the rear wheels causes the inner shoulder of the tyres to scrub slightly and over time this sets up what is known as the Vectra-C drone. When it's particularly bad it sounds like worn wheel bearings, some Vectra owners have even had bearings changed for no reason...

Changing the tyres round every 6,000 miles is meant to help but Nick is right, some tyres are more susceptible to it than others. Try www.vectra-c.com for more information and recommendations on tyre choice.

HTH.

Click to expand...

Guess what, I had mine in the garage only last week asking them to look at the rear wheel bearings. :bang:

When I had the orginal Bridgestones on the bask I never had a problem. I replaced them with Goodyear Eagles, which drone like b*gg*ry.

The last car that droned like this was my MK2 Escort 1300 Estate (in the days when you could still buy them new - bloody hell the height of luxury, it had cloth seats and intermittent wipe as standard, wooooooo! 0-60 was sometime before lunch.).

Interesting. Mine came with Potenzas 225/45R18 which tramlined. so I changed to Avon ZZ3s at about 20,000. At 12-13k they started droning and eventually at about 15k the garage spotted that the tread was lifting on the inner edges. Avon very sportingly renewed FOC., but now after another 12k they are droning again. Is there a cure for the suspension as this is very expensive. I have seen another thread for vectra rear suspension that talks about a recall for adjustment Is this the same thing or do I grin and bear it

My rear AvonZZ3s are now shot at about 13k due to the tread lifting and the high spots wearing. How are your Barum Bravarius doing as they are half the price of Bridgestones etc

kennethgordon said:

My rear AvonZZ3s are now shot at about 13k due to the tread lifting and the high spots wearing. How are your Barum Bravarius doing as they are half the price of Bridgestones etc

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My 1.9 8v Dymamic Bravarius2 tyres have been on the rear now for 13k miles and are fine, just passed the MOT with no appreciable sign of uneven wear, the fronts are holding up well also but are obviously more worn (50%). I must admit that they are not as quiet as they were with a slight droning on some surfaces at about 60 MPH but nowhere near as bad as the Avon ZZR's. I will certainly replace these with the same brand again. I like Continentals, but although the best by far in terms of grip and handling, my wallet won't stand the rapid wear I found with these at the price they are. Incidentally, I believe vehicle loading has a direct effect on tyre wear patterns especially the rear, my car does a daily commute of 60 miles on mainly motorways with 4 occupants so I can't complain.