1.3 MJD split injector seals, help!!

[henryrym]

Posted in Qubo MPV section, but as concerns 1.3 MJD engine hope tech savvy posters can shed some light on my issue.

'My 2011 Qubo 1.3 75bhp diesel with 30K on the clock started to run very noisily, with a smell of hot diesel coming through to the cabin. Managed to get it to our local Fiat garage and was told that no 1 & 3 cylinder had split their injector seals.

Fortunately the car is covered by a third year of warranty and they've authorised the repair costs apart from two pipes at £61 each.

The car has been with the garage for the last couple of days as they are struggling with the repair, so I've got a courtesy car until it's fixed.

I've only been able to talk to the receptionist who is as clueless as to what is wrong, why it's happened, why the garage is finding it difficult and what are the long term reliability prospects.

Can anyone explain what happened and why - my warranty ends in August, suspect if this happens again wonder if I'll be facing expensive bills.

Any help or comments appreciated.'

 

[maggers]

Injector seals can just settle down and start to blow, the MJ isn't on it's own in doing this - the Peugeot lump that they put into Fiestas' ETC is legend for this stunt. As long as the job is done properly then it should be fine, I'd have been looking to have the other two done at the same time for piece of mind and if I was doing the job myself I wouldn't be changing the pipes. You will find that Fiat, like most car makers, consider it a one use item but as long as they are tightened correctly cause no problems.

 

[henryrym]

Injector seals can just settle down and start to blow, the MJ isn't on it's own in doing this - the Peugeot lump that they put into Fiestas' ETC is legend for this stunt. As long as the job is done properly then it should be fine, I'd have been looking to have the other two done at the same time for piece of mind and if I was doing the job myself I wouldn't be changing the pipes. You will find that Fiat, like most car makers, consider it a one use item but as long as they are tightened correctly cause no problems.

Thanks for this, does reassure me somewhat.

Will contact my garage with a view to getting the other two seals replaced.

I'm not tech savvy enough to argue with whether the pipes need replacing or not, but will raise it when I discuss replacing the other two seals tomorrow.

 

[henryrym]

My fear was that it might have something to do with the diesel particulate filter, which would be worrying!

 

[maggers]

No, it's just one of those things, they are subjected to a hell of a high pressure. Don't get me going on DPF's, they cause me lots of misery at work!

 

[henryrym]

No, it's just one of those things, they are subjected to a hell of a high pressure. Don't get me going on DPF's, they cause me lots of misery at work!

Relieved to hear that it's just one of those things, have talked to garage this morning and they will do all four seals under warranty, whewwww.

So the joys of owning a diesel with a DPF are still to come! At least I'm now aware of what might happen. My wife did 25 miles of fast motorway driving daily, now we're both retired we do a mile or two a day only so a clogged DPF will happen. The worst is that we change up at 2K revs to minimise fuel consumption, will now occasionally rev it at 4.5K as a bit of extra fuel consumption is nothing compared to a new DPF or worse repair costs!

Thanks again at putting my mind at ease.

 

[maggers]

Your previous useage would have been fine for DPF regeneration, they need a steady run under load. Most people are under the impression that they clear during a good thrashing which isn't true. If you are only doing short journeys then a diesel just doesn't make sense these days and a petrol is far less hassle, which doesn't help you now!

 

[henryrym]

Your previous useage would have been fine for DPF regeneration, they need a steady run under load. Most people are under the impression that they clear during a good thrashing which isn't true. If you are only doing short journeys then a diesel just doesn't make sense these days and a petrol is far less hassle, which doesn't help you now!

Sadly that's the conclusion I'm coming to - owning a modern diesel and doing a few miles a day only is just asking for trouble. From what I can see on the internet, DPF fitted cars can give you expensive problems even if if you do regular motorway trips!

Now seriously thinking of selling our Qubo, gutted as it's been a great car and perfect from a size and running costs point of view.

Am I overreacting?