1.4 Tdci 1500-2000 Rpm... Wobble?

[TurboZutek]

So, I've noticed something interesting (and irritating) about my MK7 Fiesta 1.4 TDCi, I wonder if anyone has the same;

From 1.5 to 2 kRPM, there's a bit of a judder / wobble in the power output. It's like the car is overfueling / underfueling and the power output isn't nice and smooth. Seems to happen in all conditions. After 2.2kRPM the turbo gets on boost and the power output is fine all the way to the redline.

Car has 17k miles on the clock and is totally unmodified, running BP Diesel. Checked the obvious tyre pressure and wheel balance, of course!

Anyone else had this? Something to flag up at the next service maybe?

Chris...

[tone]

Hi Chris,

I recently had the same problem and it developed after running for an hour or so on the motorway and then after a week or two it would do it all the time, eventually the EML came on. Calling in at the dealers it appeared the car was suffering from fuel rail pressure. It was thought it might have been the EGR playing up, there have been cases of that as well. Over the next few days various readings were taken and eventually it was traced to a dirty fuel filter.

Now the car had covered 30k miles and the filter was due to be changed until the 37.5 k service. As soon as it was changed everything was back to normal.

A couple of things came out from this. It would appear that FordPeugeot/Citroen have used a couple of different suppliers for their fuel filters and one make in particular are prone to clogging up. Especially it would seem if you fill up with fuel from a garage that has just taken delivery of fuel which stirs up the crud in the bottom of the tanks and then you end up putting it in your tank and hence the clogged up filter. This has happened on a couple of occasions I'm told where cars have been back to the fuel station complaining of bad fuel etc.

I'm not saying this is your problem as you've only done 17k miles but the rev range is about right and seems to have the same symptoms. The problem is that even tho the filter is on top of the engine to change it you need to remove the headlights !!! then the wiper arms and scuttle to gain access. Oh and the cost of the filter, £52.00 plus the Vodka And Tonic.

Hope you get it sorted out.

[TurboZutek]

Yeah I did wonder about the EGR, it seemed about right symptoms wise. Wish I could disable the thing actually, it's just a stupid waste of time engine killer!

I have to confess I've ran the car on some very cheap supermarket diesel more than a few times when I've been in a rush early in the morning (which I guess would be soon after delivery), the fuel filter possibility is worth looking into. I guess even though I've only done a few miles in the grand scheme of things, it'd only take one batch of crap diesel (which could happen at any time) to cause a blockage.

As for the procedure on checking / changing the filter - do you really need to take most of the front end apart!? That's insane! Any details on this procedure online anywhere and I could have a shufty at it myself?

Also, £60 for a piece of mesh and gauze is taking the p!ss bigtime! Ugh.

Many thanks for the reply matey, that helps me out a lot!

Chris...

[tone]

Hi Chris,

I did think it could be done without removing the scuttle etc but apparantley thats the way the dealers do it and the time taken more than makes up for the difficulty in leaving it in. Once its out you can get to the EGR a little easier and thats difficult enough in its own right.

All the best with that Chris