Lumpy running 156 jtd

Yesterday the 156 1.9jtd started running 'lumpy', like
pulsing power drop-surge-drop-surge.

Following S.O.P. I floored the bugger, and the nice
welcoming orange picture of an engine came on! ;^(

Pulled up, switched off, went into shop, bought bread &
milk, came out, stared car, orange light still on. Set
off, orange engine went out.

Today set off, through the village, everything fine, then
accelerated up the hill - engine light came back on!

Car definitely lacked power. Drove into town, parked up,
on return engine light went out again, but driving home it
was now power-pulsing again.

Any suggestions/bets as to how much of a hole this will
make in the bank balance?

--
Rob Pearson
156 1.9jtd sportwagon (now)
164 V6 Lusso (gone)

On Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:31:13 +0100, R C Nesbit > wrote:

>Yesterday the 156 1.9jtd started running 'lumpy', like
>pulsing power drop-surge-drop-surge.
>
>Following S.O.P. I floored the bugger, and the nice
>welcoming orange picture of an engine came on! ;^(
>
>Pulled up, switched off, went into shop, bought bread &
>milk, came out, stared car, orange light still on. Set
>off, orange engine went out.
>
>Today set off, through the village, everything fine, then
>accelerated up the hill - engine light came back on!
>
>Car definitely lacked power. Drove into town, parked up,
>on return engine light went out again, but driving home it
>was now power-pulsing again.
>
>Any suggestions/bets as to how much of a hole this will
>make in the bank balance?

Difficult to say. Could be a dirty MAF or a duff EGR valve. I'd look
at the MAF first if it's a few years old or done a decent mileage.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather (sold)
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email must have the word 'Alfa' in the
subject line to get through auto-filtering)

"R C Nesbit" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday the 156 1.9jtd started running 'lumpy', like
> pulsing power drop-surge-drop-surge.
>
> Following S.O.P. I floored the bugger, and the nice
> welcoming orange picture of an engine came on! ;^(
>
> Pulled up, switched off, went into shop, bought bread &
> milk, came out, stared car, orange light still on. Set
> off, orange engine went out.
>
> Today set off, through the village, everything fine, then
> accelerated up the hill - engine light came back on!
>
> Car definitely lacked power. Drove into town, parked up,
> on return engine light went out again, but driving home it
> was now power-pulsing again.
>
> Any suggestions/bets as to how much of a hole this will
> make in the bank balance?
>
> --
> Rob Pearson
> 156 1.9jtd sportwagon (now)
> 164 V6 Lusso (gone)
>
>
>

Trade it in for a petrol-engined Alfa - I've never understood how you can
have "Alfa Romeo" and "diesel" in the same sentence.

Dave S... :>)) 156 2.0 (that'll be petrol, and twin-spark to boot)

Zathras spoke:
> was now power-pulsing again.
> >
> >Any suggestions/bets as to how much of a hole this will
> >make in the bank balance?
>
> Difficult to say. Could be a dirty MAF or a duff EGR valve. I'd look
> at the MAF first if it's a few years old or done a decent mileage.

Mystery solved!

It was an odd one, for sure! Had a poke around under the bonnet, and
spotted that the clip holding the main air intake hose onto the top of
the engine was actually not around the hose, just rattling around the
stub of the engine casing.

How it got there I have no idea! - it wouldn't slide back over the
hose without deforming the end of the hose, and when I got it over the
hose, the hose would no-way go back onto the engine.

--
Rob Pearson
156 1.9jtd sportwagon (now)
164 V6 Lusso (gone)

On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 08:58:03 +0100, "Dave Savage"
> wrote:

>Trade it in for a petrol-engined Alfa

That makes little sense in the context of this thread. Alfa's (Fiat)
diesels are noted for their durability and reliability. Alfa's petrols
are not.

>- I've never understood how you can
>have "Alfa Romeo" and "diesel" in the same sentence.

Ask Jeremy Clarkson, he said a long time ago that the 2.4JTD in the
156 was the pick of the bunch. I still think he was right. The 2.5 V6
was a sales failure and the 2.0 was too small and torque-free to make
the 156 feel quick IMHO.

Time will tell if the new Tbi engines turn the tide back toward
petrol.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather (sold)
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email must have the word 'Alfa' in the
subject line to get through auto-filtering)

"Zathras" > wrote in message
news
> On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 08:58:03 +0100, "Dave Savage"
> > wrote:
>
>>Trade it in for a petrol-engined Alfa
>
> That makes little sense in the context of this thread. Alfa's (Fiat)
> diesels are noted for their durability and reliability. Alfa's petrols
> are not.
>
>>- I've never understood how you can
>>have "Alfa Romeo" and "diesel" in the same sentence.
>
> Ask Jeremy Clarkson, he said a long time ago that the 2.4JTD in the
> 156 was the pick of the bunch. I still think he was right. The 2.5 V6
> was a sales failure and the 2.0 was too small and torque-free to make
> the 156 feel quick IMHO.
>
> Time will tell if the new Tbi engines turn the tide back toward
> petrol.
>
I had a brand new Giulietta 1.4 TB to play with the other day while my Brera
2.4 JTDm was having an annual inspection. It was quite impressive in dynamic
mode, and I imagine the 1.7 variant can shift a 159 reasonably quickly.
However, the 5 cylinder diesel is a lot smoother and refined, especially
when it's being worked hard.

--
DAS

On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 21:32:17 +0100, "D A Stocks" >
wrote:

>I had a brand new Giulietta 1.4 TB to play with the other day while my Brera
>2.4 JTDm was having an annual inspection. It was quite impressive in dynamic
>mode, and I imagine the 1.7 variant can shift a 159 reasonably quickly.
>However, the 5 cylinder diesel is a lot smoother and refined, especially
>when it's being worked hard.

Ouch. I can't help but feel that if a petrol engine isn't smoother
than a diesel then someone's been economising somewhere.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather (sold)
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email must have the word 'Alfa' in the
subject line to get through auto-filtering)

"Zathras" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 21:32:17 +0100, "D A Stocks" >
> wrote:
>
>>I had a brand new Giulietta 1.4 TB to play with the other day while my
>>Brera
>>2.4 JTDm was having an annual inspection. It was quite impressive in
>>dynamic
>>mode, and I imagine the 1.7 variant can shift a 159 reasonably quickly.
>>However, the 5 cylinder diesel is a lot smoother and refined, especially
>>when it's being worked hard.
>
> Ouch. I can't help but feel that if a petrol engine isn't smoother
> than a diesel then someone's been economising somewhere.
>
I think it's the extra cylinder that makes all the difference. The
aforementioned annual inspection identified a noisy wheel bearing (I
identified the noise, the dealer identified the bearing) which was replaced
under warrantly. The replacement took the best part of two weeks because
Fiat UK were moving their parts warehouse and losing track of all their
inventory at the same time. During this time I got to play with a brand new
MiTo 1.4 MultiAir TCT. At idle the petrol is very quiet and vibration free,
but once moving the 5-pot diesel wins every time. I also had a Saab diesel
for a few days (I assume it's their version of the new Alfa 2.0 JTDm), and
that didn't compare favourably my 2.4 JTDm either.

--
DAS

On Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:10:38 +0100, "D A Stocks" >
wrote:

>that didn't compare favourably my 2.4 JTDm either.

It's one of my favourite engines of all time.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather (sold)
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email must have the word 'Alfa' in the
subject line to get through auto-filtering)