Tips for maintaining Diesel engine

faceman · 04-07-2015 5:42pm #1

Having owned petrol cars all my life, I've got a new car that's diesel. (Nissan XTrail 2.2l)

Any tips for giving a diesel car a long life?

Nonoperational · 04-07-2015 5:47pm

Regular oil changes, decent diesel.

jimgoose · 04-07-2015 5:49pm

Give it a good long cruise every couple of weeks to run properly up to temperature and stay there for an hour.

bcmf · 04-07-2015 8:24pm

The correct spec oil changed at the reccomended interval at the latest.
Decent air filters changed very regularly as well ( I change my air filter twice for every oil change)
Dont be afraid to drive it hard on a regular basis to try and keep the crud from building up.
Choose your Diesel wisely.
Find out which Diesel brand (if any) your eingine runs better on.

faceman · 05-07-2015 1:56am

Thanks for feedback folks.

A few of you have mentioned about choosing Diesel wisely. What does that mean? I would buy my fuel at a garage, like Texaco or Topaz etc. All above board. Am I missing something?

barneystinson · 05-07-2015 1:59am

faceman wrote: »

Thanks for feedback folks.

A few of you have mentioned about choosing Diesel wisely. What does that mean? I would buy my fuel at a garage, like Texaco or Topaz etc. All above board. Am I missing something?

Pfffft, a garage?!

You should be getting it at a Diesel Club!

But you know, the first rule of Diesel Club.... (I've already said too much!!

)

bbsrs · 05-07-2015 2:02am

bcmf wrote: »

The correct spec oil changed at the reccomended interval at the latest.
Decent air filters changed very regularly as well ( I change my air filter twice for every oil change)
Dont be afraid to drive it hard on a regular basis to try and keep the crud from building up.
Choose your Diesel wisely.
Find out which Diesel brand (if any) your eingine runs better on.

Air filter twice for every oil change , why?

pred racer · 05-07-2015 12:10pm

faceman wrote: »

Thanks for feedback folks.

A few of you have mentioned about choosing Diesel wisely. What does that mean? I would buy my fuel at a garage, like Texaco or Topaz etc. All above board. Am I missing something?

Just buy your diesel in a branded garage, as you have mentioned above, or a garage you trust. Beware of no name stations selling suspiciously cheap fuel.
Anecdotally there is a lot of laundered diesel knocking around and depending on how they washed it, it has the potential to damage your engine. Modern Diesel engines with high pressure pumps and rails are easily damaged with wrong fuel.

have your car serviced regularly as per manufacturers recommendations, or a bit better (mine is supposed to be 20k but I do it at 15k. IMO it needs it)
The correct spec oil is vital for cars with dpf, turbos etc.
A clean air filter is good, but twice per service interval is waaaaay over the top IMO

Once it is not driven in town for 100% of it's time! proper fuel and serviced as it needs it! it'll be grand

A mate of mine has one of those xtrails, he doesn't look after it at all and it's still going!

anthony4335 · 05-07-2015 12:20pm

Maintenance is key, as you will tell from almost everyone here stating that. And like a previous poster stated it will be of benefit to do it earlier than the quoted manufacture . I know a few lads who do the oil change every 10k with the stated been 20k.

bcmf · 05-07-2015 2:35pm

bbsrs wrote: »

Air filter twice for every oil change , why?

Because I like to have clean air filters in the car.

Mechanic365 · 05-07-2015 3:49pm

Try to avoid running it for short periods (20min or less)
If it feels like its loosing power for no apparent reason get your diesel filter changed, then go on the motorway and bring it right up to about 4000/4500rpm in 4th or 5th gear for a few minutes and it will prolong its life
and of course dip it for oil at least every 3days, a small problem in a turbo disesal like turbocharger seals could burn a litre of oil in one or 2 days and some morning you start it low on oil could do alot more damage

Sitec · 05-07-2015 10:33pm

Mechanic365 wrote: »

Try to avoid running it for short periods (20min or less)
If it feels like its loosing power for no apparent reason get your diesel filter changed, then go on the motorway and bring it right up to about 4000/4500rpm in 4th or 5th gear for a few minutes and it will prolong its life
and of course dip it for oil at least every 3days, a small problem in a turbo disesal like turbocharger seals could burn a litre of oil in one or 2 days and some morning you start it low on oil could do alot more damage

Sorry but that is terrible advice. If the engine is losing power just change the diesel filter? Would it not be better to plug in diagnostics and see what the actual problem is?

Check the oil every three days? If an engine is burning a litre of oil every day because of turbo seals you will definitely know about it. The engine would smoke like mad.

Mechanic365 · 05-07-2015 10:48pm

Sitec wrote: »

Sorry but that is terrible advice. If the engine is losing power just change the diesel filter? Would it not be better to plug in diagnostics and see what the actual problem is?

Check the oil every three days? If an engine is burning a litre of oil every day because of turbo seals you will definitely know about it. The engine would smoke like mad.

No if its loosing power for no aparent reason

A small oil seal leak you might not notice, in the space of 4 days my mates 05 a4 2.0tdi burnt every bit it had and oil light on when he was going to work. no big smoke signs from the mirror only when you stood behind it and revved it hard

Cerco · 05-07-2015 10:51pm

I believe you should let engine run for a minute or so before switching off to allow turbo to be lubricated. This is to prevent oil from causing a burnt film on the turbo. Is this true and is it normal practice ?

Mechanic365 · 05-07-2015 10:57pm

Cerco wrote: »

I believe you should let engine run for a minute or so before switching off to allow turbo to be lubricated. This is to prevent oil from causing a burnt film on the turbo. Is this true and is it normal practice ?

no its because the turbo becomes very hot under load and stopping the engine directly after running under load could cause it to cool to quickly and crack

CJhaughey · 05-07-2015 11:37pm

Cerco wrote: »

I believe you should let engine run for a minute or so before switching off to allow turbo to be lubricated. This is to prevent oil from causing a burnt film on the turbo. Is this true and is it normal practice ?

I think the general advice with turbo's is if you have been running at high speed, or towing a load you should let them idle for a minute before shutting down.
Turbochargers spin at very high speed and if you just pull in after a high speed run and shut the engine off, the turbo is still spinning at very high speed and the oil pressure stops the turbo can suffer a lot of wear.
Idle for a minute to allow the turbo to slow to normal speed and then shut down.
JDM cars had turbo timers for this reason, you could pull in from a fast run, get out and lock the car with it still running, after a minute or two it would shut itself down.

Autosport · 06-07-2015 12:08am

I let the engine idle for a few mins after a drive just to let it cool down

FR85 · 06-07-2015 8:33am

+1 on letting your turbo cool down, as stated above turbos can spin at a higher RPM then your engine and an be spinning after you shut it down. When you turn off your engine the oil pump goes with it and there is no oil getting up to your turbo.

What milage is on your X-Trail? Timing belt done? Dual Mass Flywheel done? ( I know you said new car, I don't know if it's brand new of new to you!!!)

Also, I use a fuel additive called Millers Diesel Eco Max and I find it fantastic, it keeps injectors clean and I fine it make the car easier on fuel.

faceman · 06-07-2015 9:00pm

FR85 wrote: »

+1 on letting your turbo cool down, as stated above turbos can spin at a higher RPM then your engine and an be spinning after you shut it down. When you turn off your engine the oil pump goes with it and there is no oil getting up to your turbo.

What milage is on your X-Trail? Timing belt done? Dual Mass Flywheel done? ( I know you said new car, I don't know if it's brand new of new to you!!!)

Also, I use a fuel additive called Millers Diesel Eco Max and I find it fantastic, it keeps injectors clean and I fine it make the car easier on fuel.

New to me.

133,000km on the clock.

Cerco · 06-07-2015 10:09pm

faceman wrote: »

New to me. 133,000km on the clock.

Ah yes, but have you got a turbo ? 😇

faceman · 06-07-2015 10:20pm

Cerco wrote: »

Ah yes, but have you got a turbo ? ðŸ˜‡

Yep

blackbox · 06-07-2015 11:31pm

FR85 wrote: »

+1 on letting your turbo cool down, as stated above turbos can spin at a higher RPM then your engine and an be spinning after you shut it down. When you turn off your engine the oil pump goes with it and there is no oil getting up to your turbo.

If you switch off with the turbo red hot, the oil sitting in the turbo will get overheated and form carbon deposits. This will build up and cause damage either directly or through restricting oil flow.

obezyana · 08-07-2015 1:51pm

I have a 2.2ltr Xtrail and i love it. They are a great yoke. Now what id recommend you look out for is (and do); as everyone says; let the turbo cool after a long journey, regular oil change, Check the intercooler for leaks if you have the T30 (2001 - 2007), a minor thing maybe but if you disconnect the battery and you dont have the code for the radio you will have to bring it to Nissan to have them sort it, its something to do with factory fitted clarion radios a complete pita.

The Xtrail has a timing chain not a belt. Sometimes the timing chain guide can get worn and there will be a noticeable noise if that happens. I had the intercooler issue and it cost me 300e to replace. It was easy to do so the only cost was the part itself.

They are a great car/jeep/suv....whatever they are classed

(my insurance says estate?) and if you look after it with routine services then it should give you no headaches.

toyotamechanic · 08-07-2015 3:28pm

Oil change 10-15K would be good,but remember to give good oil.If someone is using for example semisynthetic thats killing turbodiesels.
Nissan recomends 5W-30 ,if you have DPF(I dont know what year is your x-trail)look for C1 or C2 Viscosity class (ACEA)on oil that will give you best care of your DPF filter -low ash sulphates.If you dont have it just A1-A5
You dont need to change fuel filter I think in this model.Change air filter with oil change.
If you have any questions about maintenace ask.

Chemical Byrne · 08-07-2015 3:32pm

bcmf wrote: »

Because I like to have clean air filters in the car.

Tbh, I'd have to question the cost benefit of replacing the AF that often. Unless you do a lot of driving in dusty conditions I'd have a hunch that over the life of the vehicle the cost of all those air filter replacements might be more than the saving of any marginal improvement in fuel consumption or extended engine life, that's if it made any impact at all compared to changing at the normal interval.

gaiscioch · 08-07-2015 4:02pm

Nonoperational wrote: »

Regular oil changes, decent diesel.

bcmf wrote: »

Choose your Diesel wisely.

pred racer wrote: »

Just buy your diesel in a branded garage, as you have mentioned above, or a garage you trust. Beware of no name stations selling suspiciously cheap fuel.
Anecdotally there is a lot of laundered diesel knocking around and depending on how they washed it, it has the potential to damage your engine. Modern Diesel engines with high pressure pumps and rails are easily damaged with wrong fuel.

Interesting thread. On the subject of cheap diesel I would have associated what you're talking about with, say, Louth/Armagh/Monaghan.

I used to get my diesel in that Maxol on Constitution Hill, which is now demolished for the new DIT. However, the cheapest diesel I've found in all Dublin in the past while was last week in Ballsbridge, right here at €1.27 per litre. It is cheaper than Tesco, even using the 5 cent per litre voucher. It only seems to sell diesel, and there's always a queue (as that Streetview indicates). However, how would somebody if it's decent diesel?

Interslice · 08-07-2015 4:04pm

^ +1 on the AF
MAF sensor, modern turbo etc. means no power or efficiency is lost unless it's proper clogged. Money better spent elsewhere. 20k -30k km would be grand for an air filter change.

Chemical Byrne · 08-07-2015 4:28pm

^ yeah.
It reminds me of a thread I read one time of some fella with an avensis and he used to change the oil every 3000 km (or was it mls?), dunno. Either way, its feckin stupid if you ask me, complete wast of time and money.
I'd be almost certain there'd be a negative cost benefit on it over the vehicles life. That sort of change interval to completely superfluous unless the engine's operating in unusually harsh conditions.

Batesy · 08-07-2015 4:33pm

Jesus, these Diesel engines sound like a nightmare!!

rolion · 08-07-2015 4:51pm

I'm servicing my Navara 2.5 TD every 6 months with no relation to mileage.Full service top to bottom at around e400 Inc VAT.
Before summer and before winter.

Taking in consideration the time while engine sits idle in traffic I guess is best loving care for my beauty.Like an airplane engine...they do service per flying hours time and not miles.

Thanks for the turbo tip...I usually drive slower before reaching house but I'll begin doing the idle for 1 minute when on motoways stops.

Enjoy your car...

Tips for maintaining Diesel engine

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