Opel 1.7 dti ...how good/bad an engine is it?

peasant

On my neverending quest for a new (old) car under 10K. I've come across several decently priced Opels/Vauxhalls with the 1.7 dti engine.

From a tax/cc point of view I'd rather drive a 1.7 than a 1.9 plus the GM 1.7 seems to be rather unloved and therefore cheaper to get than the VAG 1.9.

My question to all and any that had the (mis?)fortune to drive one for a while ...how bad is it?

*please note, I have no particular requirement for speed, pulling power etc ...a decent, frugal diesel that doesn't shake my fillings out would do me fine. And yes, I am aware that the red D, red I 130 bhp VAG Diesel is the bees knees ...I still don't want one:D

gyppo

peasant wrote:

On my neverending quest for a new (old) car under 10K. I've come across several decently priced Opels/Vauxhalls with the 1.7 dti engine.

From a tax/cc point of view I'd rather drive a 1.7 than a 1.9 plus the GM 1.7 seems to be rather unloved and therefore cheaper to get than the VAG 1.9.

My question to all and any that had the (mis?)fortune to drive one for a while ...how bad is it?

*please note, I have no particular requirement for speed, pulling power etc ...a decent, frugal diesel that doesn't shake my fillings out would do me fine. And yes, I am aware that the red D, red I 130 bhp VAG Diesel is the bees knees ...I still don't want one:D

Afraid I cant comment on the Opel unit. From a cc point of view, what about a 1.6l TDci................. smaller cc again, lots available, and its not a VAG!!

peasant

The PSA/Ford/etc 1.6 TDCI is too new (hence above budget)

gyppo

Oops, sorry, I thought you were referring to the newest type opel diesels. (was thinking of the astra diesels).

There used to be an 1.7l Isuzu diesel engine in some of the early vectra's, and by all accounts these were reputed to be a superb engine.

furtzy

The 1.7 Dti is the old Isuzu derived motor and is not common rail whereas the 1.9 Fiat Group motor is.

There would be a huge difference in refinement, torque, power and fuel efficency between the two.

As for the 1.9 VAG being the best I would have to disagree....the afore mentioned 1.9 CDTi 150Bhp motor is superb.....well I would say that though having one parked outside

Biro

That 1.6 turbo diesel in Fords is actually a Mazda unit, and is one of the best around. Ultra quiet, and nice power. But it's too new for your budget as you said.
Unfortunately, I haven't driven the 1.7td in the Opels, but thats an Isuzu base block. Should be OK. It's also in civics in England (01 up to current model). It's reworked by Honda a lot though in those.
Are the 1.4 D4D corrolas within budget?

Biro

furtzy wrote:

As for the 1.9 VAG being the best I would have to disagree....the afore mentioned 1.9 CDTi 150Bhp motor is superb.....well I would say that though having one parked outside

And I would agree with you, having neither parked outside the house, hence unbiased!

bazz26

Biro wrote:

That 1.6 turbo diesel in Fords is actually a Mazda unit, and is one of the best around. .

Nope, Ford buy the HDi diesel engines from Peugeot/Citroen and fit them into the Focus. They also fit them to the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40 as Ford own both Mazda and Volvo.

peasant

furtzy wrote:

The 1.7 Dti is the old Isuzu derived motor and is not common rail whereas the 1.9 Fiat Group motor is.

There would be a huge difference in refinement, torque, power and fuel efficency between the two.

As for the 1.9 VAG being the best I would have to disagree....the afore mentioned 1.9 CDTi 150Bhp motor is superb.....well I would say that though having one parked outside

Well, while I agree that the new tech diesels are much more refined, as a vehicle gets older and the mileage creeps up, we have yet to see, whether common rail is the be all and end all of diesel technology.
All these different common rail / Pumpe-Duese systems are highly complicated and have yet to proove that they last as long as the diesels of old ...repairs an a common rail might start to get very costly after while .

I would agree on the merits of 1.9JTD Fiat lump ...the only problem with an older Fiat is zero resale value a few years down the line. If I found a "keeper" in very good condition cheap enough I might yet be persuaded to give it a go ...the ones I have seen so far were very unloved sad heaps.

JohnCleary

I have one in my boat and i LOVE it... 120HP

(Slight mods to maranise it)

lazygit

not a car buff by any means me.

But bought a new Open Mireva(sp) on wednesday, 1.7 CDTI, and i love it.. sounds a bit like a van when your in first but after that its fine... also almost 700km on one tank of desiel... so much more than my astra was getting...

peasant

JohnCleary wrote:

(Slight mods to maranise it)

Did you not mean "marinate" ?

:rolleyes:

JohnCleary

peasant wrote:

Did you not mean "marinate" ?

:rolleyes:

I don't know if you're (trying) being funny or not?

peasant

err...yes ...

obviously not very successfully so

Henry Ford III

Biro wrote:

That 1.6 turbo diesel in Fords is actually a Mazda unit, and is one of the best around. Ultra quiet, and nice power. But it's too new for your budget as you said.

Wrong. It's a Ford/PSA jointly developed unit.

Ford own a lot of Mazda, and also all of Volvo which is why it appears in the cars.

JohnCleary

peasant wrote:

err...yes ...

obviously not very successfully so

Sorry, thought I had sh1te grammar

Anyhow, as I said, I have a modified version of this engine. I love it to bits! A neighbour of mine has a Vauxhaul with this engine, its a 1994, he said it's still going strong, just check the coolant/oil ona regular basis

BostonB

I occasionally drive a '01 Astra DTi 1.7 (Isuzu) and think its a nice little motor. Plenty of power and in the Astra is a decent handling car. It reminds me a lot of the of my old MrkII Golf GTI tbh. Only problem is Opel. They seem unable to properly fix the smallest of problems, and this car seems to have the same misc nigglely problems the dealer can never solve permanently. In general the dealers were rubbish, though thats a common fault with main dealers in Ireland.

JohnCleary

I heard something about headgaskets & injector seals with the Opel version, all rectified when Mercruiser marinised the lump and threw it into boats though

Biro

Henry Ford III wrote:

Wrong. It's a Ford/PSA jointly developed unit.

Ford own a lot of Mazda, and also all of Volvo which is why it appears in the cars.

Well, there's three different stories on the origin of that engine. Does anyone know for sure?
PSA had a 1.6 turbo diesel before Ford did, but the PSA engine sounds different to the Ford/Mazda one, different specifications slightly too.