Poor MPG HDI

[riw@mail.com]

Hello everyone.

Just brought a 2001 meridian 2.0 HDI with 76000 miles on the clock.

I drove it back from nuneaton to sleaford which is about 80 miles and did 70 - 80mph on the A46 on the way back.

I then did a couple of other 12 miles trips and then a 40 mile trip on A roads not ragging it at all 60mph max and not accelerating to fast.

it turns out after brimming it again I only got 36mpg!! 

Any ideas why this could be? I'm thinking it needs a service as the last one recorded in the service history book is at 57000 miles. It could have been serviced since but there is no paperwork to prove.

I've had a look around and cant see any fuel leaks or anything.

Loving the car though it pulls well and has great retro looks.

i've had a 205 and 309 in the past so its great to be back in an old pug!

Plans are to get a decat and remove the back box and have a middle box as the back box and get a stage 1 map.

Also looking for some good condition cyclones if anyone has any?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the mpg front.

Rich.

[MY95]

There’s a thread on here for possibilities regarding low MPG.

For me it’s usually rear brakes binding, so check that first. When did the car have a full service last? Check the easy stuff first.

[riw@mail.com]

I'm being stupid here but how do I check that?

jack the car up and spin the wheels around to see if i can here any rubbing etc?

As i said mate not sure about when the last service was as the history in the last 19000 miles is poor.

Going to get one sorted asap. How much should I expect to pay for a full service and what should be included?

Thanks in advance MY95

[Mighty306]

jack the car up and spin the wheels around to see if i can here any rubbing etc?

Yep.  Handbrake will need to be off though so make sure you leave it in gear and chock the front wheels.

Won't comment on the other stuff as not got much knowledge on the diesels.  Have you noticed whether it smokes though?

[MY95]

I'm being stupid here but how do I check that?

jack the car up and spin the wheels around to see if i can here any rubbing etc?

As i said mate not sure about when the last service was as the history in the last 19000 miles is poor.

Going to get one sorted asap. How much should I expect to pay for a full service and what should be included?

Thanks in advance MY95

No problem.

Yeah handbrake off, jack it up and spin the wheels (also check what’s left on both pads each side as this can also easily indicate a seized calliper) 

Check the front brake slider pins too as they may have seized in also! 

Really easy to do a full service you can if you have tools - guide on here and a few on youtube! At least give the airfilter a go yourself as it’s only a few screws and renove the MAF sensor plug and you’re then at the filter

[Toms306]

Is that brim to brim or are you going off the fuel gauge? These old 2.0 HDis aren't that fussy about servicing, I guarantee that more than a service is needed if that's genuine mpg, I've had done without a service in 20k+ that still averaged over 50mpg mixed.

Assiming the brakes are free, first place to look would be the intake system, dodgy MAF or loose boost pipe.

[madmadmax]

could be the egr valve stuck open but check all the rest as well

[riw@mail.com]

Can anyone fairly local to me perform an egr delete or does the valve need to be shut before you can do the delete.

I’m willing to travel and pay someone I just haven’t got a lot of time or knowledge to do it myself? Can anyone help me?

Kind regards

Rich

[MY95]

Can anyone fairly local to me perform an egr delete or does the valve need to be shut before you can do the delete.

I’m willing to travel and pay someone I just haven’t got a lot of time or knowledge to do it myself? Can anyone help me?

Kind regards

Rich

You only need to pull the plug and this will disable the EGR. There's a thread on here which tells you what do for this on an early or late HDI.

[RetroPug]

If it is seized surely unplugging it won't help?

[riw@mail.com]

If it is seized surely unplugging it won't help?

That’s what I was Thinking retropug!

[MY95]

Fair point! Meant to say if it hasn’t already been done/isn’t seized already.

[riw@mail.com]

Fair point! Meant to say if it hasn’t already been done/isn’t seized already.

How do you go about un seizing an egr then?! Can you take it apart on buy a new one or what? Sorry for the probably stupid questions but I am keen to learn more about this engine. I plan to keep this car for a long time

[MY95]

Fair point! Meant to say if it hasn’t already been done/isn’t seized already.

How do you go about un seizing an egr then?! Can you take it apart on buy a new one or what? Sorry for the probably stupid questions but I am keen to learn more about this engine. I plan to keep this car for a long time

Have a look for the thread on here.

I'd check the MAF too - unplug it and see if the car runs better (more power/mpg) if it does then your MAF needs replaced (about £50 for a Genuine VDO one from Eurocarcare).

To get mpg that low I would guess there are multiple things wrong with the car - even when i've had badly stuck on rear brakes i've never had worse than 43mpg and that's mainly round town. My worst is 43 and highest is 56mpg, with very high 40's being my average/usual.

[madmadmax]

first put a bit of drinks can in to the egr flange on the intake to blank it to check its broken, if that makes it all better then you can fit a new one

[riw@mail.com]

Right had the car fully serviced other than glow plugs on Friday. It now runs a bit smoother. Also cut out part of the drivers side rear wheel plastic arch liner to stop it rubbing on the wheel. The mechanic said brakes are spot on with no binding.

[Toms306]

Also cut out part of the drivers side rear wheel plastic arch liner to stop it rubbing on the wheel.

Is the wheel leaning in or had the liner bowed out? If the wheel is leaning the beam probably needs a refurb.

[riw@mail.com]

A bit of both I think!

[pug306driver]

The lad now has a picasso on an 03 plate, the rear beam looks quite the same but not had both cars side by side to check properly, the mounts look a little different though. Anyone know if they are the same beam, drum brakes on this picasso but is disc picasso beam the same ??

lots of parts on the picasso look similar to the pug 306 2001 ish

[Toms306]

A bit of both I think!

Lol, something to keep an eye on then. If the beam is original it probably will be worn by now.

---

The lad now has a picasso on an 03 plate, the rear beam looks quite the same but not had both cars side by side to check properly, the mounts look a little different though. Anyone know if they are the same beam, drum brakes on this picasso but is disc picasso beam the same ??

lots of parts on the picasso look similar to the pug 306 2001 ish

The Picasso beam is different, it's the Xsara hatch that shares a beam with the 306. The drum and disc setups use the same main beam.

[riw@mail.com]

How much am I looking at to get a recondition beam fitted?

[Mighty306]

I don't know what you'd be looking at for a fitted beam as I did mine myself.  Stef205 on here does high quality refurbs and he supplied me with a new beam tube.  (If the beam is too worn the tube becomes scrap and the trailing arms, ARB, and torsion bars are just about the only bits you can reuse).

You can contact Stef via his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/axlesbystef/

There's are other members who also do rebuilds.  The cost, as Eeyore has just said in another post, is £250-£400.  There are a couple of companies (rather than enthusiasts on here) that do exchange beams cheaper than that but the general consensus is that they're not built to the same standard and don't last as long.

[riw@mail.com]

Update topped up today and did 322 miles on 24.09 litres @ 60.77mpg. Chuffed with that!

[Frosty]

Update topped up today and did 322 miles on 24.09 litres @ 60.77mpg. Chuffed with that!

That's decent MPG. So has it only had a service? Nothing else replaced etc?

[riw@mail.com]

Update topped up today and did 322 miles on 24.09 litres @ 60.77mpg. Chuffed with that!

That's decent MPG. So has it only had a service? Nothing else replaced etc?

Its been serviced, had injector cleaner through it and I stopped the rear wheel rubbing on a wheel arch. I've also fitted a decat, straight through midsection of the exhaust and replaced the backbox with the midbox instead. I also disabled the egr but that was only 40 miles before i filled up so couldn't have made much difference.

[Mighty306]

Blocked cat then maybe?

[riw@mail.com]

I think it is a bit of a mixture of everything really.

[Poodle]

Blocked cat will cause power loss and cutting out under high load, wouldn't affect mpg. I imagine that wheel rubbing was the biggest issue, it's like having a caliper stuck on. EGR could well have been part of the problem too. You might be surprised at how much difference a good service can make though.