Diesel Maintenace

GoneShootin

I spotted on another Diesel related thread that they incure a more regular maintenace cost over a petrol engine.

What kind of extra work goes into looking after a diesel, and how difficult would it be to DIY if you were "handy enough" at that sort of thing? Reason I'm asking is cos Im buying me first car soon, but with the price of petrol on the up and the heavy milage Ill be doing I'm seriously considering opting for Diesel.

bazz26

What type of diesel car are you looking at?

My understanding of diesels and I am open to correction on this, is that it is mainly the oil and oil filter that need to be regularly changed in a diesel engine as by definition diesels are oil burners. There could be a bit more involved.

The old school diesels used have to be serviced every 3,000 or 4,000 miles but I think the newer diesels have the same service intervals as petrol engines, about every 12,000 miles. Maybe someone else here who actually drives a diesel will have more knowledge on this.

I am kind of looking at buying diesel myself soon so would be interested to know for sure also. I am on the look out for a nice Audi A4 2.0 TDI 140bhp or maybe the more affordable 1.9 TDI 130bhp.

Alun

My Ford Focus C-Max diesel has a service interval of 12,500miles (or 20,000km).

murphaph

Preventative maintenance on a modern diesel is a doddle. Oil filter and oil as already stated but the air filter cleanliness is very important for fuel economy on a diesel. Now, diesel is a dirty fuel, full of water and particulates. The fuel filter which will usually contain a water separator will need to be drained at each service (easy) and completely replaced at much longer intervals (25k or longer sometimes).

knipex

My service routine is simple.

Every 5 thousand miles I change the oil an filter and check the air filter. Check tyres etc.

Every second service I blow out the air filter with an air line and change fuel filter and check brake pads.

Every fourth service (ie 20K miles) she goes to a garage to be put on a lift and given a once over.

yellow012

The recommended service interval in my Skoda Octavia 1.9tdi is 30000km or 1 yr, which ever comes soonest.

knipex

The 1.9tdi engine is used across the entire VAG range but I wouldnt dream of leaving the oil in for 30k miles.

greglo23

with the modern synthetic oils out there the service intervals are greatly extented. the vw PD oil is guaranteed for 30,000 miles !!! definately go for the diesel. you wont be sorry.

Dilbert75

Up to recently I had a 97 Vectra diesel and did the maintenance myself. Changed the oil & filter and drained the fuel filter every 5k, changed the fuel filter and air filter every 10k. This typically only cost around €50 every 5k miles, once I got together the few tools I needed.

I personally wouldn't let an extra two oil changes per year (on average) put me off buying a diesel.

stratos

Diesel engines are huge and made of massive bits of metal, they will take large abuse once you keep the oil and filters in good shape. They can easily be converted to run on used chip fat or what becomes fashionable once oil prices become stellar. The reason they rev slower is because the pistons weigh more than a house. (try to get a house to change direction at petrol engine speeds).

CJhaughey

greglo23 wrote:

with the modern synthetic oils out there the service intervals are greatly extented. the vw PD oil is guaranteed for 30,000 miles !!! definately go for the diesel. you wont be sorry.

What is guaranteed? The viscosity?
I don't care what they say 30k is far too long to leave oil in an engine. Oil is designed to hold stuff like acid and other byproducts of the combustion process, leave it in too long and it will do no good at all.

stratos

Just to add to the above, Diesel engines thrash oil, however as everything is over engineered, they just don't wear like a light petrol engine. I had a Diesel which I totaly neglected, it ran for 180,000 miles and I sold it on, saw it for a few years too.