2.7 CRD Ticking, smoking - any ideas?

[Domaso]

I'm actually not liking the spray-cleaner idea very much - I'm pretty sure the only reliable way to clean the manifold properly is by removing it.

Anyone would be kind enough to send me the manual procedure of manifold removal? (I have one PDF manual, but it only contains diagnostic information).

Bodgie - you said your new injectors made big difference, so if the manifold cleaning has almost no impact to power/acceleration - I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle... (my injectors are pretty much new too, but for some reason my car goes 0-100 km/h in ~19 seconds while other CRDs I've driven to compare did it in 10-11 seconds.., so I'm thinking something is wrong big time in mine, but can't find the cause...)

[piper]

if you have a look under the manifold at the swirl linkage and it has soot over it, the seals have had it anyway

[Domaso]

Just took a look under the manifold and the flap shaft seals have crud around them, so seals are gone. Looks like manifold removal is in order...

If those flaps are not critical, I'm pretty sure I will get rid of them and just plug the holes like Piper did. Will also definitely do the EGR defeat.

[Domaso]

By the way, I've disconnected the vacuum hose from the EGR valve and used a finger to check the suction force - almost no suction on idling - is that good?

I had EGR valve removed for checking with a vacuum pump - it requires way more vacuum to open and close than that disconnected hose was pulling.

Could my low-power problems be lying in weak vacuum? Any way to test the vacuum system?

[bodgie]

Originally Posted by Domaso

I'm actually not liking the spray-cleaner idea very much - I'm pretty sure the only reliable way to clean the manifold properly is by removing it.

The spray cleaner will help, but you are right it will not fully clean the inlet manifold. I would suggest you still run a can or two through before you pull the manifold off though, it will clean out a lot of crap on the inlet manifold and inlet ports.

Originally Posted by Domaso

Anyone would be kind enough to send me the manual procedure of manifold removal? (I have one PDF manual, but it only contains diagnostic information).

There is a lot of stuff to remove, I'd start with draining the engine coolant. Then I'd remove the fuel rail, fuel filter, EGR valve and coolant lines from the manifold, also make sure you remove the wiring to sensors etc...

Once you've done this you'll be able to start removing the fasteners that hold the manifold to the head. There is part of the wiring harness that goes through the manifold, you'll need to disconnect this if you want to move the manifold from the engine bay.

Use some common sense and it is pretty easy to remove everything, it is time consuming though.

Originally Posted by Domaso

Bodgie - you said your new injectors made big difference, so if the manifold cleaning has almost no impact to power/acceleration - I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle... (my injectors are pretty much new too, but for some reason my car goes 0-100 km/h in ~19 seconds while other CRDs I've driven to compare did it in 10-11 seconds.., so I'm thinking something is wrong big time in mine, but can't find the cause...)

The cleaning would have made a difference but it is hard to say what improved things when you install new injectors IMO. I needed to replace the injectors as two were really bad one was OK and the other two were average. If your injectors are good, don't play with them.

You are running tall tyres (32"?) from memory, this will change the gearing (for the worse) which will reduce your acceleration and they will also increase braking distances significantly. If you want to do a comparison, borrow some standard size wheels, I reckon the acceleration will be significantly improved be normal.

[bodgie]

Originally Posted by Domaso

By the way, I've disconnected the vacuum hose from the EGR valve and used a finger to check the suction force - almost no suction on idling - is that good?

I had EGR valve removed for checking with a vacuum pump - it requires way more vacuum to open and close than that disconnected hose was pulling.

Could my low-power problems be lying in weak vacuum? Any way to test the vacuum system?

I don't believe this is a problem. If the EGR system wasn't functioning correctly it will generate a check engine light very quickly. My suggestion with to the the EGR delete mod, it will help a lot particularly withe the amount of smoke the gets spat out the exhaust.

Jason

[Domaso]

1. I guess using the cleaner first is a good idea to see if things improve at all.
Bodgie - what cleaner would you recommend? Pretty much all I can get here "up above" is this:
Liqui-Moly Diesel intake System Cleaner

2. All the things you listed to remove - I've had all them removed in earlier repairs (Thermostar, fuel rail, fuel pump, filter holder, EGR, battery "table") - wasn't difficult at all, so maybe it's not that scary as it looked
The only thing I'm concerned most are the wires - I've heard some people opt to cut the wires that are in a way and splicing them afterwards because it's a huge pain to unplug everything all around/more distant. I've never seen it myself yet, but that's what I've heard...

3. I wasn't 100% informative about the comparisons of Jeep performance. I earlier ran standard 29" road tires and the power/acceleration was even worse than with current 31.8" (I believe the repairs I listed before, helped a bit with performance). Now when comparing to other 2.7 WGs, they also had AT tires, sizes 30.5"-31" - so the difference in tallness was not huge and the acceleration was 18~19s in mine, and 10~11s in theirs. I'm still thinking 1" can't make a 7s difference... It just feels like it lacks power when flooring it, compared to others.


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Btw, what tire size are you running Bodgie?
I don't buy you guys run standard 29" down under there...


P.S. Due to taller tires, as you know, the speedometer/odometer readings are off. Using the GPS, I found out my actual speed and travelled distances. It boiled down to +11% (1.11 rate/coefficient) - it means if I multiply my speedometer speed by 1.11 I get exactly the speed I see on my GPS, and if I multiply the trip odometer kilometers by 1.11 I get exactly the kilometers on my trip in GPS. I wonder if the same can be somehow applied to power/acceleration?
I know it sounds wild, but just wondering...