To pre-empt your next question
:
How to recognise a healthy TD
The best way is to bring along an experienced diesel mechanic or to have the car examined by the AA or any other professional service provider, obviously.
But here are some pointers how to sort the wheat from the chaff on first viewing before forking out money for outside advice:
1) Tell the seller you want to start the engine from cold, so not to drive it that day (if possible)
2) Open engine lid, check engine and fuel pump is dry and not seeping oil or diesel anywhere (a few dark shades are ok, but no moist patches) ..no stains on the driveway
3) pull dipstick, check oil level and look for gunk (moisture/foam) (there souldn't be any)
4) check both coolant vessels for correct levels and signs of oil in water (there souldn't be any)
5) go into the cab, turn the key, check glow plug light comes on, turn off key
6) get seller to start the engine while you stand behind the van. Pre-heating should take about 30 seconds and once the starter kicks in, a good engine starts immediatedly. A puff of smoke is normal and ok ...a big suffocating cloud isn't.
7) once the start-up smoke has cleared the exhaust should be pretty much smokeless, you definetly don't want to see big blue or white clouds and you don't want to smell unburned diesel either
8 ) on idle the thing will clatter and rattle pretty badly, that's normal ...once again check for seeping oil or water, no bubbles in the coolant and then close the engine bay and take it for a drive
9) once up to speed and getting wamer, the clatter and rattle should be replaced by a nice hum without any harsh clonks or pings
10) if you clearly see smoke in the rear view mirror while driving, that's a bad sign. The engine does smoke under acceleration (every diesel does), you can see that in the side mirror if you try to look at the exhaust ...but you shouldn't be able to see it in the rear mirror.
11) it should pull nicely throughout the gears, with a marked push from the turbo at mid range
12) the temp guage isn't scientifically accurate, anything about 1 cm either side of the LED is normal
13) drive it for a good few miles until it is well warmed up, let it idle and repeat checks 2 - 4 & 8
14) turn off engine, let it sit for a minute ...it should restart without trouble
Once all of this was checked to your satisfaction, it is time to fork out for an expert ...you might just have found a good one
I'm confused!
petrols are sh1 t 