Bit of advice on 1.9 Diesel 150 guys

[SRIRob]

Hi guys Ive got my Petrol 150 SRI by brother in law saw it and loved it he has taken the money over the company car deal but has to have a diesel, he wants a 150bhp diesel and I have found him a 58 plate 09 car with 13000 miles on it
Questions are how do you spot the dodgy 6 speed gearboxs is there any tell tails
what do i listen for with respect to the duel mass flywheel thingy
is there anything else to look for when buying it, I know its still under mrf warrenty but and at 13k it really shouldnt have any problems (Should it?? )
Thanks guys I bow down to your superior knowledge

[Big Sig]

I was unaware of any dodgy 6 speed gear boxes, If its a 2009 car then its got most vx's warranty so don't worry about the dmf imo. There are a lot more problems with some of the 1.9 150's to worry about than a dmf!

Let the search button be your friend.

[mark_647]

It would be worth checking the Swirl Flaps/Manifold. Easily checked by lifting off the engine cover, bang in the middle of the engine, you will see a metal bar that connect to the 4 swirl valve things. If this bar has become detatched and is sitting in the recess - then you should probably steer clear, although warranty does cover this.
DMF can be tested, I think - by slowly pushing the clutch in, whilst in neutral. About half way down, a rattle will be heard.

[Dan_BlackSRi]

Sack it, if it has a warranty then go for it, then lets hope it has the problems, at least that way you know its been changed.

[67688c]

As Big Sig stated there are no issue's with the 6 speed boxes, none that I'm aware of anyway, though there have been some problems with gearboxes on the early new Insignia models.

On the Vec-c 150 at 13k there should not be any problems at all, higher milage examples can experience the odd problem with swirl valve actuator rods coming adrift when the wear is quiet bad. A quick glance under the engine cover will reveal if there's any significant oil leakage from them, (indicating some wear) usually showing up as dirty black oily area's where the rod is pushed on. However this tends to be on fairly high mileage vehicles, and like most diesels the EGR valve may need cleaning or replacement at some later point, again usually at higher milage.

I covered well over 40k in my last vec 150 from new and never had any issue's at all, IMO it's pretty reliable car, and certainly more reliable than many other similar cars on the road.

It will still have plenty of warranty left anyway. At 13k it's only just run-in.

[Maverick]

It would be worth checking the Swirl Flaps/Manifold. Easily checked by lifting off the engine cover, bang in the middle of the engine, you will see a metal bar that connect to the 4 swirl valve things. If this bar has become detatched and is sitting in the recess - then you should probably steer clear, although warranty does cover this.
DMF can be tested, I think - by slowly pushing the clutch in, whilst in neutral. About half way down, a rattle will be heard.

It's a 58 plate car, so it won't suffer from EGR or Swirl flap problems.

Regarding gearbox's, alot of later Vectra's had the M32 gearbox instead of the F40. There were a few M32's that spat out 3rd gear but the good thing about the M32, is that 3rd gear can be replaced by the dealer instead of a new box. F40 you can't.

[Dan_BlackSRi]

Whats different with the EGR's on the later cars..?

[SRIRob]

Thanks fellas the 58 plate one has fallen through but we are still looking

[67688c]

Whats different with the EGR's on the later cars..?

Vx modified the EGR's slightly around 1998, in reality I believe the only difference was a modified gasket, which had the effect of reducing gases, ie. less gasses = less clogging up. That was the only difference I could see between the old and the new type. Solenoid and valve assy itself looked the same to me.

They also modified the swirl valves by changing the type of plastic used in the swivel bearings through which the flaps operate, in the hope it reduced the wear rate, as this can be a expensive fix requiring inlet manifold replacement.

[Maverick]

Whats different with the EGR's on the later cars..?

Nothing, but the EGR operating software is updated.