Loss Of Power On 3.0 cdti sri - please help

[L.Hamilton]

Hi guys, I'm new to the whole Vauxhall owners club.

I've recently bought a 3.0 cdti sri, which I love so far. It hasn't given me any problems until the weekend when I went to overtake on the motorway. I experienced a loss of power and symptoms related to fuel starvation, like juddering and engine almost cutting out. It seems to be intermitant, and has no real pattern to when it does it. The car had 3/4 of a tank when it happened, so I know it had enough fuel.

Any advice or help would be great as I'm not so much of a mechanic to be honest!

[m8internet]

Sounds like a blocked SCV
Does it feel like occasional braking?

How long have you had the car?
Where did you buy it from?
What sort of warranty do they offer? (if bought from a commercial outlet)
What is the service history like?
What was the previous owners reason for sale?

If the car came with all receipts look for replacement SCV being fitted

In the short term let the fuel tank drop to 1/4
Add two complete bottles of diesel fuel injector cleaner (not fuel treatment)
Fill the tank up
Drive continuously for at least 200 miles, do not turn the engine off

[Big Sig]

Did you get any warning lights?

[L.Hamilton]

No warning lights I'm afraid.

Hate to sound thick for asking, but what's an SCV?

Only had the car 2weeks now, bought from a private sale, older guy. No replacement SCV in previous reciepts. I'll drop the tank and add the injector cleaner for now and see how it goes. Would it be the fuel filter at all mate?

Thanks very much for the help.

[m8internet]

Did you get any warning lights?

You won't get them unless it has the update and uprated EMS

You will only get a warning once the SCV is completely blocked and the fuel flow is below 45%

[m8internet]

Hate to sound thick for asking, but what's an SCV?
Would it be the fuel filter at all mate?

SCV - Suction Control Valve
There are two on the fuel pump and they control the amount of fuel when the engine is under load

Not likely to be the fuel filter, but discussed previously, so here is a summary
The Y30DT engine (up to 2005 3.0 V6 CDTI) has a service interval of 30K miles / 2 years
The majority use ECO Flex servicing, so see how long to next service (key out of ignition and press odometer reset)
However, the fuel filter is only designed for 12K miles
It will last to 20K miles, but from 15K miles onwards it is normally saturated
The fuel pump is not affected, but dirt could pass, in turn ending up in the SCV

I too recently swapped to fuel filter renewals of 10K miles

[L.Hamilton]

Awesome mate, i'll make a point of changing the filter too, cos I'm pretty sure that won't have been done for a long time! If none of that work, I'll go straight for the SCV's.

I'm impressed by how quick people replied on here, so thanks very much, glad I joined!

[m8internet]

As above, what is the service history like?
Where did you obtain the car from?

The car should be on ECOFlex servicing, so perform the check above and see how many miles to next service (compare to service history)