just got myself a vrs done 96k thinking it will be a cheap reliable car like my saab but obv i was wrong, already done a poly belt tensioner now i have to change the head gsaket for me  thats just rubbish, my saab tdi is on 196k original everything engine wise, i tuned it to 200bhp at 155k and still she drives as if she has done no more the 50k but here we are 100k less and head gasket gone, now i know ull say this can happen to any car but iv been working on these saabs since they came out in 2005 and never once seen a head gasket fail . is this just a story of things to come?

 

i will be starting it next week doing a new cambelt and water pump while im there and using the pd150 headbolts just to try and stop this happing again at what i concider to be low milage

Depends how it's life has been up to date surely? I'm sure there are many with trouble free cars on high miles.

Clearly you've bought a piece of rubbish that has been given death all of its life then, the PD engine is one of the best around that's a fact and that's why it's so popular in all vag models.

my saab has been abused most of its life i know its history from new and its fine.

 

depeneds really as i cant comment on how it was driven but as for calling it a piece of **** the body work is mint it has full service history up to date all reciets so its been looked after has it been thrashed? who knows its standard only one owner from new who was in his 40s and drove the car around with his son in it so im not too sure.

 

im guessing from your reactions yuor somewhat offended by what iv said? a quick internet search seems to show that there are a few people that have had the same problem, im just now concerned im getting rid of a albeit high milage car that has never given any problems which i know i can abuse to a car that looks like i may have troubles im certainly hoping that this is just a one off and it will be a decent reliable car

I'm not offended no, I just don't agree with what you say about the PD engine, very reliable engines

a quick internet search seems to show that there are a few people that have had the same problem,

So, a few people out of how many 100's of thousands sold, :think:

Thats fair enough, i can only go on my experience of them which so far isnt great, i gues then i must just be the unlucky one to have bought one with a couple of problems, hopefully what u say will show true and ill have a nice reliable engine as thats why i bought it as i believed they were

 

maybe iv just been so lucky with the car i currently have and work on that iv come to expect to much of other cars

Edited 5 July, 201312 yr by d3ekn

Pd is an awesome iconic engine however you appear to have bought a lemon which can happen with any car no matter what make or model.

Mines on 117k, put 6k on it in about 3 months or so. Full service history like your's aswell. Mines fine. Its all swings and round abouts really imo.

My last car was a peugeot 206 hdi and i put 130k on it in 5 years. Never had a single days trouble with it other than general wear and tear. I could never see what peoples problems were with them. Mine was awesome.

Its a bit like asking why a motherboard goes in your computer when one day it was fine the next its nackerd yet your mates who bought his the same day is still working.

Thrashing or not, its all a bit of black magic. Hopefully you wont have anymore trouble. Its a kick in the junk when something goes wrong.

I had mine cheap because the abs, traction control and another light was out. Wasnt a sensor. Garage couldnt figure it out so i had it off a mate cheap enough. An hr later with a voltmeter and i found the problem. The ABS module had gone the way of the Dodo. How many people have had that problem.

All fixed and not had a single problem with the entire car since.

Tbf everything you read on the Internet is a complaint about cars or what ever your researching, as said above PD is a very good engine..

Mines on 170000 miles running 200+ bhp no issues.

You've bought a lemon, or been unlucky - simple as that.

 

Its not a common fault or trait of these engines.

You'll always get a bad apple in a bag of sweet ones.

Personally, I don't think any modern diesel is that reliable...

All seem to suffer with the same things. Turbos, egr, injectors, dmf ect ect. The PD engine just seems to be one of the better ones.

I normally judge it by the cars taxi drivers are using. That seems to indicate the cars that cope with high mileage well.

My idea of reliable is a small petrol engined 90s jap car.

I can't remeber reading a topic on this forum relating to head gaskets? It's either not a common problem or my memory is worse than I thought :P

I don't recall hearing of a PD head gasket going for a long time.  One of the more rare failures and sometimes the typical HG gone symptoms with the PD engine is not actually a leaking HG

I'd agree with all that has been said so far. 

 

You don't often hear of PD head gasket failures..........but you don't know how the previous owner treated it. Perhaps it had a coolant leak, and they ran it very low on coolant at some stage. Maybe the owner knew and bailed out. Either way I'd positively identify HG failure before you start dismantling the head.

 

The PD engine in your vRS is fitted to dozens of models of Audi's, VW's, Seat's and Skoda's. There are many examples of this engine on way more than 196k miles.  You just got unlucky.

 

There are many examples of the engine in your Saab (Vectra) fitted to Vauxhall cars. You got a good 'un, but I'd wager that per mile driven,  there are more issues with this engine than with any PD engine.     

Look at taxis for example (VAG). They're abused daily, lots of short journeys, never truly looked after and they still clock 300k+ and keep going. A friend of mine has a PD130 in a passant. Pulling trailers pretty much everyday, again, gets used, abused and not one fault bar a dodgy DMF. Sounds like you're one of the rare few with a bad engine.

Day

Pd engines = goood!

Saab (gone bust?) = vauxhall vectra!

Just saying.

My pd150 goes like shish kebab off a shovel

On 110k heres to the next 110k

I thought i was on a Saab forum for a second, had to double check

117K Miles here, original everything except for consumables. PD's are IMO probably the most reliable engine VAG ever had. AFAIK it was only withdrawn to comply with emissions regulations. **** the emissions regs :moon: Made the decision the other day not to chop mine in next year for a MkII (which would have been an early MkII with the 1.9TDi PD 105) and keep the fella for a bit longer. What can I say? It's never, ever failed me. Those engines are bomb-proof.

Pd engines = goood!

Saab (gone bust?) = vauxhall vectra!

Just saying.

lol clearly you know nothing about saabs then if its just a vauxhall vectra, anyway im not here to slate your beloved cars just mentioning my dissopointment as i was thinking they were bullet proof just like my (gone bust) saab which ill have u know we are only a small saab garage previously a dealer for 30 years but well still sell 20 of these used saab vectras a month that says something to me.

 

any way its nice u guys popping up with how many miles you have all done trouble free as it gives me confidence that once iv stripped and rebuilt it it should be fine.

 

and going back to the 90s jap petrol being good comment i have a 93 civic eg b16 turbo so i know what u mean and a yamaha r6 turbo both jap great engines and love some boost too

 and sometimes the typical HG gone symptoms with the PD engine is not actually a leaking HG

what do u mean by this what symptoms are we talking about?

Check your cylinder head revision and pray it isn't a Rev A LOL

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