Technical Multipla - various problems

[Greyhound_Shrops]

Hello,

Here is a challenge for you. I have just bought a rather shabby 53 reg Multipla JTD115 ELX in a rather fetching dark blue metallic. 95000 miles on the clock but checks out as completely clear on HPI type checks.

The engine starts and runs very sweetly but produces white smoke when revved. It will not rev beyond about 3000rpm unless I unplug the MAF sensor when it will rev to 4000rpm but still with lots of smoke. It is very much lacking in power either way.

I have plugged the car in to my diagnostic system and the following codes were present and have returned after I cleared them and drove the car up and down the street.

P0101 Mass or Volume Air Flow Circuit Range/Performance Problem

Would replacement of the MAF sensor sort this?

P0110 Intake Air Temperature Circuit Malfunction

Could this be a broken temperature sensor or thermostat? If so where is it/are they? Is it easy to change?

P0236 Turbocharger Boost Sensor A Circuit Range/Performance

This is the only one of these codes that is activating the engine management light. Would this be solved by replacing the boost regulator valve?

P0500 Vehicle Speed Sensor Malfunction

What is this?

The previous owner reckons he has been told that the turbo is knackered but would any of the above malfunctions produce similar symptoms. I could imagine the boost sensor/valve having an effect. This car has clearly been neglected so I cannot rule out the possibility of oil starvation having actually knackered the turbo.

Would replacement of any or all of the above sensors/valves sort out the white smoke or might I be looking at something more serious here (piston rings or the turbo for instance)?

Other Items:

Various interior plastics are cracked or broken. I will replace these from my local scrapyard in due course.

The entire spare wheel underslung cradle/winch assembly is missing (why?) but again, I should think a visit to my local scrapyard would sort this.

Rear shock absorbers: The rear right hand shocker is rattling and has leaked out most of its fluid. I will replace both rear shockers in due course.

Missing alloy wheel: Again easy to replace in due course.

Bodywork overall is reasonable considering the general state of the car. The are one or two small dings and scrapes but nothing major or unexpected for a car of this mileage (or neglect).

And what did this 6 seated bundle of problems cost me? £750. I was aware of most of the problems (including the turbo) when I paid for it but I fancied the challenge anyway. I will be happy if I can get it roadworthy and tidy again for less than another £1000. Fingers crossed that it's not the turbo!!

Obviously I will browse around the forum to see if anyone has covered some of these problems before but if anyone has any thoughts on any the above problems I would appreciate your input.

Regards

Ian

 

[JTDman]

If the seals are gone on the turbo then it will be chucking loads of oil in the inlet which in turn could mess the airflow meter up.

Dont buy one of those cheap turbo repair kits though unless you access to a machine that can balance the turbo or it will die.

 

[Greyhound_Shrops]

Thank you for that, I will bear it in mind.

I have had a play with the car this afternoon and with the thought of a blocked airfilter in mind, I disconnected the pipe and started the engine. After giving it a rev I realised that there are exhaust fumes blowing back through the air sustem with plenty of smoke coming out of the disconnected air pipe. It also blows at a fair rate out of the oil filler if I take off the cap.

I asked a mechanic friend who told me that there is a possibility that a blocked exhaust could stop the turbo from working as the blockage would back up the exhaust gasses so it cannot generate enough pressure to spin the turbo. He said that this backpressure would also cause engine braking and limit the speed. This would also explain at least three of my fault codes as the blowback of exhaust through the air intake system would certainly affect the MAF sensor and intake air temperature. The boost pressure seems obvious if the turbo is unable to spin up.

Admittedly this does not really explain the smokiness (or does it?) but apparently the EGR valve can cause this if it is stuck open. I will be checking that in due course.

Also, could a broken turbo cause a blockage of escaping exhaust gases? I have watched a video about diagnosis of turbo failure on ARTurbo.co.uk which, whilst suggesting lack of power, smokiness and excessive noise, did not suggest exhaust blockage as a symptom.

I will be disconnecting most of the exhaust in the near future to test this theory.

Any thoughts?

Ian

 

[feralsd]

My spare wheel cradle is in my shed. Reason being they are crap and they break. Rivets instead of bolts mean not easily repaired. Put the spare in the boot.

 

[shedtastic]

And you'll be lucky (well luckier than me) if you can replace any interior plastic trim from anything from a scrapyard - The boot lip trim, rear door bins and rear seat hinge trims seem to all be brittle (and in the case of the rear seat area trims, susceptible to getting smashed by "not fully retracted" seatbelt buckles when the door is closed)..

Mind you, I paid a lot more for my 2003 ELX, so if you can get it fixed up cheaply you'll be onto a winner.. I'd guess the aerial is snapped off and at least one mirror is a bit wobbly too?

Neil.

 

[rnhobbs]

Follow the EGR metal pipe to the join (top r/h/s of engine), undo the 2 bolts, slip in a piece of metal the same shape as the gasket - but without the big hole in the centre! Re-assemble. Job-done, just breathing fresh air then and no fault codes.

If you've still got problems, change the MAF - they're cheap enough over the web.

I run my Multipla with a full-size spare alloy underneath. There's easily enough space, even with a tow-bar. I ditched the rubbish mechanism (they all break), and replaced it with 4 race-style seat-belt anchor points and 2 half-ton straps to hold the wheel in a X fashion and a 3rd fail-safe strap through the wheel itself.