218SLD Turbo Diesel 1995

[TD_218]

Hi,

I've owned my 218 for 18months and all in all I'm really pleased with it. Amazing fuel economy round town (even better on the m-way) comfortable to drive and easy to maintain.

Since I bought it it's had new brake discs/driveshafts & gaitors/alternator/fuel pump & filter/battery. I've also had the cambelt changed last year (mileage 133400, now 142850) and the power steering/brake vacuum belts. I've also changed the oil & filter every 6000/6 months since I've owned it.

My query is that when starting from cold (or left overnight) there is a loud knocking noise which slowly disappears as the engine warms. this noise isn't present at any other time or when the car is under heavy load. Any ideas as to what may be causing it? It has been mentioned that the big end bearings could be on the way out??

Also, I've read that the injectors should be replaced/recon'd at 100000, I'm not sure if this has been done at all. the engine performs very well, although it does kick out some smoke when the turbo steps in at around 2750rpm, are there any symptoms I should look out for, or is it worth getting them replaced as a matter of course.

Overall I'm chuffed to bits with the car and want to keep it running as smoothly as possible for as long as possible. If anyone can offer advice on anything I need to keep my eye it would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[rqt]

All 218 diesels are noisy at cold start due the cold start advance system on the injection pump. Some are more noisy than others - seems to depend on the pump timing which should be shown on a plastic tag on the throttle lever (they all seem to have different timing figures). If you think noise is excessive you may want to get pump timing checked. On my father's car, which was always very noisy I set the timing slighlty retarded which cut the noise little without much affecting the performance.
Everybody seems very keen to get people changing injectors. I did not get mine re-nozzled until 190,000 miles. At this point the engine was starting to sound a little "soft" & as I was taking the car to Germany thought I had better get them done. I did not get any marked improvement in performance or mpg but the car sounded better.
218 turbo diesels have a tendency to eat throttle cables (they fray at the pump end) so I used to carry one, also a clutch cable. I never had a clutch cable break but they used to gradually stiffen up. I probably changed mine every couple of years. Throttle cable probably needed doing about annually (30,000 miles)