Change the fuel filter and then see what happens. Don't worry about it until you have done it.
I make a point of replacing the fuel filter every second service (every 2 years) even although the fuel filter has only been in the van for 7k.
I also change the airfilter every 3 years regardless of it's condition.
Spruce, anything we can do to lessen the chance of injectors seizing? Would hate a huge bill like that, if it could be avoided.
Hi Cozy,
Unfortunately no, there isn't anything you can do. Its a common problem across all makes and manufacturers, so it isn't just a Renault thing.
Lee has hinted at a cause, but as the problem is industry wide, there must also be other factors as well. Cylinder heads are made of alloy these days as it is much lighter that the old cast iron heads of yesteryear. The injector housings are steel and these two metals aren't good bed fellows. (Ask any Landrover owner.) Add heat and electric current to them and the 'chemical' reaction or corrosion between them is accelerated. (This issue of seized injectors has become more common with the new common rail diesel engines because of electric current used in the injector's operation and 'earthed' through the cylinder head.)
Whilst injector issues can happen at any point in a vehicle's life, the higher the mileage the more chance there is of issues with corrosion and seized components (glowplugs are also prone to seizure.)
This is one of the reasons why I would always advise to go for lower mileage second hand vehicles. Obviously as far as wear and tear are concerned a van that has done a lot of motorway miles is much better, but in instances such as these, it isn't always true.
The trouble is Cozy, emission standards (Euro 4, 5 and now 6 shortly) have meant some very complicated engine development has taken place which has made the basic diesel engine of 15 years ago very expensive to repair when things go wrong. How many common rail van's are listed on ebay at the moment for spares or repair which aren't body related faults?
A fellow windie had an 03 plate Merc Vito with 130m on the clock when one of his injectors failed. They broke it trying to get it out. In his case they were able to remove the cylinder head and they sent it away to a specialist. This specialist chap heats the head up very slowly to a temperature where the injector just drops out, but has the let it cool very slowly (over a couple of days) so the head doesn't warp. His bill was nearly 2k and he was without a van for 2 weeks.
He chose to repair it - I would have scrapped the van and put the money toward another van TBH. And this is what things have come to. Only you can make the decision on what to do at the time. If you started worrying about all the things that could go wrong and the cost to rectify them you will give yourself an ulcer.
For anyone in the UK AP Auto Diagnostics have a better clue than most dealer workshops have with regard to seized injectors.
http://www.apautodiagnostics.com/injector-removal-serviceThey aren't cheap but then the cost of removing that Vito injector was much more than 2k when you consider the amount of lost income whilst they messed on getting that injector out.
I would also be very cautious about buying replacement injectors cheap on ebay. As Lee says, good injectors are made by companies such as Delphi, Siemens, Bosch or Denso.