New owner of D22 with a couple of issues. Advice?

[ERB]

Dear forum members,

thank you for the great website and wealth of helpful information.

around 12 months ago I purchased a 2.5 D22 STR 2008, with 200,000 on the clock.

when I got it, I had a mechanic check it over and everything seemed fine. Since I’ve had it I have put 20,000 kms on it, and had it serviced twice, as well as recently replacing the suspension system. I have blocked the EGR, which has stopped an engine light fault coming on, which I had presumed was related to the EGR failing.

I have two questions, and I would be very grateful to receive your advice:

1) Recently, the ute has developed a coolant leak, which appears to be related to a number of gaskets simultaneously failing, including the water pump gasket and unfortunately the head gasket. The head gasket leak seems to be very minor at this point. Gaskets have been replaced and Seal-tite has been put in the system, and there are no longer any leaks. I am just wondering, should I risk waiting another 6 months with the soft fix (which I have been advised is good stuff for minor leaks such as mine) or should I just get the head gasket replaced. I’d be inclined to swap out the timing chain at the same time, for a duplex chain, as I intend on keeping the car for the long term. Does that seem sensible?

2) the ute goes good under boost, and in general, but has a serious issue at low revs, particularly on inclines. For example, I am often holding up traffic and dropping it back to 1st gear on hills. The issue is when the car is below about 1800rpm. This does not seem right and I am concerned that either something like the intake manifold is blocked up from years of soot, or something maybe more sinister is going on.

my aims are to fix head gasket > convert to duplex chain > clean intake manifold at the same time. It will be an expensive job.

I am not a mechanic, nor am I very mechanically minded, but the D22 seems a simple enough beast. Is there anything else I should be looking out for given the symptoms I have indicated above?

thanks for you help!

 

[tweak'e]

at low rpm your probably falling off boost which makes that gutless engine super gutless.
down to first ? without knowing the situation kinda hard to tell if thats an issue. ie if its open road its an issue, crawling in traffic not so much.
keep the rpm up, its a ute with a small engine.

 

[ERB]

Thanks tweak’e. Specifically it is mostly a problem on tarmac in 2H taking off from lights where there’s an incline, on switchback hill climbs, or any hill start. For example, you may get it into first gear, but then once in second cannot get the revs up and have to go back to first until the gradient eases up. I understand it’s a pretty gutless engine at low revs when the turbo is not doing much, but I am just curious if what I am experiencing sounds typical for this ute, or worse than normal!

 

[tweak'e]

what rpm are you changing gears at?

if you can find someone with one locally to compare.
if i remember right the first of the 2008's came out with a tall diff ratio which made them a right pain to get going.

 

[ERB]

Thanks tweak’e. Changing up usually between 2500-3000 at the most.

 

[Damian m]

Hey,

Your gear shifts are way to early especially on a hill.
You need to start driving the vehicle like it's a rental, don't be afraid to hit 4k before shifting gear. The turbo will work best while the engine is under load and in return it will make the car move forward easier.

I'm sure you will find the balance of what's best soon enough, FYI mine is a 2010 model and has done over 420k. Biggest thing replaced has been the exhaust manifold, broke that going up Pentland hill while fully loaded and screaming.

 

[Old.Tony]

I haven't heard too many problems with the D22's timing chain. I had the head replaced in mine (D40), and the timing chains (and tensioners) looked good - in fact, the mechanic asked me if I'd had it rebuilt in the last few thousand km, because it looked that good! It's just regular servicing and moderate driving. My "old" timing chains went back in.

You might have an accumulation of gunk in the intake manifold, and to avoid that you'd want to remove the EGR system (illegal, but unnoticeable) and install a catch can. The combination of these (before modification) leaves a wet film on the inner surface with dry soot blown over it from the EGR, building up over time - when you take your intake manifold off, you'll see.

It's odd that all of those gaskets let go at the same time, but we've seen some strange coincidences before and I'm sure this won't be the last. I'd also replace the thermostat, just to be sure.