Lack of power 1.9TD Estate

[a4gom]

Hi picked up a 406 estate the other week and i'm a bit dissapointed with the power compared with my previous xantia estate and my wifes xsara. They are all of a similar age, 1.9TD, I'm pretty sure the engine is sound, did they make different versions of the 1.9 with different power outputs?
When I'm just tickling round town its fine once I'm rolling but it lacks the get up and go from a standing start unless I try push the pedal through the floor and on our first decent trip out in it yeterday it struggled acceleration wise to keep up with the convoy, once its up to speed its fine. It also seems to be lacking a bit of guts at the top end.
I'm not that up on desel engines, what to check or how to set things up pump, turbo etc.
It feels like its possible the turbo thats not kicking in soon enough? or maybe at all? How can I check this.
I appreciate its an estate and probably packing a few more pounds than my xsara but the xsara would tow this faster than it will go under its own steam.

Any advice on what I can check, what it could be would be gratefully received, I bought this to tow my race car to events but I'm not sure now if its up to the job.

[TRAVIS BICKLE]

squeeze the intercooler pipe and give it a good rev, throttle on and off, the pipe should expand with boost pressure, if not have a look at all the pipework and intercooler for leaks (usually oil can be found around the leaking area) , check the air filters not blocked and finally if all else seems ok check the turbo itslef checking it spins freely and has very little in out and axial movement, after that theres a big list of possibilities

[Doggy]

Be well worth your while to check the fuel & air filters, failing that check the strainer in the fuel tank, (accessed from under the back seat).
Once you've ruled those out, look for air leaks in the turbo piping or possibly a leaky EGR valve.

More knowledgable forum members will doubtless be along shortly, (I've told you more than I know already)

Officially, I don't believe there are different power outputs, but most 306's, (& possibly Xsara's, though this is a guess), have the completely hopeless Lucas pump, whereas the Bosch on your 406 should deliver more oomph and particularly more low speed torque. My bro's got a '98 1.9TD estate which is permanently loaded with about half a ton of plumbing gear and TBH the low speed grunt is still fairly impressive.

Welcome BTW

[a4gom]

fuel, air, oil filters all done, found a pipe with a little nick n it at the back by the bulkhead, two pipes about 6mm dia which go to a t piece with a cap on the t . not sure what they connect to the pipes dry anyway i fixed that and i'd say it may have made a slight difference but so small it may not?

[a4gom]

Done all the checks and can't find any definite probs so it's probably just the way it is.
I've read about a Stage one tune which gives a bit of extra bhp and torque by just making adjustments, this may be the answer to get that extra bit of umph?
Anyone done this or know anyone who would do this for me in the Keighley / Bradford / Leeds area?

[steve_earwig]

Might pay you to have a look on other sites for cars with this engine where they're more in to tuning. A brief Google later - http://www.club-306.com/guides/306_turbo_tuning

[eoin27]

Does the 1.9TD have an intercooler?

They're not the quickest of engines but it does seem like a turbo issue if it is having trouble getting from a standing start. I would check the MAF as this directly affects the low range torque. I have never dealt with the XU9 directly so I can only speak of my experience with the HDi. My guess is the MAF. If it even has one

[StevieboyTD]

Does the 1.9TD have an intercooler?

Yup, FMIC as standard (306 boys hate that!)

If it even has one

Nope!

[eoin27]

Cheers. Then regard my previous post as completely irrelevant and my opinion on 1.9TD engines is about as valuable as shares in Enron

[easthams1958]

Take your carpet mat out of drivers side and try it then. Sounds simple but I was moaning re my new 2nd hand 406 hdi 2litre and pulled my mat out of the way and it improved dramatically. The mat was stopping the last 1cm of downward movement and consequently wasnt getting full revs. It was worst on the mway at 80 mph..if I floored it it was talking 2 mins to get to 90mpm as the last cm was were all the power was..... You will now tell me you have no floor mats fitted!!!

[mark21TD]

Have you checked for play in the throttle cable, it's the first thing I do when I get a new (to me) 1.9td.
I've never found one yet that was adjusted right.
Pull the outer cable away from the injection pump, the reves should rise as soon as it starts to move,
if they don't then it needs adjusting using the clip in the ribbed (for your plesure ) part of the outer cable.
Adjusting this can make a BIG differance to the power.

[StevieboyTD]

Also popping the damper off the throttle arm seem to help responce.

[a4gom]

i've taken up the slack and moved the connection outwards on the throttle arm to gain a little mechanical advantage, it's helped a little but not enough.
the damper is already missing.
the lack of power is more obvious setting off but noticable throughout compared with my citroen.
they have different pumps, maybe they have different turbo's?
i would expect a small difference due to the extra weight in the estate but its not a small difference.

[mark21TD]

It sounds like you may have a leak on the boost presure pipe that goes onto the top of the injection pump,
these sometimes split and the pump will not then add extra fuel as the turbo cuts in.

[DRTDVL]

I noticed on Sunday where the air intake mouth is...

It's just below the headlight in the wheel arch and about 2cm from the metal bumper bracket. I wouldn't say it's the most free flowing of spots.

Could have some different in the intake/air feed also