Rover 45 Connoissuer Diesel - what are the views?
Discussion
Hi All,
Just bought a 2001 Rover 45 Diesel Connoissuer as a replacement for the Missus Micra. However, she does not like it! Its not girly, its a diesel so it doesnt drive like a nippy little Micra etc etc etc!!
So I have decided that I might keep it for myself (saves running my MX5 through winter).
Few questions though :
1) Its done 93,000 miles so should I be worrying about clutch/DMF replacement in the near future?
It seems to work fine at the moment. Whats the early signs of it going wrong?
2) Being a Turbo Diesel I expect it would take off when I put my foot down....but it doesn't! Could
the turbo be knackered? How can I tell and is it ok to run it with a knackered turbo? Is there
something that adjusts the turbo boost anywhere as maybe its turned right down?
3) The cambelt was changed at 51,000 miles. When would the next change be adviseable?
4) I drove it 60 miles home, mainly motorways at 60 - 70mph. Its returned over 50mpg!! Does that
sound about right as thats why I'm tempted to keep it?!
5) Everything appears to work apart from the rear passenger elec window which I'm not too bothered
about. Are there any other things on these cars I should know about?
Sorry for all the questions but this is my first experience with more modern diesel cars and I know very little about them. I did have a K reg Orion diesel around 10 years ago but it wasn't exactly 'alive with technology'!!
Cheers!
Just bought a 2001 Rover 45 Diesel Connoissuer as a replacement for the Missus Micra. However, she does not like it! Its not girly, its a diesel so it doesnt drive like a nippy little Micra etc etc etc!!
So I have decided that I might keep it for myself (saves running my MX5 through winter).
Few questions though :
1) Its done 93,000 miles so should I be worrying about clutch/DMF replacement in the near future?
It seems to work fine at the moment. Whats the early signs of it going wrong?
2) Being a Turbo Diesel I expect it would take off when I put my foot down....but it doesn't! Could
the turbo be knackered? How can I tell and is it ok to run it with a knackered turbo? Is there
something that adjusts the turbo boost anywhere as maybe its turned right down?
3) The cambelt was changed at 51,000 miles. When would the next change be adviseable?
4) I drove it 60 miles home, mainly motorways at 60 - 70mph. Its returned over 50mpg!! Does that
sound about right as thats why I'm tempted to keep it?!
5) Everything appears to work apart from the rear passenger elec window which I'm not too bothered
about. Are there any other things on these cars I should know about?
Sorry for all the questions but this is my first experience with more modern diesel cars and I know very little about them. I did have a K reg Orion diesel around 10 years ago but it wasn't exactly 'alive with technology'!!
Cheers!
I bought a 45 TD as a work hack, been a good little car like yours averages about 50mpg.Now on 93k also. Mine is a bit sluggish till you hit about 2300 revs then its not too bad (i suppose after an xjr its gonna feel slow but at least I get to work for £50 a fortnight and not £70 a week).
Motorwaymick said:
I bought a 45 TD as a work hack, been a good little car like yours averages about 50mpg.Now on 93k also. Mine is a bit sluggish till you hit about 2300 revs then its not too bad (i suppose after an xjr its gonna feel slow but at least I get to work for £50 a fortnight and not £70 a week).
it might still be a bit tight with 93k miles on, when they have run in a little beyond 100k they loosen up a little 
An intercooled turbo diesel shouldn't feel sluggish, check your boost pipes (listen for a hiss or rev the engine from under the bonnet and grab hold to ensure they pump up and aren't loosing pressure.
another possibility is the mass air flow meter being faulty which causes a loss in performance and top end speed.
The rover diesels are literally bomb proof. one of mine has 183k on clock on original clutch.
change cam belt at service intervals and you will be fine.
you will return closer to 60mpg if it is driven with a light foot.
N
Edited by heightswitch on Wednesday 11th August 09:29
They really are bomb proof cars. I drove my parents P plate rover diesel 420 for years after passing my test. It soldiered on hitting more than 200,000 miles with zero maintenance. I think it was serviced for the first few years after purchasing it (think it had ~ 30,000 on the clock when it was bought), but then it didn't have as much as an oil change throughout it's life.
If I remember right, the only things that ever needed doing to it were replacing the brake lines (obviously) and the turbo pipe blew on it once when I was visiting a university open day, simply bought some insulating tape and taped the hole and I think it stayed like that for 2 or 3 months before the pipe was finally changed.
Keep an eye on the clutch linkages, ours siezed as it entered the gearbox housing. We thought the clutch had gone, but it had siezed there resulting in the clutch pedal ripping itself away from the bulkhead. Replaced the clutch pedal and wacked the joint with a hammer a few times and it was fine afterwards. Unfortunately whilst removing the gearbox to change the clutch, we weren't paying enough attention to what we were doing and accidentaly split the gearbox instead. I ended up with a bunch of cogs on the kitchen table trying to re-build the damn thing having never done anything like it before and no instuctions. Figured it out after 2 days of trying and it went for another 20,000 with that gearbox lol.
The car was finally scrapped after the front wheel fell off!!!! Sorry for the rant, but I have a bit of a soft spot for Rover 420/45's as they really are well built cars. Nothing fancy, but great all rounders.
Saying that, my parents upgraded to a 05 plate 45 diesel, and that seems to have the same problem as the thread starter. It is gutless, completely different to the old one. It's done just over 30,000 I think, I've always wondered if the turbo is working as it should. It's certainly workign to some extent as when the turbo pipe blew on the old car, there really was zero power atall. The newer 45 is much better again on fuel consumption though, uses f*** all!
If I remember right, the only things that ever needed doing to it were replacing the brake lines (obviously) and the turbo pipe blew on it once when I was visiting a university open day, simply bought some insulating tape and taped the hole and I think it stayed like that for 2 or 3 months before the pipe was finally changed.
Keep an eye on the clutch linkages, ours siezed as it entered the gearbox housing. We thought the clutch had gone, but it had siezed there resulting in the clutch pedal ripping itself away from the bulkhead. Replaced the clutch pedal and wacked the joint with a hammer a few times and it was fine afterwards. Unfortunately whilst removing the gearbox to change the clutch, we weren't paying enough attention to what we were doing and accidentaly split the gearbox instead. I ended up with a bunch of cogs on the kitchen table trying to re-build the damn thing having never done anything like it before and no instuctions. Figured it out after 2 days of trying and it went for another 20,000 with that gearbox lol.
The car was finally scrapped after the front wheel fell off!!!! Sorry for the rant, but I have a bit of a soft spot for Rover 420/45's as they really are well built cars. Nothing fancy, but great all rounders.
Saying that, my parents upgraded to a 05 plate 45 diesel, and that seems to have the same problem as the thread starter. It is gutless, completely different to the old one. It's done just over 30,000 I think, I've always wondered if the turbo is working as it should. It's certainly workign to some extent as when the turbo pipe blew on the old car, there really was zero power atall. The newer 45 is much better again on fuel consumption though, uses f*** all!
Edited by dullonien on Wednesday 3rd November 17:03
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