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Brera 2.4 JTD 'wavering' / 'stuttering'

2K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  roughboat 
#1 ·
My Brera's intermittent engine problem is getting more frequent.

I notice at motorway speed, the engine will waver and stutter. Not violently, but as if one of the cylinders is not functioning. Also, fuel economy recorded on the trip computer drops from 35mpg to about 20-25mpg during this period.
I've tried dropping through the gears to see if it 'clears' at higher rev ranges but its still not running quite right.
After about 5-10 minutes driving, it returns to normal: smooth running, normal performance and normal fuel economy.

I've had the car about a year - it's an '09 with now 40K miles. It had only 25K when I bought it. The problem was there in the first few months of ownership but very very rarely occurred. Now it happens on every trip. I'm wandering if I'm doing damage - I need to get it fixed as it spoils what is a fine car.

Anyone else had the problem or knows what's wrong? I'm reluctant to take it in to a dealer without having an idea of what this might be.
I'm not getting any technical warnings on the dash-display and the turbo pressure seems smooth and not erratic when the engine 'wavers'.

Appreciate any help
Thanks
 
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#2 ·
I had a similar problem when I first got my brera - same year and similar mileage as yours the dealer fitted a new EGR valve - that seemed to cure it for a good spell but the problem has returned, one occasion it kicked the cruise control off! Will keep my eye on the string to see if you find any experts who know what the problem is
 
#4 ·
Think your find that is the when the regeneration of the diesel particular filter taking place. Does it happen between 10 and 20 hours of driving. Do a search on here DPF loads of posts on here.
Just read more from your post if it happens every trip it could be clogged and needs replacing or cleaning or drilling. Do you mainly do short journeys ?
 
#5 ·
Is this DPF regenning, as phwspider says? Sounds like the dpf is pretty blocked, and/or not regenning propely. This is exactly the same as I used to get. I think my cars had mainly been used for short journeys before I bought it - and despite me using it mainly for longer and motorway journeys, and giving it the old italian service from time to time to clear its tubes, this problem kept recurring. Even getting forced regens done didn't really help, and the wavering became a noticeable judder.

Odd that you mention the turbo pressure seems smooth, though. Typically on regen, everytime you take your foot off the accelerator, the turbo needle would drop like a stone.

A new alfa dpf is extortionate in cost. There are some reconditioned units that come up from time to time. If you want to keep the dpf, get it drilled/cleaned. I got so fed-up, I got a full egr blank/dpf delete and map - much better performance, better mpg too.
 
#7 ·
Alfatune Motorsport in St Helens - might be worth checking them. I'm sure lots of people on here will have used them and can give you advice or other recommendations.

EDIT - I've no affiliation with Alfatune Motorsport, nor have I used their services. They regularly come up in threads though, and pretty much always in a positive context. In the interests of full disclosure, I did get an Alfatune remap, but that was done elsewhere.
 
#9 ·
If you got anyone in your area with fiat multi scan diag software that connects to your car via the obd2 port to their laptop you have a pressure sensor in the dpf which gives some indication how blocked it is.
Check out posts by fixitsan he knows a hell of a lot about dpf. Regents and pressure sensors and drilling.
 
#10 ·
Hi I'm a new Alfa 2.4 JTDm owner, I've only just became a Alfa forum user, having read loads of posts on Juddering, rough idle etc, various owners have mentioned EGR clean and Throttle body clean, I did this this morning, a slight fiddle to remove parts, I got them off, OMG THE AMOUNT OF SOOT, cleaned them all with brake cleaner and hoovered out as much soot from the intake manifold as I could, refitted all parts, cleaned the MAP sensor also, BINGO, the engine runs like a Rolex, your suggestions worked, thanks for your suggestions gents :))
 
#11 ·
I went to clean the EGR this weekend (even though its electronically deleted) and gave up 1 bolt in :) Fiddle? understatement of the year! I couldn't get any turning radius for any spanner or socket I owned on 1 of the 4 bolts holding it on so just gave up!

Next time its in for maintenance, I'll get someone better than me with a spanner to fit a blanking plate just to be 100% sure!
 
#12 ·
Get the intakes all cleaned out, make sure the EGR works.

If that doesn't resolve it, you need a new cylinder head to prevent recurrence as the exhaust valves will be coked up solid.

You can repair the old one, but it may come back. There is a phase II cylinder head redesign.

It's a problem unique to the 210.

If it only does this at part throttle on the cruise, this will need ruled out.

If the car is running right, you won't notice the regen other than the noise, mpg and boost guage.
 
#15 ·
I think before you go cleaning / blanking EGR valves you should try putting a bottle of injector cleaner in with your next full tank of diesel. I had a similar problem on my 1.9 and a bottle of sTp diesel injector cleaner solved it. Been running smooth ever since.
 
#16 ·
thanks, Dicey.
I'll do that first. To be honest, I'm a little surprised (but not shocked) that this fault first developed at 25K miles and 3yrs old; coking sounds quite extreme. I do mainly motorway trips but, of course, the prior owner may not have.

Good to hear everyone's experiences and comment.
 
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