Turbo-diesel engine 2.2 TiD (D223L) was inherited to Saab cars from Opel cars. Both brands were part of the GM concern.
The 2.2-liter diesel engine was used on Saabs from 1998 to 2009. The longest it lasted on the 9-5 model. And, of course, this engine was installed on 7 Opel models: from Astra to Omega, on Frontera, Signum and Sintra. Depending on the year of production, this motor develops from 115 to 125 hp.
Saab D223L 2.2 TiD engine: Specifications and features
Saab D223L 2.2 TiD engine is a diesel power unit, based on the X22DTH and Y22DTH motors, designed to meet modern requirements for power, reliability and economy. Installed in Saab and other brands of General Motors concern, this engine has proved to be reliable and durable.
First modification based on X22DTH
- Determined displacement: 2171 cm³
- Power system: Direct injection
- Power: 115 hp
- Torque: 260 Nm
- Cylinder block: Cast iron, R4
- Cylinder head: Aluminum, 16 valves
- Cylinder bore: 84 mm
- Piston stroke: 98 mm
- Compression Ratio: 18.5
- Special Features: Intercooler
- Hydrocompensators: Yes
- Transmission: Chain drive
- Fasoregulator: None
- Turbocharger: Garrett GT1549S
- Fuel type: Diesel
- Oil: 5.5 liters 5W-40
- Environmental Class: EURO 2
- Example service life: 300,000 km
- Weight: 195 kg.
This modification of the engine has an output of 115 hp and develops a torque of 260 Nm. Garrett turbocharger provides stable engine operation at high loads, and cast iron cylinder block gives the engine additional strength and resistance to overheating.
Second modification based on Y22DTH
- Determined displacement: 2171 cm³
- Power system: Direct injection
- Power: 125 hp
- Torque: 280 Nm
- Cylinder block: Cast iron, R4
- Cylinder head: Aluminum, 16 valves.
- Cylinder bore: 84 mm
- Piston stroke: 98 mm
- Compression Ratio: 18.5
- Special Features: Intercooler
- Hydrocompensators: Yes
- Transmission: Chain drive
- Fasoregulator: None
- Turbocharger: Garrett GT1849V
- Fuel type: Diesel
- Oil: 5.5 liters 5W-40
- Environmental class: EURO 3
- Example life: 320,000 km
- Weight: 195 kg.
In the second modification of the Saab D223L 2.2 TiD, power has been increased to 125 hp, and torque has increased to 280 Nm. An improved Garrett GT1849V turbine allows the engine to work efficiently at higher loads. The environmental class has been raised to EURO 3, making the engine more environmentally friendly than the previous version.
Main advantages of the engine
- Durability and reliability: Cast-iron cylinder block and chain-driven timing ensure long engine life.
- Economy: Turbocharging and intercooler systems help achieve high fuel efficiency.
- Hydrocompensators: Simplifies maintenance and extends engine life.
- Universal: Installed in a wide range of GM vehicles, including Saab, Opel and other brands.
The D223L engine, thanks to its combination of reliability and economy, has become a popular choice for cars requiring a hardy and powerful diesel engine.
Reliability of the Saab 2.2 TiD (D223L) and Opel 2.2 DTI (Y22DTR) engine.
Opinions about the engine 2.2 TiD / DTI are contradictory. Someone has this motor happily goes more than half a million kilometers, and someone is saddened by the capital and replacement with a contract. Also its fuel system with Bosch VP44 fuel injector is a lot of surprises. Now we will try to tell about everything.
Starter
Quite often troubles with the engine 2.2 TiD / DTI are associated with the fact that it does not start or starts very badly. In addition to faults in the fuel system, the starter can be the culprit. Often it simply starts to spin weaker, because of which the turbodiesel simply does not start or starts after a few seconds of cranking.
Fuel system airing
A separate topic of the engine 2.2 TiD / DTI is the inflammation. Air can enter the fuel system through flimsy quick couplings, deformed fuel filter housing or its leaky rubber. Air can leak into the fuel injector through a blistered ring under the bolt covering the hole for blocking the shaft of the fuel injector.
A separate cause of blow-by is sagging rings under the nozzle traverses, which will be discussed below.
Air sucking can occur both at every engine start and after long engine idle times.
Crankshaft position sensor
The crankshaft position sensor requires replacement if the following symptoms occur: spontaneous engine stoppages, rpm dips, inability to develop more than 2000 rpm, accompanied by tachometer shutdown or jerking of its arrow. Also when the crankshaft sensor fails, the engine goes into emergency mode, errors 0725, 1335 and 1631 are recorded.
Oil leaks
On the 2.2 TiD / DTI engine, oil misting or leaks usually occur on the heat exchanger gasket and on the valve cover. Oil misting also occurs on the left side of the intake manifold and on the pipe near the EGR valve.
Crankshaft pulley
Crankshaft pulley is damper pulley, needs replacement in case of rubber damper destruction. Oil leaks on the camshaft oil seal can and do occur due to a clogged crankcase ventilation system.
Vacuum pump
Also oil leaks can be observed on the valve on the gasket of the vacuum pump.
In addition, the vacuum pump itself is known for failures. In its design there are two check valves, one of which controls the brake booster, and the second (it is directed downward) – the vacuum line of the EGR valve and the turbine geometry actuator. A failure of this valve causes EGR and turbo malfunctions. Usually manifested in engine duds and reduced engine traction.
Also due to clogging of the lower valve diaphragm, oil appears in the vacuum lines.
Mass Air Flow Sensor
A slight decrease in power and traction can indicate a malfunction of the mass airflow sensor. Also, the wiring of the DMRV on the engine 2.2 TiD / DTI often gives breaks in the most unexpected places, even in the chips-connectors. With problems with the DMRV error P0100 is recorded.
EGR valve
The EGR valve is a known weak point of the 2.2 TiD / DTI engine. Usually in case of malfunction or problems with it, the corresponding error (0400) is recorded. The valve can become wedged in intermediate positions, which impairs the regulation of the exhaust gas flow. Due to the lack of oxygen, engine power is severely reduced. This symptom may disappear for a while when the engine is restarted.
You can try to clean the EGR valve, although this does not always help. And in the electronic EGR valve can also wear out the plastic parts of its drive. In general, usually the owners of cars with a 2.2 TiD / DTI engine decide to plug, “blow off” the EGR valve or put a cheat.
Also, malfunctions in the EGR valve can occur due to problems with vacuum and electro-vacuum valves.
Turbine
The 2.2 TiD / DTI engine uses a Garrett GT18V variable geometry turbine. The turbine is a good, reliable turbine. It fails mainly because of the economy on engine oil: due to poor lubrication on the shaft there is a workout on the shaft, there is a backlash and oil seepage into the intake manifold. We remind you that engine oil burning in the cylinders gives white smoke from the exhaust pipe. And excess oil or unexpectedly injected oil from the intercooler into the engine leads to engine blowout, if you are not able to shut it down. Also before the turbine breaks down, it often starts whistling.
The blades of its geometry are driven by a vacuum actuator, so its work is affected by problems with vacuum lines or electro-vacuum valves. In other words, turbine under-blowing or over-blowing can occur because of vacuum problems. But also, the geometry vanes themselves can also become wedged.
The geometry actuator stem has mechanical adjustments: two screws adjust the initial position of the blades and the maximum position.
Vortex flaps
The 2.2 TiD / DTI engine is equipped with vortex flaps – they are located in the intake manifold. Usually, troubles with them are due to problems with the vacuum that drives their actuator, or they get jammed due to an abundance of oily deposits. Due to jamming, air currents can rip off one or more of the damper “plates”, causing serious damage to the engine.
If the flaps for one reason or another begin to malfunction, that is, remain closed in those modes when they should be open, it affects the engine output. It is not uncommon for the flaps to simply be cut out to avoid having problems with them.
Jets
The 2.2 TiD / DTI engine uses mechanical injectors. Fuel is fed to them not only through the usual steel tubes, but also through the so-called traverses. Tubes from the fuel injector are screwed into the traverses, which press the injectors and supply fuel through the channels drilled in them. There are also return channels in the traverses. Between the traverses and injectors there are rubber-metal sealing rings. All this construction is placed in the cylinder head.
Quite a common problem is related to the sagging of the sealing rings. Because of this, the tightness between the injectors and the traverses is broken. Consequently, the fuel line begins to communicate with the space under the valve cover.
When the engine is running, the reverse fuel channels, in which there is a vacuum, begin to pull up the engine oil and mix it with the fuel. And at parking, when the oil drains from the cylinder-head, air is sucked in through the weakened rubber rings.
As a result, the engine starts with difficulty. And the fuel filter turns black – it is stained by oil in the fuel. To solve the problem it is necessary to change these sealing rings.
Insecure hot starting due to chain stretching
Due to the stretching of the chain driving the fuel injector, the injection advance angle deviates from the norm to a later value. But starting problems occur on a hot engine. A cold engine starts normally, because the advance control provides an early injection angle. And on a hot engine, when the chain is stretched, the advance angle is shifted to late values, which does not allow to start the engine normally.
In general, to solve such a problem, it is necessary to change the timing chain, preferably the whole set: both chains, their guide shoes and hydraulic tensioner. At the same time, there is a more affordable solution: remove the valve cover and the hatch of the fuel injector, lock the camshaft, release the star of the fuel injector, rotate the crankshaft counterclockwise by 2-3 mm, fix the star of the fuel injector, align the crankshaft and camshaft to the marks.
VPP44
On the 2.2 TiD / DTI engine, fuel injection is controlled by a Bosch VP44 fuel injector. For its time in the second half of the 1990s it was a very progressive pump. But it has enough “sore spots”, both electrically and mechanically. There is a list of all its sins on the Internet – there are about 40 items.
It is worth noting that on the fuel injection system of the engine 2.2 TiD / DTI (and 2.0 DTI) is used a special pump VP44 with a control unit PSG16. It can be distinguished by the two connectors on the ECU.
The electronic control unit stands directly on the fuel injector. It contains the famous transistor that controls the fuel supply valve. The transistor can burn out due to jamming of the feed valve, due to burning of its winding or simply due to overheating, because the transistor itself is cooled by the fuel. Also in general on the ECU board, soldering of all elements is destroyed. “Brain” PSG16 is very expensive to repair, and when replacing it with a used one, you need to bind the immobilizer.
The mechanics of the VP44 fuel injector is equipped with an automatic injection advance, which it consists of a clutch, a piston and a control valve. The injection advance piston is known for jamming due to bent edges of the liner in which it moves. The bent edges prevent the piston from moving freely, scratching it and causing fine abrasive chips. The chips cause wear on other friction pairs and clog the calibrated bores.
Because of the jammed piston, the injection advance angle does not change, the engine will run with tractor rumbling and vibrations, will not accelerate normally. This also causes error 1220, the engine goes into emergency mode. At the same time, the control transistor may burn out.
The injection advance valve is located at the rear of the VP44 fuel injector under the pipe connections. If it fails, the engine does not “accelerate” above 2300-2500 rpm and in general has problems with adjustment of the injection advance angle.
Between the connectors is the metering valve that controls the fuel supply to the injectors. It is he who stops working when the transistor burns out. The valve itself can fail, thus stopping the fuel supply to the injectors.
Weaknesses of the VP44 fuel injector can be listed for a long time. Literally every part in it can wear out and fail.
G timing chain
Both timing chains of the 2.2 TiD / DTI engine, as well as the chain of the balancer shafts have a tendency to stretch and subsequently begin to rattle. Less durable, of course, is the upper single row chain.
In addition, the guide shoes (calipers) can be destroyed – they simply break off and the corresponding chain sags. But more often chains just “chip” them, and plastic shavings clog the oil, clog the oil intake or get into the friction pairs.
The hydraulic tensioners also make surprises: more often they jam, less often even completely destroyed.
The pistons bend the valves on the 2.2 TiD / DTI engine due to the weakening of the tension of the timing chain.
Balancer chain
The balancers rotate at twice the speed of the crankshaft. They are driven by a chain from a gear located on the crankshaft itself. It is the balancer chain that has the flimsiest caliper. It breaks off, the chain sags. The engine is unbalanced, vibrations appear and, when the gas pedal is released, the chain clangs. You can drive like this until the balancer chain breaks. If it breaks, it can jump under the piston of the second cylinder and either damage it or jam the engine.
Crankshaft breakage
Crankshaft breakage on the 2.2 TiD / DTI engine is a fairly common problem. It breaks in half, which can happen both at a mileage of 200,000 kilometers and at a mileage under “half a million”.
In general, the engine balancer module is considered to be the culprit of crankshaft destruction – allegedly with it the load on the crankshaft is greater. And with this we can agree.
In addition, the cause may be oil starvation or poor lubrication of connecting rod liners and crankshaft supports, leading to jamming due to overheating “dry”. This could be plastic chips or even fragments of chain calipers that have gotten into the oil. Usually, on 2.2 TiD / DTI motors with a broken crankshaft, you will also find the calipers “chewed” by chains.
To prevent these troubles it is recommended not to save on oil, good oil will prolong the life of both chains and their guides, protect the crankshaft journals.