Is this a direct injection engine

[lawler999]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273207063515

[4eyes]

Wikipedia says "multi point injection". Ad says it's already converted to lpg though?

[lawler999]

I'm thinking of buying it ,but I didn't really want another direct injection car as its a pain keeping it topped up with petrol and gas . I currently have a Mazda CX-7 on gas .
I have spoken with the seller and he said it was converted to LPG about 9 years ago , so that's more or less from new , should I be wary of buying it as its nearly 10 years old ?
Does the tank need renewing after 10 years ,or just checking over ?
It has a BRC system fitted to it .

[Brian_H]

The tank is tested and certified for 10 years from when its new.

If its internally mounted (as that one looks to be) then it would probably be fine. But without someone giving it a look over you can't tell for sure. Retesting it generally is not economically sensible, if you are in the situation of doing so you'd probably replace the tank and valve. Depends on how you/your insurance company feel about it (they may ask for an entry on the register, in which case if it isn't already on the register then an inspection may suffice, The reg shown on the ad is not on the UKlpg register).

The complete lack of any photos of the LPG system besides the filler point doesn't give any idea of how well its been installed. Which is probably more important than the system used.

[lawler999]

Thanks for the info Brian .
I think you've put me off buying it now ,
I suppose it's a bit worrying that it's not on the register , and then with the hassle of renewing the tank and valve , I might give it a miss .

[Brian_H]

Thanks for the info Brian .
I think you've put me off buying it now ,
I suppose it's a bit worrying that it's not on the register , and then with the hassle of renewing the tank and valve , I might give it a miss .

Its a decision only you can make - Its possible to to get it on the register, and only worth doing if your insurance company requires it (is your current one on there?)

If you were getting an installer to replace the tank then they should be able to advise on/sort out any paperwork that would need doing - though again your insurance company is the one that needs to be asked, as its them that will decide what is required (it may just be that they want the certificate that comes with the tank, nothing at all, an entry on the register - noone other than they can tell you!).

Even to replace the tank isn't major money compared to the price of the car your looking at. Personally having had both, I prefer a car with a new conversion that you know the history of and isn't a 10 year old kit with all the associated wear and tear involved.

[LPGC]

I believe that around that year (2009) on that model of car Merc switched from a 1.6 supercharged port injection engine to a 1.6 turbo'd direct injection engine, and since this one is converted to LPG (with a BRC system) it will most likely be the 1.6 supercharged port injection engine.

Wouldn't worry about year of tank manufacture unless the tank is external and corroded.

As Bri implied, UKLPG registration means little and as long as you know the right people (ahem!) getting a vehicle on UKLPG's database isn't an issue. On another note it's unusual for a car with a BRC system not to be on UKLPG's database as most BRC installers are members of UKLPG... but again this doesn't say anything really.

Ahh I think you've been in touch with me for a while to sort.. edit.. something else out that doesn't run properly on LPG?

[lawler999]

Hi Simon , thanks for the points mentioned regarding the tank and the engine , I'm warming to the idea of buying it again .
I was the guy with the Mazda CX-7 , been trying to get hooked up with you for ages but your always busy .
I have taken the Mazda to a couple of recommended people in Birmingham , but they could not connect to the ecu , they tried loads of different leads and software but were never able to connect to the ecu .
I spent ages downloading loads of software and finally managed to find the right one that worked (direct injection ) I took my car to one of the local guys thinking great I can get the slight hesitation sorted now , ( been bugging me for months ) and once connected there were no readings for the gas injector timings ( I'm guessing somethings wired wrong) , but rather than look at the car they sent me packing .
The next time I tried to connect to the ecu it came up with an error in the connection so I was back to square one .
The car runs great apart from a slight hesitation / jump around 2000 revs .
It used to throw up an eml , for too lean on idle bank one , but it has stopped doing it now .
It's a shame as its a great car .

[Brian_H]

I believe that around that year (2009) on that model of car Merc switched from a 1.6 supercharged port injection engine to a 1.6 turbo'd direct injection engine, and since this one is converted to LPG (with a BRC system) it will most likely be the 1.6 supercharged port injection engine.

Wouldn't worry about year of tank manufacture unless the tank is external and corroded.

As Bri implied, UKLPG registration means little and as long as you know the right people (ahem!) getting a vehicle on UKLPG's database isn't an issue. On another note it's unusual for a car with a BRC system not to be on UKLPG's database as most BRC installers are members of UKLPG... but again this doesn't say anything really.

Ahh I think you've been in touch with me for a while to sort.. edit.. something else out that doesn't run properly on LPG?

Given the car involved it wouldn't surprise me if its had a reg change to a personal plate if it was on the register at some point, I've no idea if their system is sophisticated enough to actually deal with that, but I'd suspect it would be a case of manual intervention required to update their database rather than anything automatic.

For the money the car is IF the database registration is required by your insurance, then I'd suggest the seller needs to make some provision for it (if not then its a good haggling point!).

[Gilbertd]

One of my cars was on the Register with a personal plate that was on it when it was converted. I phoned DriveLPG and all they needed was a scan of the V5 showing the VIN and the current registration number emailing to them and they changed the entry.

Personally I'd hold out for a C230K. The Kompressor in the name means it is the supercharged version but my other half has a C180K Coupe. Smaller and lighter but with a 1.8 version of the same engine, the performance is OK and the economy is pretty good (averaging 38 mpg on a 38 mile each way commute to work and back). I would think that motor in a bigger, heavier 4 door car would make it both thirstier and slower. The bigger engine won't have to work so hard so the economy should be good and will still perform well.

[lawler999]

Thanks for all the advice guys .
My current car is not on the register, insurance never asked for any paperwork .