aspire_helen

Hi I am the one whose C5 2.2HDi has not used any DPX42 for 10,000s miles and has no warnings and runs fine (at 152,000 miles). As it is now apparent that the "car" is not adding the DPX42 to the fuel automatically, I now keep small bottles of pre-measured 37.5ml (approx) doses in the boot and pour one into the tank (60litres) before I fill up - its clean and takes a mere 10 extra seconds at the pumps. Its no more difficult than using any other fuel additive. Ive drained the DPX42 tank and If I could I would remove the DPX42 tank and the associated pump, ECU etc, saving up to 15kg of redundant weight. The automated additive system is an unnecessary complexity which clearly causes so much grief, but is a money spinner for garages. Helen

Update. The screen has been normal for the last 2 months (over winter) with no yellowing or horizontal lines. Hence, I assume it is a temperature-related fault - electrical component ok in cold weather but begins to break down in hot weather. Lets see what summer brings!!!

Porsche430, 2001 2.2hdi dw12ted4 using dpx42/eolys. I shall get around to removing the cat/dpf and check their substrates for thermal damage if there has been no additive to reduce the exhaust gas temperature during active regeneration.. Until last year, I drove at least 250 motorway miles weekly so I wonder if passive regeneration has been enough to clean the filter.. I think it would be helpful if the car informed the driver when active regeneration was taking place..

Paul, yep it has a citroen fitted dpf. The car's second dpf changed at 73000 miles,now at 152,000 miles.

Just checked the additive level. It's still full, none has been used since I topped it up to full 40000 miles ago. In fact, I now suspect no additive has been used for the last 60000 to 70000. But, no warnings and no problems. What's going On?! How can the "system" not notice that no additive is being used? Suppose I will have to add it manually from now on as I will certainly not pay for a new additive pump or additive ECU. 37.5ml per 60ltr tank full by 50ml syringe. It might seem laborious, but I used to add 2 stroke oil to my motorcycle tank so no problem there .

We had a similar problem on a C4 1.6hdi. It would occasionally, momentarily lose power when, say, accelerating onto a roundabout or junction - very unnerving. In addition, the engine would "miss a beat" just driving along. The Citroën dealer could not reproduce or find the fault. After a year or 2 the engine failed to start one morning. The Citroën dealer traced it to the camshaft position sensor which they replaced. Afterwards, the fault never resurfaced. Apparently the CPS must have been intermittent but was only identified when it finally failed.

The corrosion resistance of my 2001 C5's galvanised body is remarkable, but has been ruined by numpties in the motor trade. I noticed today that the plastic trim strips covering the sills under the doors were slightly loose and several of the plastic retaining screws were missing. When I removed the strips I found that the sill seams were significantly deformed at numerous places along the length, noticably either side of all jacking points, front and rear. Clearly, over the years so called expert mechanics have mis-positioned the lifting arms. Remarkably, at some time someone has even lifted the car by the middle of the sill directly below the central door pillar. The result is damaged sill seams, split open in two places, breaching the galvanising layer and permitted rust to penetrate. More than half the locating points for the plastic trim have been severly bent. This damage has been disguised by the plastic sill trim which has absorbed the weight without deformation or significant marking. i suspect this has been done on 4 arm hoists during dealer maintenance, MOTs or tyre changing, but after 13 years I cannot say by whom. But in future, I will insist on supervising the lift. In the meantime, it has taken all day to hammer and straigten the damage, thoroughly under-seal and waxoyl the sills, and source new fasteners to refit the sill trim. Finally, the evidence would indicate my car has been mis-lifted on numerous occasions - so probably it has and will happen to everyone.

The Haynes for the C5 covers your 1.6hdi engine. Worth the investment if you are going to tackle other diy jobs. For other readers, engines such as the 2.2hdi are covered in the Peugeot 406 Hdi Haynes !

I should add another option - fitting a new pdf ! New ones are now down to circa £130. However, these are not the OE quality silicon carbide filters but the cheaper and less efficient "cordierite" cores. Nonetheless, Walkers, who make both types, recommend the cordierite for cars which are over 10 years or used primarily on motorway journeys. They recommend the more expensive OE quality for younger or sporty/powerful cars, or mainly urban driving and taxis. My car falls into the cordierite category so is a viable cost option if my original dpf blocks too bad for regeneration. See www.walker-eu.com for loads of useful info on dpfs and additives. One useful tip from them is that if you are worried about a reduction in power, it is unlikely to be the dpf unless accompanied by the appropriate system warnings. So i am in no rush to clean the dpf.

Ive lost 2 in 13 years. Unlikely someone has pinched it. It is a very vulnerable design and anyone trying to remove the cover without extending the jet first (by normal operation) runs a high risk of breaking the plastic tangs that attach it to the extending jet. Likely it's come off in use or due to a car park bump for instance. Ref the jet not working. Assuming the other is okay (ie fuse and pump ok), is the jet extending at all? Is any water coming out, even inside the bumper ? If the jet is not extending, is it misaligned with the aperture and being blocked by the bumper? It is a close fit and a slight bumper misalignment (eg from a bump) is enough. Is the extending jet (the bit the cover attaches to) intact? It is retained to the jet body by a small and weak internal star washer ( but it has to cope with a strong spring and high water pressure )- it can fail resulting in the jet internals/spring shooting out. If so, there is no choice but replacing the whole jet body - expensive part and requires bumper removal. Assuming you have high discharge headlamp bulbs, be aware a non functioning headlamp washer is now an mot fail. Note also, if the motor freezes, the fuse will likely blow. The headlamp washer motor is very much more powerful than the wind screen washer motor (to provide sufficient pressure to force the jets out) and much more expensive.

I suggest this post is removed

It would appear that DIY diagnostics is now affordable with ebay selling Lexia3/pp2000/Diagbox/canbus tools capable of, not only reading faults,but doing virtually everything the dealer can do. The latest i have seen is Diagbox v7 v50 v25 for less than £70 from "vehicle-diagnostics" of Macclesfield. Does anyone know of a "dummys guide" to using such tools and a buyers guide?

I have used an E-PRANCE with gps and mini sd card for several months now, all fine. Its stuck high on the windscreen just to the right of the rear view mirror. I have fed the lead behind the mirror, under the sunroof lining, and drops down behind the drivers seat. From there, i plug it into either 1. The forward 12v socket, which is powered by the ignition switch, or 2. The rear socket, connected directly to the battery. The dashcam has an auto start / motion sensor function, so i usually plug it into (1) for driving. Often, when i leave the car i move the plug to (2) for "security camera" recording. I must add that i believe the camera has already deterred the unwelcome attention from a yob. I had the audacity to suggest to him that his wheel spinning in a Halfords carpark may be injuious to my childrens health (not quite my words). From inside the shop i kept an eye on him. When he thought i had gone, he approached the front of my car, but then stopped dead, peered at the windscreen, and then walked away.The dashcam footage showed our entire "exchange".

Madmadmax, yes there is one option I missed out. Namely, blowing through with high pressure air. Youtube has 2 examples where the considerable amount of soot is seen being blown straight out. However, it may need a bit more than just poking the output from a compressor down the tube.

Paul, ah ah so thats what partno 440721 (Set 2 shim) is. Madmadmax, bushing seems like a suitable engineer's corrective solution, though someone would have to do the thermal stress calcs to ensure that the different coeffs of expansion with close tolerances did not crack the caliper under heat. Although, as the alloy caliper is likely to expand the most it should not be a problem. On another thought, if the dissimilar metal corrosion between the caliper and suspension can be prohibited, there would be less cause to remove the calipers, perhaps only for disc replacement? From my experience, a new 14mm disc cannot be fitted after the caliper is bolted down, but can a disc be removed and refitted with the caliper partially screwed out, say 10mm? That would negate removing the bolts and maintain the integrity of the loctite in the bore. Only one problem, Haynes (eg Citroen) say the bolts must be replaced ie the bolts must be removed from the caliper, or in my case fit new calipers. On the other hand, cylinder head bolts can be reused as long as they have not been stretched beyond limits. II can only suppose the difference is that the cylinder head bolts, whilst under significantly more stress than the caliper bolts, are in almost pure tension, whereas the caliper bolts will mainly be under shear (and even more so if not tightly fitting into the caliper bore!!). Yet another thought. One reason I defaulted to fit new calipers before I had even tried to remove them, was that the corrosion and pitting of the resulting alloy face mating to the steel suspension arm would not provide the smooth and stable face also essential to the assembly's strength. Ah ah, I thought, as the calipers are not handed, and if the bolts can be removed, all you need to do is to swap the left and right calipers (and swap the brake pipe and bleed valve accordingly). This means that the non-corroded outer face of one caliper becomes the inner face of the caliper on the opposite wheel. Further,if one half of one caliper is damaged, you can always make up one caliper by mixing the caliper halves from both wheels. You might need to renew the twopenny (ok, more like 60p) brake fluid seal (citroen part no 44205). Anyway, for me, job done (hoperfully for a few years). Now turning my mind to FAP/DPF and dpx42 as I am now using my car much less and for shorter journeys.

I thought i would research the options for cleaning a fap rather than replacement through a citroen dealer. It would be interesting to know who has tried which method and with what level of success. My preferred option at present would be to remove the dpf, spray in a suitable cleaning agent (but which?), washout with water, dry, refit. OPTIONS 1. Dealer exchange. In my experience, you receive a cleaned filter, not a new one. 2. Professional in situ clean, typically a 3stage process where 2 fluids are sprayed onto upstream face of the pdf, then a 3rd additive is added to the fuel and the engine run.eg Bardahl and Archoil systems. 3. DIY in situ clean. Similar to option2 but comprising only one fluid being sprayed onto the dpf face. Eg Cartechnic, Wurth W906, NormfestDPF100, Millers. Typically, £35 to £50 per filter, though Millers is approx £100. 4. Remove filter and wash through with high pressure water hose or pressure cleaner until output runs clear. Possible pre-treatment with cleaning agent used in option 2 or 3?. 5. Add dpf cleaning agent to fuel. I have found 14 different brands of this on ebay, all suggesting regular usage to keep the dpf clean, or to clean sufficiently to remove a dpf blocked warning. STP, K2 turbo, Granville 10k boost, Wynns, Silver Hook, JLM, Forte, Archoil, Bardahl, Triple QX, Protec, Powermaxx, Cataclean, Mannol 9994. Typical prices are £5 to £20 to dose a tank of diesel. I cannot find any info on whether these are compatible with eolys dpx42 or indeed do the same job. 6. Professional clean. Remove your own filter, post it off, get your own filter back cleaned within 48hrs. I was quoted this week £250+VAT inc courier both ways.

Oops, got the doseage slightly wrong. It should be 37.5ml above, so read as amount of eolys dpx42 to diesel fuel: 37.5ml per 60ltrs (typical tank topup). 300ml per 480 ltrs (low level warning). 1ltrs per 1600ltrs (ie for 1ltr eolys kit, part no 973665). 4.5ltrs per 7200ltrs (ie for 4.5ltr eolys kit, part no 997995). 5ltrs per 8000ltrs (ie additive tank nominal capacity). Hence, a 80,000km/50,000mile service would assume an average fuel consumption rate of exactly 10km/ltr, thats 28mpg, lets say 30mpg to allow for a margin. By the way, be alert to a garage charging you multiples of the one ltr price when he procures the better value 4.5ltr kits. Also, ask how much eolys he had to add rather than being charged a blanket cost for 4.5 or 5ltrs. Unless anyone knows different, i do not believe unused eolys needs to be removed (as with an engine oil change), and i dont believe the filling process does that anyway. It merely tops it up and catches the overspill excess so that the amount added can be calculated for the system update. Speaking of which, i have never had the additive computer updated whenever ive added eolys.

Thanks paul. Yep, coppereased the pad retaining bolt and used a stainless nyloc nut so that the bolt is not overtightened. However, i suspect it may be washed off in time, so worth checking periodically. My old rear pads had the (yes, stainless) shims. However, the new brembo pads came with the exact same shims already adhered to them so i have not refitted the shims. The brakes are now complete, bedding in and passed mot yesterday. New Brembo discs and pads on rear, new Fujitoyo pads added to existing Apec disk on front. All working very well, no squeal for instance. But then again, the odd brake squeal i have had in the past has only occured during dry summers.

The following data is for the dwted4 for rpo 9276 to rpo 9491 as fitted to my c5 2.2hdi 2001 using eolys dpx42. The additive pump doses the fuel tank at rate of 37.7ml dpx42 (1.9g of active ingredient cerine) per 60ltrs of diesel. Hence, 5ltrs of eolys will be used up by 7956ltrs of diesel. Assuming a fuel consumption of 10miles per ltr gives sufficient eolys for approx 80,000miles. Hence, the recommended service of 50,000miles/80000km (based solely on additive, not dpf factors) is highly conservative and unnecessary expensive for the customer especially as a low level warning is provided. The low level warning is initiated at 0.3ltrs remaining. The indication illuminates the "service" led and apprpriate warning. Citroen state that 0.3ltrs is sufficient for 6 fuel tank refills of 80 litrs each, thats 480ltrs of diesel, so no need to rush to the dealer or add dpx42. Here is my actual useage. At 59,564miles added 0.8ltrs. At 63,872miles topped up to overflow with 4.2ltrs.(Mainly motorway driving at 50-55mpg). At 112,773miles topped up to overflow with 2.5ltrs. Now, at 150,000 miles i need check it again. The much lower consumption up to 112,0000 miles i canmot explain. However, at 75,700miles the additive pump started running continuously and had to be replaced. Afterwards i measured the depth of the additive at 4.5 to 5cm commensurate with 4.5 to 5ltrs remaining, so the pump had not overdosed the fuel but merely recirculated the additive through the pump return line. It would be so much easier if Citroen had used a transluscent tank as have other manufacturers, eg as per brake, coolant and suspension fluid tanks. By the way, i have never had an additive or dpf/fap warning. I have replaced the dpf only once at 73,144miles. The filter removed was remarkably clean - probably due to daily motorway driving at 65mpg on cruise.

Brakes bled without problem using 2man process, thanks.

Hi, one thing to consider is play in the self-lubricating steering wheel. It is a common problem recognised by citroen on earlier c5s. It appears as light knocking, more audible than felt, when turning at low speed and ligh steering angles (eg in a carpark)as if the steering wheel has some radial slack. Mine started after 20,000miles, now done 150,000miles. Citroen gave me this interim fix which works for me but i have to repeat it every year or so, eg before an mot. 1. Jack both front wheels clear of the ground. 2. In the footwell, remove the carpetted cover where the steering column enters the floor. This will expose a uj. 3. Slacken (not remove) the pinch bolt an the uj. 4. Turn the steering wheel lock to lock at least six times. 5. Tighten the pinch bolt, refit cover, etc etc. The knocking should be eliminated or reduced. If not, a permsnent fix requires a new steering column but ive avoided it for 13 years! i did this only last monday and it eliminated the knocking completely for the mot. Ive tried doing it without jacking the wheels, by driving onto 2 pieces of flat wood so that the wheels turn easily, but ive found the results not to be so good.

Hi, this happened to my 2001 2.2hdi many years ago. All i have to add is that i did not try to repair the very fine terminal ring. I replaced it with one taken from a scrapped peugeot 205 for 50p. Many citroens and peugeots of that vintage had the same switchgear.

Paul, thanks for that - i will digest all you say. Ref blanking the brake pipes- i used a female-female coupler (size M10x1.0) from ebay, £1.89 for two delivered. The brake pipe screws into one end, and i used a bleed screw from the new caliper to seal off the other. Helen

Paul re your observation on stainless steel fastners. I often refit stainless in place of common sized, non-load bearing mild steel, but i always use copperease. The galvanic potential between stainless and mild steel is not that bad, but with alloys a buffer such as copperease or threadlock is essential. Stainless heads do not rust, so bits will always fit. Stainless is harder so heads are more resistant to deformation eg by an impact wrench. I have used hex drives, to replace the torx, as i have a set of impact hex drive bits. Also, when bolt threads protrude out the other side, the protruding threads expand on rusting preventing the bolt from withdrawing. Its ok if you can get to the reverse side and derust the threads, but if not, stainless never have that problem. helen

Hi, having reread some of the threads regarding rear brake caliper removal. Many people seem to think the loctite down the bolt shafts is for corrosion resistance or mere threadlocking. No, its not. It is to enable the very long bolt to cope with the extreme shear stresses which would otherwise be generated due to the relatively short length of thread used to secure it. Without the loctite the bolt is a very slack fit. The loctite replicates the nearest thing to an interference fit to maximise the assemblies rigidity and strength. Also, the loctite prevents the two parts of the calipers shearing even slightly and potentially rupturing the flimsy brake fluid seal. Using copper grease on the shafts, to prevent galvanic corrosion, instead of loctite will only make the assembly weaker. Personally, i think citroens loctite solution is a bodge job to correct a design flaw. They have to use one of loctites high strength, high temperature threadlocks using an activator to ensure assist the loctite cures across the relatively wide gap between caliper and bolt shaft. Ive also read that someone has had stainless steel caliper bolts made. Mad! The citroen bolts are class10 steel, very strong (stronger than normal "high tensile steel") and manufactured and heat-treated through verified processes. Stainless may be hard but does not have the same tensile properties as class10 steel. Also, cold machining raises stresses especially where the threads are cut. Also the galvanic potential between high nickel stainless steel and aluminium alloys is greater than carbon steel zinc plated, so the corrosion will be worse. If corrosion has taken full hold between the stainless bolt and alloy caliper it is likely to be impossible to turn the bolt at all. Maybe such non approved repairs have stood the test of time, but they might just fail on emergency braking after a few years of brake cycle fatigue and corrosive winters.......after all, citroen oe bolts are only £13 for all 4.