Just Sold Vectra For C3 - Maintenance

[johnl]

Hello All

 

New to the forum, but in the process of buying an 02 plate C3.

 

I did have a vectra b diesel but I can say that it was the worst car I have ever owned. Its good to see that there appears to be no major problems with the C3. Its the 1.4 petrol version is there anything I should look out for ?

 

thanks

 

john

[paul.h]

We have a 2003 1.4 petrol SX and it has been ok so far, easy to drive (although not fast), light clutch pedal, good brakes, a bit small on busy motorways giving me a vulnerable feeling compared to our C5, good in snow and only problems outside normal servicing are the usual ones of petrol injector failure and front suspension coil spring failure - you will know if these are faulty since the car will not run properly (engine management light will be on also) and the springs can be checked just by looking at them (most people have had broken springs replaced free by Citroen dealers). Also check the air conditioning (if installed) works since a pipe connection at the front condensor can corrode and leak. The injector failure is caused by water ingress through the bonnet where the windscreen jets go through and also from the water pipe connections to the jets - injector failure can occur after heavy rain (our case and 2 failed). I sealed the bonnet and replaced the plastic water pipe with rubber and had no problems since 2007.

 

Tyres last a long time (35k miles or more) and could perish due to age before wearing out. At 10 years old the timing belt/tensioner/water pump should have been replaced. The front driver's seat cushion may have lost a bit of foam at the door side so check it is still ok. The manual will give about 45 mpg. The models below SX do not have rear headrests but can be fitted. The temperature gauge should be on 3 bars (out of 6) after about 2 miles and stay there - the cabin heater is one of the best in a car we have had so should be nice and hot.

 

If it is not easy to start off (smooth acceleration from low revs) it could be it needs a new accelerator pedal (about £40) since the electrical potentiometer can wear. Body work rust should not be a problem. The rear exhaust box is held on by a metal strap which can corrode but is not available separately and a Citroen full exhaust is about £300 - we fit an aftermarket one (Klarius from Eurocarparts £100) but it resonates at tickover and about 2500 rpm spoiling the car - this has also been reported by another poster on a diesel on the C3 subforum.

 

Servicing is every 2 years so make sure a decent oil is used - ours still looks clean after 2 years. The engine also runs cleanly and inside the exhaust tail pipe is clean.

 

The roof black plastic side strips can come loose at the ends, gluing can work but in the end I replaced ours and found the type of plastic had changed. If there is a rattle from underneath it may be the exhaust heat shield needs fastening back on using large repair washers. If there is a knocking from the front suspension it could be the anti roll bar drop links need replacing (£30 each side) but this would be picked up in an MOT.

 

If you need a decent larger car that is as economical as a C3 petrol and costs less to buy, also consider a C5 2 litre diesel. Ours has been as reliable as the C3 and if you post on the C5 subforum there are plenty of people who will advise and they seem to be good for 200k miles - ask coastline taxis who is one of our respected expert posters.

[johnl]

Hi Paul

 

Thanks for the reply, looks like you have hit the nail on the head. Picked the car up today and the garage said they had replenished the air con, pump kicks in but not really cold air. Is the condenser repair expensive and whereabouts does it leak ?

 

I am not far from you as I`m in Golborne. I do have the v600 fault code reader if you are ever in need let me know and you can borrow it. I got the car for the wife as with the vectra it really was hit and miss whether it would work in the mornings. The number of problems it had had to been seen to be believed, including knackered turbo. I spent a small fortune on that car but simply lost faith in it. If the fuel pump goes its 2k and about 500 for a new clutch.

 

I will have a look at the injectors tomorrow, as you have seen its been heavy rain all day. How do you seal the bonnet ?

 

Must admit for a ten year old car I am quite pleased with it.

 

Thanks

 

John

[paul.h]

The air con leak point can be seen by looking through the front grill where a pipe connects to the left side (when seen from the front) of the condenser matrix. It has been advised by iannez on the C3 subforum to grease this pipe at the connection to prevent corrosion. I think repair is replacement of the pipe but you should be able to see if it is badly corroded enough to be leaking.

To seal the bonnet it was a case of pushing up the washer jets and applying a bit of black sealant under the jets. The washer piping is plastic and does not give a good seal against the plastic washer jets and a T connector so I replaced the piping with some rubber pipe but I can not remember where I got it from. If you look at the top of the injectors, look for staining on the injector coils, there are 2 holes on each coil which let in the water to the coils and then rusting and failure. I also put in a bit of sealant in these holes but this may have been a bit excessive.

In winter, the washer jets can easily freeze and if you run the washer pump for more than a second or so its fuse can blow. The fuse (may be F8, red 10 amp) is in the under bonnet fuse box at the left of the battery. To remove its cover, first pull off the battery covers and then to undo the fuse box retaining clip use a small screwdriver to lever it off from the rear of the clip - it takes a bit of practise. You also have to do this to replace any of the left front light bulbs due to limited access. We found the original battery is a bit small if only doing short journeys and eventually replaced it with a heavier duty one from Eurocarparts - the voltage can still fall to about 12.3 but it is large enough to still rapidly spin the engine in winter. When the voltage is low, on starting it can give 3 warning beeps - see handbook for the other causes of this warning.

Our local Citroen dealer is Bentleys on Manchester Road, Warrington and they are good, very friendly and parts are usually not too expensive. An aircon recharge is about £40 so they are probably competitive if you need this doing. If you get a Haynes manual, WMP on Manchester Road, Warrington sells them at a low price.

DIY servicing of the car is easy enough but if you need to clean the back brakes the hub nuts and hub nut caps need to be replaced each time but are only a few £ from a dealer. Citroen use a long life anti freeze that normally does not need replacing but if you need any get it from Citroen to get the correct type, it was about £15 for 3 litres last year when I replaced the timing belt.

If you want to see the same parts diagrams as the dealers, register on the website service.citroen.com via the inscription button, this is allowed in the terms and conditions as a member of an automobile club (this one, the Citroen Owners Club). You can also pay to use other documents such as wiring diagrams/ workshop manuals but the Haynes manual is good enough.

Edited February 25, 2014 by paul.h

[johnl]

Hi Paul

 

I tried Bentleys yesterday but the parts dept was closed so I went to eurocar parts, plugs, pollen filter, airfilter and oil filter. They supplied the wrong oil filter so a trip to halfords. Changing plugs is different never come across coils above the plugs before. For some reason I didnt get the security codes or the c3 handbook but it looks like these are readily available, no dtc`s found either.

 

I will have a look at the air con pipes this morning.

 

thanks

 

john

[paul.h]

If you go to the service.citroen website you can see/print the handbook for recent cars without registering. One for an early C3 is not available but there will not be much difference in the later ones. I have found the easiest way to print a section is to use a right click on the mouse.

 

If you have still to start the service:

- to remove the air filter, remove the complete filter box before trying to take the top off since there are screws at the back which can not be reached. I always clean the throttle plate with carb cleaner.

- when replacing the spark plugs, at the air filter end of the coil pack is an earth wire which needs to be removed but needs a very thin spanner to undo the lock nut or the wire will twist and eventually break - when remaking the connection I did something to let a normal spanner fit, may have been adding some washers but I can not remember and the car is not here to be able to check. I made a note in my Haynes book that when replacing no. 3 spark plug to remove the throttle body to help access if the air filter is being replaced at the same time.

- the oil filter cover needs a 27mm socket to undo it and the drain plug a 8mm square section key.

- at the last oil change I used Castrol magnatec 5w30 A1 full synthetic since it was on offer at Asda and Halfords last year.

[johnl]

Hi Paul

 

I found the documents under the drivers seat with some part history which was a bonus. The wire on the ignition coil was secured with a wing nut which I used to put it back. You have me thinking about the throttle now as its a little jerky but I put this down to driving a petrol against the diesel, is the accelerator pedal easy to fix. It doesn`t look like the timing belt has been replaced again does this pose any problems ?

 

Thank you for all your help so far Paul, its very much appreciated

 

Thanks

 

John

[paul.h]

The pedal is held by 2 nuts in the driver's footwell and an electrical connector, so easy to do but a torch and mirror will help.

 

The top cover of the timing belt is held only by 2 nuts so I look at ours every year to give confidence it will last - look at the belt for any damage, cracking, oil contamination. When I replaced it (40k miles, 8½ years), it still looked good enough to last - the replacement interval for the petrol engine is every 10 years or 48k miles in severe service or 75k miles for normal use. If the belt breaks it could cause engine damage so to exceed the recommended intervals is a bit of a gamble on any car so nobody will advise to exceed them. A dealer will charge about £300 to replace it. When I did it last year the belt and tensioner were £63 from Bentleys. I also replaced the auxiliary belt which was cracking and its 2 pulleys £17 and £116, the water pump £57, the thermostat £14, anti freeze £14. I was keen to do the coolant bits since a couple of times it gave a high temperature but I think this was an electrical glitch. Replacement was as per the Haynes manual but you need a couple of engine locking tools - an 8mm diameter bolt for the camshaft pulley (Haynes says 10 but it was 8 on our car), a 6mm diameter rod bent to fit in the flywheel locking hole - I used some threaded bar about 700mm long which I happened to have from Toolstation. Getting the right shape was trial and error the day before doing the timing belt and the dimensions in Haynes are wrong, a web on the engine near the hole gets in the way but the straight bit to go through the hole needs to be about 35mm long plus max about 10mm radius bend to clear the web and then a long bit to the top of the engine to make it easy to use.

 

If you replace the coolant it is very slow to refill and also get the air out without the header tank as shown in Haynes. I found that applying vacuum to the cylinder head air bleed hole and with the car slightly raised at the left side (where the bleed points are) worked. Vacuum was from a Mityvac brake bleeder with the bleed hose held against the air bleed hole but a syringe may do. On start up though I could still hear some air going round the heater for a short while. There was a post on the C3 subforum where somebody had air going round after changing the coolant.

[johnl]

Hi Paul

 

I shall be having a look at the belts and throttle this weekend.Do the two pulleys generally need replacing and is it best to do the water pumpat the same time ?

 

Looking at the belts they look in reasonable condition even though they do have 50k on them. I `ll have to wait a bit though as I spent so much time trying to sort the vectra, if the wife sees me taking bits off the C3 she`ll blow a valve.

 

Thanks

 

John

[paul.h]

Some of the parts I replaced probably did not need doing but the car was going to be used in Hull by our daughter so had to be reliable. At least now you have inspected your timing belt and it looks ok so you know there is no rush to replace it.

 

The pulleys on the auxiliary belt will not need doing if they spin and look ok. Since they are not part of the timing belt, any problems should not end up in engine damage. Ours seemed ok but then I had already bought them and being a special order could not be returned.

 

Since the water pump is driven by the timing belt you need to make sure it is not leaking and spins ok without side play from the bearing. If it does fail later it will mean the same work as for timing belt renewal. The old one on our car seemed ok when I replaced it so probably did not need doing but then I was trying to prevent the earlier high temperature problem.

 

So minimum cost of doing the timing belt and its tensioner is about £58 if you get the kit from such as Eurocarparts and if you want/need to replace the aux belt a further £17. The other bits you just need to check they are ok.

[johnl]

Hi Paul

 

Had a bit more time to have a look at the car and if the weather improves I will have a go at belt replacements. Eurocar parts living up to their reputation of supplying the wrong products again, I will probably use my local factors who probably use andrew page who can be a bit pricey when supplying direct.

 

The clutch seems to be biting near the top ie you don`t need to press that much to disengage, is this normal or do you think its new clutch time but as above its only got 50k on it, how long do clutches last on the C3 ?

 

john

[paul.h]

If you have not noticed the clutch slipping the pedal bite point sounds ok. Being hydraulic it is self adjusting so the bite point will not alter as the clutch wears. Our C3 is on about 45k miles and still the first clutch plus I can not remember any posts on the C3 subforum about clutch replacement so they must last ok. The clutch fluid is from the brake reservoir so should be changed at the same time as the brakes - I found the easiest way was to suck it through using the Mityvac pump rather than pumping the pedal.

[johnl]

Hi Paul

 

Thanks for the info on the clutch, I think you are right it does look like they bite near the top. I was thinking about a mity vac where did you get one from ?

 

I will probably look at changing the fluid but I must admit the brakes are excellent.

 

Thanks

 

John

[paul.h]

I got the mityvac many years ago and can not remember where from. It is the plastic one model 6820 Brake Bleeding Kit with a small container to collect the fluid and some hoses. The latest ones look a bit different and model 8020 looks to be the equivalent. The pump can also produce pressure which I once used to set up a Saab turbo but required a pressure gauge. The container is really too small (135 ml) and needs frequent emptying when bleeding the brakes but their website shows a larger one MVA6005 (475 ml) which would be a great help. Also air passes around the bleed nipple threads so it may help to use a bit of grease on these but I have never bothered. I have also tried one that requires an air compressor (similar to model 6830) but the small compressor I have has a low air flow and was not up to the job.

 

 

Edit

Model MV7000 from UK tools has the same pump as mine except I did not get a pressure gauge.

Edited August 10, 2012 by paul.h

[johnl]

Hi Paul

 

Lst time I did the vectra brakes i used a compressor connected to the resevoir. It worked but wasn`t yhat good as it soon ran out of fluid and the cap leaked a bit, throwing brake fluid about. I will have a look at the one you detailed and see if I can pick one up

 

thanks

 

john