Filters - Oil And Air

[discoveranother]

Hi

 

I own a 1.4 2007 Citroen C4 hatchback. I'm not car savvy at all, but wondered where the air and oil filters are. The reasons I ask, are because I have had my annual car serviced by Halfords, who provide quite a good discount for a full service. However, to be honest, i'm always sceptical about anyone doing car services unless you are stood watching them. They offer a 67 point service, but something is telling me that i'm not too sure they actually go through it all. Apart from a few advisory items, I had no printout telling me what was checked or anything. I know nothing about cars, so wondered if I could check if the filters look new or not and where they are located.

 

Thanks.

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

There is a Haynes workshop manual for the 2004 to 2010 C4 which covers the 1.4 petrol engine and would be worth you getting. Most services cover engine oil and filter replacement, air filter replacement, cabin pollen filter replacement, brake fluid change every 2 years, fill the washer fluid bottle, tyres and pressure check, lots of visual checks - these will make up the '67' points. If you want the brakes cleaning that is normally an extra. The specific service items for your car will be in the maintenance and Warranty Guide booklet that came with your car. The car service mileage indicator should be reset, it not done it tells you in the handbook how to do it - hold down a button on the dash, then switch on the ignition (do not start the engine) and then it will reset to =0, then release the button.

 

If you search on Halfords 67 point service it comes up with this - https://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ACArticleDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=11602&catalogId=19255&categoryId=276263&articleId=975567 which lists what is done.

 

The oil filter is at the front right of the engine looking from the front of the car. It is a paper element replaced inside a plastic body, so the only indication you may have that it has been replaced, may be oil on the outside of the plastic body. If you use the oil dipstick you may find the oil looks clean. Since the normal service is 20000 miles or 2 years, it should be a fully synthetic oil and in our previous C3 petrol the oil always looked clean between services.

 

The air filter is located in a plastic housing between the engine and battery. To check it has been replaced needs the housing to be completely removed from the engine and then the top removed and the filter removed to see if the underside is clean - the top can not be removed just by undoing the visible screws since there are 2 at the back. The normal service interval for replacement is 4 years or 40000 miles.

 

I think it highly unlikely the filters will not have been replaced and to check effectively requires you to do the job yourself - in this case you may as well have done the service yourself.

 

If you have not replaced the pollen filter in the last 2 years it should be done. If it is blocked it will restrict air flow in to the car and may put a strain on the blower and its electrics (the Xsara Picasso is known for this and can damage the ignition switch). It is easy to replace and is located at the back of the engine bay behind part of the sound proofing on the left side (looking from the front of the car).

[discoveranother]

Thanks for the great reply.

I've actually ordered the Haynes manual before posting the question.

I think my service said something about the oil being part synthetic. When it comes to car services unless you know where to look and have the time to check things out, you can't really visually see what has been done thoroughly. I always find it strange as garages have no rule or law that old and new parts must be shown to the customer prior to the service, something to that affect.

I'd just like to ask a question about the cambelt if I may, although I can post to another thread if need be. It was on the list of advisroy items to be eventually replaced. Car mileage is 65,000.  The quote for this was around £297, is that right ?

[Johndouglas]

A 306 with a 1.4 engine in it which I used to service had a timing belt interval of 80000miles or 5 years - which ever comes up first.   If your engine is the same, unless it has already had a change, it's due about now.   As far as mileage goes, I prefer to change the belt quite a bit before it's on the limit.    Also worth fitting a new auxiliary belt at the same time and also changing the waterpump.

[paul.h]

In the Maintenance and Warranty Guide that came with our 2007 C5, for the C4 petrol it gives 100000 miles or 10 years whichever is first for the timing belt. For severe conditions it gives 72000 miles or 10 years.

 

As John has said, it is better to replace early rather than late so maybe you need to allow for changing it in the next year. You will only be doing it once in the life of the car so to do it sooner removes the future worry that it may snap and severely damage the engine and you get more years benefit out of it. As well as the belt and water pump, the tensioner will also be replaced and if there are any pulleys I would do these as well. Same applies to the auxiliary belt since it is removed to get at the timing belt. On our C3 the timing belt top cover was easy to remove, only 2 bolts. I removed the cover each year to check the belt was in good condition and not in danger of failing - this is something you could do if it is easy on the C4.

 

About £300 is right, a Citroen dealer will charge about this, but on top will be the extras - water pump, anti freeze, pulleys (the tensioner will be included), the aux belt. 2 years ago I replaced the timing belt etc on our 1.4 C3 petrol (75 hp) and the parts from Citroen were

- timing belt and tensioner £63

- water pump £57

- 3 litres anti freeze £14

- aux belt £17

- aux belt 2 pulleys £116

- Total hence £267, no labour cost since it was a diy job. The parts may be cheaper elsewhere but I usually prefer ones from Citroen knowing they will be right.

 

For a part synthetic oil, I would look to change it annually rather the Citroen 2 year frequency.

[discoveranother]

Thanks for the great replies on this forum.

 

I may be stretching this thread abit by asking more questions in realation to the service I had but here goes.

 

Apart from the cambelt info there were also the following given 'amber' as the condition, i'm aware amber means the MOT would still pass, but please could anyone elaborate on the following points and approximate costs:-

 

S+S - TRACK ROD END - Nearside track rod end has slight play

 

OTHER - Undertray bolts corroded to the extent they are just spinning

 

Also, phoned my local autofactors for price on cambelt kit and they quoted £35. The service info Halfords gave me didn't mention the extras quoted about. Obviously with the extras quoted above the price would go over £200. So I assume they gave a figure of around £300 because the other parts are essential as well i.e. ?

 

 timing belt and tensioner £63

- water pump £57

- 3 litres anti freeze £14

- aux belt £17

- aux belt 2 pulleys £116

 

 

Thanks guys

Edited December 20, 2013 by discoveranother

[paul.h]

On the track rod end, if you turn the steering wheel so that the wheel points in at the front, you can then put a hand around the track rod end (it is the ball joint where the steering rack joins the wheel hub suspension) and then get somebody to wiggle the steering wheel. If there is any play within the joint it will be felt. Compare it with the other side. Also check if there is any bad wear on the front tyres.

 

If you have it replaced get both sides done since the tracking will need to be adjusted and the other joint is likely to also be on its way out. You could do it yourself, a joint splitter will be needed, and you count the number of turns needed to remove it from the steering track rod - then put the new one on the same no. of turns. This will put you  on until the tracking can be checked at a garage. If paying to have the work done, I have found a garage better than a tyre place at setting the tracking, it should be equally adjusted at each side so the no. of visible threads on the track rod are the same - if not then the car may tend to pull to one side and the steering wheel may not be central.

 

From the eurocarparts website, track rod ends are between £10 and £18 each depending on the make. From a Citroen dealer they may be a bit more but I am not sure and sometimes I have found dealer prices are not much different to eurocarparts and sometimes are less. Probably about 1 hour labour cost so around £100 for a garage/dealer to do including the tracking. If the tyres are ok and the play is minimal then this is a job you can leave to the next MOT.

 

The undertray is the plastic cover underneath the front of the car. The retaining bolts usually rust unless covered in grease.  If the tray needs to be removed then it will be a bit more difficult, the bolts will probably need cutting out and replacing and then greasing. It is possible the captive nuts are simply clips on the back of the plastic tray and these will also need replacing. If the holes in the plastic have been made larger then some penny washers can be used with the new bolts. Stainless steel bolts and nuts are also an option which should not rust - somewhere like Toolstation will sell them and the washers at a low price.

 

I suspect Halfords price was only the belt and tensioner and several hours labour - replacement of the water pump and any pulleys would be an extra. As for the source of the parts, the recommended service interval is for Citroen parts, if you get a different make then it may not last as long. Eurocarparts give £87.40 for the belt/tensioner kit and £32.40 for just the belt and £48.60 for the tensioner - it also shows a pulley in the pictures so maybe one is included as well as the tensioner.

 

Just a comment on servicing. A lot of the checks done are visual ones and are part of an MOT, so you already pay for them but things like changing air/pollen filters are very easy and could be done by yourself. That just leaves the oil/filter change, brake/clutch fluid change that take a bit more effort. Our Citroen dealer does an Express Service for about £90 which is an oil/filter change plus the visual checks and any updates - this is something for you to consider. They get the synthetic oil in bulk which keeps the cost down. A brake fluid change is about £40. You still get the receipt and your service book stamped but save money and learn a bit about your car. So, for any servicing and repairs it is worth getting a price from a dealer.