Oil And Filter Change.

[sandman2]

Hi,

       I have a 2011 C3 HDI 1.4 Diesel. How hard is it to change the engine oil and filter?

       It looks tight under the bonnet. 

[paul.h]

From the parts diagrams it looks the same as on our C3. I would get the filter and sump plug washer from a Citroen dealer so they are the right ones, plus the washer costs less than £1 but elsewhere can be a lot more. The oil capacity should be 3.75 litres (1.8 litres between min/max on the dip stick) and I would use the oil specified in the Maintenance and Warranty book that came with the car - it is probably Total INEO ECS 5w30 and from a dealer could be around £40 for a 5 litre pack, or around £25 delivered from Neilsen in Swansea https://www.nielsencdg.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000090.pl?WD=ineo%20total%20ecs&PN=Total%2dQuartz%2dIneo%2dECS%2d5W30%2dEngine%2dOil%2dPeugeot%2d%2dHDI%2dCitroen%2d5L%2dTOT_151261%2ehtml#SID=1065 . You will need a large socket to fit the filter cover and a torque wrench to do it up so it is not too tight. The cover O-ring seal comes new with the filter and should be slightly oiled before the cover is put back.

 

Filter cover, 27 mm socket, done up to 25 Nm (printed on the cover).

Drain plug - this might use a hex bit or square bit (possibly 8 mm) or a normal socket but I would check before starting the job. Done up to 34 Nm. If a normal socket, 6 point ones are less likely to round off the corners of the plug. However, the part no. is 031129 and a search shows it needs a socket https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PEUGEOT-CITROEN-1-4HDI-1-6D-1-9D-2-0-HDI-SUMP-PLUGSx5-031129-031340-SP5Wx5-/182092826400

There might be an engine under tray that needs removing to access the drain plug - if so, before doing the job check any bolts are easy to undo since the clips they screw in to can rust/break and new ones may be needed and when refitting a bit of grease on the threads helps prevent rust for next time. You might need to remove the air ducting to get to the oil filter. Do the job on a level drive but you may need to jack the car up a bit to help access underneath but not enough to lift a wheel.

 

To minimise oil drips/mess on the drive, I have found the best way is to place an old bowl on cardboard under the oil filter, put rags/tissues under the oil filter, slacken the filter cover and wait for it to stop dripping before removing it in tissues upside down since there can be a lot of mess. Then place it in a funnel in an empty oil container so it can drip for a while. The filter element comes out fastened to the cover and needs to be pulled off. Wipe inside the cover, remove the old large O-ring on the cover after noting the groove in which it fits. Fit the new O-ring, fit the new filter to the cover, wipe out the filter housing on the engine and other bits covered in oil drips, smear some oil on the cover O-ring and in the housing so the cover and O-ring turn easily and then fit the filter back. Refit the air ducting. Next put the bowl/cardboard under the sump and remove the drain plug so the oil runs in to the bowl. Clean the plug and replace the washer with a new one. Once the oil has stopped dripping enough, wipe the area to remove any dirt, refit the plug and add the new oil - using a funnel in the oil filler helps prevent spillage. After adding about 3 litres, wait for a bit and check the oil level before adding the rest to avoid overfilling. Run the engine for a while, stop it and after letting the oil settle, check the level is still ok. Check the drain plug and filter are not leaking. Remove the bowl/cardboard from under the car, refit the engine under tray, pour the old oil in to the empty container to take to the recycling centre.

[sandman2]

Hi, Is it right that some of the filters have a square ring, and some have an O ring? Could I syringe the oil out of the dipstick tube rather than draining it?

[paul.h]

The oil filters are a paper element that clips to the plastic cover, the paper part is thrown away but the cover is used again. The rubber O-ring has a round cross section and is included with the new filter, it fits in a groove at the top of the cover threads.

 

Do not even think about sucking the old oil out of the dip stick tube since you will not get all the old oil out and could leave a lot of rubbish/contaminated/degraded old oil behind that normally drains out. If you do suck it out, you could end up with early engine wear and turbo failure.

 

If you do not wish to drain the oil yourself, then in the long term to protect the engine it would be cheaper to pay a dealer to change the oil. A diy oil change might cost about £40 whereas a dealer might charge twice that but saves you the bother. If you do not have the tools and need to buy them, then the difference in cost using the dealer is not much if anything, since a torque wrench to cover the range needed can be expensive. Without the 27mm socket, you will not easily remove and tighten the oil filter cover and could damage it. Teng do a 3/8" torque wrench with range 20 to 110 Nm which would be ok for the filter cover and drain plug, a search suggests it is about £40, as an example https://www.bagoftools.co.uk/tools/c190/hand-tools/c2359/mechanics-tools/c2582/torque-wrenches/c2758/teng-3892ag-e3-torque-wrench-20-110nm-38in-drive/p42333

[sandman2]

Hi, Can the old paper element become stuck in the outer covering when being removed? Why couldn't they use a metal spin on type of filter?

[paul.h]

The paper element does stick to the cover when being removed, it is meant to and then once off the car it can be pulled off the cover. Whilst messy to remove compared to the old metal filters, paper ones are probably less expensive and better for the environment since there is no metal to throw away. The filter ends are plastic.

 

This you tube video on a petrol C3 shows what is involved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-B-iTUnS_o Your drain plug though uses a socket and not the 8mm bit. In the video a torque wrench was not used but the danger of this is the plug and filter cover may be over tightened or not tightened enough. The filter cover should also be wiped out before fitting the new filter in to it and the smear of oil on the O-ring/cover threads/filter housing helps the cover and O-ring go back correctly.