Citroen c8 cambelt failure ?

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sabooth
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Citroen c8 cambelt failure ?

Post by sabooth »

I am in desperate need of help and advice.

I have had from new a 2005 C8, now with 45000 miles.
Yesterday the car developed a knocking noise from front driver’s side of the engine (the dreaded cambelt area). On hearing this I went to the computer for advice and guidance.
I know a little premature but, having read all the other posts about cambelts, I cannot help but think ‘cambelt issues’.
I spoke to an independent mechanic with many years Citroen experience and he (without hearing the noise) told me of the cambelt issues with C8s. His advice was to call Citroen for advice on the noise and cambelt failure, hoping they would want to deal with it under warranty or recall.
I spoke to Citroen and explained the problem and my fears and the many forums on this matter. Behold!! They have never heard of C8s having such a problem and told me I shouldn’t believe everything I read on the internet.
I believe the car companies and garages alike hate the new found knowledge that we mere mortal can now access.
Anyhow, the independent mechanic is looking at the car in the next few days to assess the noise and I will take it from there.
Does anyone have any advice on cambelt problems and how to deal with Citroen?
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Post by HDI »

First of all if the engine is still running the cambelt hasn't failed :wink:
A knocking noise from that area of the engine could be many things.
One obvious candidate is the bottom crank damper pulley. Could also be the aux belt tensioner, an engine mount, something loose etc etc.

Are there any other symptoms ? Is the knocking related to engine speed ? When does the knocking occur ? Can you describe the knocking in more detail ?
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Post by RichardW »

What engine is in it? First - DON'T drive it!

Failed crank pulley likey if it's a 2.0HDi.

2.2 HDi does have issues with cambelts - and the head is, er, 'difficult' to get off..... :cry:
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DickieG
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Post by DickieG »

As HDI states above my moneys on the crankshaft pulley, Citroen have now replaced this two pulley with a single piece one, GSf don't appear to sell the new pulley and ECP charge the thick end of £100 for one whereas Neat Auto's sell them for reasonable money, I bought one last week for my HDi. For the C8 Citroen list a few different versions of the pulley so you'll ave to check with Neat Auto's to ensure compatibility.

What you could do to check whether the pulley is responsible for the noise is to remove the pulley and briefly run the engine, don't allow it to run for too long in case the timing belt slides off, I'd have thought that a few minutes would be OK, especially as you'll be observing the relevant area.
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Post by HDI »

The new one piece is available on ebay, I replaced mine recently and my local motor factor had it on the shelf for about £50.
Symptoms on mine were a rattling noise, mostly at idle and just above, the aux belt tensioner was doing the fandango because of the crank pulley running out of true and the aux belt kept running over the edge of the hydraulic pump pulley.

BTW, we need to know if the OP's C8 is an HDI ?
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'89 BX TD
'88 AX GT
'79 CX2400 Pallas (scrapped :( )
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Post by wheeler »

DickieG wrote:What you could do to check whether the pulley is responsible for the noise is to remove the pulley and briefly run the engine, don't allow it to run for too long in case the timing belt slides off, I'd have thought that a few minutes would be OK, especially as you'll be observing the relevant area.
I dont think thats a very good idea, i would'nt dream of running an HDI without the crank pully on, even for a second. Remember the bottom sprocket floats on the woodruff key on these engines.
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Post by Simon99 »

Currently working on a '05 C8 2.2 Hdi with only 41000 miles on the clock and a broken timing belt. I would advise cambelt change asap and investigate noise at same time.
Still trying to remove seized injectors from cylinder head and having to remove engine in process!
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Post by DickieG »

wheeler wrote:
DickieG wrote:What you could do to check whether the pulley is responsible for the noise is to remove the pulley and briefly run the engine, don't allow it to run for too long in case the timing belt slides off, I'd have thought that a few minutes would be OK, especially as you'll be observing the relevant area.
I dont think thats a very good idea, i would'nt dream of running an HDI without the crank pully on, even for a second. Remember the bottom sprocket floats on the woodruff key on these engines.
Good point well made :oops:
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Post by quintet »

wheeler wrote:
DickieG wrote:What you could do to check whether the pulley is responsible for the noise is to remove the pulley and briefly run the engine, don't allow it to run for too long in case the timing belt slides off, I'd have thought that a few minutes would be OK, especially as you'll be observing the relevant area.
I don't think thats a very good idea, i wouldn't dream of running an HDI without the crank pulley on, even for a second. Remember the bottom sprocket floats on the woodruff key on these engines.
Gotta admit I'll 2nd that thought, i did it once by accident & got (very very) lucky!. I'd have a go at simply removing the auxiliary belt and running the engine but DO NOT remove the crank pulley & run it, if that cam belt jumps off its pulley you'll be in a world of 'the brown stuff'.

Depending on the exact engine cam belt failure is not unknown on c8's, particularly the 2.2 and when they do fail getting the head off can be an absolute mare, in-fact I've seen instance's where the injectors have seized solid thus meaning the head cannot be removed & I've seen at least 2 c8 scrapped for this reason (inc' a 'mint low mileage one - having a new engine in a c8 just isn't a sensible financial option :( ).

If it were my car i'd simply bite the bullet so to speak and get it recovered to a citroen dealer, no matter what your local dealer told you premature cam belt failure is an issue with the c8's, DO NOT run the engine if you suspect cam belt failure is imminent. Auxiliary/crank pulley failure isn't uncommon on citroens though, and although it's difficult to see on the c8 IF you can see it you need to look for odd looking slivers of metal protruding from it and/or swarf in the surrounding area.
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