C4 Engine & Box Out...

[Rp0thejester]

To Admins, could this be added to DIY Maintenance? Do as your own will, no professional guidance, I'f you do it's no fault on FCF or patron.

[Tonyl]

Two things come to mind that I experienced when refitting the cam cover (with cams) to the head so will pass on. Firstly, fit back the cam sprocket (not final fit so just nut finger tight) and align it with its timing holes, pop in timing pin BEFORE fitting and in this way you are sure timing and cams (hence valves) are all in the correct position for fitting. Secondly, there is a fair amount of movement on the cam cover so DO check that the machined areas where the air pump is fitted align exactly top/bottom with no noticeable lip/ridge. To not do so will find you torquing up the whole cam carrier then not being able to insert the air pump. Haynes does touch on this but having seen the issue it brings it home. Remember it needs alignment the other end too - cam seal fitting area. I loose fitted my cam carrier and sequence tightened a bit just gently tapping it with rubber mallet a bit until aligned then fully tightened.

[Tonyl]

Out of interest - on mine - inlet side fouling was extensive and certainly caused the ever more asthmatic performance. Pics to follow. 256k Km on the engine. Also will drop in pics of cam wear which was isolated to three lobes. Awful rattle most times and clear why.

[Doo]

I experienced the issues mentioned by TonyL. It involved loosing bolts by 3 turns each to do both cam seal and brake vacuum pump.... However, wasn't a big deal so much as a faff.

Right now, crank, pump & cam are all pinned in their timing position and I have to go back to the Citroen dealer to ask why the recall wire for the fuel pressure rail fits the rail sensor, but NOT the original plug on the loom?!?!

Anyway, the whole job has taken months due to other needs and wants. This job "should" take a weekend... In my case, it's taken years!!! (OK, months). But I am happy to take my time to get it right.

[Doo]

Waiting on other parts now. Inc one of the short hoses between the intercooler & the MAF. I looked inside and discovered it's laminated parts are breaking down...

Anyway, off to fetch the other seals that've arrived. £40+ for two driveshaft seals and a new "O" ring for the high pressure pipe that feeds the clutch release bearing

Now onto timing... I don't know how many people know about the "new" chain set up. But it's straighforward if you know to turn the cam carrier upside down

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Next I did wiring harness & pipes. Pretty chuffed I remembered everything considering it'll be 4 months since I rolled her onto the ramps

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Followed by the airbox...

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I couldn't fit injector No4 as I didn't have a nozzle cap nut... It arrived earlier today so It'll be done.

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But, I forgot to install a bit of pointless plastic on the lower side of the crank pulley, so left the aux belt loose and went & did it last night. I dripped some thread lock on the pulley bolt and set my battery ratchet to several ugga dugga's and let rip

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I fitted new track arms & track rod ends (be rude not to) while I had decent access from the front.As soon as I have fitted all the seals & injector, the engine will get dropped back into the car, hopefully later. I have some returns to deal with first...

I'll try to get photo's of the re-fit to help anyone contemplating engine & box out & back in. It was so easy to get it out, so fingers crossed it'll be the same simple re-fit

Thanks for looking

[admiral51]

Doo that is a cracking effort and detailed write up and have enjoyed reading all the posts.

Have to say you get a huge from me mentioning Ugga Dugga just made me smile

[Doo]

Doo that is a cracking effort and detailed write up and have enjoyed reading all the posts.

Have to say you get a huge from me mentioning Ugga Dugga just made me smile

Ha ha, thank you

This car is technical, but I trust it FAR more than it's English counterpart

Another daft question for anyone.... Turned out the plastic duct from the (other) plastic cold air intake portion behind the headlamp, above the gearbox, is missing!!



NO idea when it went or where it could POSSIBLY have gone (personally, I think it was left off when I had to hand over servicing when I was broken after the accident....) as there is no way it could have dropped out of its position

Anyhoo, I looked on the bay, but to no avail! Basically, there is a plastic fantastic that bolts onto the chassis leg (left side as you sit in the car) where this missing duct gets its cold air from behind the headlamp. It then goes into the air cleaner box at the back of the engine. From memory, its around a foot long with a 90 degree bend into a round aperture that clips into the plastic fantastic on the chassis leg, behind the headlamp, whereas the other end clips into the air cleaner box...

If any of the (fabulous) forum staff could look up the fiche with the air ducting for the 2007 Citroen C4 1.6hdi DV6 model, I can pinpoint the exact part thats missing and discover what it's called because clearly it's NOT a duct of any fashion

Thanks all

[Tonyl]

Separate to yours re ducting, on mine with high mileage I also changed the two large lower suspension arms whilst the engine and gearbox out primarily due to the fact that it is nigh on impossible to remove one of the two mounting bolts due to the position of the driveshafts above when all is in situ. In my case there was some cracking of the rubber anyway so sensible to change.

[Doo]

Separate to yours re ducting, on mine with high mileage I also changed the two large lower suspension arms whilst the engine and gearbox out primarily due to the fact that it is nigh on impossible to remove one of the two mounting bolts due to the position of the driveshafts above when all is in situ. In my case there was some cracking of the rubber anyway so sensible to change.

I did them last year. Easiest to jack up, wheels off, undo the shaft nut, then the track rod end, hub to strut bolts, undo ABS wire rubber fasteners (to allow more wiggle room) and use a wooden block as a drift in case the shaft splines are rusted in, whizz shaft out of hub, but leave in gear box (diff). That allows room to get the (stupid) bolts out. Done a few of these in various models of PSA. A pain the the proverbial, but allows you to check other parts for wear while in there.

As for the engine, it's in and oiled, wired & watered, but knew it wouldn't start when the legend "Economy" flashed up

I had a feeling what it was & Diagbox proved me right. Gearbox Communication Error...

I wasn't surprised. The gearbox ECU is fed by two multiplugs and both are filled with waterproofing goo at the factory. I suspected this would cause issues and it has. Going to Citroen, then factor to get switch cleaner and dose the plugs & sockets, then airline nozzle to blow out excess. Probably need a few goes

I am keen to know how they manage to do this at the factory without causing comms errors I'll need to find a way to re-waterproof after.

It's all fun and games with this car

One of the forum members asked about making his a sticky. I would rather start a new post and just add the details, leaving out my rants and questions If that is possible, I'll add more photo's of what I did and extra details

Meanwhile, here are a few pics of last few days efforts....

New seal for the release bearing oil feed pipe. Around £6 from PSA. I cleaned the pipe, dipped the end of a small paint brush in the oil resevoir & drizzled it over the new "O" ring, then smeared it around to ensure 100% coverage...

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The new release bearing comes with a fitted circlip. It's worth noting, you don't need to pull it out. Simply fit the pipe into the aperture and push into place. You will hear a gentle snap as it goes home. A gentle pull will let you know it's secure.

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Onto dropping the engine in. My photo's show everything is fitted, but that was basically to ensure nothing was missing. Before installing, remove the Air Doser (throttle body, MAF sensors , etc), plastic injector cover, air filter housing and move the primer pump out of the way. That allows perfect access to the heater pipes and clips.

I found going in at a slight angle helped. Gently lift the engine & box, checking you are not fouling on the various parts of the chassis and exhaust flexi (I left it in place, you just jack the engine until it's clear of the flexi and gearbox is clear of the bumper flange. The Sealey tilter is an excellent bit of kit, allowing you to lift one side & drop the other.

Gently does it...

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...and she's in. Snug as a bug

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Then it was drive shafts in, but had to clean a few bits first. The Parkside sand blaster was well worth the price...

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The discs weren't old, but they have been unused for 4 months

No problem to this fella...

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I did the pads on the bench grinder, VERY gently....

Anyway, look at this :missile:

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Then it was the nuts & bolts which I did on the bench grinder. No point wasting sand

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A little while later, I got to this stage and called it a day...

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It's worth noting you can leave the intercooler and radiator in place (off the car, but in their housing). Simply undo their clips, pull the hoses off, unbolt the whole rad plastic housing from top & bottom. Dont forget to unclip the bonnet catch cable & catch as well as the fan wiring and lay it aside where it won't get damaged.

Right, I have an AC condenser to return. Have an enjoyable afternoon

[Tonyl]

You are luckier than me then with those bolts. Whichever way I swung the shafts having done exactly as you described I could not get clearance to remove the front bolt. The last 2cm was the issue hence why I assume the book says shafts out. Re gearbox plugs I now understand why there seemed to be crud in there - I assumed it had accumulated in service hence cleaned out with contact cleaner! As mine had also been standing around a while I did same for every plug and connection that had been open to the elements somewhat. Took a long time to start but I realised this was a combo of empty injectors (I had overhauled) and tappets needing good oil pressure to lift and function as needed. Was a nice moment when it finally fired up,

[Doo]

You are luckier than me then with those bolts. Whichever way I swung the shafts having done exactly as you described I could not get clearance to remove the front bolt. The last 2cm was the issue hence why I assume the book says shafts out. Re gearbox plugs I now understand why there seemed to be crud in there - I assumed it had accumulated in service hence cleaned out with contact cleaner! As mine had also been standing around a while I did same for every plug and connection that had been open to the elements somewhat. Took a long time to start but I realised this was a combo of empty injectors (I had overhauled) and tappets needing good oil pressure to lift and function as needed. Was a nice moment when it finally fired up,

I'm not so lucky... STILL telling me gearbox comms error

[Tonyl]

Daft question I know but have you done the usual - disconnect battery, disconnect plugs, connect plugs, battery on, BSI reset, fault code clear and see again? I’m not so sure BSI relevant in this case but seems to cover many issues hence throw it in the pot here.

[Doo]

Daft question I know but have you done the usual - disconnect battery, disconnect plugs, connect plugs, battery on, BSI reset, fault code clear and see again? I’m not so sure BSI relevant in this case but seems to cover many issues hence throw it in the pot here.

I have tried all the combinations. Thought I cracked it by moving the gearbox earth, but soon as you switch the ign on, Economic Merde and so on

It might just be the BSI is causing the grief because it has 8 faults showing, all to do with front lights. I'm going to plug everything in and see if I can get the BSI out of the sleep state. Another thing I noticed, I bought a key, programmed it and it worked right up until I dismantled everything. Tried to unlock the doors last night, no go! So it's forgotten that key as well....

Something deffo afoot here

[Paul-R]

... I bought a key, programmed it and it worked right up until I dismantled everything. Tried to unlock the doors last night, no go! So it's forgotten that key as well....

Door locking/unlocking is not something a Diagbox is needed for. A key can lose synchronisation for locking/unlocking and still start the car as it is a different circuit involved.

Does your original key lock/unlock the car?

[Doo]

... I bought a key, programmed it and it worked right up until I dismantled everything. Tried to unlock the doors last night, no go! So it's forgotten that key as well....

Door locking/unlocking is not something a Diagbox is needed for. A key can lose synchronisation for locking/unlocking and still start the car as it is a different circuit involved.

Does your original key lock/unlock the car?

Yes, almost everything is working as normal except the Comms. I don't understand the key losing sync as the battery is newer than the original key.

The BSI is clearly in distress as the radio also doesn't come on either. The display shows Economy, flashes a few times then off. I wonder if the battery is showing volt's, but not enough amps... I put the battery on charge some more and even had the (smart) charger on while everything was hooked up to keep the charge going. I did note the power steering pump was running for ages the 2nd or 3rd time I switched on. I haven't connected the track rod ends to the hubs yet, but it makes no odds to anything. I just need them to be easy to move as I need to re-install the arch liner, bumper and various other bits of furniture.

I think it's time for an old fashioned battery charger with Hi/Lo power & stick it on boost....

I wonder if it's worth noting, the battery was showing around 12.7v when first connected. I know modern cars like plenty volts, but twelve and a half isn't the worst I've seen. I've had my big ol' V8 Range Rover turn over & start at 9v It's only do it once though.... If it doesn't catch, it's charge time.