160 Hdi c5 X7 Dilemma

[jgra1]

hi all, I just popped under mine (on ramps) to see what a DPF looks like..
all I saw was a long canister, bolted up near the manifold, and then joining the main exhaust pipe all the way back.. is this it? it has one sensor, and there is another sensor in the exhaust further back?

I was hoping I could unbolt it and clean it, but it looks more involved and may need cutting open?

I also wanted to change some auto gearbox oil in the near future, I have not done this before and the car is 'flairing' especially when cold.. I dont, however, want to encourage dirt around the box and destroy it more... it's overdue and damage may have occurred already...

The car has a shuddering which is getting worse, @1500-1900 RPM - most noticeable in third although I sense it in higher gears.. for the life of me I cannot tell if it is a misfire or a gearbox issue .. no codes or injector issues on Diag ... I had hoped this could be fixed a with gearbox oil change TBH.

The gearbox has always whined in 6 at around 30-40 MPH.. not too loud but noticeable..

finally, whilst under there today, I now have the 'rack of dread'... the pinion valve is covered in clean liquid, and starting to drip.

bearing in mind I bought this car as a write off (engine failure when it was 5 years old! and got her back on the road, and have had 2 1/2 good years from her - is it over now for another 160 this week?
or
I could just sell highlighting the issues...

I am only in temporary employment so cash is very tight, I do have another car to use in the short term..

any thoughts please
John

[KennyW]

John,

Yes, you have identified the DPF but the good news is you can cut the pipe at a mark on the exhaust and clean out DPF with a caustic soda solution probably 1 % and buy the pipe from Mr Auto's for £25.

I have been looking into this for my one but other problems have occurred 'the rack' also.

Kenny

[GiveMeABreak]

Hi John

Here's the part laid out:

Parts 18 & 19 are the differential pressure pipes
Part 14 contains both the Catalytic Converter in the first part and the Particulate filter in the second part of the cannister - so be very careful. Have you considered Halfords? They offer a DPF cleaning service:

https://www.halfordsautocentres.com/car ... deep-clean

As for the rack - when is the MOT?? It won't pass with that leak as you know, so if you can get the DPF cleaned , you can divert resources into the rack if you are going to keep it - but I suspect the rack will have to be the priority as that will start to eat through LDS as it gets worse.

[jgra1]

yes just reading your rack post Kenny.. hope someone can de pressure things for you asap!

I can do the DPF to a point, I can do the rack swap but have very limited room once car is immobile, so that will be very tough.. the gearbox is the main issue, I dont want to spend time and effort on that if it's almost toast anyway. even a second hand Aisin has to be £500-£1000 and there comes a point when its's all a bit much for me .

J

[jgra1]

hi Marc, thanks.

MOT is either May or July, cant remember which! it's soon anyway..

As it stands, I could clean the area and MOT her early and she may be ok, especially before the test is a bit longer and presumably more £ in 3 weeks..

What is an almost top spec C5 worth with these faults, with a full MOT, and FSH, otherwise pretty good condition - to someone better placed than me? £1000 or £250

[bobins]

John - I have a spare old (leaking) rack you can have it you want to send it off to be reconditioned, then when you come to fit it I'll have your old rack in exchange to keep in case someone else needs it. At least that way you can keep mobile in the C5 for the time being.

[jgra1]

thankyou Bobbins very kind..

The costs coulod be

£3-400 for rack
£50 plus for oil change
£DPF

plus all the labour, and after all that if my GB is on the way out it all feels a bit much..

[GiveMeABreak]

And not wanting to depress you any further John, but what you said about the MOT - the new stricter regs are coming in during May 2018, and I suspect this will be a bit of a 'teething' period for both customers and testers as interpretation of the rules is ironed out so to speak. Probably not a good period to be having a test with any known issues - just to be forewarned.

[jgra1]

shall i take it to a forecourt, all clean and tidy, and see what they will give me for it off something else? or is that a moral maze and likely to bite me?

dont think I have ever sold a car to a garage

I am not even sure the DPF is near blocked, just thought it may be related to misfire and something on Diagb .. the gearbox still behaves very well.. I can point out the rack seems to have a minor leak

[GiveMeABreak]

The devil you know or the one you don't - but in this case you have a good guestimate of current likely expenditure on your known issues - so it may be another option to consider / against the cash you'll need to pay up for the replacement and any warranty offered / later issues on that.

If you do go down this avenue and it's a diesel John - I would test for any warning lights and any smoke emitted - and for presence of a DPF it fitted so you don't get stung.

[EDC5]

How many miles have you done? The flaring issue is down to a worn valve block as far as I am aware on the AM6. Changing the oil is quite an involved process, here is a good guide to how it's done:

[jgra1]

Thanks ed .140k.. would oil help a worn vb?

After the brief session an ramps the car was reluctant to restart .. the fuel gauge had reset to about 8l less and the trip c had gone back to 0 .. I am now wondering if a fuse box issue

Normally fine always to start straight away

[xantia_v6]

Thanks ed .140k.. would oil help a worn vb?

Nope... but correct oil level will help if it is low.

As far as I know, the valve body wear issues with the AM6 were due to a design defect (valve oscillation) that was corrected by about 2008, so your car should not be affected, check your symptoms against the description: https://www.sonnax.com/parts/3785-overs ... -valve-kit for symptoms (and repair kit) for the valve body wear problem.

[EDC5]

Thanks ed .140k.. would oil help a worn vb?

Nope... but correct oil level will help if it is low.

As far as I know, the valve body wear issues with the AM6 were due to a design defect (valve oscillation) that was corrected by about 2008, so your car should not be affected, check your symptoms against the description: https://www.sonnax.com/parts/3785-overs ... -valve-kit for symptoms (and repair kit) for the valve body wear problem.

That's true, however after only 60k miles mine was pitch black! At more than double that it wouldn't surprise me if all of the friction material in the oil could have caused wear to the valve block.

I don't think an oil change would hurt the situation.

[old'uns]

What is an almost top spec C5 worth with these faults, with a full MOT, and FSH, otherwise pretty good condition - to someone better placed than me? £1000 or £250

as a reference point....

PX'd mine May 16 with EML light on, another slight LDS leak - rack refurbed, 1 strut replaced previously - auto light sensor not working, auto box not 100% and a few other minor things...'09 Exclusive Tourer 135k against a 13k CMax @ Evans Halshaw....£1750

car then reappeared on Ebay months later with different wheels but a lot tidier - OH wanted to buy it back! - @ Wolsely motors Diss.
disapeared again from there but now back again, i never had the towbar key , £90 from witter, ad says towbar but not on pics plus whatever it cost originally to fix, still asking £4250 for it
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-09-CITR ... 4902.l9144

I'd got to the point of not throwing any more money at it and feeling that there was still the Fuse Box, window cable problems to deal with at some time and i did have the money available if needed.
If you're strapped you've got a harder decision to make