Opinion on driving C5 2.2 with DPF fault and ESP/ASR 300 miles

[jamescarruthers]

Long story short but my sister's 2001 2.2 diesel C5 is poorly. I thought a DPF regen would help (it did for a week!) which I had a garage do for her up north. Now it seems after much research on here that it needs a new swirl valve diaphragm. I am planning to go and collect the car and then have it fixed down here where I live in Cambridge, either by me or a some of the good Citroen places I know (Chevronics, Pleiades, etc.).

I am wondering if it is wise to drive I am wondering if it is wise to drive the car like this. Reading this post viewtopic.php?t=26777 it seems like the failed diaphragm causes the turbo to overboost and then go to limp mode. The journey would be about 300 miles. She is currently driving it and says it intermittently looses power with DPF warning, ESP/ASR warning and engine light on.

I feel quite responsible for fixing it as I bought it for her only last year and am trying to work out if I can drive it down or if I should just pay for a car transporter

[Hell Razor5543]

Whereabouts is your sister based? If she is anywhere near Preston Savoy Garage is supposed to be pretty good;

viewtopic.php?t=42544

[jamescarruthers]

Hey, I'm afraid she is in the very north of England, in Gateshead, next to Newcastle. I just checked and Savoy are between 117 and 154 miles from her.

[mickthemaverick]

As I have a 2.2 myself I remember reading Tony's description and it seems to me that it is about 3 hours work allowing for jacking, coffee etc. I would think you might be better off to get the parts, including spare screws as Tony suggests and then drive up to your sister's with your tools and do the work there. Safer than a breakdown and much cheaper than transporting the car down here!!

[jamescarruthers]

As I have a 2.2 myself I remember reading Tony's description and it seems to me that it is about 3 hours work allowing for jacking, coffee etc. I would think you might be better off to get the parts, including spare screws as Tony suggests and then drive up to your sister's with your tools and do the work there. Safer than a breakdown and much cheaper than transporting the car down here!!

In normal times I would definitely do this but there's a pandemic and I am not acclimatised to the north of England any more (soft southern s**t now!) plus I think I still need the Lexia to reset the Eolys counter or else it wont ever be fixed.

Good idea though!

[mickthemaverick]

As a point of interest I have found it impossible to reset the eolys counter with my lexia. I topped up the fluid myself when the first low level warning came on, documented somewhere on here, and although I could access the right section to input the new eolys quantity the system simply would not store that information and reset. However the car has been running sweetly ever since , about 6000 miles now and I am confident that there is not a fluid deficiency so all is well, I just ignore the low level warning which still appears from time to time. It is a well known issue with the MK1 which often results in the ECU having to be replaced when the eolys is topped up in order to clear the warning but my experience shows the car performs fine as long as you make sure it does have sufficient fluid. I intend to manually check it at 20000 mile intervals unless I sell the car in the meantime

[jamescarruthers]

Hmmm thats interesting to know, thank you.

[admiral51]

I think the going rate is approx £1 per loaded mile for transporting a car on a flat bed.
Another option could be get up north and drive it yourself with breakdown cover to your home address, may need a temp change of ownership but worth looking into

[mickthemaverick]

Sadly its looking like tonight's announcement from the PM will halt any plans for collecting or visiting the car. The only positive is that your sister isn't likely to need it either!

[jamescarruthers]

I think the going rate is approx £1 per loaded mile for transporting a car on a flat bed.
Another option could be get up north and drive it yourself with breakdown cover to your home address, may need a temp change of ownership but worth looking into

haha yes, I have considered such shenanigans! AutoAid took my 480 all the way from Scotland to Cambridge without fuss a few years ago (legitimate breakdown!).

I would normally just have went up to collect but I'm trying to be good and stay at home as my wife is the shielding type

[wheeler]

Yes, good luck trying to reset the eolys counter on a mk1.

If you suspect that it is a diaphragm leak on the actuator just remove & plug the vacuum pipe from it then cable tie the swirl flap arm to stop it moving about on its own. There is no feedback sensor (that im aware of) on the swirl flaps so the ECU should have no idea that this has been done. With no vac leak there should be no overboost issues.

[MGmike]

If it wasn't for all the virus shenanigans I would go have a look for you but I haven't been to Newcastle for almost a year now. I used to go every few weeks to see family!
My 2.2 has been running without a swirl valve for about 5 years now and, if it is the diaphragm, the quickest work around is to pull the pipe from the activation solenoid inlet and plug it with a 6-8mm bolt and a jubilee clip. that will give the turbo the vacuum it needs and the car will run fine for years.

I did try and change the swirl valve but it's the one job I gave up on as I just couldn't find a way to the screws without removing half the engine!

[jamescarruthers]

If it wasn't for all the virus shenanigans I would go have a look for you but I haven't been to Newcastle for almost a year now. I used to go every few weeks to see family!
My 2.2 has been running without a swirl valve for about 5 years now and, if it is the diaphragm, the quickest work around is to pull the pipe from the activation solenoid inlet and plug it with a 6-8mm bolt and a jubilee clip. that will give the turbo the vacuum it needs and the car will run fine for years.

I did try and change the swirl valve but it's the one job I gave up on as I just couldn't find a way to the screws without removing half the engine!

Very kind, thank you. Does it use more fuel or poor pickup with the swirl flap disabled?

[MGmike]

If it wasn't for all the virus shenanigans I would go have a look for you but I haven't been to Newcastle for almost a year now. I used to go every few weeks to see family!
My 2.2 has been running without a swirl valve for about 5 years now and, if it is the diaphragm, the quickest work around is to pull the pipe from the activation solenoid inlet and plug it with a 6-8mm bolt and a jubilee clip. that will give the turbo the vacuum it needs and the car will run fine for years.

I did try and change the swirl valve but it's the one job I gave up on as I just couldn't find a way to the screws without removing half the engine!

Very kind, thank you. Does it use more fuel or poor pickup with the swirl flap disabled?

I've not noticed any impact... but it's been that way for so long I doubt I would now...
A 2.2 linked to the auto box isn't the most economical combination but it works for me.

[Lynnzer]

There used to be a damn good independent Citroen garage in Nile St, Sunderland. Might be worth doing a Google,
I had the 2.2 and my nephew took care of the DPF system and reset. He's at Easington. Seaside Service Station.