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Hi there. The nightmare continues: after having the cam belt and pulley changed my tappy tappy noise is still there. Peugeot have failed to even hear it twice now, presumably putting it down to the mad forigner's imagination. I am absolutely certain it's a duff hydraulic tappet but, seeing some of the posts on here re. oil, I took a look at the bottle.

Now, before I get castigated, the oil I put in was only meant to be in there for a couple of thousand Kms so I wasn't too too bothered what it was, so long as it had a name I knew (forgotten it now, sorry) and the right specs and had the word "diesel" written on it.

Brief recap: after service noise appears. You can only hear it in the car, with your foot down between about 1500 and 3000 rpm, when it fades and vanishes in the cacofony. It doesn't do it hot. Or if you drive it like grandma (how I have to drive with the other half ).

So, I went back to the bottle to see what'd done and I noticed the word "synthetic" doesn't appear anywhere. Oh. Ok, I'll change the oil for one that does. Go to the shop where my other half explains why I want synthetic, whereupon the guy explains to me that I absolutely must not put mineral oil in an HDI and have probably done loads of damage to the tappets and maybe even burned a valve or two.

Is this bollocks, or have I goosed my new mota????? I can't find anything about it on the 'net.

Anyway, with the new supa-dupa fully synthetic oil, the noise is less but still there. Tommorow it's being left at Pug for a few hours to cool off, then I'm going to try to scare the mechanic again. Then I'll know if it's head in the oven time...

Hm, as far as I know, diesels need semi-synthetic oil. 10w40, I believe, does the job for HDIs/TDs

Yes that is sales-counter bollocks! I'm sure they do it just for a laugh

The only way you can damage head gear is with no (or very very low) oil, extreme heat, both, etc etc.

The manual recommends an oil between 5W/30 and 10W/40 for the HDi.

The only reason they recommend at least Semi Synthetic is for the service interval of 12000 miles/2 years.

The manual recognises that where semi synthetic oils are 'not available' then you should follow the 'arduous use' interval of 9000 miles/1 year.

The main problem with cheap mineral oils is that they will shear down quicker than a semi syn and also produce more waxing/deposits over time.

Don't worry about it but try a flush and change with a good semi syn 10W/40 next time.

My car 'ticks' for a while after start up which then goes away and sounds like a hydraulic lifter. The other thing though is that it appears (through countless posts on here) that all HDi's have a characteristic 'rattle' through about 2000 to 3000 rpm. It has been described as slight Diesel knock caused by ultra-lean fuelling which promptly dissapears at 3000 rpm when the 3rd piston of the HP pump kicks in to provide more fuel (the uneconomical stage).

Generally, if the car pulls strongly and doesn't smoke too much then worry not.

The HDi is a funny old thing, somedays ultra quiet, somedays really noisey, sometimes faster than others, I've had mine nearly 2 years and it hasn't changed. The only thing that did quieten it down once was the pulley change but that was *bad* and had to be done.

Welly
(king of the long replies)

No, King of Extremely Helpful and Telling Me Exactly What I Want To Know Relies)
It wasn't going to be 9,000 miles (or 13,000Km) anyway as I only just got the car and have no idea how well it's been serviced, it would have been changed at 7,000Km. I had a feeling it was balls but I must admit to being rather ignorant of diesels in general.

Anyway, Shell Helix is in the system for the next 15.000Km (I know the service is longer but I do have this heavy right foot problem )

Ivan @ Pug Zagreb wrote: It's the injectors and the injector rail, nothing unusual for HDIs

Well, that's me told. I did think it sounded better but I'm willing to accept that it was me feeling better about the oil.

Thanks again!

Next problem: I got stuck behind a lorry and showered in mud. Squirt washers, nothing. Hold stick to squirt continuously, still nothing. Then notice back window being sprayed. Ajoj!