1.6HDi coming our way - Please Help!

[Doggy]

Is it really an oil change if you don't spill some though?

Yes, I've managed it without a drop spilled at least twice in 46 years.

Have resolved to secure one of those suction devices.

[steve_earwig]

Have resolved to secure one of those suction devices.

I was thinking about one of those a while back, perfect for not having to grovel about on the floor or worrying about stripped threads. But then I read they don't really get to the bottom of things and can leave all the worst sludge in the bottom of the sump (although I suspect if there's a layer of sludge in the bottom of the sump there's something amiss).

[Doggy]

Pretty sure that's all the garages do nowadays.
I recently tried to check the oil level of our posh new Grundfos/John Deere diesel fire pump....
Pulled on what i assumed was the dipstick only to discover it was a hand pump gadget for draining the sump.

[Welly]

25mm hole in the metal undertray.

Make it bigger

[Welly]

But then I read they don't really get to the bottom of things and can leave all the worst sludge in the bottom of the sump

I think most garages use a pela type pump or something frigged up to the air line I've also seen in action. Some argue that they rescue more oil from the sump than gravity draining as it's kinda hoovered out quite sharpish so it all follows a path to the suction inlet, I dunno I think after any oil drain there's still loads left in the nooks and crannies but if you've recovered over 90% of the old stuff that's probably the best you'll get. Can't see it being any different for the last few decades, or in the future.

[Bailes1992]

You cannot use a pump on a DV6. I can't remember why I just remember PSA issuing a statement saying they should not be used.

[steve_earwig]

I've been wondering about that, the bottom of the dipstick tube is S-shaped - I watched the mechanic here extricating a broken dipstick from one, it was a long while back mind. I seem to remember the tube was quite narrow too. I thought maybe if you were using a sucker on one it would actually use the dipstick tube in some fashion.

[steve_earwig]

It appears they changed the design (I wonder why...) as the later one seems to be straight-


I don't think the RPO decoder I have goes that high...

Maybe the later ones are ok?

Incidentally, I tried logging in to Service Box for that but it's down, so I tried Citroen Service http://service.citroen.com/pages/index.jsp which now seems to cover Peugeot parts too

[Bailes1992]

This goes against everything I believe in but I genuinely believe the DV6 is best abused.

My own personal Focus I put 60k on in 30months. It got 6k oil changes, ran on BP Ultimate on Shell V-Power, was always nursed along, spent most of it's time doing 70mph on the motorway and it ran like an absolute pig. Used to bog down and stutter, was laggy, loud, not very good on fuel and coarse. I never enjoyed driving it, the car never encouraged me to drive it hard because the engine never seemed to be happy.

My current company car has the exact same engine in the same car. It's been serviced at 14k, 29k and getting serviced tomorrow on 40k. It only gets run on Tesco diesel and I do give it some stick! It's quieter, smoother and faster than my old one and returns the same economy despite being driven so much harder. It really is an absolute joy to drive! It probably weighs a few hundred KG's less than my old one and it really does show when you push it around the twisties.

I always said I'd never own another Ford after my Focus, but this company car has really made me think otherwise. If you want a normal car, you won't find anything more fun to drive!

In September once I've been with my current employer for 12 months I can order a brand new Vauxhall Astra Design 1.6CDTi (110ps). I drove my colleagues the other day and it isn't anywhere near the car the Focus is. The seats are uncomfortable, you sit far to high and it is nowhere near as fast, punchy or as good in the corners. I may ask if I can keep the Focus until the lease is up!

[Welly]

Maybe your own private one never actually ran-in what with all the fresh oil and that ??

Our DV6 I think only had two oil changes before 30K miles, then I've been doing it every 5K, if you can imagine emptying your socket set into a tumble drier for the sound effect....

I dunno I think there's good ones and bad ones, HDi was a bit like that; especially with the fuel economy.

[Welly]

Well, we've* finally got fed up with the automatic* gearbox and the hesitation in first gear and took it into Citroen

They're charging £99.00 to diagnose the fault and go from there. Internet says the clutch needs calibrating, as the clutch wears at about 60K miles the clutch/accelerator ECU falls out of sync with the bite point of the clutch and you get a hesitation/stutter every time you set off (enough to rock you in the seat) it's quite bad now so I decided to get it sorted.

Two other Citroen specialists* declined to help with it so with the main dealer having all the software/updates etc they must do it, wish me luck!

On the plus* side I has a courtesy car, a 2018 Citroen C3 with a mighty 3-cylinder 1.2 pez engine to be honest it drives horrible, it sounds and feels rough [think: miss-firing] smooths out over 2000 rpm the red lines at 5500 rpm the steering has that modern car 'very light' effect which I hate. It only has 5k miles on it, I'd hate to see it at 90k miles

[steve_earwig]

Good luck! I'll be forwarding any results to my bro as my dad still has his Citroen leap-o-matic which I think is doing something similar, although reports seem to vary between "bit more revs, bit more and BANG!! WE'RE OFF" or "we're going anyway, ready or not" resulting recently in a new garage door I really wish he'd get rid of it but he says he's keeping it for the time being because the dog can get in and out of it easier than anything else he's had. Ideas like swapping it for a manual don't seem to go down too well either...

[Welly]

Well butter my arse!

They fixed it within the diagnostic "window of opportunity" (the £99.00 let's see what the problem is window)

Not picked it up yet but the Service Receptionist said that new Software has been downloaded and something was calibrated, as far as they're concerned it is fixed. For £99.00

I did wonder about software updates, ours is a 2010 car and I bet there's been revisions to make things work better, to be fair the way it changes gear usually is rubbish so I hope for some improvement there, we'll see.....

And yes steve, we've nearly twatted things when parking when the car wakes up and launches the clutch into action

[Welly]

Hold the press!

Back to square one

The gear change has improved with the new software (changes up earlier which is better and smoother down-changes) but the bloody hesitation is still there

Got to call them up and get it back in but I bet they'll say they've done all they can and the next step will be a new clutch

[Bailes1992]

As it's an automated manual I suspect a DMF and clutch change wouldn't be any more expensive than a manual.

I was surprised a few years ago when a colleague of mine had a new DSG clutch pack and flywheel on his Passat. £900 with genuine VW parts. Almost 'reasonable'.