oil catch can question if I may...

[pionte]

By pure chance last week I had to go a Citroen/peugoet main dealers for my day job , I was in the back office just chatting to a guy about what I was there to do, anyhow I started to ask him about parts, as I was going to get the rear delete caps and seeing as it was a Peugoet part number I asked him if he could show me the parts dept after we where finished.

Long story short, it turns out he was the Master Tech, he asked why I wanted to do the mod and he wouldnt recommend it . What he said was quite interesting, Bearing in mind he had no axe to grind , we were just chatting bloke to bloke , the car was not bought through them and had never been looked at by them.

Apparently Citreon will honour warranty work upto 5 years if the car is serviced correctly and if it flags up with one of the 2 known major faults ( logged fault code required ) these are the carbon build up and the stretched cam chain .

He reckoned that a big cause of issues is people not servicing regularly enough, expecting the oil to go 20k or 2 years and plugs to last 4 years , he did put my mind at ease somewhat !
I am going to book the car in for a Major service early in Jan, although its only done 9k it will be 4 years old, he has said that he will read and see if there are any fault codes logged and if so will then be able to authorise the carbon cleaning etc .

Since the initial test drive I managed to get the super knock one more time the next day, but a week of regular drives and a good thrash by myself and everything seems ok, I am still probably going to fit a OCC , but not the Forge one at £350 it seems too pricey, although I do like the neat installation .

I also have a friend who is a mechanic at a BMW dealership, so I gave him a call and asked about his experience with the THP in the Mini , again he said that he rarely has issues apart from timing chains, head gaskets and warped heads.

There obviously can be an issue with a small percentage of cars, and I am inclined to believe that prevention is always best , and gunk being sucked into the induction side of the engine cant be good, so a OCC sounds like a good idea , it appears that this is a common mod on the VAG engines as well, I am at least slightly less worried about the imminent failure of the engine :cool:

[Chris_Blue]

Sounds like an interesting chat. Citroen will honour issues after the 3 year warranty? Hmmm. Rather not put that to the test.
Issues with people not servicing regular enough- would have thought most people would service as per manual time periods.
Maybe he means service more frequently?
Have thought my engine oil seems progressively more gloopy on the dipstick, especially in winter. But manual states its not due for a change.
However, as its sometimes used hard, will change every 6 month after 1st service, myself, from now on.
See generic catch cans are now on ebay. Jurys still out for me on when to do it.

[Superfly Guy]

See generic catch cans are now on ebay. Jurys still out for me on when to do it.

I think il be doing this next time im home, ive PM'd Jamie ref this and the pipe delete thing, just waiting out on a reply.

[Chris_Blue]

You getting a stutter or pinking sound Superfly? Got some BGK44 stuff coming soon, for me. Not sure when will use it.

Think a catch can is straightforward- take the pipe of the RHS of engine, and put a pipe back on with a catch can, and secure the catch
can somewhere, lower down. Think I would try that before deleting the rear PCV pipe, but let us know what Jamies suggests.
Did you put a new recirc valve on after your map?

[Superfly Guy]

You getting a stutter or pinking sound Superfly? Got some GBK44 stuff coming soon, for me. Not sure when will use it.

Think a catch can is straightforward- take the pipe of the RHS of engine, and put a pipe back on with a catch can, and secure the catch
can somewhere, lower down. Think I would try that before deleting the rear PCV pipe, but let us know what Jamies suggests.
Did you put a new recirc valve on after your map?

No engine issues Chris, just a pre-emptive measure if anything, and no valve but I will Google what that is possibly it to my TTD list when im home

[Chris_Blue]

Right- if mine were out of warranty, the Catch can would be first thing I would do.
The recirc valve is the quiet option of the blow off valve, which helps diminish turbo lag, but also there is evidence to suggest OEM valves can break up and cause issues, especially in vehicles that are high performing (Mapped.....heat)

[Superfly Guy]

Right- if mine were out of warranty, the Catch can would be first thing I would do.
The recirc valve is the quiet option of the blow off valve, which helps diminish turbo lag, but also there is evidence to suggest OEM valves can break up and cause issues, especially in vehicles that are high performing (Mapped.....heat)

I remember reading about them now and possible failure of the OEM part. To be honest while im away the turbo will be pretty redundant as the car is rarely used, im sure the wife can handle a little lag when off to see her parents. Even when im home the car would be breaking the speed limit in first and second if I booted it so its only on a Sunday IKEA run that I get a chance to open it up really, having said that common sense is rarely a planning factor when I have a hobby. Stand by for Recirc valve Googling.

[Chris_Blue]

You can just replace the OEM internals- works out about £50. I was considering that recently but cant remember the parts you need. There is a post on here somewhere about it.
Its the heat/cold/heat/cold that makes the diaphragm degenerate, so if the car has already done some mileage, especially at high revs, then its a job on the list at some stage

[pionte]

I think he was meaning that it is better to change the oil more frequently than Citroen recommend... it was an ' off the record ' type conversation, I had told him that I was a EX Ford mechanic so we where just chatting.

I really would recommend changing the oil yearly or 10k ( I will be doing so ) my Golf is set to long life service, different oil is used, it is upto 20k miles, but it samples the oil quality and flages up when it needs changing. It is a company car so I couldnt care less if it goes bang... but my 30 year old VW camper van gets an oil and filter change every year even if its only done a couple of thousand miles, the DS3 will be getting the same.

I know why the manufacturers specify these long service intervals, ( perceived cost of ownership) but decent fresh oil is the number one kindest thing you can do for your engine.

It was interesting what he said about the plugs as well, he said that the platinum ones are the best to use.

I think that the OCC is a good plan, but the ones with baffles do sound better to me.

[Superfly Guy]

Ive just replaced my plugs at 20K and the oil, oil filter and air filter amongst other things as part of a little house husbandry.

[Chris_Blue]

Completely agree with the oil change. All the threads Ive read about the THP for the last 2 years leads me to believe that oil changes are important, especially if you drive hard and fast.

Decided to leave it until my first service mid March, although did buy the TOTAL oil and filter, couple month back to do it. Bout 11,500 mile on at the moment and the oil is certainly gloopy.(Manual says 12month or 20,000) Makes me think it cant get round the engine quickly on start up.

I check the oil every day pretty much, and after the first service, gonna change it every 6 month, whatever. Hadnt heard about the plugs, but theres a thread on here bout them too. OEM are recommended.

[Ragnarok]

I service at 12 mths or 10.000 kms (plan is 15.000 kms / 12 mths).

Plugs are supposed to be replaced also, but I replace them only when they look like they need to. I believe the reason for unusual spark plug replacement interval is carbon which can be brushed away unless the plugs have burned very badly.

And I used Castrol, not TOTAL.

[Chris_Blue]

Anyone confirm the PCV hose diameters on the THP, rather than me take them off to look?
Think they are 15mm hoses, but it has been suggested they could be 19mm (Internal)

Theres quite a nice catch can for £100 on the auction site, baffled up, with sight screen that even Pug THPers are after as a group buy

[Chris_Blue]

We ought to meet up for a chat sometime Pionte- I am in Brighton but get up to Tunbridge Wells regular
Got my eye on a catch can Ive referred to on another thread, and it would be interesting to see if it works when installed
And you being a mechanic could come in handy...........:-)

Edit- LOL: Sorry for posting twice in succession on same thread- used search and thought it was a different thread. Ha-Ha

[pionte]

Always happy to meet up talk about cars, :Joni: I'm an old school type mechanic who did my apprenticeship on Ford Cosworths and Escort RS Turbo's series 1 and 2 , but you never un learn the basics... I am sure I can learn alot from everyone on here.

2 weeks owning the car and everything is spot on, the Mrs Loves it , the only gripe is the colour ! wow it gets dirty quickly, I had it hand washed and leathered on Sunday... by the time I got home it looked like it had been through a field !

I will have a look for your thread on the catch can you mentioned , £100 seems a far better price than the Forge one, which Im sure is worth it if you are going to do any kind of racing with your car.

Im not sure what the diameter of the pipes are, ideally I wouldnt want to cut into any of the original pipework, I do prefer to keep things as factory if possible.