Date: 10/12/2010
Vehicle: Peugeot 206 CC
Year of manufacture: 2001
Engine: 2.0 16v (EW10J4)
Symptoms:Vehicle missfiring & unstable cold start idle/P0300 present
Duration: 1 Day
Customer Brief:
The customer bought this car to us after it had done the rounds at other garages and the problem could not be rectified. The symptoms; Misfiring, poor idle, nasty knocking noises and generic messages being displayed on the display such as “Cataletic Convertor Failure” and/or “Poor Catalyst Efficiency” along with the engine management light flashing the owner to death when the vehicle was started.
Day 1 – Our call-out & initial inspection:As with all problems like this we always check the basics even if they’re been done by others and ruled out - This isn’t to waste time and rack up an expensive bill but rather so we know its correct and working! This vehicle presented us with a bit of a challenge as it had already had a number of expensive ignition parts replaced by others in an attempt to cure the problem.
Initially, diagnostics revealed very little as being wrong so a compession test was carried out to ascertain the general health of the engine despite its fairly low mileage. This showed a fairly major inbalance between the cylinders when the engine was cold. Curiously the problem went away if the vehicle was driven till it warmed up and then re-tested. It was at this point we hit the books and came across a little known technical bulletin stating that a common problem found in this engine, caused by poor assembly & servicing, causes the compression leakage and applies to various models in the Peugeot range such as the 206, 306, 406, 607 and 806. The fix is to replace the hydraulic lifters; all x16 of them with units from the older EW7 1.8 16v engine.
Day 1 Continued - The fix:After a trip to the main dealers to fetch the new, older spec lifter units the vehicles timing was pinned and removed so the top end could be dismantled and get the camshafts out of the way. The new lifters come pre-oiled and ready to go so after removing the old units, clearing away the nasty old oil a little build lube was added and the new lifters were fitted.
The engine top end was then re-assembled, a new timing belt service kit fitted and a full oil and filter service carried out using a good quality oil before the engines oil system was re-primed (this is done so that oil pressure is established to supply the new parts and so not to cause any damage to them during the initial “Run in” period). The vehicle was then left with us for a further 48hrs to be used and run-in and to ensure the problem didn’t come back… which it didn’t!
CASE STUDY No Peugeot 206 CC, 2.0 16v
