Cylinder Repair Question

FinnS

Hey guys, my 2004 Citroen Berlingo 1.8 non-turbo started giving me trouble a few months back when firing up. It just needed a lot more key to start.
I brought it to a local mechanic who took out glow plugs and tested them and went through all the usual starter problems.
He said everything was perfect so that it had to be a problem with the cylinders and that i'd be looking at the bones of €800 to getting them checked and repaired. I thought 800 was a bit excessive.
Just looking for some ideas from anyone who had similar problems.
Or just wondering if anyone has had cylinder problems before and roughly how much it costs?

Any feedback appreciated!

Cheers

George Dalton

These have solid lifters rather than hydraulic self adjusting tappets. Over time what happens them is the valve clearances get too tight and they get hard to start when cold. Compression is low when cold which is probably why your mechanic is blaming the "cylinders" but the problem is actually the tappets/lifters.

The solution is to remove the camshaft and re-shim the solid lifters. It is a very time consuming job but shouldn't cost €800. It is a good idea to change the timing belt kit and water pump at the same time unless they were recently done.

FinnS

George Dalton wrote: »

These have solid lifters rather than hydraulic self adjusting tappets. Over time what happens them is the valve clearances get too tight and they get hard to start when cold. Compression is low when cold which is probably why your mechanic is blaming the "cylinders" but the problem is actually the tappets/lifters.

The solution is to remove the camshaft and re-shim the solid lifters. It is a very time consuming job but shouldn't cost €800. It is a good idea to change the timing belt kit and water pump at the same time unless they were recently done.

Hey George, cheers for the feedback! That makes a lot of sense because it only gives me trouble on the first start of the day or if i've left it idle for 8 hours +
My mileage is quite low at 65K, do you still reckon it's worth doing the belt and pump? If not 800 how much do you reckon roughly it should cost?

Thanks

George Dalton

If the belt kit and pump are the originals at 8 years and 65k definitely do them yes as they are due soon regardless of the other problem.

The total cost of the job including the timing belt kit and pump would be around €500-600. The belt kit and pump change would normally cost €300-350 on its own so an extra €200-250 should cover the additional cost of sorting the tight tappets at the same time.

FinnS

Thanks very much George, much appreciated.