Citroen C4 problems : /

iqmdublin

Howayiz, in a bit of a pickle! Cars off the road, brought it to a mechanic who is saying to junk it as he see's the cost of whats needed spiraling to €2,000!
The car is 10 years old and I was a lot more keen on just getting it up and running, instead of lashing new everything into it, thats why I was going to try to get some 2nd hand parts where possible

I'm trying to get it up and running for in and around the €1,000 mark : /



1) EGR Valve is dodgy (anti-pollution warning light been on for months)

I've read its possible to clean these, but better to replace.

Citroen's Replacement is €400,

Micks garage have EGR valves for €100-150
Breakers yard has them for €60


mechanic also said something about a tank needing a replacement of CAT oil, which is around €100, but when I rang Citroen they didn't know what he was on about and thought he might be getting the system confused with a different car.

anyone know anything about this?



2) Turbo needs replacing/reconditioning
He just said its very worn and leaking oil. Was driving it at the weekend and it seems the turbo was giving up the ghost so cars been sitting up ever since.

Replacements from Citroen range from €800-1200
Refurb quotes are coming in at €450-650
Breakers yard has turbos for €180!


I've asked 2 mechanics, neither seemed keen on a 2nd hand. Is that just a general consensus? I was thinking if it comes from a decent donor car, and I get the needed pipework replaced and all, whats the issue?!


3) 2 rear shocks needed at some point soon as mechanic felt they were very worn, they're coming in at €140-200 new from Citroen for the pair or €40 from a good donor car. Again, bad idea?!



4) Back brake caliper is leaking apparently (this was the only thing the NCT picked up!), and again was thinking to get 2nd hand instead of spending a tonne on new.



So if anyone has any advice, and practical suggestions that'd be appreciated!

Mechanics approach was 'bad idea, don't do it' and just seemed keen for me to get rid of the car and buy a new one..... wasn't exactly the most practical or helpful when I asked about fixing for cheaper then 'JUST BUY NEW EVERYTHING',


why is it mechanics don't want to fit 2nd hand parts? or was it just that guy?

I know Turbos can be tricky and you don't know what you're getting from the Salvage yard, but its hardly worth buying a new turbo so I thought this seemed a better option

MrMusician18

iqmdublin wrote: »

Howayiz, in a bit of a pickle! Cars off the road, brought it to a mechanic who is saying to junk it as he see's the cost of whats needed spiraling to €2,000!
The car is 10 years old and I was a lot more keen on just getting it up and running, instead of lashing new everything into it, thats why I was going to try to get some 2nd hand parts where possible

I'm trying to get it up and running for in and around the €1,000 mark : /



1) EGR Valve is dodgy (anti-pollution warning light been on for months)

I've read its possible to clean these, but better to replace.

Citroen's Replacement is €400,

Micks garage have EGR valves for €100-150
Breakers yard has them for €60


mechanic also said something about a tank needing a replacement of CAT oil, which is around €100, but when I rang Citroen they didn't know what he was on about and thought he might be getting the system confused with a different car.

anyone know anything about this?



2) Turbo needs replacing/reconditioning
He just said its very worn and leaking oil. Was driving it at the weekend and it seems the turbo was giving up the ghost so cars been sitting up ever since.

Replacements from Citroen range from €800-1200
Refurb quotes are coming in at €450-650
Breakers yard has turbos for €180!


I've asked 2 mechanics, neither seemed keen on a 2nd hand. Is that just a general consensus? I was thinking if it comes from a decent donor car, and I get the needed pipework replaced and all, whats the issue?!


3) 2 rear shocks needed at some point soon as mechanic felt they were very worn, they're coming in at €140-200 new from Citroen for the pair or €40 from a good donor car. Again, bad idea?!



4) Back brake caliper is leaking apparently (this was the only thing the NCT picked up!), and again was thinking to get 2nd hand instead of spending a tonne on new.



So if anyone has any advice, and practical suggestions that'd be appreciated!

Mechanics approach was 'bad idea, don't do it' and just seemed keen for me to get rid of the car and buy a new one..... wasn't exactly the most practical or helpful when I asked about fixing for cheaper then 'JUST BUY NEW EVERYTHING',


why is it mechanics don't want to fit 2nd hand parts? or was it just that guy?

I know Turbos can be tricky and you don't know what you're getting from the Salvage yard, but its hardly worth buying a new turbo so I thought this seemed a better option

It's not CAT oil, it's ELOYS, which was used as a catalyst in the dpf.

It's not a great idea to run those cars for an extended time with the pollution light on, it doesn't run as well and I think can damage the dpf filter further.

bazz26

A second hand turbo is a lottery, you don't know how it was treated up to the point of when it came out of the old car. They are cheaper because the risk is higher. Best getting a reconditioned turbo from a turbo specialist, it will be cheaper than a brand new one but the risk of it failing will be lower than just buying a second hand one from a scrapyard.

Eolys fluid is used with the car's Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) to burn off soot that's produced by the diesel engine. There is usually a separate tank to fill that on those HDI engines but it's not cheap stuff and the warning light would need to be reset also once refilled.

That HDi engines of that vintage in general are a very temperamental engine and need to be serviced correctly on the button otherwise they will punish you. If you don't want to spend money on it then it's probably best to part ways with the car.

Henry Ford III

Cut your losses OP. Time to move on I'd suggest.

porsche boy

You could put all that stuff into the car and:
1. Find there are further issues to be addressed
2. Fit second hand parts that are close to failure
3. Car drives or behaves differently to your expectations causing you to break your mechanics heart/loosing faith in his abilities/passing bad comments to other customers.

I totally understand the unwillingness of your mechanic to fit 2nd hand parts.
Take the money and buy something else, possibly not French, that's NCT passed and forget your worries.

iqmdublin

MrMusician18 wrote: »

It's not CAT oil, it's ELOYS, which was used as a catalyst in the dpf.

It's not a great idea to run those cars for an extended time with the pollution light on, it doesn't run as well and I think can damage the dpf filter further.

Just got off from the Citroen Dealer again and mentioned the ELOYS fluid, he said on his system my car doesn't seem to have the tank for that, so its probably just that the mechanic was presuming based on other C4's.

so hopefully thats one less thing to worry about!

iqmdublin

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Cut your losses OP. Time to move on I'd suggest.

thanks guys, but I'm working out the costs of a new car.



Can't sell this in its current state, worth very little

New car I've to fork out 1000's anyway, plus deal with whatever that has wrong. This thing is just taxed/insured, and with a brake calliper is NCT'd



So its not as bad for me at all to fix it for 1000/1200
reconditioned turbo fitted is 600, which is the biggest job, the rest is small stuff really as far as i can see?

jelutong

Check out NEAT AUTOS LTD website. They specialise in parts for French cars.

Henry Ford III

What's a good running 2008 C4 worth?

iqmdublin

Henry Ford III wrote: »

What's a good running 2008 C4 worth?

not much! €1800-3000 for the kind of year/mileage my one has, but the problem is getting one which doesn't have more issues itself.



I've replaced the clutch on mine last year (€550), just done a full service, new front tyres (€220), and a load of other little things, plus just taxed it for the year! : / Hopefully this wont be a classic case of the gamblers fallacy..!



Just dropped it into a Turbo Specialist who's going to sort that problem!
Really decent chap who seemed to know exactly what he was talking about and is going to check over everything else before starting work on the turbo, if he doesn't feel its worth it he won't do it

Henry Ford III

iqmdublin wrote: »

not much! €1800-3000 for the kind of year/mileage my one has, but the problem is getting one which doesn't have more issues itself.



I've replaced the clutch on mine last year (€550), just done a full service, new front tyres (€220), and a load of other little things, plus just taxed it for the year! : / Hopefully this wont be a classic case of the gamblers fallacy..!



Just dropped it into a Turbo Specialist who's going to sort that problem!
Really decent chap who seemed to know exactly what he was talking about and is going to check over everything else before starting work on the turbo, if he doesn't feel its worth it he won't do it

Hope it works out well for you.

223vmax

Are you willing to do some of the work yourself? If so you could save a small fortune.

Farfromhome02

Get rid of it!!!

Mongfinder General

Farfromhome02 wrote: »

Get rid of it!!!

Ditto. I’ve a grand Picasso. It is nothing but trouble. Try and get a trade in if st all possible.

mookishboy

Shocks approx 100
turbo cartridge 140 from drive shaft services
egr delete 200
and then labor for replacing about 250

iqmdublin

mookishboy wrote: »

Shocks approx 100
turbo cartridge 140 from drive shaft services
egr delete 200
and then labor for replacing about 250

cool, thanks.

apparently the failing turbo diagnosis from the 1st mechanic I brought it to was wrong. turbo specialist took everything apart and explained how it was a misdiagnosis. The 'intercooler filter' i think he said was splashing oil, plus there was a small issue with the turbo casing but the turbo itself is fine.


Wondering now what else the mechanic got wrong! Seems there is no EOLYS Fluid tank on the model I have as well, so thats 2 things right away (and not small stuff!) He was super quick to just write the car off and to tell me to go buy a flippin hyundai getz...? turns out he hadn't a flippin clue, and there was me half thinking to get rid of the car...!



EGR, gonna see about getting that switched off, thanks

josip

Is there much in common mechanically between the C4 and the C5?
If so, this thread might be worth a read

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=104599967