Engine oil, Citroen c3 diesel

Thread on a C3 forum

Tv2013 wrote: »

Just wondering what engine oil I should get for a 06 Citroen c3 diseal car

What engine is in it?

If the car comes without FAP, the A3/B4 will be fine. Otherwise one of the C2 or C3 would be required.

I personally would opt for an oil with much lower pour temperature, to make sure the turbocharger is protected from the start, probably 0w30. Shell ECT C2/C3 0w30 (or its sibling Shell Pro AV-L) is an excellent, yet not that expensive, oil for diesel application.

If it was never done previously, it might be a good idea to change the turbo oil feeder pipe.

Tv2013 wrote: »

It’s a 1.4, I bought KAST 10w40 Semi Synthetic A3 B4 from micks garage is this any good

I would say no, almost all engines need fully synthetic oil (the only reason to use semi synthetic is when a petrol engine gets old and starts to use oil, semi synthetic will slow down the oil consumption), and it's also too thick for a diesel, most diesels need to use 5W30.

Also, being a Citroen, it might have a particulate filter (they did introduce them fairly early on compared to other makes) and anything with a filter must use a low SAPs (C3 spec) oil. Certain Citroen diesels have a reputation of being very troublesome unless you use exactly the oil specified by Citroen, depending on what diesel engine you've got this may apply (I know with the 1.6 HDi you must use exactly what the manual specifies otherwise there will be problems).

* All of the above is with the disclaimer that this is generally what should be done - you need to consult the owner's manual and see what weight and spec is required for your engine and follow what Citroen themselves recommend.