Hello All!
I was wondering if anyone could help me.
My S-reg peugeot 306 has recently developed a bit of a problem. For the last year or so it has needed oil top-ups in between services. Just before christmas I was driving along and the car seemed to accelerate of it's own volition - only slightly but enough to make me use the brakes to bring it back under control. This seemed to clear itself up so I thought nothing more of it.
A couple of days later I topped up the oil as you do. All was fine until driving alone a stretch of road the car began to accelerate quite sharply of it's own volition, billowing white smoke out of the back as it did so. Depressing the clutch only made matters worse as the engine accelerated past the rev-dial limit so in order to avoid an accident I braked and deliberately stalled the engine.
My garage unfortunately doesn't normally deal with these sort of problems but have said that one of the piston rings has gone. I've been given quotes in the £1400-1800 + vat region to either recondition or replace the engine with dire warning attached that the fuel system may also be knackered which would cost another £1000 and it may never run properly again.
Unfortunately - being in my last year of study I can't actually afford to replace the car.
Is there anything other than a worn piston ring that could cause this - could it be a problem with the turbo or the fuel system? Is there anything I should be getting the garage to check for before accepting that I basically need a new engine.
If it is a piston ring that has gone - would repairing the car (ignoring the financial aspects) be a futile exercise. How likely am I to have further problems with a replacement engine?
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I seem to recall this can also be caused by a loose turbo pipe - I can't remember the exact name/cause but someone who does will be along soon. :o)
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check the breather pipes running between the rocker cover and inlet trunking are clear, in particular the oil seperator mounted on the intercooler. Could be failed turbo seals on the inlet side - check for heavy oil contamination in the hose going into the intercooler..if there is alot of oil here oil is either leaking past the turbo or excessive crankcase pressure is pushing it out the breather. If any oil changes have been missed use a flushing oil and refill with 10w 40 semi synthetic and keep level below max .
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A couple of days later I topped up the oil as you do. All was fine until driving alone a stretch of road the car began to accelerate quite sharply of it's own volition, billowing white smoke out of the back as it did so. Depressing the clutch only made matters worse as the engine accelerated past the rev-dial limit so in order to avoid an accident I braked and deliberately stalled the engine. My garage unfortunately doesn't normally deal with these sort of problems but have said that one of the piston rings has gone.
Some engine oil is getting into the air intake via the breather - piston ring leakage possibly - and being used as fuel. As this progresses, nothing you do other than stalling the engine will bring it to rest unfortunately.
As someone mentioned earlier, an expert on the subject will be able to be more specific.
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Bought my 1994 306TD back in 2003 with 120k on the clock, at a time when I knew very little about cars. After a few weeks of ownership and covering 2000 miles, checking the fluid levels weekly as a matter of course, I quickly realised how quickly the oil was going down and needed top ups of about a litre every 700 miles. The car was also smoking heavily on start up despite air and fuel filter changes. Thought little more of it as the car ran like a dream otherwise but asked around a few garages and most of them said worn turbo oil seals and possibly valve stem seals or piston rings. The problem got no worse over the next 30k but the icing on the cake came at 150k when the head gasket failed, whereby I decided to bite the bullet and stick a replacement engine in. Since then, the car has hardly ever needed an oil top up between 6k changes and the engine is now on 145k.
Might work out cheaper in your situation to replace the engine with one from an accident damaged 306 or Citroen Xsara- there are plenty of decent 1.9TD lumps in the scrappies. I picked mine up for £300 with 109k on the clock and got it fitted for £250 including new cambelt, filters, oil etc. Otherwise, you are probably looking at an engine rebuild if a piston ring has blown which would most likely work out more expensive than an exchange engine. If replacing the engine, might also be worth replacing the clutch at the same time- piece of cake when the engine is out of the car.
Martin
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