Hi All,
I've had an M reg 306 from new which has always impressed me by the smoothness of its engine (for a diesel). However, I recently had the cam-belt changed (generally recommended at 50k) by a Peugeot dealer and now the thing sounds and feels like a bit of a dog. To someone with no prior experience of the car they may not notice, "cos its a diesel", but I certainly do.
Seems pretty obvious that the timing's been mucked-up, but this obviously didn't occur to the garage that did the work. Generally had bad experiences with garages (case in point), so could someone tell me what is now likely to need attention so that I can spoon feed the next garage I take it to - valve timing? injector timing? etc?
Also could anyone recommend a garage in the Kingston/Epsom area (or thereabouts) capable of doing a proper job?
Many thanks
Jim
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If this is a timing problem it could be in 2 components: camshaft or injector pump. Both should have been fixed when the belt was changed.
The camshaft is probably easier for a bum garage to have got right because they would expect to get the cam correct with respect to the crankshaft, whereas they may not have appreciated that the injector pump is equally critical, or have known how to lock it.
If either is wrong it will need the belt off to fix it. I did check my 205 after a belt change once and, although it was a bruided knuckle job, I was able to verify that the timing was correct for both pump and cam (I was looking for a noise - performance was OK).
Others will know more about accessibility on the 306DT. I had an atmo diesel version of this car but never touched this part of the engine.
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Thanks Ian,
I'm sure your info will help when describing the problem to the next garage I have the dubious honour of doing business with.
FYI the symptoms are more vibration at tickover together with an slightly increased metallic note to the engine. Also, on the move, the engine feels rough to the point that I don't want to drive faster than 70mph, my mechanical empathy starting to cause me pain.
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Jim,you must take this up with the garage who did this work and not be afraid of complaining. It's silly not to. Tell them you want the work examined. QED.
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Hi Mike,
The car has been back to the garage once already and the brain-boxes reckoned noise was being caused by water pipes unhooked at the back of the engine. I subsequently found the pipes in question whose screw fixing to the bulkhead had broken. This hadn't been fixed by them either!
Anyway with the info on timing problems I now have I'll probably have another go at them.
Does anybody know if I could ask them for some sort of print-out from a machine they would use to prove that the timing is OK.
These guys cannot be trusted so I need some sort of proof that the car has received attention. Not an unusual problem I fear.
Jim
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Jim
If the car was ok when it went in and is now faulty then quite obviously it it something they have done and its up to them to fix it.
From the symptoms you describe I would say that the camshaft timing is out due to the belt being put on a tooth or so out. The metallic noise you can now hear may well be the sound of the valves hitting the pistons, which if it hasn't already could cause serious engine damage.
Take the car back again to the garage for further investigation. If they refuse or still fail to cure the problem then I would have thought that you would have every right to get the car inspected/fixed by another garage and re claim the money from the original garage if necessary via the small claims court.
If you belong to a motoring organisation they often have a free legal advice helpline which would be able to advise you on this.
I can understand your reluctance to go back again. I too have suffered incompetant, shoddy and often dangerous work by main dealers and you do get to the point when you just give up on them!
Regards
Adrian
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Thanks for the advice Adrian,
I will definitely have another go at them.
However, the problems I ALWAYS experience with garages really put me off owning an older car. Garages generally seem to be totally unqualified to do anything more than put on new windscreen wipers and even that can be beyond them. I think DIY is the only reliable solution - assuming you have the time.
I'm sure there are exceptions but in reality not that many!
Jim
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The difficulty here is that cars now are so hi-tec that for lots of components DIY is just not an option. The trouble is that many garages seem to be little better at it than you are.
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