Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair

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Fri 21 Feb 2014 20:12
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - andrew50
Hi I have a Citroen c4 56 plate 77k miles on the clock. I had a blown head gasket as my oil was leaking into the coolant. Had this repaired at the garage and they also changed the cam belt. 2 days later, covering only 50 miles on short distances the car started cutting out when the engine got hot and was low revs (at traffic light for example). Took it back in and they said it was the crankshaft sensor which they replaced. Drove away and straight away another warning light STOP oil pressure too low, this goes away once revs are put on but immediately comes back after stopping. All this within one week and barely even drove after getting the head gasket replaced. It was sold with having a 12 month warranty but obviously only relating to the gasket. My question is do you think this is because of the repair, perhaps not done properly. It was supposed to have proper pressure tests but obviously have not seen these. Any help is much appreciated, many thanks.
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Sat 22 Feb 2014 08:19
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

You have not helped yourself driving the car with warning lights on and now overheating it sounds very much that the only remedy is a new engine,overheating is good sign of HG failure and low oil pressure is normally the crankshaft bearings are on there way out or a useless oil pump, if you have run the car too hot then it could be damaged beyond repair.

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 09:29
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - andrew50
No warning lights were on beforehand and the engine was fine (obviously excluding the head gasket). From just picking it up at the garage it is around a 4 mile journey home in which the warning only came on the last mile, and was only when sitting stationary with no revs. The engine was on 1 bar with regards to temperature at that point, so it is not overheated, it could be the oil pump though. The crackshaft sensor was also just replaced after the head gasket.
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Sat 22 Feb 2014 13:52
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

Did you drive it the mile after the warning light came on and did you drive it back to the garage .The temp gauge will not read correctly if the water is low due to overheating and the sensor is reading air temp. but the warning light will come on then you must stop turn off and do move the car till the problem is cured.

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 15:00
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - andrew50
The warning light was only on when stationary due to lower revs, and the water level is fine, obviously check that straight away so it has not overheated! An airlock in the system could be the reason though.
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Sat 22 Feb 2014 13:54
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

I forget to mention an air lock in the cooling the cooling system can cause the symptoms you have described

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 17:17
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Peter.N.

Contrary to popular belief a leaking head gasket does not cause overheating, what does is the pressure build up in the engine that blows the water out, so if you are sure you haven't lost any water the problem will be elswhere.

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 17:26
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

Sounds like the OP has wrecked the engine Peter.

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 17:31
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - andrew50
Would you care to expand please
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Sat 22 Feb 2014 18:45
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

Driving a car with no oil pressure and warning lights on the dashboard no matter how small the distance is a recipe for disaster I sincerly hope you have done no damage but from your description of events I find that highly unlikely.

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 18:55
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - andrew50
Well the garage did a 10 mile test drive whilst it was like that and told me it was fine to drive, I just didn't understand it was such a big message on the car when I drove it away. Oil and water levels were both fine.
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Sat 22 Feb 2014 19:44
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

A reputable garage driving a car on test with warning lights lit up and then saying its ok for you to drive I would heading straight for some legal advice.

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Sun 23 Feb 2014 01:01
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Wackyracer

I think the answer to your problem might be here www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=74428

If the garage changed the oil they may have used a non original (poor quality) filter.

Edited by Wackyracer on 23/02/2014 at 01:03

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Sun 23 Feb 2014 07:57
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

I do not think that this would have made a difference in this case.

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Sun 23 Feb 2014 13:18
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Wackyracer

As both the 307 and C4 use exactly the same filter cartridge and the symptoms are the same, I think that it is relevant.

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Sun 23 Feb 2014 14:32
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Collos25

The symptoms are not the same similar but not the same,anyway eitherway its probably to late in the day.

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Mon 24 Feb 2014 20:12
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - Wackyracer

I guess we will find out if the OP ever comes back to tell us.

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Sat 20 Jun 2015 00:09
Citroen C4 - Stop oil pressure low, just had head gasket repair - citroen mechanic

when the camshaft boxes were assembled, they were over tightened causing wear thus loosing oil pressure, its a very common problem.The tightening torque is 1kg. New cam shaft assemblies are needed to fix the problem.

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