engine problem with my peugeot 306

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Tue 14 Feb 2006 23:21
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Russdean
Can anyone help me ??

I have a peugeot 306 98000 miles on the clock R reg
over the past few months I have noticed that Oil is getting mixed with the water. I am flushing out the water on a fornightly basis, as the water looks like MUD. I am also having to top up the oil on a regular basis, as it is leaking also slightly underneath the engine. I'm not sure if it is the head gasket or not, as the car does not seem to overheat. I am worried it could be another problem.

Car is still running ok, I just make sure I flush it out every 2 weeks. Can someone explain what they think the problem is ??

rgds
Deano
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Wed 15 Feb 2006 00:34
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Screwloose
Deano

And the engine is...?
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Wed 15 Feb 2006 22:19
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Russdean
Do you mean what cc is the engine ??
If so it is a 1398 cc petrol engine

Rgds
Deano
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Thu 16 Feb 2006 00:29
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Screwloose
Deano

Yes; there's many different 306 engines - some are notorious for cracked heads; though it's not a particular problem on your TU3.

There's many different things passing through a head gasket. Oil and coolant are just two. There doesn't have to be any compression or water loss for one to leak into the other.

Just find somewhere to get your head removed and the gasket looked at. If there's no obvious sign of gasket failure, a pressure test of the head to check for cracks might be the next step. Highly likely to be just a leaky gasket though.

Nice simple engine; shouldn't cost a fortune. Including the extra time for cleaning out the sludge, book time for a gasket change is 5.2 hours. It'll need several refills with Persil liquid over a few weeks to flush out all the oily gunk though.
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Sun 19 Feb 2006 19:18
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Russdean
Brilliant, thanks for your reply.

I am a bit useless with cars !!
Do you mean flush out the water every week or so, using persil liquid ?? if so, how much do I need to use ??
A guy at works's son is going to repair the car, reckons it's gonna cost about 300 quid, does that sound reasonable ??

Rgds
Deano
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Sun 19 Feb 2006 20:59
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Screwloose
Deano

The £300 depends on whether he's a professional or just a lad having a go. Allowing c.£100 for the parts; what's left is OK for a well-equipped pro at £40 hr; but a bit rich for an amateur.

About a cup-full of Persil Automatic, per fill, should soon clear the grime out. Just keep changing the water every few days until it's clean. Beware frost!! Once it's clean; flush it out and add 50% anti-freeze.
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Sun 19 Feb 2006 21:13
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - bell boy
i agree with everything screwloose says but can never get my head round persil additives(or similar) as i always have a fear they have salt in them.
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"
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Sun 19 Feb 2006 21:33
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - mss1tw
Also 306's can be a pain to bleed.
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Mon 20 Feb 2006 17:36
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Russdean
Screwloose

He is the son of a friend at work. He is a professional mechanic, who does private work at weekends.

I am worried now. Some other guy at my work says that if it was the head gasket then the car would not start. Also he says that he checked the dipstick and there was no sign of any water getting mixed with the oil. He says that it could be the crankshaft that has gone, as this causes back pressure which may force the oil into the water. This would mean major expense.

I am worried about getting the head gasket done, and then finding out it was another problem after all. Could this guy be right ?? or is he taling rubbish ??

Another question, It may sound stupid, but do you mean flush the water out with Persil liquid, or powder ??

Rgds
Deano
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Mon 20 Feb 2006 19:08
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Screwloose
Deano

Ahh; a "moonlighter" doing "homers." Still sounds a little bit dear; but depends where you are and if he does a good job... Where's he going to get a head pressure test done [if necessary] on a Saturday?

It's a good thing that we're not allowed expletives on here or my comments on your "friends" [lack of] car knowledge would melt the screen! Be totally assured that he is talking utter pink fluffy dice and should shut up fast before someone realizes he's a brainless muppet.

Headgaskets [and heads] can fail in any number of ways. Oil into water; water into sump; [milky oil/mayonnaise etc;] water into combustion chambers when standing; [misfire/white smoke on starting;] combustion gases into water when running; [the common one - overheating in summer and loss-of-coolant from over-flow;] oil, water or combustion gasses leaking externally. [That's just some of the ways.]

In virtually all of those cases the car will start and run fairly normally. If pressurized oil [50-60psi] can force it's way into the water [10-15psi] why does he assume that the lower-pressure water would displace the oil?

In the incredibly-rare cases of crankshaft failure, it's usually the large holes smashed in the engine block/sump and the locked-solid engine that provide the first subtle clues!! Can't say that increased oil [or crankcase] pressure is an effect that I've ever noticed!!

Persil liquid is the trade's time-honoured tipple of choice to remove unwanted oil from the cooling system. Alternatively; Rover used to recommend a standard janitorial alkaline detergent from their Unipart range of workshop cleaners for the job. There's many other possible solutions [sorry!] just don't try washing-up liquid unless you like bubbles - a lot!
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Mon 20 Feb 2006 19:20
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - mss1tw
The only thing I can think he means is that worn out crankshaft bearings will lower oil pressure (Right...?). I wonder if he thinks this can happen to such an extent that the water pressure is higher than the oil pressure.
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Mon 20 Feb 2006 21:01
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - mfarrow
The only thing I can think he means is that worn
out crankshaft bearings will lower oil pressure (Right...?). I wonder if
he thinks this can happen to such an extent that the
water pressure is higher than the oil pressure.


If he does he hasn't thought it through!

[TIC mode]

I'd better make sure I let my coolant properly cool down before switching off. I will do this by either

- Running the engine on just the starter motor for 10 minutes
- Driving head first into a lake
- Shovelling snow into the engine compartment

[/TIC mode]

--------------
Mike Farrow
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Mon 20 Feb 2006 22:37
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - Russdean
Thanks Screwloose for your comments, It will make me sleep a bit easier tonight !!

The guy who is fixing the car is using his garage, and has insisted he will be using his work's testing system before he does any work. I know he wouldn't stitch me up, as I work with his dad. That's why I asked him. I didn't wanna get ruipped off by these 50 quid an hour crooks. I must be in the wrong line of work !!
I wish I trained to become a Mechanic, I would be loaded !!

Thanks Again
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Mon 20 Feb 2006 22:43
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - bell boy
£50 an hour is okay but you may find that a little thing called overheads tends to get in the way of making the first million.
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"
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Tue 21 Feb 2006 16:30
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - mss1tw
Do you really want this moosetwit working on your car?
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Mon 20 Feb 2006 23:14
engine problem with my peugeot 306 - mss1tw
I'd better make sure I let my coolant properly cool down
before switching off. I will do this by either
- Running the engine on just the starter motor for
10 minutes
- Driving head first into a lake
- Shovelling snow into the engine compartment
[/TIC mode]


Now that's just silly. What you need to do is drain it, and put it in the fridge.

:^D
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