Reference my previously reported C4 Grand Picasso engine problems (“Judder and Whoosh” Issue 340), the clutch seems to have slightly less judder at present, however my alternative local Citroën dealer has a problem of access, as the roads in the area are being resurfaced. I will book it in for a check at the end of the summer when hopefully all the experts are back from holiday. I have taken the heat shield off and felt carefully around the engine from a cold start, and there are no obvious gases venting. The chuffing has not changed for a while, so it is something I am living with. The chuff goes off after four or five minutes running. Unfortunately I now find it difficult, with age, to crawl around cars, so I will have to pay someone to do it.

Last year, in June, the seals on number two cylinder injector went while I was on a motorway, and it was really chuffing away; however, there had been no earlier indication with smaller chuffs. My recovery company garage was able to screw down the injector enough to last a few months. In August it was then a costly repair to replace the seals in that cylinder, some £250. I have taken the engine cover off a few times and felt over the injectors with the engine running from cold, and there’s no feeling of small gas leaks. Yesterday it was colder and I could hear a small chuff, but not from the injectors. I think it appeared to come from the alternator belt area, however a small squirt of WD40 made no difference. The clutch judder is still occasionally there and I will get that checked over early in September, and also ask them for their thoughts on the chuff, as if it is there it will be present when they download any electronic clutch wizardry with a cold engine. Thanks for your previous thoughts and words of wisdom, I will keep you posted. Unless the lottery or ERNIE has a good day, changing cars is unfortunately not a viable proposition yet. 

Keith H

Thanks for that update Keith. Of course I appreciate that you can only use the local garage resources available to you, and those that you know of, but people seem to really overcharge for this sort of work. If you could find a good honest local independent garage that services small commercial fleets, I think there’s a good chance of getting an injector overhaul for a far more reasonable amount of money. I have read good words about Moto Tech in Bedminster, or possibly better might be Homestead Garage in Westerleigh, who are mostly 4×4 people, but should know their diesel engines. Worth a few phone calls? We seemingly now know what the problem is, the injector seals, so you really just need them sorting out permanently for a fair cost. 

Best regards,

Doc