Timing chain rattle at start up

[Gordonmd]

I know there are dozens of posts on this but I had a thought. (Unusual! )
If this is old news just tell me to pull my head in.
I read recently either here or on FB that the tensioner is hydraulic. All the petrol engines are known to use oil. Mine uses about 100ml per 1000km.
It's never got too low, but when I top it up to full, the engine is quieter, particularly at start up. It does make a bit of noise for a short time when low.
I don't know if I have the tensioner problem, hopefully not as it's Nov 2013 build.
Is the wear/damage to the tensioner caused by running with low oil level for long periods
before the next top up? I guess check every 2 weeks.
Thanks everyone for all the useful tips on here!

 

[RCZ1]

Someone posted this very question on the FB group yesterday! There could be some truth in it

 

[Gordonmd]

So, regardless, we should strongly advise everyone to top up frequently! Sure can't hurt.

 

[DKZ5745]

There are so many issues that can be caused by a lack of oil with these engines. It’s so important to keep your oil topped up as close to the top mark on the dipstick as possible. Its not always easy to see exactly where the level is, and it is important to not overfill.

Also, it’s important to use the correct oil. A search on here will reveal various choices, I am currently using Petronas, which if you type your car into the oil selector at Halfords is the oil which will be recommended.

Finally, I’m not sure what you do regarding servicing your car, but it’s very important to keep to the recommended schedule for oil changes. There are many on here that actually change their oil more often than recommended. This can never hurt the car (but maybe the wallet).

 

[neilgsxr69]

Firstly running with low oil levels will damage timing kit, when I had the wife’s Mini Cooper S timing kit done (same engine as pug thp)at a mini specialist who had vast knowledge and experience of working on these engines he told me to keep the oil level at the max point on the dipstick and if you let it get low and the warning light comes on then you’ve probably done damage.
The timing kit was updated with different tensioner and strengthened guides which were fitted to all MK 2 cars. Peugeot have never admitted a design fault on the original kit.
Peugeot now recommend Total ineo first 0W-30 this is the oil that the engines came filled with from new and that’s all I’ve ever used in mine.
I buy from a guy who sells on eBay and buy 15L at a time which works out at around £33 for 5L which is a bargain!
The petrol version is a little noisy from cold but only for a few seconds.

 

[ianGT156]

Hi Gordon, well as somebody who had to have his timing chain replaced on 20th July 2019 I would love to comment.

I've had my RCZ for just over two years. During that time I had it serviced at 12 monthly intervals and do approx 7000 miles a year. I bought the wrong oil for the car, for my own topups, well at least I think so. I used Total Quartz INEO MC3 5W-30. Gawd knows what the difference is from what I now have, as mentioned by Neil above: Total Quartz Ineo First 0W-30 at £43.56 from Amazon, excellent price there Neil.

Now this could be very relevant; in those two years I topped up the oil at least three times when prompted by the car rather than checking the dipstick. I did top it up more or less immediately when prompted.

I'm too embarrased to say anything else now. I hope this post of years potentially helps people save hundreds of pounds.

 

[Gordonmd]

Dont be embarrassed. Ive had mine for a year and it had just been serviced at 60000km. After 3 months the oil low message came up and thats when I found the horrible truth about the oil use. There must be 10000s of minis and citroens in the same boat

 

[DKZ5745]

I’ve had mine for just over 5 years now, and quite early on I noticed oil usage. Despite that, I did get prompted on 1 occasion with the low oil message.

I was using the correct oil for top ups, but I was clearly not keeping a close enough eye on things.

Fortunately, it seems that no damage was done, it’s @ a year on from that now, and still purring like a kitten.

I do now try my best to keep in top of oil checks, my top up oil is now Petronas 0W-30 which actually comes up if you type in RCZ 200 in the Halfords oil type list.

 

[BEADY]

Where do I start
Firstly I am no expert at all, so some info may be incorrect , apologies to the pros
Secondly the main point will be check oil
Thirdly If you can get an extended warranty please please do
My previous posts show the value and this post certainly will

I have now had my timing chain done 3 times , all under warranty!
For the last 18 months I have been using oil and eventually last October I took it in and they fitted a new electrode valve?
Not under warranty, maybe it should have been but another matter
Same problem came back took it in early July
Did the diagnostics and came back with error messages for a turbo fault and crankshaft/camshaft problem
Agreed to book it in a week or so later to leave it with them

They apparently knew of a technical from Peugeot that explained that a crack could develop in the turbo would lead to "play" in the turbo and resultant loss of effectiveness.
Also needed to replace a gasket on the rocker cover as that is where some of the oil was leaking out
All agreed with warranty people

So all stripped down to do the work , checked the timing chain and believed it was close enough to the tolerance that they felt uneasy about letting it go out without being replaced
Contacted the warranty people about this too and they sent down an engineer who gave the go ahead

Work did take a long while partly because of this and partly due to local circumstance over summer holidays etc but I did have a courtesy car so ok there , there was a cost of £12.50 a day for insurance etc
Slight further delays as two pieces of pipe from the turbo needed replacing too

Picked her up yesterday and she runs really well but the fact that timing chain was new and a whole new turbo clearly helped that

They showed me the bill they were sending to the warranty people and here is the nub it was for £3300 !!!!

Please buy the extended warranty it is worth its weight in gold

If anyone , who knows better than me thinks this is too explicit and would put of people loving their RCZ please feel free to ask me to delete it I now love my RCZ again

 

[emjay82]

Sorry to hear all the issues you've had, hopefully you'll have a long period of trouble free motoring! I haven't owned my car long but coming from Lexus, I am worried about reliability and big bills. I assume as I have a Sept 2010 car the extended warranty isn't available? Lexus used to offer extended warranty on cars upto 10 years old/100,000 miles.

 

[DKZ5745]

Peugeot also offer extended warranties on cars up to 10 years old, but only if the warranty is continuous.

If you have no warranty with Peugeot at the moment, you will not be able to purchase one through them, although there are many warranty companies out there that will offer a warranty, but they may not be as comprehensive, and might cost more. You should look into people’s reviews of third party warranties, and see if one looks worthwhile.

They do say any warranty is better than none, but I would say not if they don’t cover the likely offending parts. Check first.