THP engine naming, maintenance and servicing – 101

 

While today’s cars and engines are by all means much better technology-wise compared to the ones before, manufacturers play a dangerous game with consumers. By presenting longer service intervals they create a false image of cost efficient maintenance when the car is bought from brand new. Truth is, each part on a car has a very specific, limited product life and has to be replaced.

A very important detail most buyers miss: When a manufacturer says “for life”, it means 5 years. That is a car’s product life. It does not mean that you will keep the car for your lifetime if you stick to their schedule. Funny, is it not? Clearly a case of deliberate misunderstanding.

By the time you run into problems your warranty will have long expired. Hitting the 2-3 year mark, you will start to need replacement parts. Most warranty schedules cover 2 years or 100.000km. Longer warranty schedules posted in the media are covered by third party insurance companies but not the factory itself. The more replacement parts you need, the more expensive maintenance becomes. By year 5, you will start wishing you had a brand new car. For the factory, it makes sense: they need to sell you their new models or go bankrupt. If you have money to buy, that is.

Below you will find our recommended replacement schedule and steps to keep your car healthy vs the manufacturer’s. All this has been gathered through experience since 2006 when THP engines first appeared. Just because we prefer keeping our cars and maintaining them properly, as we wish.

 

Manufacturer’s schedule Recommended schedule for optimum performance and longer engine life
Oil+oil filter change 10.000km 5.000km, or less depending on how much oil your engine consumes. Most do at least 1lt/4000km which is normal.
Spark plugs 40.000km-60.000km 20.000km. Or even 10.000km if your engine is highly tuned. If you wait for 60k, there will not be an engine left to replace the sparkplugs
Ignition coils Never 100.000km or 10years. Anything longer and you risk having a coil go boom leaving you stranded on top of a mountain or in the middle of the desert
Gearbox oil 120.000km 60.000km. Requires special care and attention if you have a limited slip differential installed
Blowoff valve Never 50-60k km. Its internal parts can get fractured and they find their way through the compressor wheel, killing the turbo
High pressure fuel pump Never 120.000km or every 8 years
Low pressure (in tank) fuel pump Never 120.000km or every 8 years
Timing chain Never 80.000km or every 5 years, as it stretches and elongates, altering timing. If you hear rattling in cold start in the morning, it is time to have it replaced.
Timing chain tensioner Never 80.000km or when you hear it rattle during cold start.
Lambda sensors (specially the front one, which is crucial for engine performance and fuel consumption) Never 100.000km
Turbocharger Never 120.000-160.000km replace or repair
Cam timing actuator Never Inspect and clean or replace very 80.000km
Variable cam timing gear Never 100.000km
Thermostat Never 80.000km
Catalytic converter Never Replace every 120.000km-160.000km

 

 

 

How to keep your THP engine healthy and happy

Keeping your THP engine healthy and happy is a simple process. All you need to do is follow some key points in its maintenance. We hope this guide will help extend your engine’s life.
Prince engine codes covered are EP6-DT, EP6-DTS, EP6-CDT, EP6-CDTX, EP6-CDTM and EP6-FDTX. Or in the Mini world, N14B16AC and N18B16M0.

Engine Variations and differences

  • EP6-DT is THP150, installed on the Peugeot 207 and Peugeot 308, produced up to 2011.
  • EP6-CDT is THP156. installed on the Peugeot 207 facelift, 308, RCZ, Citroen DS3, DS4, DS5. Compared to its daddy (EP6-DT), it has no water/oil heat exchanger on the engine block. All its versions are equipped with a narrowband lambda sensor.
  • EP6-DTS is THP175, installed on the Peugeot 207 RC/GTI, 308 GT and Citroen DS3 Racing (which is named THP200 but is nothing like EP6-CDTX), DS4 and DS5. Compared to the smaller sisters (EP6-DT and EP6-CDT) it uses a larger turbocharger and has a larger cat-back exhaust (55mm vs 50mm on thp150/156 models).
  • EP6-CDTX is THP200, found on the Peugeot RCZ, 208 GTi and 308 GTi. It meets Euro5 emission standards. Produced until 2015. THP200 has adjustable cam timing on both intake and exhaust cams. It is also equipped with BMW’s valvetronic system for variable valve lift. This is the very reason that it produces so much more power compared to the older versions, while conforming to newer Euro5 environmental standards.
  • EP6-CDTM is THP163, found on the new Peugeot 208GT, 308 II and 3008. This engine is the first to support flexfuel standards for markets with Ethanol based fuel types (hi Brazil).
  • EP6-FDTX is THP208, found on the Peugeot 208GTi 30th Edition, 208GTi PS edition, 308 GTi facelift. It meets Euro6 emission standards. Produced after 2015.

Luckily, we support all of the above for tuning/remapping apart from EP6-CDTM/EP6-FDTX with our reflashing system, FlasherTHP.

 

Here is a list of ECU types found on these systems:

  1. EP6-DT – Bosch MED17.4
  2. EP6-CDT – Bosch MED17.4.2
  3. EP6-DTS – Bosch MED17.4
  4. EP6-CDTX – Bosch MEVD17.4.2 (has Variable Valve Lift technology)
  5. EP6-CDTM – Bosch MEVD17.4.4 (has Variable Valve Lift technology)
  6. EP6-FDTX – Bosch MEVD17.4.4 (has Variable Valve Lift technology)

Bosch ECU naming abbreviations

The difference between MED and MEVD is the presence of Variable Valve Lift.
M – Motronic
E – Electronic Accelerator
V – Valvetronic
D – Direct Injection
C – Control

 

ECU code numbering based on manufacturer

As you may have guessed, Bosch has reserved numbers on the codes of the Electronic Control Units for its contractors to use on their systems.
.0 is reserved for Ford -> MEDG17.0
.1 and .5 is reserved for VAG (Audi/VW/Seat/Skoda)
.2 is reserved for BMW/Mini -> MED17.2
.3 is reserved for group Fiat/Alfa -> MED17.3
.4 is reserved for PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) -> MED17.4
.7 is reserved for Mercedes -> MED17.7
.9 is for Hyundai/KIA -> MED17.9

 

Engine electronics

  • Oxygen sensors
    The oxygen sensors have a lifespan of 80.000km-120.000km and should be replaced while they are still working well. If not, they cause high fuel consumption and performance problems. The front sensor regulates mixture while the rear sensor monitors the condition of the catalytic converter.
  • Pressure sensors
    Prince engines have two pressure sensors: One on the boost pipe after the intercooler and one on the intake manifold. Both are exposed to oil fumes circulating in the intake system, which can eventually foul them. Cleaning them every 30.000km helps extend their life. The cleaner they are, the better they behave.
  • Electronic control unit
    In general, the engine control unit does not cause problems or produce faults by itself. However, there have been many reported cases of generation 1 ECUs (produced up to 2008) losing control of one injector.  The engine starts misfiring and rattling when that happens, without any hardware problem. In case something like this happens, the first step is to get the latest ECU firmware update from the manufacturer and see if that solves the problem. In most cases it is just a hardware fault of the injector driver and the ECU needs to be replaced.
  • Engine fusebox
    The Peugeot 207 platform has major problems with the engine fusebox because it is prone to water damage. The fusebox by itself is well behaved. If the windscreen drains become clogged, the nearest exit point for water is through the engine’s fusebox. Protecting it can save you from a taxi ride home.

Engine hardware

  • Hydraulic chain tensioner
    Does your THP engine sound strange in the morning at cold start? Do you hear the chain rattle until the engine warms up and then the sound is gone? The chain tensioner is to blame. It either gets stuck or its spring weakens over time. This results in the chain being very loose until oil heats up and you get good engine oil pressure.
    Have it replaced ASAP. A bad hydraulic tensioner can cause the engine to lose its timing because of the unstable motion it causes at cold start.
  • Loss of engine timing
    Loss of engine timing is a very common problem in THP150 and THP156/165 engines. It is not common on THP200. Slipping cam shaft or crank shaft sprockets cause the engine’s timing to go out of phase. This causes a permanent retardation of the camshafts, resulting in high fuel consumption and sluggish engine performance overall. You can check “Long term fuel trims” (aka LTFT) via OBD2 to see if this is happening. If LTFT goes over +10%, there is loss of timing.
  • Clogged intake valves
    In direct injection engines the injectors sit in the cylinders. They do not spray the intake valves with fuel, like they do in traditional indirect injection engines. Whatever dirt and oil residues land on the intake valves will stay there, building layers of a thick rubber-like substance. The thicker these layers become they more the inhibit airflow around the valves and the more the engine loses its performance. You can read more on this in detail here.
    This usually happens every 50.000-60.000km and the engine can lose as much as 20% of its  power. It is a big headache because this is a mechanical problem: it cannot be detected with engine diagnostics because it does not show up as an error anywhere.
    Remember to clean your intake valves as often as you can. It can extend the life of your engine and make sure it is working properly! There are many ways to do it without removing the cylinder head.
  • Thermostat
    Although the thermostat is electronically controlled, its mechanical valve starts to under-perform over time. This leads to longer warm-up periods in the morning. It also leads to the coolant temperature going colder when travelling downhill or off throttle. Both these problems usually become evident after 70.000km. Replacing the unit fixes them. It is a good idea to replace the engine’s coolant every 2 year maximum, as it loses its rust protection properties.

 

Ignition

  • Ignition coils
    The stock coils will generally not fail. They are very reliable. But make sure you never expose them to humidity or water and they will be good for life. If you wash your engine, remove the coils and let everything dry up completely before re-installing them.
  • Spark plugs
    Spark plugs should be kept no more than 30.000km on a completely stock engine. If you have a remap, it is advisable to renew them every 20.000km because you will notice a big drop in performance as you go over the 20.000km limit.
    A good way to check their condition is by measuring spark gap. Stock spark gap is 0.8mm. The moment it goes over 0.9mm, ignition problems start to occur. For engines with a remap, we recommend setting the spark gap to 0.6mm. This will increase spark plug wear but will improve spark power by a lot.
    Always stick to the manufacturers recommended spark plugs. As a rule of thumb, they are all made by NGK and are either made of Platinum (PLZ code prefix) or Iridium (ILZ code prefix). Anything else will just not do as only the heat range of Platinum and Iridium is suitable for turbo engines.
    Useful codes:
    Iridium – ILZKBR7A-8G (Peugeot RCZ THP200, Citroen DS4 Racing THP200,  Mini Cooper S Works Edition)
    Platinum – PLZKBR7A-G (stock 150/156/165hp and 175hp)

 

Engine Oil

  • Burnt oil – Oil consumption issues
    Ok, by now you have probably realised that THP engines consume a fair amount of oil. The usual oil consumption average is 1 liter per 5000km. Some engines consume less, some engines consume a bit more. This is very usual for direct injection engines and is no reason to worry. A part of oil consumption comes from the piston rings, another part comes from the valve oil seals leaking into the intake. If you fix one and leave the other, you will still have some oil consumption.
    When your engine starts to consume oil, do NOT just top it up. Have the oil completely drained and replaced. Then wait and check your oil consumption again after the oil change. These engines are very particular about oil types: they love a few but hate the rest.
    Most owners will just top-up engine oil when in fact the reason for oil consumption may be the degraded oil quality. Bad engine oil quality means shorter life and faster consuption.
    If your engine starts to consume 1liter/1000km then you will need to check its compression. Then have the valve seals in the cylinder head replaced and everything checked by a specialist. Most cases, the piston rings need to be renewed to fix the consumption problem completely.

    In terms of oil type, the most usual type is 5W-30, fully synthetic. If you live in a warm country (not Russia, not Canada, not the North Pole), you can probably use one grade thicker oil without problems. Colder countries can go down to 0W-30 without issues, as long as it is always fully synthetic.

 

Fuelling

  • The stock fuel pumps, both high and low pressure, are usually good for 100.000km. They wear quickly when used in hot environments and they can be damaged by dirt in the fuel system.
    Some THP low pressure fuel pumps, specially in African versions, come with an external fuel filter that can be replaced. It is a good idea to replace that every 20.000km. European versions have a filter built into the fuel pumps housing and it cannot be replaced.
  • Stock injectors are usually good for life, unless the fuel system becomes contaminated with dirt or is left unused with fuel in it for a long period of time. Because they operate from 50bar to 120bar, it is easy for their nozzles to become clogged. While Peugeot and Citroen forbid ultrasonic cleaning, there are modern methods for cleaning and testing them, that work properly.
    Be warned: A clogged injector can lead to a broken piston. It is a good idea to have them checked, measured and cleaned every 60.000km-80.000km.

Turbo

  • Cracked exhaust manifold
    Cracks usually appear first inside and then outside the exhaust manifold. Very often we also see cracks develop on the twin scroll split. Eventually the manifold needs to be replaced before parts of it end up in the turbine. There is not much that can be done in terms of maintenance, just replace the exhaust manifold if you see cracks on the outside.
  • Cracked turbing housing
    It is very common to find hairline cracks in the turbo’s exhaust housing. The cracks start from the split between the twin scroll geometry and propagate outwards. There is not much that can be done to avoid them, it is just the material that is brittle and prone to cracking after 60.000-80.000km or so. Eventually the whole turbine housing needs to be replaced, or even the whole turbo if the turbine gets damaged.
  • Oil consumption because of the turbo
    Sometimes the turbo itself can be the reason for increased oil consumption. You can do a quick check to see if the turbo is losing oil by visual inspection of the compressor outlet pipe (on the cold side) and then the turbine housing on the hot side by removing the downpipe. If there are any signs of oil on either side, the turbo is leaking oil and needs to be serviced by a turbo repair shop. Or replaced with a new one. Do not leave it leaking oil!

 

These are just a few of the things we look in THP engine maintenance. Most checks are visual, some of them combine diagnostic tools and special tools. All in all, it is fairly easy to keep the engine in good shape.

48 Comments

  • Ivo Tadej Posted March 22, 2016 1:02 am

    Very informative! Could You also state recommended maker and/or part number and a price estimate for these parts? I found O2 sensors ranging from 40$ generic to 110$ for the NGK/NTK sensors

    • S Alex Posted August 3, 2016 12:16 am

      Actually the Oxygen sensors used on these engines are mostly Bosch. Specially the wideband sensors. We avoid providing generic part numbers because there are small variations from model to model.
      For example, some Peugeot 207s have wideband O2 sensors after the turbo. Some of them have narrowband O2 sensors.
      The Citroen DS3 1.6T generally has narrowband O2 sensors but the DS3 Racing has a wideband sensor right after the turbo and a narrowband sensor after the cat converter.

  • Charles Aw Posted April 28, 2017 11:32 am

    What’s the model or part number of the Fuel Rail Pressure Pump or the High Pressure Fuel Pump?
    This part seems to fail pretty often.

  • Petr Stehlík Posted November 5, 2018 10:41 am

    “oil types: they love a few but hate the rest.”
    Can you give examples of each category? Especially the loved ones? My engine is EP6-CDT in C5. Thank you.

  • K.jafry Posted November 8, 2018 7:23 pm

    Dear friend what a bout quality of petrol i mean oktan number of petrol
    My car engine is THP 1.6 L twin turbo
    Octane number of petrol that usually we use is 88 or 89
    Is it harmfull for engin or twin turbo ? What can i do
    Please tell me if pussible mail me answer
    Thanks alot

    • Ian Matterson Posted December 5, 2019 12:33 am

      HI,
      I HAVE SEEN DOCUMENTED PROOF OF THE PRINCESS ENGINE FITTED INTO A MINI THAT WHILE ON A TOUR AROUND FRANCE WAS FILLED WITH THE HIGHER OCTAN FUEL, BUT DESPITE THIS BEING LISTED AS OKAY FOR THIS ENGINE, THE OWNER VERY QUICKLY RETURNED HOME TO THE UK SUFFERING SERIOUS RUNNING ISSUES HE CHANGE PUMPS REGULATOR O2 SENSORS ,NOTHING HELPED UNTIL THAT WAS HE RECALLED FILLING THE CAR IN FRANCE , SO HE THEN RE FILLED WITH NORMAL FUEL AND THE TROUBLE CODES AND CAR RUNNING ISSUES DISAPEARED..

  • Martin Henderson Posted February 2, 2019 3:00 pm

    Many thanks for the informative post
    I have a 2013 3008 1.6 thp and it has developed an intermittent rough idle for about 18 months. It has been looked at by various garages and the cylinders, spark plugs, crank shaft and cam shaft sensors and other elements have been changed, however the rough idle still exists. The inlet valves have also been cleaned (crushed walnut shell blasted).
    Would you have any ideas what could cause the issues – 3 or 4 times over the past year the car has shuddered and gone into limp home mode, but after clearing the faults and after a jump start (as the fan kicks in a drains the battery) all seems to reset fine – apart from the rough idle, which intermittently persists. Any advice would be welcomed.
    Thanks
    Mart

    • High pressure fuel pump Posted March 3, 2019 9:59 am

      High pressure fuel pump failing

    • Ian Watts Posted March 4, 2020 5:34 pm

      Hi Mark,

      dID YOU SOLVE THE PROBLEM? I HAVE THE SAME ON MY 508 PETROL 1.6 THP?

      CHEERS!

      iAN

    • Ian Watts Posted March 4, 2020 5:35 pm

      sorry , MARTIN!

  • Dimitrios Posted March 22, 2019 12:21 pm

    Hi Excactly similar issuse, on a peugeot 208 gti, remapped at stage 2. All started when I replaced the stock induction to a cold air intake. 2 months of rough idle, even car was stalling on start. no eml. What i did was to reflash the ecu with the stage 2 map (by etuners) and all disapperead. car i driving as a dream. if you dont have the thp flasher or any maps from etuners then you may need to ask your dealr to update your ecu. as ecu is learning from driving habits/peripherals, sometimes it can not adapt properly. good luck

  • Richard parry Posted April 15, 2019 11:39 am

    Got a fault on my C4 Picasso 1.6 THP.
    P2191 Lean under load. O2 sensor was not long replaced. My cold inlet turbo pipe has also not long been replaced as it had perished at turbo connection. Symptoms prior to code was lack of power like no turbo pressure. MPG is good getting around 40+ mpg. Some sites suggest MAP Sensor and in checking this I’m getting 6 ish psi at idle which seems low

    Any suggestions before I do terraclean on it done 98thousand miles new turbo at around 80thoussnd timing chain done at 76thousand.

    • Simon hill Posted May 14, 2019 12:58 am

      Hi Richard, had a similar problem with my wife’s peugeot 207 with the 1.6 thp. down on power, fault codes and depollution system fail warnings coming up. turned out to be the turbo diverter valve. it had a broken plastic collar which is quite common apparently. google “turbo diverter valve. pn 5900 110 7053.
      simon- aust

  • Henrik KUMLIN Posted April 25, 2019 7:58 am

    How can I check if the intake valves are Clogged?

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted April 29, 2019 10:11 am

      You can do so with visual inspection. After removing the intake manifold, the valves should be visible using a mirror or a smartphone’s camera. If not, they will most likely require thorough cleaning. In most cases all you can see is the blackness of oil residues and no valves.

  • Eouanis Tsakiris Posted May 1, 2019 12:15 am

    What is involved in replacing a peugot 308 2008 engine (1.6) with one fron a 207?

  • Ozgur B. Posted June 2, 2019 4:56 am

    I’ve MY16 Mini R60 S All4 with N18B16 and a/t @ 40k kms.(Just remembered, I didn’t changed spark plugs) I started to get rough idle when engine is cold only, what can cause that? (Spark plugs were little yellowish(little lean right?) and they still have sharp edges and gapped to 0.65 at 35k kms)

    I’m thinking about water(only water not with methanol) injection where is the best place to put the nozzle for not losing original engine bay look?

    What is the best way connecting wires to oem ecu harness to read out oe sensors with 3rd party hobby electronics like arduino etc.?

  • Khensile Nkanyani Posted June 3, 2019 12:11 am

    Hi sorry I to jump in,my 308 cc is not getting boost and it only revs up to about 4000rpm and doesn’t rev more than that,took the turbo out a and sent it for checks and it on but I have P0033 code and my diverter valve looks ok and not torn,could it still be the problem?

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted June 16, 2019 11:04 am

      If you are getting a P0033 and the blowoff valve is still ok, then check the fuses in your engine fusebox. There is one that controls the blowoff and a few other things. Once it gets burnt, you will always get the code for blowoff. Replacing it will fix the problem.

  • Nigel Posted June 24, 2019 10:01 pm

    Hi there, i have a 2016 C4 Picasso (B78) EP6FDT. when it starts mostly from cold, the engine runs rough and has a load sucking noise for about 50 seconds, then it runs perfectly. If you let it sit for 2-3 hours, the same thing will happen. It’s been in many times to fix at the local dealerships, but no luck. It was fine for the first 2.5 years of ownership. We were told, this is normal operation of the Emission control system. The local dealership has been in touch with the support platform for Citroen, but unable to resolve, sayings its normal operation.
    Any ideas?

    • jeff Posted July 23, 2019 2:30 am

      I have exactly the same. Identical issue and no fix. Classified as normal process.

  • Andy Posted July 6, 2019 2:43 pm

    Hi,
    Thanks for the very informative article. I own a Peugeot 207cc 1.6 thp Sport 2. It’s a 2012 model.
    I had a majoe service done by the Peugeot main dealer late last year when I bought the car. They said they did an oil change but I somehow doubt it as the oil looks very dark in colour and I’ve only done less than 3000km since the service.
    I am going to change the oil myself and use the recommended synthetic grade of oil but I’m not sure which type of oil filter element the engine uses. Could you tell me what the part number for the oil filter is please?

  • Lóránt Molnar Posted July 26, 2019 10:27 pm

    Dears,

    Hope you can assist me. As it is stated in the subject I have a 2010 C5 1,6 THP 155 aut. 
    When I am decelerating from let’s say 60 kmh a strange like “blowing” sound comes from the engine. I can only hear it if the windows are down, from inside there is no noise. This sound/noise blowing-rattling sound and it is not the chain tensioner etc because it has been recently changed.The noise is like an air leak sound, not rattling noise.
    Any ideas what this sound/noise can be, anyone had same issues?
    Thank you in advance 
    Regards,
    Lorant

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted July 31, 2019 11:56 am

      Unfortunately it could be a number of things. I would start with a boost leak test, see if you have a real boost leak somewhere. It is an easy test to do.

  • Dino Posted August 20, 2019 12:58 pm

    I hope someone here is still active! So I have a 207cc 1.6thp 150, used to average around 8l/100kms on fuel consumption, about 6 months ago the “De-pollution system fault” warning popped up and STAYED there. Fuel consumption has risen dramatically I get about 11l/100kms now and it sounds like the turbo is no longer making boost. Any clues of what it may be? Is it one of the LAMBDA sensors? Or could it be the fuel filter? I stay in South Africa. Also, could it be the turbos actuator? As just the other day the turbo started making blow off noises again but still does not make power.

    • RAST MBATHA Posted March 28, 2020 7:35 pm

      I have the same car and same problem. If you managed to fix, please help me. Im from South africa sa well. 0745429382

  • Lóránt Molnar Posted August 28, 2019 7:44 pm

    Dear Stelios

    Would you be so kind if you do have time and it is not an problem for you to describe how to do the leak test?

    Regards,
    Lorant

    • Lóránt Molnar Posted October 21, 2019 8:25 am

      a boostleak test helps ifen if the engine gets positbe boost pressure by DiSconnecting the Air intake pipe from airbox that leads To the turbo and then didconnecting the pressure pipe from the intercooler to the inlet manifold. BlaNking the off with covers and on the turboside just after the AIrBox that plastic cover has an airline connection. A tank is connected to it with a visible gas… its injEcted in at pressure and the idea is to see if the gas comes out

  • Victor Posted September 7, 2019 12:15 pm

    Hi, how is the 1.2THP engine in the new 5008 and 3008 SUV models? Better than the 1.6 in those cars?

    Thank you for the information !!

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted October 1, 2019 7:14 pm

      Only time will tell! It has definitely started well but there are issues being resolved with the OEM software at the moment.

  • Yariv Eran Posted September 8, 2019 11:02 am

    Hi,
    Thanks for the very informative article.
    is it agood idea to add Oil Catch Can Tank to the valve cover breather pipe to help to reduce Clogged intake valves?

    thanks

  • Dan Posted February 12, 2020 10:13 am

    Hello and thank for the informative article and responses.
    I have a DS3 1.6 THP 156, 2011 model, and my turbo is on its way out after almost 195K. I have fitted a cold air intake too, and that’s about it. The car is otherwise very well maintained and had no significant issues over the years (i have full maintenance history as it is a family car since day 1). As i’m about to replace the turbo anyway, i was wandering:
    1. what is the exact turbo model number that fits my car?
    2. Are there any upgraded “bolt-on” turbos i can install instead? (e.g. from THP200/THP175 or any other plug-and-play option?) and what are their exact model numbers?

    Thanks in advance!

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted February 16, 2020 4:48 pm

      Dan, at this mileage the turbo is not the only thing you need to be concerned about. Please consider doing an engine rebuild.
      If I was you, I would go for a DS3R/207GTi-207RC turbo since they use the same manifold and downpipe.
      I would also go for an engine rebuild, just to make sure the rest of the system wont collapse because of high mileage.

  • Miguel Alexandre Azevedo Dantas Posted February 12, 2020 7:03 pm

    Hi,

    Thanks for the well-structured article.

    I have a 308 GTI, from 2011, with the 200THP stock engine. I used to do 3 track days per year. Recently I find out that I have a crooked connecting rod in the number 1 cilinder.

    What do you think about this engine? Is this just a freaky deal, caused by detonation or other random reason like a bad timed down shifting, or this is a common problem on this engines?

    Best regards,
    Miguel Dantas

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted February 16, 2020 4:46 pm

      Hi Miguel! It is not common at all, to find a bent connecting rod. Even the smaller THP engines can withstand boost levels of up to 1.5-1.6bar without bending rods and this results on up to 300hp, on hybrid turbos. Something else, very bad, must have happened to your engine to throw a rod.

  • Miguel Alexandre Azevedo Dantas Posted February 19, 2020 3:36 pm

    Hi Stelios,

    I will have to make a full disassembly of the engine, and I was thinking to use forged pistons and connecting rods to improve the performance and reliability. I dont know for sure if i want to go all the away to the 300hp but if I do you have any advices to get there and keep good reliability. If I get there the stock brakes, clutch and suspension, cooling system would have to be improved… right?

    Best regards,
    Miguel Dantas

  • Richard Posted February 24, 2020 8:42 pm

    I have posted on here before, was getting lean under load error.
    My LTFT figure is 15% and rising. My timing chain has recently been replaced with a full kit including phaser and tensioner etc with oil change.
    My ECU learning was reset and LTFT started out at 2% bit after almost 300 miles it’s back up to 15% when it should be at 0%or near enough.
    Engine performance seems fine so mechanically I think timing is good but fuel trim is getting messed up by something, any ideas

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted April 7, 2020 10:41 am

      It is very likely you have a timing chain that was elongated since the start. I got this on my personal 207, everything was wrong since the start.
      When I replaced it again with OEM, everything went back to normal. And this was after spending a lot to: replace wideband lambda sensor, replace cam timing gear, clean injectors, replace map sensors, try stock file. The car was ducked no matter what I tried until replacing the chain again solved it.
      I guess there were some production batches that were clearly inappropriate for use.

  • Martin Posted March 3, 2020 1:45 pm

    Hi, I have a EP6-CDT engine fitted with LPG with nearly 200000KM – on LPG it is smoking a little bit.
    Currently it is using 0W30 – apparently they can also use 5W40. I’m wondering whether it would be better to go to 5W50?

    Thanks and best wishes, Martin

  • Michel Posted May 10, 2020 10:08 am

    Dear Stelios,

    With what kind of product can I clean the inlet pressure sensors? Hear they are very
    sensative.

    Greetings

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted June 9, 2020 10:27 am

      Usually alcohol works very well on them.

  • Jose S Posted December 7, 2020 3:54 pm

    Hello Stelios,

    I hope you can shine some light in to the problem I am having on our 2013 5008. The engine is a 1,6 THP 155 Gas/Petrol engine.
    We bought the car second hand about 2 year ago. After we bought it we drove around a bit and we had a 400 kms drive, and then we had the notification that the oil level was too low and that we should not drive the car. The cas was towed to the neaest garage. They told us that the car was missing about 4L of oil. Which I thought…. well there was no oil left.
    Since then, we have taken the car to different mechnics and the dealer but no body can say what is going on.
    We have continued driving the car for another 20K plus kms. We have to make sure that we top up the oil every 500km with 1L. In the last 6 months or so, we can drive almost 800 before adding the 1L of oil. The new problem is that latetly, the coolant fluid is also disappering. I cannot tell you at what rate.
    I came acrooss you post and I am hoping you can give us some advice beside trashing the car.
    The car is otherwise in great shape and we would be happier if it did not drink so much oil. We put 3000 kms over the summer holiday.

    I am looking forward to receiving some advice.

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted February 7, 2021 10:02 pm

      If that is the case, you are definitely in for an engine rebuild. Excessive oil consumption and coolant missing that is not coming out of the water pump means there is something bad going on in there. The rebuild will help you understand what that was and cure the problems.

  • Jose S Posted March 7, 2021 11:16 pm

    Thanks for the response.
    I thought I woul inform you of the developments so other may be able to make a decision o their situation.

    The coolant was just a leak on the manifold housing. We have exchange it and the car is back to having only one problem. High oil consumption.
    I wish there would be a not expensive way to find out what is wrong with it. We would love to keep driving it for couple of more year. Since selling is not the easiest process with high oil consumption.

  • Dimitris Sourailidis Posted December 23, 2021 6:27 pm

    Hello Stelios,

    You mentionted that if there is a loss of timing the Long Term Fuel Trims are going to be over +10%, what if they go negative? less than -10%? Is this also because of loss of timing or something else is going on?

    • Stelios Alexandrakis Posted January 9, 2022 10:58 pm

      Usually that indicates clogged intake valves. The cylinder head loses its ability to flow and the amount that happens shows up in the fuel trims (if everything else is right with the car).

      • Dimitris Sourailidis Posted February 4, 2022 12:12 am

        Hello stelios, everything seems to look good on the car except the p2603 code (turbo additional coolant pump control fault open circuit). My temperature is going lower than 90 all the time (70-85). could it be that the ecu reads cold and runs rich so the trims go negative(-30.4%). also is the temp going low cause of the additional coolant pump for the turbo or i also have stuck thermostat? your answer could really help me. thanks in advance.

  • Chris Posted January 3, 2022 1:57 am

    I have a intermittent engine management light with a code poo15 I also think I have a leaking came change tensioner as Iv changed the cam cover gasket gasket , my question could a worn cam tensioner cause that code on a rcz 270 thp
    Thanks in advance .

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