Continued from here. Well, inevitably I was just wishfully thinking and you guys were right, on that thread. This time it was injector #3 that blew (for a while I feared it was the one I'd changed in Italy in 2016 but that was #4) and apparently there was no indication of other errors that could explain why I got the limp mode that I got - or why I didn't get it the last time.

 

Except that this time part of a screw or bolt holding the injector in place (or the threaded part of the thing itself?) broke off during removal and fell into the engine. The way it was presented it was (of course...) an unhappy accident, not an error on their part, but now they'll have to find the time to disassemble the upper part of the engine to go fishing for a loose aluminium (?!) bit inside an aluminium case.

 

I didn't dare to ask what the chances are of a successful repair though he seemed confident enough, just not willing to make an estimate about the number of hours this would take. I suppose I have to hope that he'd have preferred admitting small chances of success rather than wasting hours that he could also spend to make other clients happy.

 

He was also certain that it couldn't have falling into the combustion chamber (where it should be a whole lot easier to find). And that I don't understand. The injector injects into the combustion chamber, just like a plug fires (or glows) into that compartment. Is there a sort of double wall, and what else is inside that space into which the broken bit could have fallen? Apparently not the crank case because there were no plans to put the vehicle on a lift - but maybe they plan to lift the engine out?! (He did talk about a berceau but from what google tells me that's probably the engine cradle of another car they had on a lift that he was working on when I walked in.)

 

Really the sort of thing to please an anxious mind with ... do I still have a car, will it still run like before, etc etc.

Edited 5 February, 20251 yr by RJVB

No one got anything to say about that "something falling into the engine mishap"?

 

I spoke to the shop owner today, who assured me not to worry, that even if this is not a trivial problem it's still something he has handled often enough before , and that's just going to take him time during a quiet period when there are no clients or employees distracting him.

What can anyone say?

 

You dont know what part of the injector or perhaps an ancillary part has fallen.

 

To me it can only have fallen into the combustion chamber or fallen outside of the engine, maybe lodged behind another component or on the undertray. Thats based on their location on my engine which may well be different. Maybe others will explain to me that the injectors are under or pass through the cam cover on your engine

 

Could it be the O ring seal that became dislodged and fell?

 

Berceau is cradle or birthplace, I would need to know the context in which the word was used.

 

 

Edited 5 February, 20251 yr by J.R.

From what I understand it's a screwed-in part that held the injector in place. Rather than just coming out relatively easily thing was blocked (grippé); the theory is that it may have been tightened too much.

 

I was indeed hoping for a bit of an explanation where the part could have falling. This is a rather traditional workshop with a very close to 5/5 rating so I have to assume he wouldn't make the error of disassembling a good part of the engine only to find the fallen part on the undertray

 

He did mention that it would be searching for a bit of aluminium against/amidst aluminium. I didn't really get why that would make it particularly more difficult except that you can't just go fishing with a magnet.

 

Berceau clearly can't have been used as birthplace here. I think the problem was that it wouldn't lift which is what made me think of a tool for lifting out the engine but just lifting the cradle e.g. to replace the silent blocks would make more sense. If the engine has to be lifted they'll probably use a palan (block and tackle).

Edited 5 February, 20251 yr by RJVB

An engine support beam (for replacing mountings, removing gearbox etc) is also sometimes called un berceau.

 

Please explain the context in which they used berceau, I cannot see any reason why they would need to remove the engine to find a broken part.

 

Maybe they think it is in the sump and need to remove the crossmember to remove the sump?

 

 

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Please explain the context in which they used berceau

If it wasn't clear: it was mentioned in the general context of why it would take a certain time.

 

1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Maybe they think it is in the sump and need to remove the crossmember to remove the sump?

 

I have no idea. I was hoping someone here knows this engine well enough for that. But yeah, if it fell into the sump or the crankcase (in case those are different things) they'd need access from below. Would putting the vehicle on a lift be easier in that case? I simply have no idea about how accessible the engine is.

So it was indeed a screw or bolt, and from the looks of it:

 

- it couldn't really have fallen anywhere

- we dodged a bullet if the hole in the cam cover (?) had been threaded too!

Well, I finally got my quote yesterday... 😱

 

- 1 blown injector

- 1 dubious injector (the remaining probably-stock), because requested

- 1 cam cover (or whatever the cover is called that was removed to take the pics above)

- 1 distribution kit

Not to mention undoubtedly a bunch of seals and lots of working hours.

 

Total cost over 2.3k€ ... OUCH

 

Cheaper than a new car but still. EGR valve is doing fine apparently (whew, changed July 2015) but the distribution didn't survive being removed of course (changed Nov. 2015, only 45k km ago). Why can't they make these things so they can withstand at least a small number of removals?? The big belt is clearly toothed ...

 

Apparently the broken bolt did also thread into the cam cover because that part has had to be usiné (bored/drilled/sawed, no idea), presumably in order to get it off.

Got her back tonight, after almost 3 weeks....

 

Almost 2450€ because of 1 broken injector clamp bolt which required boring out the cam cover in order to remove it, but also to replace the cam and accessory belts. And have the last remaining original injector replaced too, while we were at it.

10 billable hours in the end...