406 Dipstick popping out

Blocked crankcase breather??

You have got Blocked Crackcase Breather.or somthing else is wrong with the engine. give it a very good engine flush and oil change, if that dont fix it....sell it .

Make sure the style cover on top of the engine (the cover that says HDI) is properly secured by the four fixings. If a clip is missing or one of the posts is broken, it will allow the cover to jump up and down especially when the engine is started and switched off. This will pull the dipstick up. In extreme cases it will vibrate against the coolant bleed nipple on the stat housing and break it off, with consequential coolant loss!! Everyone who has an HDI should check this cover is secured regularly.

Nigel, You were spot on !! checked it with the bonnet open and when I started it up, it popped out....took the cover off ( only one clip holding it anyway) and now its fine...Thanks !!

nigel wrote:

Might be a good idea to get some new clips, they're quite cheap. It's not just a cover, it cuts the noise down too. As does the ones underneath.

I notice that my cover is also loose, and the dipstick keeps coming out. Question - is the cover important? Can I run the engine with this off? Secondly, how is the cover secured? There seem to be four bolt heads, with rubber pads underneath, are these just decorative? Should there be other clips holding it on as well?

Neil.

Mine are held with four plastic clips. I lost one last year and got a dirt cheap replacement from my dealer, he said they sell lots.

It's a soundproofing cover and also hides the engine a bit, which is why it's called a "style" cover. Don't know about 4 boltheads with rubber pads underneath. You still talking about a 406 HDI??

Yes still 406 HDI, but my description was poor. The "boltheads" I referred to are the heads of four fasteners on the top of the style cover, one in each corner. Looking underneath, all I can see are four soft rubber posts with no visible means of these being able to fasten to anywhere on the engine. Have some bits snapped off?

Neil.

Right. The four fasteners are twist to remove type. I reckon the posts sre broken off. If you lay the style cover back on in the rough position it should be, then lift it off you will see the broken ends. They need a 13mm spanner to remove from their fixing holes and replaced with new posts. On the cover, hold the broken posts and twist the caps off. Fit the cover in place, and push the caps on, twisting slightly to lock on. You shopuld feel a slight snap. Test by lifting the cover gently. The caps should stay on!! The posts are not expensive.

P.S. Put your hand over the top of the cap and lift one corner at a time when you test or if it isn't on properly the cap will ricochet off and end up in the bottom of the engine bay! I found that out the hard way :-(

Chris

Yes, very true.