1.6 HDi Engine Full Complete Reviews

This article will focus on the 1.6 HDi turbodiesel engine. This power unit is very broad and is found in at least eight different car brands. Hence, it is known by various markets and domestic designations.

To cover them all and to list the many “aliases” for the 1.6 liter turbodiesel, we provide a lookup table. Note, however, that the DLD-416’s internal engineering designation is assigned to this power unit.

1.6 HDi Engine Review

Note: versions 9HX and 9HY do not have a particulate filter and 9HV and 9HZ have a particulate filter.

So, the 1.6-liter 1.6 HDi engine was developed by Peugeot engineers at the request of Ford and PSA. It is produced in England, France and India. The engine debuted in 2004 in the Peugeot 407 and is still in production today. True, its current modification, which appeared in 2011, switched from a 16-valve cylinder head to an 8-valve one (motor designations – DV6C and DV6D).

The cylinder block of this turbodiesel is aluminum, liner. The timing belt uses a belt and chain. A chain with a separate hydraulic tensioner connects both camshafts. The crankshaft is only connected with a belt to a separate pulley of the exhaust camshaft. There are no balance shafts in the engine design. The camshaft sprockets are pressed onto them and in the event of a chain break, so that there is no strong impact of the pistons on the valves, the sprockets simply slip relative to their camshafts. In principle, this is an old “chip” of HDI motors.

1.6 HDi Engine Horsepower

The 1.6 HDi engine has two basic versions with 90 and 110 hp. They differ from each other with a turbine . The first has a conventional MHI (Mitsubishi) TD025 turbine with a bypass valve, the second has a Garrett GT15V variable geometry. Otherwise, both versions of the 1.6 HDi engine are identical in terms of intercooler, intake and exhaust systems, control, etc.

The 1.6 HDi engine uses a common rail fuel system with a CP1H3 high-pressure fuel pump and electromagnetic injectors.

1.6 HDi Engine Install

Let’s pay attention right away that 1.6 HDi engines and their parts are not 100% interchangeable. For example, they all have the same filling of the block, the same turbines (for the corresponding versions), a timing belt kit, a pallet. But the parts and components of the intake system are different, starters and generators (Ford, Mazda and Volvo have their own; Peugeot, Citroёn, Fiat and Mini) have their own.

Maintenance of the 1.6 HDi engine implies a lot of unnecessary operations. To replace the oil filter, you need to remove the air supply pipe to the turbocharger (this applies to all versions of this engine), under which the filter is installed. The fuel filter is installed on the engine side of the engine board. On many French cars, the air filter is installed on the 1.6 HDI engine literally under the drain along the lower edge of the windshield.

1.6 HDi Engine Problems And Reliability

• There are conflicting legends about the reliability and resource of the 1.6 HDi 16-valve engine. Some say that this motor is very reliable and serves faithfully, the main thing is only to service it on time. For others, this engine causes ongoing problems and repair costs. We will not adhere to any one point of view, but will pay attention to the real troubles and malfunctions that happen to this engine.
• First, a few nuances. On 1.6 HDi engines, which were installed on French cars, two types of pneumatic air meter are used. Problems with oil leakage along the seals or with cracking of the housing (followed by oil leakage) happen with the metering unit of 1.6 HDI engines equipped with a particulate filter (this metering unit has two dampers). It’s unpleasant, because oil dripping onto the alternator and the ancillary belt. On all other versions of the engine, including options for Ford, Volvo, etc. oil can start to break out at the joint in the ventilation system and the pipe connecting it to the intake manifold. In both cases, the oil in the intake is deposited from the vapors that are removed by the crankcase ventilation system.
• Now more about the more serious problems of the 1.6 HDi engine. So, the first samples of these motors were remembered for the premature failure of the camshafts: their cams wore out, they got scuffed. A small hydraulic tensioner of a single camshaft chain also collapsed to a pile. The factory-made quality of these parts was lame at first. However, such a nuisance as wear of the camshaft cams on a 1.6 HDi engine can be encountered today, but for a different reason: due to the development of an oil pump on the gears. In this case, the performance of the oil system decreases, first of all, the camshafts and the turbine suffer. The alarm lamp will light up only when the oil pressure drops to 0.5 bar – this is too little, the turbine cartridge needs at least twice the oil pressure.
• A turbine on a 1.6 HDi engine is often considered a consumable. It fails not just by itself, but because of oil problems: carbon deposits, soot particles and other inclusions clog the mesh – a coarse filter. The engineers who created this engine carefully placed a mesh in the fitting with which the oil feed tube is attached to the block. If the mesh becomes clogged, then the lubrication of the turbine cartridge – shaft and bearings – deteriorates sharply. Due to the generated depletion on the shaft, play of the turbine shaft also arises, and oil will also begin to intensively seep into the inlet or outlet. If the lubrication of the turbine shaft stops abruptly, then, working dry, it will practically weld to the brass bushings (bearings) and crack into two parts as a result of an abrupt stop.
• When replacing a turbine on a 1.6 HDi engine, you can with a clear conscience refuse the coarse filter (just throw out the mesh). It is also important to change the oil supply tube: put the tube of the last sample, completely copper. We advise you to additionally clean and blow out the oil heat exchanger – all debris from the oil usually accumulates there. Also, it will not be superfluous to look into the oil pan and even under the valve cover: if carbon deposits or coking are found there, then they must be urgently removed. Perhaps even during the engine bulkhead. Otherwise, a new (remanufactured or used) turbine will fail in just a couple of hundred kilometers.
• Also, the service life of the turbine on the 1.6 HDi engine can be shortened due to inaccurate installation of the pipe connecting the air filter housing and the inlet to its compressor. This pipe has to be removed when replacing the oil filter, otherwise it simply cannot be reached. During installation, it is possible to break the branch pipe or tear the seal where it fits on the compressor. As a result, the compressor will suck in the air with all the dust, grains of sand and even debris.
• The camshaft chain on the 1.6 HDi engine has the ability to stretch, which is audible by the characteristic chirping when the engine is running.
• Other troubles can happen under the valve cover. In particular, due to the burning out of the copper washers under the nozzles (there are fireproof washers on many diesel engines), gases from the combustion chambers will burst into the nozzle wells, being deposited in them with soot and carbon deposits. Also, oil can get into the “nests” of the injectors – this is due to the weakening of the studs that secure the injectors. In this case, they must be twisted or new ones must be installed with the correct tightening torque. At the same time, the rubber seals of the nozzles and the copper washers can be changed. Also, sometimes there are leaks in the nozzles of the injectors – in this case, fuel gets into the “slots”, which can then accumulate under the valve cover.
• Also, the issue of silencing the EGR system is quite acute for the owners of cars with a 1.6 HDi engine. The valve here is electronically actuated, the same on almost all versions of this motor. The new one is not cheap (more than 400 Belarusian rubles), the second-hand is several times cheaper , so many people jam it: either programmatically, or simply install a plug under it. EGR malfunction symptoms: errors in the memory of malfunctions and a drop or lack of engine power during acceleration, which is caused by the fact that the valve does not close and exhaust gases continue to flow into the combustion chambers, while the engine only needs air during acceleration.