After having to replace a couple of clip-on fasteners and finding one broken and one almost broken rubber mounts for the plastic engine cover on the 2.0HDI engine I have reached the conclusion that the components used are absolutely p*ss-poor in manufacture and in use.

I am currently getting parts from various sources and also making a few bits'n'bobs in my workshop and will show you all the final results with glorious colour photographs !!! when the job is done.

Don't expect rocket-science but I hope that my endeavours provide a practical solution to a persistant and on-going problem.

After spending a good few quid on these over the years I leave the cover off now, it's more trouble than it's worth.

I have seen a different method of fixing it on which involved, I think, Renault fixings. Just can't remember where I saw it.........age doesn't come alone does it?

I have some threaded rod screwed into the mount on the engine with penny washers tack welded to them for the cover to sit on. The to hold the cover on a penny washer and a wing nut for each mount

Sadly, the photos are a bit blurry but here they are.

The old mounting and clip-on fastening have now been replaced by more robust metalastic type anti-vibration bushes. Each bush has a 6mm stud at one end which screws into the location on the engine and the height at which it sits is adjusted by the amount of flat washers placed beneath for packing. I set my cover slightly higher than it had been originally as in the past it had been causing the wiring loom to the injectors to chafe. The cover is retained using 6mm threaded screws with plastic wing-nuts and a flat washer or two beneath to tighten down onto, these locate into the female thread at the other end of the bush. They have been on the engine for a couple of weeks now and seem ok in use. Bushes and Wing nuts obtained from various suppliers on flea-bay, washers sourced locally.

Your solution seems ingenious. I've just bought a 2003 2.0HDi, and most of the retaining bolts on the engine cover are kaput. I shall try to follow your solution --- any pointers on how to locate the 6mm threaded screws and plastic wing-nuts on e-bay?

Thanks in advance

I solved this problem by removing the engine cover, and relocating it to the back of my garage.

(24-02-2012, 05:10 PM)steve valentine Wrote:  I solved this problem by removing the engine cover, and relocating it to the back of my garage.

I too found this to be the best way of dealing with this design fault

(24-02-2012, 05:05 PM)searcher Wrote:  Your solution seems ingenious. I've just bought a 2003 2.0HDi, and most of the retaining bolts on the engine cover are kaput. I shall try to follow your solution --- any pointers on how to locate the 6mm threaded screws and plastic wing-nuts on e-bay?

Thanks in advance

Think I dropped in lucky with the plastic headed 6mm steel wing nuts, someone had bought them incorrectly and was selling them on, they dont have to be plastic though. You could use a bit of 6mm studding cut to length and use steel wing nuts or even plain nuts instead. Just tried to find the resilient rubber mountings in my e-bay history but can't find them yet but if you do a search on e-bay for 6mm threaded rubber mountings or 6mm resilient mountings you should come up with something.

IMHO As there is quite a lot of wiring beneath the cover, especially the loom to the injectors, I feel that it is important to keep the cover in place and not to throw caution to the wind and leave it off. If it was not that important to have it, Cit/Pug would not have fitted it in the first place.....

The cover is just there to make it look pretty.

It is only there as a tidy up job and a poor attempt at noise reduction in conjunction with the undertray