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Hi all,

Have owned my Berlingo 2.0 Hdi Multispace Desire 2004 for three years and absolutely love it: I use it as a family vehicle, towing vehicle and as a van for work.

Have had one or two minor problems, especially of late.

Used the forum "How to" to remove my Com 2000 unit (should be picking up a new one from the Peugeot garage tomorrow), couldn't have done it without that. - when I put it all back together, the flexible-ish cover at the back of the steering wheel is going to be cut in two for future easy removal.

Currently have posted about my faulty fuel gauge - would love replies on how to go about investigating the cause.

In the summer I ran it with some bio diesel in it (two gallons of bio to every tank full of diesel) to as yet no ill effect. Not using any of it in winter though as it tends to ticken up in the cold.

Regards,
Andy
Hi Andy,Welcome to us miserable lot.When you say bio diesel,do you mean neat,processed veggy stuff,or home made stuff that you can make in your garage?(or kitchen if the missus is out)
The bio diesel is used cooking oil put through a small Golden Ray bio diesel processor, my father makes small batches of it as and when he can get the cooking oil (getting rarer as more people are making bio). I did read that you can put up to 30% bio in an Hdi engine, I also read that you can cause problems by using bio ... who knows! ... anyway, as said this summer was the first time I used bio, probably only put in 12 galleons (2 galleons per tank full), with no running problems. I'll take a look at the fuel filter in the spring (these have to be changed more frequently when using bio) as I only changed it 10k miles ago.
I believe the use of home produced bio-diesel presents a huge risk of major engine problems.
Here's a few examples of possible damage:

Biodiesel can have a detrimental effect on fuel system components such as fuel line and pump seals.
The most common problems are with systems employing mechanical injection pumps.
Injector leak-off return pipes rotting - these are relatively easy to replace on most vehicles - nylon air line makes a good biodiesel-proof replacement
Injection pump shaft seals leakingfor gear driven pumps this can mean leaking of fuel into the crankcase oil (look for increasing engine oil level) and contamination of the fuel with engine oil (look for black deposits when the fuel filter is changed).
for belt driven pumps, failure of this seal usually results in fuel leaking out onto the road, but also possible contact with belts - particularly serious if a cam belt is affected, as biodiesel will rapidly weaken it.
Engine rattling due to air ingress is also a sure sign of seal failure somewhere, though if you're lucky the leak won't be at pump but further back in the fuel system, such as the fuel filter or at tank fittings. A section of clear braided hose (commonly 8mm ID) greatly helps with locating the source of air ingress - put between the fuel filter and the pump and backlit with a torch, any air bubbles will be clearly visible.
Other potential issues include a blocked in-tank coarse filter with soaps or polymerisation products. Some biodiesellers like to remove the in-tank filter and fit a coarse filter before the main filter in the engine bay, where it is more easily accessible for cleaning or replacement.
In all cases, it is recommended to change the engine oil twice as frequently as the normal service interval. When diesel contaminates engine oil, over time it can "boil off" with engine heat - however, Biodiesel will remain in the oil and potentially polymerise into a gel over time, blocking oilways or the oil filter.

Credit to the author here: http://www.biopowered.co.uk/wiki/Effect_...ngine_care
The HDi engines are quite fussy about which oils are used in them thus the chance of polluting that oil with anything is in my view an unacceptable risk.
Gracious!! Thanks for the above ... I shall be a bit more cautious about putting bio diesel in, and I'll keep my eye on any problems. As said, I won't be putting any in during winter.