The wonky £1K citron Citroën

[Doggy]

......And thus the latest Plan A is to be able to do 300 miles in in on Thrusday...

Going somewhere nice?

Best of luck with it. Those pipes look similar to the ones used on a 406 for A/C connections onto the compressor and some of the power steering pipework, (if memory serves, since I don't have one anymore).

My Citroen musings have taken a slightly different tack, the RT4/5 has started turning the display off & back on every 30 seconds or so, which I guess is indicative of a terminally ill hard disc. Initially I was thinking of replacing it with an aftermarket Android panel, but realised I'd loose the parking sensor functionality. Plan B was to get a 2nd hand unit from a slightly newer car, that would include Bluetooth, (which mine missed by about 2 months).

I had a towbar fitted on Wednesday, which I was pleased to see didn't interfere with the parking sensors, (cheapskate here refused the extra £60 or so for a removable one). Sure enough, come Friday afternoon the parking sensors 'discovered' the tow hitch and now spot it every time without fail, so I have to turn them off.....

Which brings me to Plan C revisit the aftermarket Android alternative.

[rwb]

Hard drive replacement "should" be straightforward... but I think we said that before.

I'd be surprised if you could find an RT5 with bluetooth; they are the holy grail! There's a guy on the 407 Facebook group who's been after one for months, and it's unclear how much loom is different with bluetooth phone.

Can't get any sense out of anyone on the joining of steel to flexible pipe.
Citroen want £340 for a complete pipe set.
I suspect it's going to be to take off and take to Piritek.

[Doggy]

Any of the hydraulic hose outfits should be able to help, 'we' (before I retired), used to get one of them to make similar-ish things up on site. Maybe if you crossed one of their guys palms with silver.....

The car manual download function on service box describes a bluetooth RT5 for Jan 2009 on cars, which is when mine was registered. Unfortunately it was built in October 2008. I'm not madly in love with the unit I've got and now that I've effectively disabled the rear parking sensors there's little justification for not going aftermarket.

The other consideration is that the camper really needs an update too - it has an original fit Pioneer Avic head unit with flip out double DIN screen, remote cd changer + integral satnav which can't be updated further than 2009. When the display's out it partially hides the reversing camera monitor, (which is also in need of an update). The van has a separate Parrot bluetooth phone thinghy.

In a perfect world, I would fit both vehicles with very similar aftermarket units, (so doddery old fool doesn't have to learn multiple interfaces), that did all of the above. Sounds like a winter project, or one I'll never get round to.

[Doggy]

Any of the hydraulic hose outfits should be able to help, 'we' (before I retired), used to get one of them to make similar-ish things up on site. Maybe if you crossed one of their guys palms with silver.....

The car manual download function on service box describes a bluetooth RT5 for Jan 2009 on cars, which is when mine was registered. Unfortunately it was built in October 2008. I'm not madly in love with the unit I've got and now that I've effectively disabled the rear parking sensors there's little justification for not going aftermarket.

The other consideration is that the camper really needs an update too - it has an original fit Pioneer Avic head unit with flip out double DIN screen, remote cd changer + integral satnav which can't be updated further than 2009. When the display's out it partially hides the reversing camera monitor, (which is also in need of an update). The van has a separate Parrot bluetooth phone thinghy.

In a perfect world, I would fit both vehicles with very similar aftermarket units, (so doddery old fool doesn't have to learn multiple interfaces), that did all of the above. Sounds like a winter project, or one I'll never get round to.

[rwb]

Finally got it up on the ramp.

So a previous repair has been bodged rather badly. They used some quite stiff plastic hose and left it rubbing against the driveshaft.

IMG_20190712_111912.jpg

(66.46 KiB) Not downloaded yet

Citroen want £350 for a complete pipe set, and because of all the rigid pieces in it it's probably impossible to install without removing the engine. So -- since we have proof that jubilee clips do in fact hold it -- it's getting a new piece of hydraulic hose routed slightly differently.

There is rigid pipe from the rack which runs parallel with "more pipe" in a solid piece shaped round the subframe, then you can see at the bottom left the front of that pipe where it was joined to hose. You can see the hole to the left of the CV joint.

IMG_20190712_105320.jpg

(161.09 KiB) Not downloaded yet

£3 (I gave them a fiver because tha'ts what was in my pocket) for a piece of pipe and some "clic clips" from a brilliant local hydraulic place. Although they didn't have much to say about joining rigid to hose.

[GingerMagic]

Nothing wrong with the flexible hoses...
I recently broke a metal pipe off my lorry by gently* brushing it against a lamp post - The Hose Doctor came round and fitted a temporary flexible pipe, which is a vast improvement over the metal pipe and still withstands around 300bar....

[Doggy]

Sounds like a result with the hose - my 406's aircon and my bro's power steering both did a year or two with similar repairs.

[rwb]

Finally got it back!
Passed its MOT so went to pick it up and left the 407 parked at the mechanic's.
Don't really fancy walking through the woods in the dark to go and get the 407 so it looks like I'm in the C6 to Newbury and back tomorrow!

The plot thickens:
* looks like the front bumper has been off and not put back quite right as the undertray isn't fitting back on properly,
* looks like the gearbox has been out (didn't quite catch why).

Next jobs -- hopefully for the weekend are:
* drill out a sheared wheel bolt (any tips?),
* oil change and a set of filters,
* EGR blanking plates (looks difficult; expect to have to abandon),
* replace the RD4 radio with an RT3

Total so far: £2341 plus tax and insurance and diesel.

[soretoez]

left hand drill bit might work the bolt has two choices drill out or screw out plenty of wd on the threads or if you have access to a welder weld a nut on to whats left of the bolt the heat will help free it up.

[Doggy]

Funny. I saw a C5 like mine with a reg. plate something like "C6 AOK" this afternoon and started to wonder about this vehicle. Spooky or what?

Well done on the MOT.

Sheared wheel bolt - front or rear? How much remains? (Pic if possible).

[rwb]

Gut feeling is that even with the disc off there won't be anything to get hold of.



I don't think I've ever had an MOT that didn't say

Brake disc worn, pitted, or scored, but not seriously weakened.

I have some new front discs and pads for the 407 which will fit on this.
I can feel a slight pulsing on the 407 when braking gently, and it showed up on the MOT as the rears. Typical.

Which reminds me: what's the caliper wind back thing all about? What's different about the rears? (I believe it's something to do with the handbrake, but what and why?)

[Doggy]

I lost the 'key' to the locking wheel bolts on my first 406 and drilled the heads off all 4 over a weekend. I did it with ordinary HSS drill bits but had to teach myself to sharpen them along the way. The biggest ones I used - 8, 9, 10mm IIRC needed to be sharpened about twice per bolt.
Titanium coated bits last longer, (but effectively can't be sharpened), cobalt are even better, but pricey.

My job was a bit easier, since the threads weren't seized so were easily unscrewed once the head fell off and the wheel could be removed. Guessing your one snapped off while trying to undo it?

Looks like a clearance hole in the disc / thread is in the wheel hub. Agree there probably won't be enough of a stump to get hold of if you remove the disc. it looks pretty much flush with the hub. I'd try drilling it as it is.

[steve_earwig]

I left my key on the side of the road after having a flat tyre in the early hours, I can't remember how I got the locking nuts off but it made a mess of the rims. It was only an Astra.

AM I right in thinking the bolt could also go inwards? Once the disk is off obv. It might help to have another direction to go, no need for reverse drill bits.

I have some easy outs but I never found them much good tbh. Ok, if nothing else works but they're hardened steel so if one breaks off in the hole it's game over.

[rwb]

Yeah, it bust while I was trying to undo it.
"Bloody hell that's tight" I thought. And then suddenly it went very loose.

First full 300 mile round trip today. 55.3mpg (AM) and 50.3MPG (PM) on the trip computer.

Just as I arrived this happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4ETR4IFxeM

At first I noticed it was a bit misty outside the office.
Then a bit smelly.
And then inside the cabin.

First instinct was to check the coolant as they're known for dropping it, but it was all still there. Then I noticed on FAP that the soot counter had reset from about 80% to zero and deduced that it was the spilled LDS burning off the exhaust.

So far:
* love the seats
* the RD4 is sh*t compared to the RT4 in my 407
* suspension is a bit pitchy but it's not annoying or unpleasant and it really is very smooth
* tyres squeal where the 407 wouldn't but there's nowhere near so much body roll
* starting to hate the slushbox
** it's really slow to get out of a junction
** it just seems altogether very clumsy -- it's for people who can't drive because they don't know really know what it is they're supposed to be doing let alone why.

Next problem: juddering when there is torque in the drivetrain i.e., when accelerating and when the weight of the car is pushing the engine (down hill).

I think it's not the torque converter lockup clutch because it happens at all speeds.

[rwb]

Queueing on the motorway was not as comfortable (the clutch in the 407 can get a bit tedious) as I had anticipated. I consider it bad form to hold it on the brake pedal as the brake lights are unpleasant for the person behind (not that any other f*cker seems to give a f*ck), but it takes an age to get the handbrake off; one click on the 407 is usually just enough to hold it and it's released in an instant.

I've mainly had it in manual -- so I suppose I haven't embraced properly the slushbox experience. It's INFURIATING that it will change down if it considers that you're doing it wrong. We've been having repeated bunfights between 5th and 6th.

I find it difficult to read the rev counter and I haven't got my ear tuned in to the engine yet, so I often find myself thinking: 'if I was in the 407 at this location then what gear would I be in'. That said it seems to just lurk at about 1500rpm and not really do much. (I notice that sport mode seems to keep it at about 2000rpm.)

I find the accelerator pedal to be exceptionally sensitive; probably because of the amount of torque available. In 1, 2, 3 it's difficult to drive smoothly between accelerating and engine braking; it's like a manual in 1st where it 'bounces' when you come on/off throttle if you're not delicate enough. Or like a knackered DMF taking up the slack. Is summat (else) bust?

The torque converter seems to be much more 'solid' than I was anticipating: engine braking exists, and if you're in too high a gear then it won't pull /and/ it doesn't rev. (I was imagining something more like a Class 165 (2 stroke) diesel/hydraulic locomotive that revs to flat out then takes minutes to get to 60 with the power being lost through the torque converter.)

The slushbox is surprisingly smooth (much smoother than I remember the SLK200 I drove briefly a few times). When it's in D I find I lose count of what gear it's in and it feels more like a CVT. Seems to me like there's a 'go more' pedal and a 'go less' pedal which is suitable for people who don't really know what they're doing or why: so I'm confused about where comes the skill to treat the machine well and get the best out of it?