Hi From Pleiades

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
Pleiades
Posts: 234
Joined: 28 Apr 2008, 21:04
Location: Sunny East Anglia
My Cars:
x 1

Hi From Pleiades

Post by Pleiades »

I hope I get this right?

Hi, it's Martin here from Pleiades.

Slim has been round and talked, well more nagged me into regestering to this forum, so I just tought that I would log in and say hello.

I will try to answer some questions on hydraulicy things when I get chance but I realy am a computor dinosaur, I havent a clue how or why computors work but I do realise that for some reason we cannot live without them (a bit like woman)

Most of my work these days seems to be on the DS hydraulic parts but I do as a general rule, anything that the green blood runs through.

I will try to log in as much as I can but especialy in the summer, being an outdoors type of chap, I like to spend my evenings out and my weekends in North Wales whenever I can, (Wales has the best kayaking rivers around)

What I do not realy want is to turn my answers into some kind of Pleiades advert as I don't think that this would be the correct way to go.

Finally, I have read a message here about the Pleiades web site being hacked, We had to disable the on-line shopping cart as people kept ordering the wrong part for their car and this caused problems, this forced us to disable the cart. I am hoping to get it sorted soon into an enquiry cart, then we can check the order and ensure that the correct part is sent out to our customer. Or even better, a new web site that I can maintain myself, but as a computor thiko this may prove difficult. In the meantime it seems to dissapear into some kind of search portal and ends up suggesting web sites that sell tractor pumps?

What Citroen do I drive? Well I do have a decent Xantia Estate 1.9 TD but I normally am seen driving around in a scruffy Mitsubishi L200 pick up, I know it's wrong but it is so handy and suits the lifestyle, I can throw all my kayaks and wet gear in the back, drive across fields with no fear of getting bogged down, but the Xantia is my weapon of choice if I want to be posh! Both run on about 80% cheapest veg oil I can get. I did have a Suzuki SJ 410 that I placed a BX turbo diesel engine under the bonnet, worked well but thats another story.

Well thats it for now, please go easy with me and maybe Slim will help me with any complications that I come across.

Cheers.

Martin. (Pleiades)
MikeT
Posts: 4809
Joined: 11 Jun 2007, 16:17
Location: Christchurch, Dorset. UK
My Cars: 2005 C5restyle 1.6HDI 16v 110hp VTR Estate
2008 C5 X7 1.6HDI VTR+ Saloon
x 231

Post by MikeT »

Hello Martin and welcome. Thank you for overcoming your technophobia, I look forward to your future posts. I would like to take this opportunity to thank your company for the prompt and informative reply I received when I had the one occasion to enquire about a pinion valve. Highly recommended.

Thanks also to Slim for guiding you here.
Last edited by MikeT on 28 Apr 2008, 23:51, edited 1 time in total.
slim123
Posts: 377
Joined: 20 Jul 2006, 22:49
Location:
My Cars:

Post by slim123 »

Hi Martin.

GOTCHA....... :twisted:

Regards
Slim.
admiral51
Donor 2023
Posts: 2625
Joined: 24 May 2007, 10:11
Location: poole dorset uk
Lexia Available: Yes
My Cars: C5 X7 2009 2.0 HDI VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]
C4 2010 2.0 HDi Exclusive VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]
x 378

Post by admiral51 »

Hi and welcome to the asylum :lol: :lol: its good in here honest :D :D

dont worry about any answers being an advert for Pleiades we can only answer questions based on knowledge,fact and in my case guesswork :D :D

i believe they have laptops these days that can connect to the internet so whilst your away in wales you can still be here with us :lol: :lol:

well done Slim :) :)

Colin
Online
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 49526
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
Location: Paggers
My Cars: Bluebell the AX, Polly the C3 Picasso, Pix the Nissan Pixo, Propel the duathlon bike, TCR Pro the road bike and Fuji the TT bike...
x 6159
Contact:

Post by CitroJim »

Hi Martin and a very warm welcome :D

You don't need to worry about advertising; we all know who Pleiades are on here :lol: In connection with virtually any hydraulic query your name pops up. Your sphere removal tool is held in very high regard, it was the only one that would budge spheres on my Activa :D

Speaking of Activas, are you able to supply spheres for them or re-gas them?
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
ellevie
Posts: 386
Joined: 27 Apr 2006, 19:22
Location: Southampton
My Cars:

Post by ellevie »

You are most welcome to the forum Martin ! It's great to have you here, your expertise on Citroen hydraulics must be unsurpassed. You are often mentioned on here and other Citroen forums as a valuable source of hydraulic parts, tools, hydraulic pipes and so on The Pleiades sphere removal tool has often been recommended and praised.

David
Penguin
Posts: 252
Joined: 04 Apr 2008, 09:35
Location: UK
My Cars:

Post by Penguin »

citrojim wrote:Your sphere removal tool is held in very high regard, it was the only one that would budge spheres on my Activa :D
Sorry to hijack the thread but I've just been to the website and do not see a sphere removal tool. What does it look like and how much does it cost? Cheers (this could have saved me some time, bother and money last week!)

Penguin
Peter.N.
Moderating Team
Posts: 11563
Joined: 02 Apr 2005, 16:11
Location: Charmouth,Dorset
My Cars: Currently:

C5 X7 VTR + Satnav Hdi estate Silver
C5 X7 VTR + Hdi Estate 2008 Red

In the past: 3, CX td Safaris and about 7, XM td estates. Lovely cars.
x 1199

Post by Peter.N. »

Hi Martin

Welcome to the forum. I think your company will be invaluable, not just for DS's and CX's but also for Xantias and XMs as the parts start to dry up.

In that connection I think that 'club-xm.com' would appreciate your membership as well.

Peter (from Wotton Fitzpaine).
steelcityuk
Posts: 1053
Joined: 03 Jul 2006, 21:51
Location: not applicable
My Cars: not applicable
x 1

Post by steelcityuk »

Hi Martin,

Nice to see you 'aboard'.

I'll take this opportunity to thank you for excellent service in delivering those Anti Sink pipes so fast!

I don't suppose you have any expertise with C5 hydraulics do you?

Regards.

Steve.
not applicable
Pleiades
Posts: 234
Joined: 28 Apr 2008, 21:04
Location: Sunny East Anglia
My Cars:
x 1

Post by Pleiades »

Hi All.

Well it's a great welcome, I usually run the computor in the morning, at luchtime and early evening, thats when I check the emails. So I guess that I will have to check here and see what is happening in the Citroen world.

Just to answer a few questions..

Mike.
Pinions are a popular item for us I just feel sorry for the chap who has to fit the dam thing.

Jim, Yes we can do the activa spheres, all 10 of them!! The activa uses as follows, although I expect that you already know this.
2 x Fronts
2 x Rears
1 x Main Accumulator
1 x Anti sink
1 x Front suspension accumulator
1 X Rear suspension accumulator
1 x Front active ride sphere
1 x Rear active ride sphere

The thing that I cannot help with is the enevitable leaking active ride rams, although this is a project on the back burner for when they become no longer available from Citroen.

Steve.
Glad to have helped with the pipes and allways nice to know when someone is pleased with the service. Sorry but I have not realy had an awfull lot to do with the C5 but I can help a little sometimes.

Colin.
I have a laptop, but have enough trouble trying to work it here in sunny Sawtry, let alone half way up Snowdon!

Slim,
Nuff Said!!!!!

David and Penguin.
The Band wrench has proved a very popular tool over the years, we developed it especialy for the CX fronts where the subframe prevents you getting a chain wrench around the sphere, I will try to post a photo later.

Peter.
I recognise the area, we have sent you a few bits and bobs of pipe etc, I know this as Wooton Fitzpaine is not too big, only has a couple of houses and when I was younger living in Bridport, my auntie lived in the other... I will look into club XM when I have got my head around this one!

Thats all for now, busy night tonight, thanks again for the very warm welcome and I will try my best to behave.

Cheers
Martin.

PS. What do the little yellow things do on the left, I see that jim has poped one over into his message, Magic maybe???
JohnD
(Donor 2022)
Posts: 2632
Joined: 14 Mar 2001, 23:41
Location: Epsom, Surrey
My Cars: 2010 Citroen C5-X7 tourer
1998 Citroen Saxo 1.5D
2018 Citroen C4-B7
1998 Peugeot 306. 1.9D
2011 Citroen C1
x 72
Contact:

Post by JohnD »

Penguin wrote: I've just been to the website and do not see a sphere removal tool. What does it look like and how much does it cost?
Here's a picture of mine - taken to enable it to go on eBay. Great tool, but not the correct size for C5 spheres.

Image
2010 C5 X7 VTR+Nav 160
1998 1.5 Saxo
1998 Pug 306 1.9D
2018 C4 B7 VTR+
2011 Citroen C1
Online
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 49526
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
Location: Paggers
My Cars: Bluebell the AX, Polly the C3 Picasso, Pix the Nissan Pixo, Propel the duathlon bike, TCR Pro the road bike and Fuji the TT bike...
x 6159
Contact:

Post by CitroJim »

Hi Martin,

Great news on the Activa spheres :D and even better news that you have rams on the back-burner. It has always been a worry at the back of my mind that one day Activa rams would become totally unavailable.

Those little yellow things are called emoticons 8)

When composing a post, just click on the one you want to convey your feelings and it will insert it into your message. It won't look like a yellow thing until you submit or preview your post. In the text editor box where you type your message it'll just appear as a a random collection of letters and punctuation like this : D and then when you submit or preview you'll see :D

They are really quite good for conveying feelings without lots of typing. If you click the "View more Emoticons" link, you'll find a whole load more..
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
DickieG
Monaco's youngest playboy
Posts: 4877
Joined: 25 Nov 2006, 09:15
Location: Buckinghamshire
My Cars:
x 38

Post by DickieG »

The Pleiades sphere tool is a simple but very clever piece of engineering as the angle the ring is offset at seems to be exactly the right angle for every sphere I've removed, an essential piece of equipment for the hydraulic Citroën owner.

Hi Martin, good to see you on here at last, we met in Crete a few years ago, happy memories on that holiday of watching the World Cup Final in the open air quaffing the odd ale on a warm evening 8)
13 Ram 1500 Hemi
14 BMW 535D Tourer
19 BMW i3s
06 C3 Desire 1.4
72 DS 21 EFi Pallas BVH
deian
Posts: 1729
Joined: 26 Feb 2006, 10:53
Location:
My Cars:

Post by deian »

Hi,

What kind of guy would I be if i passed on the chance to welcome the main man from pleaides before leaving myself.

You will fit right in here. I hope you enjoy your time here as I always have.

Welcome Martin

Kind Regards,
Deian
nick
Posts: 1079
Joined: 14 Mar 2001, 01:49
Location: Market Rasen, Lincolnshire
My Cars:

Post by nick »

Hi Martin, nice to see you here and welcome to the forum!

In my days of owning BXs and a Xantia I obtained various bits for them from Pleiades, including a band wrench. Well, 2 band wrenches. I lent the first one to my neighbour who was so impressed with it he immediately moved house and took it with him :)
Post Reply