Activa - a little bit rarer

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 03 Oct 2010, 08:30

What make were the tyres though?

Unread post by **Dommo** » 03 Oct 2010, 09:37

Cheers handyman, I've already changed the accumulator (totally flat!) and the anti sink spheres, I've also done the front corners - and not bled them since. I know I should do them - that's todays job. However I've not got a vacuum bleed kit, what's the best kit for that job?

And my Activa was registered EKV - with Citroen UK plates, so I always assumed it was to avoid paying the duty you mentioned.

The tyres - good question. Two are a Marshall something or other (IIRC), one is a Triangle Talon GLS

, one is a Kumho Ecsta KH11. But I'll have to check once I'm outside.

Edit - also I'm 99% sure that the VSX brakes are smaller than my Activa brakes.

A quick look on servicebox says that my VSX brakes are 266mm, and the Activa brakes are 288mm!

KP · Unread post by KP » 03 Oct 2010, 10:33

Glad to hear your OK Dommo, pity about the activa mind, specially as it was an S2.

If you decide to to repair i have front lights for one IIRC, or you could buy my activa

Seriously though glad to hear your OK. If you were in a metro or rover 100 it would be a different story im sure

red_dwarfers · Unread post by **red_dwarfers** » 03 Oct 2010, 17:19

Glad to hear you are okay

I imagine a lot of the options that could have been chosen in that minuscule amount of time available to you would have produced a much worse outcome.

Looking at those later photos, its still looks like the NS wing is still straight?! I imagine that means that the wheel arch area and that looks okay, it doesn't really look that bad as it seems the impact was roughly the gearbox/accumulator area where there is a natural space anyway.
Wiring looms can be sorted easily, just match up the wire codes and solder in a new one.

And to justify the cost? I worked out that I could spend £500/year on lunch when at work but if I make packed lunch I can spend it on something else. Thing is, I make packed lunch anyway

. This theory can be applied to many things

handyman · Unread post by **handyman** » 03 Oct 2010, 21:29

Any sort of crash damage in that frontal area will activate the collapsible impact absorbing structures in the lower rail. It will probably have twisted the front subframe, which is not particularly strong. Your will find alot of the panels forward of the bulkhead will be mis-aligned.

It can be repaired but you will need to get the car onto a body alignment jig, just to see what is out of register. The inner front wing section, along with the lower rail was available as a repair section from Citroen, but I would look at the cost of repairing a twisted body against buying a half reasonable Activa for £500. I know what I would do.

Dommo, as for the brakes, if your VSX only has the 266mm discs, providing the Activa has the earlier Bendix system and not the later Bosch system, everything can be swapped over. Discs, calipers, caliper carriers, pads, etc, as they are interchangeable. Use a new pair of brake hoses unless you have recently replaced them. Handbrake cables will be the same, so you can use the existing ones. I did this on my wife's Forte estate when we first got it. The car stands on its nose if you press the brakes too hard!

If you have the later Bosch brakes, they do not interchange, as the whole hub assembly and driveshafts are different. But you can contact me about these offline.

KevMayer · Unread post by **KevMayer** » 17 Oct 2010, 10:52

Any news about your Activa?

Unread post by **Dommo** » 28 Jan 2011, 15:11

For anyone interested:

http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x226 ... G_0501.mp4

I've just taken this video, and I'm hoping to get all the required bits I need off griceys car next Sunday. So fingers crossed

Unread post by **Rhothgar** » 28 Jan 2011, 16:02

CitroJim wrote:keep it and break it for whatever spares are recoverable...

Hopefully the strut tops are...

Bloody scavengers! No shame, Jim!

Oh! and put my name down for the strut tops.

Glad to hear you're OK.

Did your airbags deploy?

Unread post by **Dommo** » 28 Jan 2011, 16:47

They didn't strangely enough, as you can see in that video both the drivers/passenger air bag and side air bag lights come on and go off as they should, so as far as they're concerned nothing has happened!

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 28 Jan 2011, 17:31

B*tard thing; looks like you will have to fix it then Dommo!

I wonder why the airbags didn't deploy; perhaps the triggers in the
nose/bumper are untouched - that telegraph post has kind of specific
to one small area!? Any pics of the crossmember and inner wing?

To make life easier when removing an engine out of a AL4 boxed 2.0i 16v
I hacksawed off the lower cross member that sits beneath the rad. It's not
the biggest or heaviest cross section being approx 3" w x 1" h and the
width between the inner wings. May be worth chopping this off another
donor car too. Another Xant I scrapped had kink damage to the section
of inner wheelarch that sits under the ECU box on the Osf wing and
had moved back about 1/2". Guess I could've unstitched some of the
seams and straightened it as it wasn't that big a deal but the car was
bought in for it's engine.

Happy repairs - would be nice to see an Activa come back to life.

Andrew

Unread post by **Dommo** » 28 Jan 2011, 17:46

andmcit wrote:B*tard thing; looks like you will have to fix it then Dommo!

I wonder why the airbags didn't deploy; perhaps the triggers in the
nose/bumper are untouched - that telegraph post has kind of specific
to one small area!? Any pics of the crossmember and inner wing?

To make life easier when removing an engine out of a AL4 boxed 2.0i 16v
I hacksawed off the lower cross member that sits beneath the rad. It's not
the biggest or heaviest cross section being approx 3" w x 1" h and the
width between the inner wings. May be worth chopping this off another
donor car too. Another Xant I scrapped had kink damage to the section
of inner wheelarch that sits under the ECU box on the Osf wing and
had moved back about 1/2". Guess I could've unstitched some of the
seams and straightened it as it wasn't that big a deal but the car was
bought in for it's engine.

Happy repairs - would be nice to see an Activa come back to life.

Andrew

It did just miss the air bag sensor as far as I can tell, but only just! It has mashed that 3"x1" section of cross member you describe, and some of the bit that it welds to is bent (end of the chassis rail?), which is the most difficult bit of damage to fix, and the reason why I've not done anything with it yet.

I will be chopping most of what I need out of gricey's car next sunday all being well, my mate is lending me his big Stihl saw for the occasion

It probably won't be perfect when finished but it's not the sort of repair I will do and then sell the car on in the future, I want to fix it to keep it on the road for myself.

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 28 Jan 2011, 18:08

Xac on 02 Oct 2010 19:54 wrote:Well, you could look at it as a gift horse and take advantage of the situation by fitting a better looking S1 front

My thoughts at the time too and then guess what...

So long as the stiched in section is in the correct position and is solidly
welded one, even reinforced at it's mountings better than before, you'd
be fine were you to sell the car on - most of the repair would be buried
behind stuff anyhow so it needn't be a real work of art.

After sorting it though you wouldn't want to part with it anyway surely?

Andrew

stevenc75 · Unread post by **stevenc75** » 28 Jan 2011, 18:55

Credit to you for repairing it. Most wouldn't bother given their value.

Unread post by **Rhothgar** » 28 Jan 2011, 19:05

stevenc75 wrote:Credit to you for repairing it. Most wouldn't bother given their value.

True! True!

Like me with my planned sphere renewal after already hydroflushing and new drop links and that's just this year. I could have written my car off ladt year too. What with clutch and cambelt replacement!

It's warming to know that there are a lot of like mindes people out there who see it as an ecological challenge as well as keeping great cars on the road.