Confessions of a Citroholic

[RichardW]

Just the odd six Citroens here yesterday:

84 Visa Decap (somewhere in the garage!), 01 Xantia HDi, 02 Xsara Picasso (friends), 02 Xsara Hatch (sister's), 03 Xsara Picasso (ours, for sale), 08 C4 Grand Pic.

3 of them silver, and all the running ones HDi. Neighbours must be worried we are going to start a dealership

Had to put a new tyre on the back on the Xantia las week - the brakes are baaaaad now. Have bought a six sided 16mm socket to attack the bolts, but just about to start on getting a porch built, and there isn't much spare time with 2 young children. If / when the weather improves (it was BALTIC here today!) I must tackle them.

[RichardW]

As I said to my colleague yesterday when he asked about the Xantia "it just keeps going" Small milestone passed this week - it ticked over 136,000 miles which means along with being the car I've had longest (5yrs 1 Month), and put most miles on (89k to date) it is now the highest mileage car I have owned, having overtaken my excellent (88) BX DTR Turbo hatch - which also previously held the record for longest car / most miles! It does desperately need new spheres though - hope to do them next weekend, not looking forward to the rears though! Hopefully will get through another MOT in March without too much trouble, but suspect that may be the last as the Scottish winters are taking their toll, and tin worm is starting to be evident. Still that would mean retiring it at 160k or so, which would be respectable! Thoughts are turning to what to replace it with though - possibly a Berlingo Multispace, as I use my car like a van, so I might as well have one - but I need seats for the kids occasionally. Otherwise I might just buy a 2CV and a trailer - but have you seen the price of 2CVs lately - even rough ones

The C4 Picasso keeps going too, and we've put 7k on in 6 months without trouble - hope it continues in that vein!

Not much time for car related stuff round here with 2 young children: Toby has started crawling, and he's only 7 months.... Dillon (who's nearly 4) is having some impressive tantrums! They're all away this week, and I am on DIY. Again. Still the porch is nearly finished now, just onto painting, and putting in a bit of worktop over the tumble drier.

[RichardW]

Car work on 2 successive weekends!

Last weekend Simon (Mandrake) was here with his V6 and we fixed the exhaust, and ran the Lexia over the C4. This weekend I've had to replace the alternator on the Xantia again. Swapping wheels around tomorrow I think....

[Citroenmad]

Swapping wheels around tomorrow I think....

This is my plan for tomorrow too

[Mandrake]

Car work on 2 successive weekends!

Last weekend Simon (Mandrake) was here with his V6 and we fixed the exhaust, and ran the Lexia over the C4. This weekend I've had to replace the alternator on the Xantia again. Swapping wheels around tomorrow I think....

I keep forgetting there are other parts to the forum like this blog section....

Maybe I should start a blog of my own, my broken exhaust thread could just about be copied and pasted into the blog section wholesale and renamed "a day in the life of Simon's V6"

PS as far as I know the exhaust repair is holding up perfectly. Appreciate the help in coming up with a simple solution to what could have been a very long and difficult job had we not "cheated".

[CitroJim]

Simon, I reckon you're right but not yet with your V6 saga as there's still issues outstanding and it might be missed down here...

When you have the odd spare day/week/month you should read mine... There's one especially dedicated to my first HP20 rebuild you might find interesting

[Mandrake]

Simon, I reckon you're right but not yet with your V6 saga as there's still issues outstanding and it might be missed down here...

I was half joking

But one day I will have to write something in the blog area...

When you have the odd spare day/week/month you should read mine... There's one especially dedicated to my first HP20 rebuild you might find interesting

I haven't read all of your blog (I'm not sure there is enough time left before the heat death of the universe ) but I have read the part about your first HP20 rebuild, very interesting stuff...

[RichardW]

Quite a lot of Car stuff going on here at the moment....

Xantia has had a new blower controller and pollen filter, handbrake cables, and battery +ve terminal. It has also had a battery shuffle with the C4 (new one in C4, old one out of C4 into Xantia), as that was sounding a bit tired, but the Xantia has an easier duty cycle with mostly 30 miles runs to work and back, whereas the C4 has lots of starts / short runs. The LP fuel pump has now thrown its toys out of the tank, so that will need to be replaced - last night saw the first Xantia recovery ride in 10 years and 197,000 miles - not bad going! MOT in a couple of months - touch and go I suspect as to whether it will live for another year, or head off to be bean tins We do seem to be heading up the back end of the bathtub reliability curve at the moment - if it continues then it will have to go, as I need it every day, and get grief from SWMBO if I run off with hers.....

C4 has had a new battery (see above! - got a 'Starting Bull' from local factors, never heard of them, but made in Austria, and puts out 750 CCA - certainly spins it over nicely!). Finally changed the grubby air filter whilst I was there, and it has also had new rear pads, and front tyres. I've still to do an oil change, and it's due an MOT imminently - hopefully no trouble as it's only 5 years / 60k old! I discovered it also monitors bulbs, and if access the warning log, it tells you if bulbs are out - discovered a faulty brake light that way last week! I have put a thread up in the Handy Hints and tips about C4 Picasso jobs, as there are not that many in DIY hands, and some of the jobs are stupid hard - pollen filter for example, which can wait till the summer!

[CitroJim]

Richard, I'm sure the old Xantia will go on for years yet. It's nowhere near the upward curve of the bathtub just yet - just having a couple of minor issues, that's all..

best of luck with the MOT tests. Passes I'm sure are assured

[RichardW]

New LP pump in, and back to Xantia-ing. C4 Pic MOT tomorrow, hopefully no expense incurred there!

Xantia due in March. Given that it will be at about 142.5k at MOT and still on original wishbone bushes, ball joints, brake flexis, and NS drop link at the front; trailing arm bearings at the rear; same spheres that were on it when I got it, ahem, 95k miles ago , I can't see it getting through this year without some work. Just depends on how many of the above, plus any brake / susp pipes which have merited a mention over the last couple of years he decides are too far gone - must clean the PAS pipe which I think has oil dripped on it from lubing the steering UJ (or it's weeping!). Plan to take it early, then I think SWMBO will be away for a few days, so no bother if I need to have it off the road a few days to fix it up.

Trouble is, I have had a scout around, and can't see what I would replace it with. Cars in the £1-2k range are not really any better than the Xantia, and then there seems to be a gulf up to about £4k. I suppose that's equivalent of I paid for the Xantia, but I'd rather not fork that out just now! Hmmm . Spanners at the ready then!

[CitroJim]

That car is irreplaceable Richard...

There is only one course open to you and you know what that is already - get the spanners out!

It'll be lovely and warm come March - just like it was last year...

[RichardW]

C4 Passed MOT - just an advisory on front pads I knew about
Xantia passed 140k this morning

[CitroJim]

Excellent news on both counts Richard

[RichardW]

More Xantia troubles last weekend, as it had to have a new OSR suspension strut feed pipe. Getting pipes at short notice is difficult, so i am considering investing in a pipe maker - not seen any of the 'cheap' dies, just the expensive vice mounted ones. Of course I will be considering this right up to the time the next one goes, when I will be a hole again..... MOT in a few weeks....

[DHallworth]

I'd love a small one that you can hold in your hand so you can flare pipes on the car easily to add a joining piece too.

Never seen such a thing though.

Did that pipe do the trick?

David.