All Things V6...

[CitroJim]

there might be a day when 407 Coupé's start to gather some attention

I'm sure there will be David, a very under-rated car in my opinion and that goes for all of the 407 range...

[DHallworth]

I've never been in a 407 Saloon or SW, Jim, so can't really compare.

Someone on the C6 forum said that the build quality on the saloon and SW was disappointing. The Coupé shares the same floor pan as the C6 and was apparently made on the C6 production line and has a much better build quality from what he was saying.

I've never driven any of the others to compare them personally though.

David.

[CitroJim]

That's interesting about the 407 Coupé being made on the C6 lines... I suppose it justifies the lines if two low-volume cars can share one... makes sense - which is unusual for something French

The build quality of a 407SW looks to be excellent to my eye and I've done enough on a very hard-worked one to be able to form an opinion. As I say, under-rated...

[Stickyfinger]

It may be under-rated Jim, but it will stay under rated like many "run of the mill" PSA cars.
Nothing will change the general public's way of thinking about them as they carry zero brand loyalty outside a few nutters like us.

PSA have never been good at recognising the need for a following of enthusiasts and have never really be large enough to generate one in a market segment that matters.

[CitroJim]

Sadly, that is all very true Alasdair

[Stickyfinger]

Result = I have a V6 Activa for a massive discount/capability, zero hassle from those who do not recognise it (99.99%) and a big laughs in it at a time/victim of my choosing. I will take a PSA car every day

[CitroJim]

Result = I have a V6 Activa for a massive discount/capability, zero hassle from those who do not recognise it (99.99%) and a big laughs in it at a time/victim of my choosing. I will take a PSA car every day

My view precisely

[DHallworth]

Robert & Shaun have just visited to collect their latest acquisition, I'll let them go into more detail about that later though.

Robert was having a look at the C5 and noticed that the coolant level was right at the bottom of the bottle, I'm guilty for not checking it after it came back from Citroen after having the EGR valve replaced. It looks like they've not topped it up after the EGR was removed. The EGR valves use the cooling system water to cool them as well so they will have lost a lot of water.

I'm not sure what coolant type it takes so I'm going to top it up with plain water today and then they can drain it and flush it when it goes back in on Monday seeing as they've not fixed the fault it was in for in the first place.

argghh!

[Stickyfinger]

Not much fun the X7v6 for you at the moment David...imagine the customer satisfaction levels if you only had that as your only car!

I wonder if it has a history with Citroen....have you seen the "service" history ?...eg, stuff not invoiced due to warrantee ?

[CitroJim]

it goes back in on Monday seeing as they've not fixed the fault it was in for in the first place.

That's not good David

[CitroJim]

Robert & Shaun have just visited to collect their latest acquisition, I'll let them go into more detail about that later though.

Intriguing!

[DHallworth]

Once I'd topped the coolant up on the C5 yesterday afternoon and given it a quick clean under the bonnet I decided I'd do the rear discs and pads on the Xantia. They started to squeak occasionally a few months ago and then when I was out in it the day before the wedding there was a metal on metal noise from them. The parts were in the boot, the sun was shining and I was in the mood for some tinkering.

The drivers side caliper had twisted a bit so I took it right off, cleaned both surfaces and put some grease between them, the pad on the front was still pretty thick, the rear one was a little wedge shaped and down to metal at the top. After I'd refitted the caliper and bled the brakes, I used two thin bits of wood and worked the pistons in and out to ensure they weren't sticking. The discs and pads I took off were originals so they don't owe me much after 19 years on the car! Once both sides were done I decided that I might as well swap the wheels over.

I'm sick of the Michelin tyres developing flat spots and cracking over the winter. I'd kept the alloys from the V6 I broke 2 years ago to do the V6 conversion, and I'd kept the cracked Michelins that I took off this summer so I fitted them to the wheels, balanced them up and fitted them to the car before taking it for it's last gentle run before it goes into hibernation till next Spring.



It's amazing how it looks like a different car just with a change of the wheels. Whilst the Activa wheels are off the car I think I'm going to have them powder coated as the surface on the originals is bubbling in a couple of places and just around the valves.

Hopefully come Spring next year she'll be on top form for a couple of the rallies

David.

[Stickyfinger]

With luck I will get the ACTIVA track Day sorted at Donnington Park !

[white exec]

If the car is garaged for an entire winter, David, is it not worth putting it up on blocks/stands? That length of time is enough to put a temporary flat on most tyres, I would think. Failing that, some extra high pressure in the tyres could help reduce the footprint.

[CitroJim]

Looks all wrong with Exclusive alloys on it David...

Looking very sweet otherwise though

Personally, I've never had any problems with Michelins... My Activa Energys are still looking as good as new and they don't move much at all over winter...

Now, the Contis that were fitted previously were a different story entirely... They cracked up very badly...