Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 206!!

[CitroJim]

That's a cracking emissions result!!!

The RH steering rack gaiter is easier but beware I use 'easier' in a relative sense here - it's still a real fiddly old job

[ekjdm14]

Yes indeed it does look like it'll be "fun" getting the new one on. It was bad enough finding a good spot to pop the old one off the rack end in amongst the pipes & subframe and I don't hold too much hope of my fingers being either long, strong nor flexible enough to get the new one in place without a few swears being uttered.

Will try and find a moment later to look into the brake switch too, sounds like possibly heat will be the issue seeing as they stuck on at one point as well so thanks xantiaV6 for the tip on the woodscrew

[CitroJim]

The big problem with the rack gaiter is that it'll be greasy and will be like struggling with a lively eel... The hardest bit is to get it onto the rack-end spigot and get a cable-tie around it...

I guarantee it'll have you cussing blue murder!!!

[daviemck2006]

The big problem with the rack gaiter is that it'll be greasy and will be like struggling with a lively eel... The hardest bit is to get it onto the rack-end spigot and get a cable-tie around it...

I guarantee it'll have you cussing blue murder!!!

I had to put one onto my activa. My fat fingers had great difficulty getting in there[emoji13]

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

[CitroJim]

The big problem with the rack gaiter is that it'll be greasy and will be like struggling with a lively eel... The hardest bit is to get it onto the rack-end spigot and get a cable-tie around it...

I guarantee it'll have you cussing blue murder!!!

I had to put one onto my activa. My fat fingers had great difficulty getting in there[emoji13]

So did my little girly ones Davie!!!

[KennyW]

Simon,

When I did my gaitor I took the rack of the car and did the work on the bench.

That was on my TD with the power ram.

I found when I tried to remove the track rod whilst insitu I couldn't get a good enough grip.

Great emissions result on both my TD and HDi the emissions were always good to very good. It was always the rear brakes or the braking efficiency especially on the HDi.

I never was able to identify why.

Kenny

[ekjdm14]

Greasy eel eh? like replacing the drop link boot but ten times the size and with restricted access... Oh joy

I'm most decidedly not taking the rack out though, but I do wish I'd spotted the job needed doing while the engine was out. Bet it'd be a lot more pleasant from in the engine bay.

Rear brakes are a strange one, I've heard a few people say their car struggled on the rollers without having some extra weight in the boot to supply more pressure to the calipers but both the XM and the Xantia were fine. I wonder if dry/stiff rear arm bearings play a part, as the Xantia in particular seemed to "pull" itself down into the rollers as the brakes were applied. I feel if the bearings weren't tip top then it'd tend to stick in position more with the torque of the brakes maybe.

[CitroJim]

Thing is, when the engine is out you never notice the things that could be done easily at the time

Taking the rack out is an order of magnitude more of a PITA... I've done a good few gaiters now and cussed each and every one of them!!!

[ekjdm14]

I have another name to add to the list of folk from this forum whom I need to thank most gratefully.

I recently asked Phil 'exect' about the non HA front spheres he wanted to pass on. Despite preferring to avoid the hassle of packing & sending them, and making that clear in the ad for them, he agreed to send them to us for the cost of postage & a couple of beer tokens.

They duly arrived this morning & on opening the box there was not only the two spheres but also a Xantia BoL, an XUD BoL, a sphere tool, brake(?) flexi hose and a bit of leakoff pipe... So proving again what a wonderful bunch of people Citroen enthusiasts are, and making me feel ever so slightly embarrassed at having paid so little for them.

Anyway, thank you so much Phil for those bits. I'll see if time allows them to be fitted later but for now it's just the swear-o-gaiter I have to wrestle with this afternoon some time.

[CitroJim]

What an absolute star Phil is Forum ethos at its very best!

[ekjdm14]

The greased Eel is home at last! It was a fiddle to do, but not as frustrating as I had expected from reading previous posts on these gaiters. On the swear-o-meter I would rate it at one or two B's, certainly nothing approaching an F or a C anyway although that may change if it escapes on the way to the garage!

Not prepared to declare it a full success until it's stayed on there all the way back from the MoT station (retest is 10.30 Tuesday) but it seems secure enough for now even at full lock. Brake lights are sorted also. The problem was twofold in that the switch was jammed on by dirt, but also somehow both brake light bulbs blew at the same time on the morning of the test...

Looking forward to a better result next week now. And if anyone is in need of a sphere tool (ebay type) I have two now so one is available either for collection from Congleton or at price of postage, no point my having a pair if someone else needs one after all. They actually work pretty darned well too, although I think I've been lucky with my spheres to this point none having been fitted by a gorilla on steroids... I think they'd cope alright though strengthwise, it's just the lack of an angled handle that makes them awkward for some people isn't it?

[daviemck2006]

I hope it stays put. When i put my one on i tried it lock to lock a few times. Then between then and retest it had slipped off. Luckily my mot man pur another cable tie on for me to save failing it again. I wouldnt be surprised if its off again now, but im not going to drive 650 miles to colchester to check [emoji13] [emoji4]

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

[ekjdm14]

Haha I'll give it a check when we get to the garage again just in case

Today has been more of a Peugeot day, went to the scrapyard and found a leather steering wheel & some silver interior handles from a 206cc, plus a pair of ramps which would have been rather good for getting under a certain Xantia had they turned up sooner haha

206 rewarded my attentions with an airbag light after the 'wheel swap, thankfully vanquished with a second bite at reconnecting the plugs. Tuesday cannot now come quick enough!

[CitroJim]

Ohh, making the 206 posh Nice!!!

[ekjdm14]

We've been slowly gathering bits here & there to make the 206 Style a nicer place to be. We may still be stuck with the cheap (and getting tatty) blue cloth interior and wind-up Windows but the instruments have been swapped for some quite rare silver backed dials from another 1.4HDi, the centre display has been upgraded to a higher spec item and the trim around it and the stereo/heater panel are metallic grey from another cc. Eventually we may fit electric Windows/mirrors etc but the main target now we have the smaller bits sorted is to find a nice GTi leather or half leather interior and 5d door cards.
It's already got 02> headlamps fitted and a GTi spoiler on the outside, alloys can wait till we wear out the "free" new tyres we got from the 3dr we had. Oops bit of a ramble there lol but yes, this 206 is gradually becoming a really nice little car all round.