Doing a friend a favour

Unread post by **alan s** » 24 Mar 2005, 02:46

One of my sons has decided to go pay a social call on one of his mates for a fortnight in Sydney, so I was seconded to drive him to the Airport, just over 3 hours away.
Knowing my hatred of driving in peak hour traffic, he timed his flight so we missed the worst of it and suggested I go another hour and a half to a family friends place and "catch up" with her & her family.
The lady owns a BX (bought on my recommendation; I should have known better!!) so when I ring, I'm asked if I would mind 'checking the car over' while I'm there as she has no confidence in the local mechanics.
Upon packing the car the previous night, I make sure to put in as many tools as is practicable, LHM X 2 litres, spotlight, lead light and old clothes.
We arive early afternoon and exchange pleasantries, go the traditional guided tour of the property that she has bought and partially remodelled and retreat to the carport where the evil BX sits. You can see the way it just sits there looking all innocent that this bludger is gunna get me.
About 3pm, I begin to get a bit serious; off with the front wheels, down with the strut gaitors and grease them followed by the LHM strut lube, refit wheels and proudly display to the lady how loverly and smoothly the evil BX rises and falls; best it's ever been she tells me....feeling proud, feeling a bit cocky even. Check the running and find it's doughy, so I rip the spark plugs out after resetting the timing and they are sure strange heat range plugs, no wonder it runs like a stanly steamer, look at the clock and it's within a half hour of closing time for the shops; gotta move if we're going to get this car finished. "Are you sure you've got time to do all this?" she asks....Evil BX drops a couple of inches on its suspension as I answer "Yeah, look it's only going to take me a half hour to do, I think we might as well do the oil change and filter while we're on the job and you'll know all is well." Evil BX drops at rear and rises at front....I should have known better than to talk too close to it.
Off to local parts shop, not the chain I wanted for reasons that will soon show; "Yes sir, what can I do for you?" I want a set of spark plugs same as these. (had the box off the set I'd bought from another chain a couple of weeks earlier for $36) "We don't sell that brand, but we'll have equivalents for sure; what's it orf?" (the words that strike fear into my heart....."Aww, fer a Sitrun?? Nah doubt it...ya see, ya need special ones for them!! They're 22 bucks each!!"
I won't go too close to the ensuing conversation apart from saying he eventually got told to stick 'em where his mother never kissed him.[:0] Off to the retailer I originally wanted to go to; walk in with the plugs box, no problem there you go....$36 (not $88 as per the other crew) 5 litres of oil and check the listing to be doubly sure and (no Purflux around here) we get a locally made oil filter same as I've fitted before......"Now we'll talk to it" says I triumphantly.....Evil BX looks on and rises slightly on suspension as the words left my mouth.[:p]Didn't have an oil filter removal strap, but I usually can take them off by hand anyway (thinks I) no way...it was going nowhere. Tried several tricks but no point in going looking for a remover as the shop were all shut, (and I'd just remembered that I'd forgotten to buy the hose clips due to the drama at the first shop) so no sweat, I grab a large screwdriver and belt it through the old filter[:(!] I heave and I grunt but it still won't turn. I get to the top and begin to belt the crap out of it using a long steel bar; still no joy. Owner walks past (by now beginning to look panicky as she uses car to drive to (shift) work) and casually asks about life expectancy of battery as she fitted a new one about 2 years ago.....Huh???? Then why is the oil filter not only covered in muck but also has corrosion spots from what appears to be battery acid all over it?? and she's done 45,000 since then....Evil BX creaks in disapproval. After using an even larger screw driver the filter moves about an inch. "Ahh, (I think to myself) NOW it'll screw off by hand" Uhh, no; I have to eventually punch holes in it at about 3/4" to 1 inch intervals all the way around and eventually belt it off with a jemmy bar and a ball pein hammer for around 2 revolutions before it decides it will let ne screw it off by hand. My gues is that the thing has been on there for literally years, possibly the gorilla that did it used a strap but the "O" ring had swollen to that amount that it just wouldn't unwind. "She's right, won't take more than 2 minutes now!!" says I with enthusiasm. Try to fit the new filter...won't screw on; by now all the neighbours have either gone out for Dinner or closed the windows and turned the TV up.[V] The dog and cat have retreated to parts unknown shivering in terror. I shine a spotlight in whilst trying to half prop myself up to see behind it; no reason why it shouldn't fit that I can see, so I decide to remove a breather hose for better access (never had to do this before) still no go. I get above and try and notice a bolt and part of the block that seems a bit close, so I remove the filter from the car and measure. It's 3mm larger in diameter than the one in the Xantia, so as I'd just fitted a new one to the Xantia a few days earlier, I take it off the Xantia and it goes straight on.
I have a shower to degrease myself, apologise for the oil, grease and blood all over the garage floor and ask about the oil filters as in when she gets them changed. Producing invoices shows she has been getting charged every 10K for it but if that was correct, I wonder where he keeps getting the battery acid to throw over them[V]
We take it for a test drive and a hill that she reckons normally she has to hold in first or second gear to go over, it runs through the gears as we go up it. Comments that the car has never gone this well since she bought it gives me a sense of relief and some satisfaction. We go back to her place and load up the Xantia for the 410klms trip home and leave at 9.10pm having to drive through a fair amount of traffic and speed limits from 80 - 110 kph, stop for almost half an hour part way for a drink and 'comfort stop' and arrive home at 1.25am.
Wife has Doctors appointment at 8am so off to bed around 2ish; still feel like death warmed up, but at least with the satisfaction that I beat that Evil BX......eventually.
Score:
Good Guys................. 1
Evil BX................... 0
GOTCHA!!
Alan S[}:)]

Unread post by **Jon** » 24 Mar 2005, 02:54

Bloody hell Alan,
Thats got to be post of the month!
Perhaps the previous garage decided that they would put a couple of blobs of weld on the oil filter, just in case it came loose or something!

Stinkwheel · Unread post by **Stinkwheel** » 24 Mar 2005, 03:04

Hmmmmm I heard this story before, only it was myself and a woman down the roads rover 100(metro) that were the main players.
Spark plugs so old and erroded they were probably original (at 30,000 miles) Oil filter very similar to the evil BX (i.e. welded on and obviously also original)
Brakes pads so glazed it had no stopping power at all and an airfilter so blocked that it was breathing like an asthmatic slug.
Dont you love FULL DEALER HISTORY cars !!!

Unread post by **alan s** » 24 Mar 2005, 03:04

Well Jon, I reckoned on a couple of things.
Firstly it's not often you end up winning in those kinds of situations, and
secondly, there's a couple of traps in there for the unwary as well as the solutions as to how you get out of them
The comedy value was just a bonus.....[:o)][:o)][:o)]
Alan S

406 V6 · Unread post by **406 V6** » 24 Mar 2005, 03:09

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Thats got to be post of the month!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Same here!
I don't know why, but i fell so relaxed after reading this...[:)]
Take care guys!

weety · Unread post by **weety** » 24 Mar 2005, 03:16

when i was young i was servicing my girlfriends 1100 fiesta...came to get the oil filter of and it would not budge....even after i hammered screwdrivers through it, ended up having to take the entire oil pump off and drill most of the filter away (then thoroughly clean away the iron filings i had left in the pump)....its a good way to look a total muppet as well.... the quick service taking a couple of days to do!

drpau · Unread post by **drpau** » 24 Mar 2005, 03:47

Very amusing that Alan, I bet you were well up for a ruck at the time though [;)] .

DoubleChevron · Unread post by **DoubleChevron** » 24 Mar 2005, 04:14

Me ??
I can't wait until Jackz finds out the old reliable Ryco 142a didn't fit [:D]
We argued black 'n' blue with him it fitted all Citroens from the '75 CX2000 through to the Xantia [:0] [:o)]
Hmmm, maybe we should send him a PM [}:)]
seeya,
Shane L.

Unread post by **martyhopkirk** » 25 Mar 2005, 12:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by weety

when i was young i was servicing my girlfriends 1100 fiesta...came to get the oil filter of and it would not budge....<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Must be an 1100 Mk1 Fiesta thing - happened with my girlfriends first car a clocked Mk1 Fiasco too. Quick service lasted into the 2nd day as I had to hacksaw off the oil filter (bugger the iron filings). The rear brakes were also gushing fluid when I whipped them off tho clean out the dust I was so confident was causing the judder. Still she married me, despite, or possibly because of me setting light to the car when welding up a sill - and getting something a whole lot better on the insurance!

Unread post by **alan s** » 29 Mar 2005, 09:13

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by DoubleChevron

Me ??
I can't wait until Jackz finds out the old reliable Ryco 142a didn't fit [:D]
We argued black 'n' blue with him it fitted all Citroens from the '75 CX2000 through to the Xantia [:0] [:o)]
Hmmm, maybe we should send him a PM [}:)]
seeya,
Shane L.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Bingo!!!! I didn't think I was going that mad.
Found a pic of the Ryco filter whilst reading another of Shane's postings elsewhere that showed this link; found out why they used to fit and now don't. Earlier ones were a long type filter and the new ones have changed and are now a squat type, with the result that they have altered the size as this pic shows.
Why would Ryco do that instead of simply changing the number? They're not French too are they?

"This is the size of the proper Purflux filter (and the Ryco Z142a)"
I feel beter now.
Alan S

DoubleChevron · Unread post by **DoubleChevron** » 29 Mar 2005, 11:53

Hi Alan,
that filter isn't a Ryco 142a. The 142a is a similar size to the purflux (slightly larger in diameter). It's fitted every Citroen I've owned... ie: CX's of all varieties, BX19tri, Xantia VSX ... possibly even the GS, I can't recall.
seeya,
Shane L.

Unread post by **alan s** » 29 Mar 2005, 13:47

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by DoubleChevron

Hi Alan,
that filter isn't a Ryco 142a. The 142a is a similar size to the purflux (slightly larger in diameter). It's fitted every Citroen I've owned... ie: CX's of all varieties, BX19tri, Xantia VSX ... possibly even the GS, I can't recall.
seeya,
Shane L.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Well I don't know how to tell you this, but the wording quoted in the " " was a cut & paste from your website!![:0][:p]and I can tell you for sure that they have definitely changed size and the car concerned definitely had an old Purflux fitted that is the same as every other Ryco I've swapped for a Ryco through necessity in the past which is why I was so adament that they had fitted before but don't fit now. [:o)][:o)]
The earlier ones were definitely longer and I suspect smaller diameter.
Alan S