CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[CitroJim]

A nice big box of goodies has arrived from Bilt Hamber so all I ned to start my AX rust-proofing project is a spell of decent weather...

In other news, I am in the process of writing my final Citroen Car Club magazine column. A lack of material combined with my own failing health has clinched it. I no longer have the energy to proactively chase down stories and nobody seems keen to offer me anything for publications so... Game over.

For the past few episodes it's been exclusively about my or Alasdair's cars... And with all those, touch-wood, being more or less sorted those sources have dried up...

[CitroJim]

A good day yesterday A clean bill of health at both the dentist and opticians. My eyes have been stable for a few years now and my eyesight is judged to excellent along with my general eye health. I do have the beginnings of a cataract in one eye but nothing to worry about yet.

And later in the day, a very big parcel of goodies arrived

Most of it is stock and was immediately stashed away. The big flat box is a spare radiator. I don't need one yet but good to have one in the stash.

The timing belt kit will soon be going on to Strawberry and already one of those wipers has been fitted to her.

All this came from Autodoc. It's been a while since I've dealt with them and found them excellent. All is correct as ordered, one part not available was rapidly refunded and all delivered very rapidly and efficiently by DPD. I think this was my first time of using them post-Brexit and they seem to have upped their game somewhat. Nothing not to love about them really... How they do it with all the Brexit barriers (I wanted to use another word there!) is quite remarkable.

My next purchase from them will be a timing belt kit and front brake discs and pads for the van along with more AX stock whilst it remains readily available.

And whilst this gorgeous weather persists, I'll be soon be busy with Strawberry's rust protection work.

[PaulC5]

I have used Autodoc a couple of times for exhaust repair brackets and had no complaints. Pity they are a German company and not UK but take some beating. They operate under a few different names when searching but the clue is they have the same head office.

[Zelandeth]

I have two big complaints with Autodoc.

The first is that they have about a dozen websites which means that they absolutely saturate web search results looking like totally different companies.

The second is that their lookup and cross reference system is very much not transparent. It will substitute items that it deems to be equivalent, even if they actually aren't. Like Renault 25 drop links - the part number that arrives is not necessarily the same one you actually order, but it doesn't tell you that anywhere. Same brand, same price, but not the same part. It took me three orders to figure that out.

Their returns process is also absurdly complicated to the point that it defies credibility that it could possibly be that way by accident.

[CitroJim]

Pity they are a German company and not UK but take some beating.

Quite. They look to be British with a .co.uk website but it soon becomes very apparent they're not. I guess many are fooled though...

I have two big complaints with Autodoc.

The first is that they have about a dozen websites which means that they absolutely saturate web search results looking like totally different companies.

Indeed, and you can tell that all the websites have a very similar style about them.

The second is that their lookup and cross reference system is very much not transparent. It will substitute items that it deems to be equivalent, even if they actually aren't. Like Renault 25 drop links - the part number that arrives is not necessarily the same one you actually order, but it doesn't tell you that anywhere. Same brand, same price, but not the same part. It took me three orders to figure that out.

Yes, you have to be incredibly careful with that...To them all AXs are equal... I had massive trouble finding radiator hoses that looked 'right' and know there are many variations. I confirmed that by comparing my AX to Skull's AX last evening...

It was great to see you last evening Skull and I think we could have talked well into the night Shame I have such an early start this morning or we would have!

Going back to Autodoc. To be fair though, they phoned me when had a query with one out of stock item. Shame was, I missed the call as I have all international numbers barred on my phone... They then followed it up with a message to say they'd removed it and immediately credited my PayPal account.

Their returns process is also absurdly complicated to the point that it defies credibility that it could possibly be that way by accident.

And, bizarrely, they vow to make it easier if you will pay them a small fee At least postage was free. So yea, it's far from perfect but these days it's becoming a bit of a Hobson's Choice

Loving this current warm spell... The media are calling it a 'heatwave'. Pah In places I've lived this sort of weather would still be considered to be a little on the chilly side and to me it's still not truly comfortably hot yet...

Worrying to see how skin cancer cases are on the rise as reported in the news...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g0ryrewdxo

So do take care in the sun please. Wish I'd taken a lot more care in the past... You really don't want to go through what I did.

[CitroJim]

Things are definitely looking up After being so totally unable to for so long, I went out for a short bike ride yesterday

It was good... My fitness is absolute rubbish but not quite as rubbish as I'd feared. Several snails overtook me though

I'm now going for a short run before the heat really builds... Onwards and upwards toward rebuilding my fitness. Baby-steps though, I don't want to push it too hard too soon

[Skull]

...To them all AXs are equal... I had massive trouble finding radiator hoses that looked 'right' and know there are many variations. I confirmed that by comparing my AX to Skull's AX last evening...

It was great to see you last evening Skull and I think we could have talked well into the night Shame I have such an early start this morning or we would have!

Yes Jim I’m sure we could have carried on comparing AX’s development between your pair and mine …ideally I’d have got there a bit earlier …maybe catch you again at a show this year and it’s good to hear that you’re making progress on your energy levels

[CitroJim]

…maybe catch you again at a show this year and it’s good to hear that you’re making progress on your energy levels

Will be looking forward to that It may well happen For the first Monday in a long, long time I've woken up feeling good and this weekend has been a very busy one... Not restful by any stretch of the imagination...

I'm beginning to think it's really true that I only thrive in the weather we're currently enjoying: it's the only thing that's changed...

I'm now off out for a run

[MattBLancs]

Enjoy your run, Jim

[CitroJim]

Enjoy your run, Jim

I did! And went for a ride (in the midday sun!) after recommissioning my old Triathlon/TT bike

I have a duathlon planned so need to get some training under way...

[MattBLancs]

You've been embracing the mid-day sun Jim, where as I was hiding from it!
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[CitroJim]

I got the spanners, amongst other tools, out on a car yesterday - remarkably, not a Citroen and not French

Autumn, my granddaughter, can now reach the rear window switch from her car seat. She's had a bit of fun with it since her discovery. That was, until the the window glass stuck half-way up and would move no further - up or down...

The car is an Audi A3 of 2016 vintage.

So, off with the door card. That was the easy bit!!!

Having removed the drive motor, it was immediately obvious the problem was corrosion in the regulator drive cables so not Autumn's fault at all!

So, it was a case of removing the regulator/drive assembly. Audi never intended for the regulator to be removed with an intact window glass in place. The 'ease' or otherwise of extracting the regulator is very much dependant on where the window is stuck. Mid-way is about the best. I was lucky.

A lot of faffing about eventually saw the job done but not before the angle grinder came out to chop off one of the regulator mounting bolts and a bit of ingenuity (and in-door gynaecology) to release the clips that secure the window glass to regulator assembly

Here's the regulator showing it's badly frayed and water-damaged cables:

And the door internals just before temporarily securing the glass in the up position with a cable-tie or two.

This seems a common issue on the A3. Spares are readily available and cheap. A new assembly is les than £40 and will be a lot easier to fit than it was to remove the dead one!

The new one should arrive today.

I'm expecting to have to do the job on the opposite door at some point...

[MattBLancs]

Ha, that reminds me of similar job (and similar failure mode: frayed cable jamming up the mechanism) on my first car, a mark 2 Golf 5 door. One if the rear window regulators.

I don't recall great expense for the part - but was a frequent scrap yard visitor at that point (as the one near me had 5 Golfs and a Jetta, plus a Scirocco to scavenge from at one point) but I do remember how flipping horrible access was!

[myglaren]

I'm expecting to have to do the job on the opposite door at some point...

Spray some WD40 in there and have Autumn exercise it, will probably be beneficial and grind the corrosion away.

[Zelandeth]

Could be worse - a bunch of VWs have a metal panel riveted on the inside of the door that you need to drill out to get to anything. Ideally without putting a drill straight through the wiring loom which is helpfully right behind one of the rivets. Cheers VW, so helpful.

I've never got along with cable operated windows - they've almost invariably ended up with me very nearly smashing the window in frustration when I've had to work on them. Probably because they're about the only ones I've ever really had to do much battle with.