Rattiva the Second...

[CitroJim]

Thanks Richard The reason it ends up shiny is that it falls toward the hub and rubs there, not actually on the sensor so with any luck the sensor will be fine... One hopes...

Thanks for the welcome to the HDi club It's one heck of an engine!

[Chris570]

The front corner spheres defeated me They are rock solid and I've never known such a thing before. A Pleiades tool and a hammer failed to budge them But then the 'give' in the strut top makes blows to the tool a bit ineffective. Any removal tips as they truly are FT and I've never encountered that before...

I'm sure our patented "bike rack extension" can shift those for you

[addo]

To crack the front spheres, a few "shonky" options.

First try on full height engine stopped, a cold chisel on edge (or a plugging chisel, bevel up) at the sphere neck welds. Be confident in your blows. Then let the car down, bleed pressure off and crack a front feed pipe to be sure.

Second trick (if still wedged) is to let the gas out; Robert will attest to this method working. Now if necessary you can completely destroy the sphere in removing it, with no worries about explosion.

[robert_e_smart]

Yes, letting the gas out will help relieve the pressure and get things moving.

The cold chisel is still effective at getting the buggers to turn. Or get a re-gas rig, and you have no need to remove them! (Provided they aren't burst).

[Citroenmad]

Your new arrival looks good Jim, at least the colour is a change for you

Nice idea to keep the Activa and V6 away from the salt, it can be alarming how much it has an effect on some cars. Im pretty sure its why our cars are relatively new compared to a lot of other countries who use sand etc and not highly corrosive salt. My Activa shall not be seeing the salt either.

[CitroJim]

Your new arrival looks good Jim, at least the colour is a change for you

Yes, it's nice to have a Mauritius blue car for a change Chris My smallest expense is on touch-up paint... There's an advantage to having a mainly blue fleet...

I ordered in all the spares today. £23 for an engine mount was not bad.. here's hoping the weather holds and I can get it done, dusted and MOT'd very soon...

On the spheres, I tried releasing any potential pressure behind them by loosening off the feed pipes to the strut tops and found there was no pressure there at all, not a sausage. That leads me to think more and more the spheres are both the originals and ruptured...

Trouble with using a lot of welly on them is straining the strut tops themselves... I shall try the trick of hitting the boss with a big hammer via a brass rod as was the method used on CX rears I believe - see if that works...

Work is now at a halt due to the need to go to work and dark evenings

[DickieG]

Work is now at a halt due to the need to go to work and dark evenings

You need a nice bright Snap On torch

[CitroJim]

You need a nice bright Snap On torch

Good thinking Richard

[Citroenmad]

So I guess the suspension is a little on the firm side if you suspect ruptured spheres

Yes, I guess there is an advantage to having the same colour shade, at least you have that nice red one to split them up

Is your HDi Exclusive fitted with a preheater? Could be handy this winter

[CitroJim]

The car sinks at the front and I have a suspicion the corner spheres are ruptured Chris... I at least want to eliminate them...

Is your HDi Exclusive fitted with a preheater? Could be handy this winter

Yes, it has, the Erberspacher Not tried testing it yet.... It could be very useful if the weather is going to be a bit chilly this winter.

If noting else, it'll give the neighbours a bit of entertainment on a cold morning

[Citroenmad]

Ah, yes quite possibly, always pays to check the spheres on a new purchase too.

If its anything like the one on our VW, it'll sound like a small aircraft flying low over head

[Northern_Mike]

Yes, it has, the Erberspacher Not tried testing it yet....

I started the car up one morning last winter and it made a jet-engine type noise and some smoke came out. Scared me half to death.

It never did it again mind you, so whether it works or not is another matter.

You'll have more fun with the heater flap thing. Have you discovered the "manual" control flap under the dash? It flips through 90%. Pointing forwards gives you hot air, pointing to the drivers side gives you cold air. The fault with the temperature control is that the stepper motor is lying on the floor under the dash somewhere and is U/S. I never bothered with it as you know. I set it to blow hot in winter, and cold in summer, though with the recent odd weather, I've actually got quite adept at moving that flap while driving, though I recall I am a little taller than you and probably have longer, if not as nimble arms..

[CitroJim]

You'll have more fun with the heater flap thing. Have you discovered the "manual" control flap under the dash?

It's well hidden Mike I've had a look but I can't find it.... Can you gibe more precise directions please!!!

Mind you, I've gone down with an attack of the lurgy and therefore I'm not properly functioning at the moment...

So, as a result, no progress even though I have the new bushes and flexi hoses sitting here.. I skipped ECP because they were out of stock, GSF and their obtuse website was too much trouble so I went to AEP in the end... Good service too. A salesman that knew what he was talking about and quick service..

The ABS ring is on it's way and the engine mount should be here tomorrow...

[CitroJim]

Found the lever now following a natter on FB with Mike and searching this fair forum for a Clogzz post and this picture:



Thanks Mike and Clogzz

I never knew you could get your hand that far up the heater box!!!!

The phpBB search function works a lot better as well

[myglaren]

Found the lever now following a natter on FB with Mike and searching this fair forum for a Clogzz post and this picture:



Thanks Mike and Clogzz

I never knew you could get your hand that far up the heater box!!!!

The phpBB search function works a lot better as well

Was that a Froidian slip?