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

[Stickyfinger]

And as this is a French car forum, here's another of Bluebell enjoying her run the other day

Good to see she still has a shine on here Jim

[CitroJim]

Good to see she still has a shine on here Jim

She shines like Bristol bacon Alasdair

I don't know the origin of that expression but I've known it since I was a small child when it was frequently used to describe something very shiny...

I've never heard it outside of the area of Somerset I was born and brought up in so it may be very local...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Super picture Jim, reminiscent of the Blue Lotus in the Woodland Glade!



https://revelwallpapers.net/w/JVM5bD974 ... apers.html

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Thanks Neil, I must admit I was rather pleased with that one... And taken without wearing my glasses - don't need them for driving - so definitely a 'more by luck than judgement' sort of picture but then again, those can so often turn out to be the best ones...

Taken just by the edge of Clifton Spinney near Newton Blossomville...

[Stickyfinger]

Never heard it Jim....

Been playing...

[CitroJim]

Ohh, nice I like that...

[CitroJim]

I've finally officially heard from DVLA that Bluebell is now properly UK registered and fully road-legal... They returned her M0T certificate and other documents I supplied but no V5C yet... That could take another month to arrive according to their covering letter

I'm also still patiently waiting for my VED refund on Daffodil and Alasdair still awaits her new V5C. DVLA are not very quick these days...

I've found the cause of Bluebell's flatspots when the throttle is floored... Her accelerator pump is not working... Sometimes it gives a little dribble but mostly nothing...

On a little run out in the countryside today I found she runs beautifully and is fully free of flatspots if driven with the choke a little out... In this mode she runs amazingly and is a proper grin-inducing hoot to drive

That she's fine running with a bit of choke explains why I found her choke warning light disconnected and the cable adjusted such that when the choke is fully pushed home the choke was still about an eighth on... Barry the Bodger could not be bothered to find the root cause, possibly many years ago...

I found the fuel filter bears witness to there still being a lot of rubbish in the tank...

I'm replacing it with a reusable/washable one as I can see me getting through a silly number of disposable ones before the tank is clean again!

So, time to have the carb off. Made a bit difficult in that the coolant must be drained a little as the base of the carb is water heated...

I can also see just how bad the wear on the throttle shaft is. I can feel a bit of play and it being wet on the end bears witness...

That'll be weakening the mixture a little too if it's bad... That the end of the shaft is oily and wet - in the vicinity of the accelerator pump cam - suggests it's not very airtight... Having said that, there's no smell of petrol when the engine is running...

I may need to source another carb...

The gearbox is a little whiny at certain speeds but not badly so... There's no sign of it in neutral or when going fast... Disengaging the clutch shuts it up so it's only there on-load... Sounds a bit like final drive to me... Presently it's not anywhere near bad enough to worry about.

Apart from the carburation issue and this occasional whine Bluebell drives really quite sensationally and is an absolute hoot... She reminds me why I so loved my AX11TGE back in the early 90s

[myglaren]

I think the last carb I had any involvement with was on the GS. 1985.

[CitroJim]

I think the last carb I had any involvement with was on the GS. 1985.

Mine was with an SU on a Metro back in the late 90s Steve. I had a K plate Rover Metro with a carb and that must have been one of the last...

I'm well used to dealing with carbs as all my cars had them up until the mid 90s... Those on my R4s and R5s were very similar to Bluebell's and very troublesome so I got well practiced... All that knowledge stuck firm in a corner of my memory and is now proving valuable

Unlike modern injection, I fully understand how a carb works

First car I had with injection was a K plate Vauxhall Cavalier...

[myglaren]

I had fun with an R4 one until I discovered the accelerator pump diaphragm was goosed.

[RichardW]

A man of your skill should be able to sleeve the throttle shaft, Jim!

Had similar trouble on our Visa which has the same Solex carb with the acel pump - the swan neck nozzle was blocked, presumably with dried up fuel. I think I cleared it by soaking it in carb cleaner. IIRC you can pull the nozzle out of the carb body? If you have got crud floating about, you will probably also become adept at removing and cleaning the idle jet....

[CitroJim]

A man of your skill should be able to sleeve the throttle shaft, Jim!

Absolutely Richard I've done the same on a few Pug 205GTi throttle bodies in the past... I used to have a bit of a side-hustle going on with those once...

IIRC you can pull the nozzle out of the carb body? If you have got crud floating about, you will probably also become adept at removing and cleaning the idle jet....

Yes, once the lid is off, one small screw and out it will come... I'm expecting a perforated pump diaphragm as on your R4 Steve as manually operating the pump arm does not feel quite 'right' if you know what I mean... I'd also not be surprised if the passage from the float chamber to the pump was not clogged based on how much crud I found in the bottom of the float chamber when initially investigating poor running and erratic idling.

I've already had to clean the idle jet a couple of times Richard, it's a good job it's easily accessible! Which is more than can be said for the main and progression jets which are buried in the bottom of the float chamber...

Every trip will be accompanied by sufficient tools to whip off the lid and clean jets as and when necessary until I get some degree of confidence all the crud is gone... It could be a while...

[mickthemaverick]

This has just been flagged up from a general AX search I have running Jim, don't know if it's any use to you?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165264324147 ... R6rpjsmYYQ

[CitroJim]

Thanks Mick Apart from having a bit of sediment in the bottom, my tank is good so reluctant to disturb it...

I'd appreciate if you could keep your eyes open for a spare carb though I've no skill for searching for things at all, especially on eBay...

[xantia_v6]

Can you find the carb model number? There are a few NOS and reconditioned carbs available on this side of the ditch.