Citrojim's Pixo, Saxo and Cycling Tales

CitroJim · Post by **CitroJim** » 17 Oct 2010, 09:15

jgra1 wrote: on this day, in 1956, FORTRAN was unveiled, rolled out etc

The grand daddy of modern programming languages

And it's still alive and well... I've never programmed in it but being as it's fundamentally the root of all modern languages, It might not take too much learning.

I love its "PUNCH" command. One to start up the punched tape/card writer. I'm old enough to remember those. My computing goes back a loooooooong way. Don't get me started! 8" floppies, 64Mb hard disk drives as big as washing machines... They were the days...

I'm off in a bit to do oil changes on my fleet, including an oil change on my old V6 gearbox...

I'll report back later...

CitroJim · Post by **CitroJim** » 17 Oct 2010, 19:59

A good and productive day today

Oil and filters changed in both old V6 and the Activa, both cars given a good, long hard check ready for winter and all is good.

Doing an oil change on a V6 is a lot simpler and easier than on the Activa. I'd forgotten just how hemmed in the oil filter is on the TCT engine.

Changed the gearbox oil in old V6 as well. Delighted to see the oil flow out absolutely crystal clear and spotless. It was as golden as when it went in

I got 8 and a half pints out so that's a good half of it...

The gearbox oil does reek though

After doing the job, everywhere I went I could smell cat's pee

Even the curry for dinner smelt of it although that might be an ingredient. You never know if that's the secret of Loyd Grossman's Bhuna sauce. Whatever, it makes a great curry

Got the garden tidied up and looking good for the oncoming winter (hopefully) and rounded the day by giving old V6 a well-deserved wash. It still scrubs up well.

I took new V6 out for a spin last evening, possibly one of it's last runs before its winter lay-up. It's far too good for winter use...

Xac popped around for a bit of steering rack gaiter replacement tuition. He practiced on a rack that had had the surrounding car removed for clarity and ease.

Last jobs before winter really rolls in will be a coolant change in both and a slosh of the old rustproofing jollop around sensitive areas.

Next week I'll be giving Robyn's 206 a close check over ready for its MOT. I know already it will need tyres. Then tax and then insurance..

That's going to hurt the wallet. If you see me busking on a street corner in Milton Keynes in the near future you'll know why

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 17 Oct 2010, 20:41

rack that had had the surrounding car removed for clarity and ease

good stuff Jim.. I managed a final cut on the grass last week, just at the end of season I got the mower to run properly for the first time

very rich and a diaphragm for the carb sorted it

Deanxm · Post by **Deanxm** » 17 Oct 2010, 20:46

much the same myself today with a service on the xm and taking the last fruit off of my pear tree........winter is on its way

D

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 17 Oct 2010, 21:22

CitroJim wrote:....nThen tax and then insurance..

That's going to hurt the wallet. If you see me busking on a street corner in Milton Keynes in the near future you'll know why

Hopefully that won't be necessary. My nephew got a quote from Admiral with his well-earned first year's NCB and it came back a pleasing £650 as opposed to last year's £1200 odd, so finger's crossed.

CitroJim · Post by **CitroJim** » 24 Oct 2010, 07:51

MikeT wrote: Hopefully that won't be necessary. My nephew got a quote from Admiral with his well-earned first year's NCB and it came back a pleasing £650 as opposed to last year's £1200 odd, so finger's crossed.

Hopefully Mike

£650 is a figure that has already been bandied about but that's just part of it

Yesterday I gave Robyn's car a good check over for the MOT and apart from tyres, the only issue I found was a split CV boot. It must have just happened a few days ago

I HATE doing CV boots so I had a natter with the local garage that's doing the MOT and they are going to do the job at MOT time for a very reasonable sum of money.

The tyres on Robyn's car are horrible, cheapos that are barely legal and one has a slow puncture so I've dug deep(ish) and I'm having a set of BFGs fitted this morning. I really want my girl to be running around on at least half-decent tyres this winter.

I gave the little 206 an oil and filter change and found the sump plug had been done up by a gorilla last time. I needed a breaker bar to undo it

The same gorilla ad tightened up the oil filer too. A Pleiades tool would have struggled but by webbing filter removal tool did the job, albeit with a big dent in the filter.

As is typical of a TU engine, it has the normal oil weep out of the head gasket but it's not too bad just yet. It's damp but not dripping.

Finally, a good clean inside (lots of pop bottles and KFC wrappers) and out saw the little 206 looking very tidy indeed.

The MOT is booked for Thursday, the day Robyn arrives home from Iceland (the country, not the shop).

Then it'll need taxing and insuring. My insurance is also due in November.

Christmas is cancelled this year

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 24 Oct 2010, 08:12

Slam a big chunky screwdriver right through the filter and twist it, if that don't shift it nothing will

My insurance is better this year not quite £650/year yet but getting there!

CitroJim · Post by **CitroJim** » 24 Oct 2010, 08:37

red_dwarfers wrote:Slam a big chunky screwdriver right through the filter and twist it, if that don't shift it nothing will

Tried that once Kev, never again

The filter was so tight the can just ripped completely apart and then it was a devil of a job..

You also have to watch the sharp, jagged edges. I know from bloody experience, literally

Chris570 · Post by **Chris570** » 24 Oct 2010, 09:46

red_dwarfers wrote:Slam a big chunky screwdriver right through the filter and twist it, if that don't shift it nothing will
My insurance is better this year not quite £650/year yet but getting there!

Nice idea the screwdriver one but it does leave you with a dead engine until you get the filter off. Seen it before where it just sheers and nothing will shift it. Problem is then you can't start the engine to take it to a tamed gorrila.

I was most unimpressed with insurace this year (being 24) i'm used to it coming down each year considerably but this year i spent a good 7 hours looking and only got it down by £20. although my old insurers wanted to increase my premium at renewal from £700 to £2318!!! (Best price they could get, sir) Needless to say ibuyeco are without my business while swiftcover are

CitroJim · Post by **CitroJim** » 24 Oct 2010, 09:50

Have you tried Admiral Chris?

Good when you have a fleet...

vince · Post by **vince** » 24 Oct 2010, 10:09

The screwdriver approach is dying off somewhat as some oil filters now hve a central core running down into the filter body. a screwdriver would damage that not then allowing refitting of a new filter.

Certainly the case on some Saab's now based on Vauxhall running gear.

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 24 Oct 2010, 12:21

Thanks, useful bit of info that

On a similar note about Vauxawfuls, Dad did a service on the Mk5 Ashtray and had quite a job trying to find the oil filter. Turns out that its underneath the exhaust manifold. I guess there are reasons but the whole thing about making the oil warm before draining it/changing the filter pretty much goes out the window

CitroJim · Post by **CitroJim** » 24 Oct 2010, 17:26

red_dwarfers wrote: On a similar note about Vauxawfuls, Dad did a service on the Mk5 Ashtray and had quite a job trying to find the oil filter. Turns out that its underneath the exhaust manifold.

That's a silly place to put it

They obviously had some French collaboration in the design

maybe that's why the Ashtray that lived down the road from me put a rod through the block a while ago. I heard it knocking one day and then the next, it arrived home on the back of a low-loader dripping oil.

Maybe because the filter is in such a daft place, it was never replaced and blew up the engine?

It's been a good day today. I've done nothing except catch up on happenings in this forum, reply to a slew of Citroen related email and write my December column for the "Citroenian". That alone has taken most of the day. I woke up this morning without a clue of what I'd write about but the creative juices flowed a treat and 7 pages went off to the editor. Last month it was 9 and you'll be able to read those, those of you who are CCC members of course, in the next few days.

The only break as been a run to the garage at the end of the road for the fitting of four new tyres on Robyn's 206. They did the tracking as well and I'm happy to find the car steers absolutely dead straight ahead and the steering wheel is properly centered.

Looking good

Never worry about me not being very active on here in the week. I'm still here and as keen as ever but work turns my brain to mush every day and in the evenings I'm good only for flopping into a chair and quietly loosing the will whilst I try to regain a bit of brain function ready for the next IT-related onslaught...

Every afternoon I come home feeling like an empty shell and by 7 I can just about summon enough brain function to turn on the wireless and listen to the Archers. Doing anything much more constructive is a non-starter

In other news, I'm pleased to learn that a fellow forum member has become the owner of a V6 with a potentially dodgy gearbox. I'm now steeling myself for another 4HP20 rebuild and I'm actually rather looking forward to it.

Luckily, said new owner has the facilities to remove his own engine and gearbox in his barn and I'll most likely do him an exchange 'box.

Before that I must prepare my workshop. I still have a diesel pump in bits in there, the one that I declared beyond repair. I'll reassemble it loosely and throw it into the stash after writing a quick note of it's condition on the side of it...

CitroJim · Post by **CitroJim** » 28 Oct 2010, 21:38

Robyn's car is through the MOT

It initially failed on emissions and needed a new lambda sensor. I was not entirely surprised as I noticed the exhaust was a bit smelly even when fully warm.

The garage also said they thought the cat was on it's last legs and were happy to explain in technical terms why. They also gave an advisory on a corroded front-to rear brake pipe. Hopefully it's an easier job in a 206 than in a 205....

Seems my smell test of an exhaust is a pretty reliable guide

I was very happy with the garage I took the car to. they're close by, very friendly and I could not fault their workmanship

Yesterday I ran to Somerset and back in my MK2 V6. I planned it to be the last journey it would make before the winter lay-up but after driving it on what was a very difficult and rotten journey I'm now not so sure I want to lay it up now. I may have a change of heart and lay up the Activa instead...

I've never encountered such heavy traffic on the trip

The Buckingham to Bicester road (A4421) is currently closed for resurfacing and all traffic therefore has to divert along the A421/A43 and M40. That part was horrendous and at 07:15 was gridlocked. Such was the density of traffic on the A34 that I chose the scenic route down via Swindon. It takes longer but it's a lot easier to drive with a lot less traffic.

On the way home I diverted it completely by carrying on up the A361 past Swindon to Chipping Norton and then cutting across to Buckingham on B roads. It was beautifully scenic but oh so painfully slow due to all the speed limits through the endless small Costswold towns and villages on the route. The mileage was not much different but it added a good hour and a half onto the journey...

The only good thing about it was the car I was driving. My MK2 V6 is indistinguishable from a brand-new car

Deanxm · Post by **Deanxm** » 28 Oct 2010, 21:49

Thats good news Jim, and only a Lambda sensor needed!, seems like you got off lightly

The xm was getting a bit smelly even though ive put a new o2 sensor on it, after the run up to cxm its been fine though although i do wonder how much longer the 18year old cat will last.

D