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

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
Deanxm
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Unread post by Deanxm »

Havnt got any this time but when we had that couple of weeks of snow at the beggining of the year i had icicles around two feet long hanging off the roof of the house, very unerving walking under them :lol: this time though daytime temps arent coming above 0oc, its almost too cold to be working outside at the moment, its hard to remember tinkering with the cars in a T-shirt now and firing up the BBQ afterwards at 9pm for dinner!!.

Following your gearbox chinanigans closely as always Jim, looks like great fun.

D
XM Prestige PRV6 92
Talbot Express Autotrail Chinook 89
Mitsubishi L200 Trojan 14
Xantia Activa 95, sold (missed)

Service Citroen is awesome, it shows me pictures of all the parts i used to be able to buy............
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CitroJim
A very naughty boy
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Unread post by CitroJim »

Deanxm wrote: Following your gearbox chinanigans closely as always Jim, looks like great fun.
I'm convinced autoboxes are easier than manuals Dean. The MA is a right tricky little devil :twisted:

One nice fortuitous discovery I made was that the MA and BE3 use the same driveshaft seals. Strangely joined-up thinking on the part of PSA there...

The rebuild has begun; two are becoming one although progress has been halted a bit today due to the indirect influence of the weather requiring snow clearance and then writing up the February column for the Citroenian...

Houses around here are wearing some pretty impressive icicles. Haven't they killed people in the past in dropping off?
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Deanxm
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Unread post by Deanxm »

I would have thought so yes, i think in colder climates where this is all normal they are removed just in case, they can get bloody big.
I think Autos are much easier, ok ive never done anything major with a manual box but there seems like a lot of pingfodoin potential with a Manual whereas with the auto provided you leave the valve block alone there is none, glad its all coming together anyway
XM Prestige PRV6 92
Talbot Express Autotrail Chinook 89
Mitsubishi L200 Trojan 14
Xantia Activa 95, sold (missed)

Service Citroen is awesome, it shows me pictures of all the parts i used to be able to buy............
robert_e_smart
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Joined: 23 Oct 2009, 10:51
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Unread post by robert_e_smart »

its almost too cold to be working outside at the moment
No, no, no, wrap up and keep moving! With school being closed due to the poor weather on Friday, I got the engine pulled out of my old estate, and the rear subframe removed from it yesterday!

I hope I never need to do any work on gearboxes, thankfully I have 3 XM auto boxes spare now; I like to have all my bases covered!
1990 XM 2.1 Turbo SD
1991 BX 16 TGS Auto
1992 ZX 1.6 Aura Auto
1994 Xantia 2.0 16V VSX
2008 C5 2.7 Exclusive
Deanxm
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Unread post by Deanxm »

thats only 1 per xm isnt it Robert? your going to need more spares :lol:

And anyway, it must be the wiskey thats keeping you going, getting the strut tops off of this xant today was a rather refreshing experience i can tell you!

D
XM Prestige PRV6 92
Talbot Express Autotrail Chinook 89
Mitsubishi L200 Trojan 14
Xantia Activa 95, sold (missed)

Service Citroen is awesome, it shows me pictures of all the parts i used to be able to buy............
robert_e_smart
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Joined: 23 Oct 2009, 10:51
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Unread post by robert_e_smart »

thats only 1 per xm isnt it Robert? your going to need more spares Laughing
Yup, but I can get away with it, the 2000 TD auto has been sold, so that reduces my exposure by a third until I find another auto, plus it has one of my good TD valve blocks. :(
1990 XM 2.1 Turbo SD
1991 BX 16 TGS Auto
1992 ZX 1.6 Aura Auto
1994 Xantia 2.0 16V VSX
2008 C5 2.7 Exclusive
lexi
(Donor 2020)
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Unread post by lexi »

On the Autos. Aint it great:
* To have no troubesome clutches, pesky clutch kit and cables etc etc. . Then the gearbox and cheap nylon bushes that fail. The stretchy gearchange linkages too. All adds up. Sorer on driveshafts as well.

I'm aware of the downsides but that lot above can be torture on parts prices and labour.
Citroen C5 1.6 HDI 110bhp Estate 06 plate

French Mistresses gone.
Citroen C5 HDI Mk 1 hatchback
Vel Satis 3.5 v6
ZX 1.9D Est.
ZX 1.9DHatch
Xantia 1.9td est.
Xantia 2.0 hdi Est.
Xantia V6 MK1
Xantia V6 MK 2
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CitroJim
A very naughty boy
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Unread post by CitroJim »

I quite agree Lexi and I really don't understand why the automatic has not completely and totally eclipsed the manual gearbox/manual clutch in recent years, especially in all those vehicles just used as A to B transport in urban gridlock. An auto in heavy, crawling traffic is bliss...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
vince
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Unread post by vince »

You know Jim i love autos but im not afraid to admit im scared of the citroen Xantia autos as they do seem to like failing :cry:

A V6 auto......heaven on wheels 8-)
1993 Citroen xm 2.1td, silver/grey, bowling ball wheel trims, 210k and climbing...
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

vince wrote: A V6 auto......heaven on wheels 8-)
You really should take the plunge Vince... You would really love a V6. Have you driven one? If not, we can fix that :wink:
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

Ran down to Somerset in the New V6 on Sunday to see the folks. The girls came with me and we had a great day. V6 ran like a dream.

Monday I'd planned to do a little light spannering on Old V6 to sort out the starter motor; it was a little reluctant to disengage on the first start of the day.

Before getting to Old V6, I gave New V6 a quick check over after her run and was shocked to find a puddle of oil under her. Closer inspection showed it to be transmission fluid :o

the cause was a leak at the Banjo union on the end of the gearbox where the pipe from the cooler terminates. It was a tad loose and a tighten has almost stopped the flow but not completely. I need to replace the copper washers eiter side of the banjo.

Here's the guilty party:

Image

In 300 miles the gearbox lost a litre and a half of fluid. Good job I spotted it. A leak like that could have pumped the 'box dry...

Then I got the starter off Old V6 and gave it a check. Again, as is par for a V6, the motor comes off easily enough but space is a bit tight and the 10mm studs holding its heatshield on are a bit of a game, being in very close proximity to the front bank exhaust downpipe.

On the bench, the problem turned out to be a sticky pinion shaft. My fault. I lubricated it sparingly when I did the rebuild and only later did I learn that shaft should be clean and dry. The lubricant had gone very tacky and was enough to hold the pinion in engagement with the ring gear for a moment after the engine started.

A good clean up and all is now very good indeed.

Xac came round in the afternoon and we set about replacing his damaged auxiliary belt tensioner. Lots of fun as reported in Xac's blog :)

I did hope to take the Activa out for a spin, it being a nice day. It's too wet and dirty again now so an Activa run is now postponed until another dry day is upon us...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Citroenmad
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Unread post by Citroenmad »

Lucky you caught that leak when you did Jim!

Glad all of your lovely Xantias are going well :)

Its been difficult getting a dry day recently, ive been wanting to get the Xm for a run out but ive failed to find a suitably dry and salt free day.
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
.
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
robert_e_smart
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Unread post by robert_e_smart »

Keep that XM wrapped up Chris, the estates are particularily susceptible to the salt.
1990 XM 2.1 Turbo SD
1991 BX 16 TGS Auto
1992 ZX 1.6 Aura Auto
1994 Xantia 2.0 16V VSX
2008 C5 2.7 Exclusive
Citroenmad
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Unread post by Citroenmad »

Yep, i wont be taking it out just yet. I started it up today and ran it for a while, started no problem despite being stood for about a month now.
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
.
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
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DickieG
Monaco's youngest playboy
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Unread post by DickieG »

Good spot on the leak Jim, isn't it strange that a bolt can stay sealed for 12 years and suddenly start to leak :?
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14 BMW 535D Tourer
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