Citrojim's AX, Saxo, Pixo, Running and Cycling Tales

[CitroJim]

Been a good day today, despite the monsoonal weather..

Xac called round last evening with a split CV boot kit for Juliet. We looked at it and it seemed good, it's the type of CV boot that purposely split for ease of fitment. Once fitted it's superglued together. Basically with these there's no need to dismantle the joint or remove the driveshaft.

It all seemed good in theory. I'm sure that in practice these kits would be wonderful but alas on an Activa LH driveshaft inboard joint it's a bit of a different story. Until today I never realised just how inaccessible the LH driveshaft is. It is really hemmed in by the Activa ram and it's associated pipework

I tried though and almost managed to get it to work but in reality the job did not turn out good at all. I then looked at it and thought the MOT man is going to take one look at it and think it a bodge. I reckon these split boots might work fine with the driveshaft removed but that defeats the object of them a bit. Maybe on a different car with more access to the driveshafts it might be OK.

Rather than risk a fail on this, I swapped driveshafts for a spare one. Job done but then there was the question of topping up the gearbox oil. I measure the amount that had spilled from removing the driveshaft and refilled an equivalent amount through the reversing light switch hole. That's not wonderfully accessible either but better than the alternative...

That's the recurrent theme with an Activa - access, access and access or rather, the lack of it

Then I remembered I'd not refitted the spare wheel carrier. That done, out came the ELIT to diagnose the airbag light. That was easy, just a reseat of the airbag collector under the driver's seat

Xac then took Juliet off for her MOT. I'm delighted to say she passed with flying colours except for an advisory on thinness of brake pads and the handbrake lever being near the limit of travel. The handbrake itself was good - as I found out earlier on when I managed to undo a very FT hub nut against it when swapping drivehsafts.

More good news: Robyn is coming to Somerest with me tomorrow. We're going in New V6 to see Mum and Dad and also to call in on Toby_HDi on FCF Courier duty...

On departing the Wetherby rally the other week, Rhothgar let me know one brake light was out on New V6. I've only just go round to replacing it this evening

[Toby_HDi]

Excellent Jim, good stuff. 100 pages!

I can certainly sympathise with your comment on Activa access. Never thought I'd say it but V6 access is lovely by comparision.

Sounds like you could have done with my torque wrench for the hub nut again!

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

[CitroJim]

I had to stand on the breaker bar Toby so yes, yours would have been very handy!!!

Never thought I'd say it but V6 access is lovely by comparision.

I'd say positively spacious

[vince]

Hi Jim,

The quality of scretch boots seem superior to the split ones...

[Xaccers]

Hi Jim,

The quality of scretch boots seem superior to the split ones...

The problem was GSF/ECP don't do the boot we needed, and the local dealer quoted over £50

[CitroJim]

I'll be after a good stretch boot for the driveshaft. I have my trusty boot cone to fit it. So Vince, do GSF stock suitable ones then?

Trouble is, with the wonderful GSF login system it's now hard to quickly check

A great day today Robyn and I set off at 06:30 and did the M1/M25/M3/M27/A31 run down to Ringwood to see Toby and then left Ringwood and followed as far as Wincanton the route of the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway before joining the A303 and heading for Dad's.

On the way back we took the scenic route along the A37 and A361 and were amazed at the amount of traffic around Pilton, mainly RVs and catering wagons, going into the Glastonbury site to set up essential services ready for the mudbath that usually characterises the Glastonbury Music Festival this coming weekend

The rest of the journey was most pleasant and having Robyn for company was great new V6 performed faultlessly and is a wonderful car for that trip. I've arrived home very fresh and not tired.

Much of our conversation was about Robyn beginning Uni at Aberystwyth. She's looking very much forward to the adventure and I can see New V6 coming in very handy for that trip too... Firstly though, and soon, we're going to take the train there for a day out just to see how practical and reasonable it is for Robyn to do the journey by rail as it is very unlikely she'll be able to keep and run her 206 whilst at Uni...

It's been a good weekend

[CitroJim]

It's been one of those weeks. Heavy IT, returning home brain-dead and nursing an aversion to anything resembling a PC

Hence my relative absence. It was noticed. I received a phone call today from a regular member who asked if I've been away somewhere on holiday

Some heavy spanner therapy was required and along with Xac today, that was delivered care of another good bout of work on Juliet

As Juliet is Xac's I'll leave to him to fill in the details of our achievements today...

I did intend to use the word 'travails' to describe our efforts today, believing travail is French for work. Sadly in English it is entirely wrong for our achievements today. I quote the definition:

1tra·vail noun \trə-ˈvāl, ˈtra-ˌvāl\
Definition of TRAVAIL
1
a : work especially of a painful or laborious nature : toil
b : a physical or mental exertion or piece of work : task, effort
c : agony, torment

It was none of those Perhaps a little of B but certainly not A (well maybe just a tiny bit) but definitely not C!!!

The therapy worked well... I'm feeling good and it amazes me still that a day sitting at a desk at my professional travail (definitely definition A, B and C all apply) leaves me far more exhausted and feeling completely empty-tired than ever a good long hard day of spannering does...

I'm clearly in the wrong job I guess spannering brings satisfaction whereas the constant battle with Bill Gate's finest does not...

In other news, Old V6 was found in very fine fettle with a nice dry HP pump when checked over this morning and Activa is out to play for the weekend. I drove her this evening after well over a week of sitting doing nothing (Activa that is, not me) and I loved every second even though it was just a trip to Tesco. I took a very long and deviating route back home

[Xaccers]

It was a really good day Jim!
Wish I was free tomorrow to finish the rest of the jobs.

[CitroJim]

Well, that was a week just gone by... Hectic and busy and sadly so little time for spannering or this forum

I went to Somerset on Sunday and for no other reason that it was the easiest of the V6s to get to, I went in old V6 but there was a job I HAD to do and that was to fix an essential part that had been non-operative for a while.

That essential part was the cruise control. Cruise is one of those things that once you've experienced it you never want to be without it. The thought of driving 330 miles without it was too much to bear...

A quick check showed it to be the usual old problem; a split in the vacuum pipe where it fits onto an oversize spigot on the vacuum pump. The pipe is too tiny for the spigot and it has to be stretched too far to make it fits and it splits as a result. To (hopefully) overcome this issue I did a modification involving a piece of washer hose, which is a nice snug fit but not too much of a stretch on the spigot, and a reducing coupler that is a better match to the size of the original vacuum pipe. My first attempt did not work as there was just the teeniest vacuum leak which was enough to stop it working. My second attempt was fully successful.

Today I had a day off to much catching up on neglected tasks from last week and even found time to complete my little hydraulic pressure gauge project.

Here it is:



This allows a gauge to be teed into the 4.5mm main hydraulic feed from the pressure regulator and thus to be able to confirm the regulator is cutting in and out at the right pressures and there are no leaks sapping away pressure.

The tee is made of brass and tapped to act as a female hydraulic union (it's what I needed an M9 tap set for) and brazed into this tee is a 4.5m feed pipe ending in a male union to screw into the pressure regulator and a branch pipe to the gauge. The gauge adapter had to be specially made and again brazed to the pipe.

It was a stern test of my brazing skills as it has to stand at least 170 bars of pressure and that's a lot. It's 2500 PSI in proper units of measure

I tested its basic integrity on the sphere tester and took it to 80 bars without issue.

I then put it on the Activa and gingerly started up with a spanner on the bleed valve just in case it decided to go bang so that I could release pressure quickly.

It didn't and here it is reading 150 bars:



It was interesting to watch what happened on the gauge as the engine started and pressure built. It quite quickly reached 80 bars or so (security valve opening pressure) and then stayed around 80 or 90 bars for some time as the rest of the system charged. Then the pressure slowly rose to 160 bars, a click signified the regulator had cut out and then the gauge slowly fell to just above 140 bars whereupon the pressure started to rise again to 160 bars as the regulator cut in. Soon another click was heard as the regulator cut out.

So, my regulator is a bit down but only by 10 bars so for now it's good enough.

What was amazing was how long the car held pressure after switch-off. It fell to around 120 bars and stayed there for ages before dropping to around 90 bars. At that time I had to attend an emergency in the close. A manhole cover was lifting and spewing raw sewage down the street A neighbour and I got our rods out and set to a very unpleasant task. Our drains around here are terrible.

Anyway, it was one hour and 20 minutes before I looked at the gauge again and it was still reading 90 bars. I released pressure at that point and reassembled the car.

I'd love to know how much longer it would have held on to the pressure...

Still, it all looks good on the hydraulic front.

The day was nicely rounded off by a quick visit from Rhothgar who turned up on his Harley. A seriously lovely bike that and it sounds heavenly

Hoping this week will be a bit less hectic than the last.

[vince]

Nice one Jim, inspirational as always

[CitroJim]

Time for an update, it's been a long time...

In the weeks running up to the National Rally, I was becoming very fatigued from work. So much so that I was loosing interest in things cars as I simply had no energy to do anything, barely enough to look on here. I was absolutely exhausted and needed a break so the week after the National I took as leave. A great (albeit wet) National was a real perk-up and the following week was great. I was alive again and enjoying playing cars, even my posting rate went up, both on here and Club-XM. I really had a great week off, a great time and a very enjoyable time on Saturday battling Citroenesque's new Xantia and seeing John (jgra1) again

I've been back to work a week and in just one week the old exhaustion is back with avengence. The bloody job is slowly killing me and making me very unhappy and discontent. Today it has taken all day to get a bit of life in me and to be able to face again logging on to a PC and visiting here, my email and Club-XM. I get to the point where the PC is a monster in the corner I just don't want to go near. After a day of intense IT work, the last thing I want to do is to look at another one, even if the content is different.

I've got to do something to resolve this or I'm going to go under. I'm thinking I need to get out of IT. I can't go on just doing work, coming home exhausted, getting up, going to work again for five days and then spending half the weekend recovering before I can enjoy my pastime again. Trouble is, I fundamentally enjoy my job and the people I work with but it's just too intense and full-on which spoils it completely.

I know it's not me (or anything inherently wrong with me) as I can spend a week of intense spannering here in my workshop and not feel tired in the same way as I do when at work. Heavy spannering brings on the sort of tiredness at the end of the day that is physical but leaves you feeling mentally fresh and happy. Intense IT causes a mental tiredness that leaves you feeling wretched and miserable.

Enough of that. I spent too much time at the National amongst the XM owners and their enthusiasm rubbed off a bit. Despite having fallen head over heels for a V6 Activa after driving one and considering building one as my next project, David Hallworth demonstrated immaculate timing by offering his dead S2 XM V6 for sale the day after the National. It's dead on account of a duff gearbox and it had my name written all over it.

Needless to say it's mine now and I'm awaiting delivery. After a few hiccups in that area, it's due to be picked up on Wednesday and be with me later in the week. Hopefully by the weekend. If I have any energy left by the weekend again then you know what I'll be doing...

The back end of last week I gave the workshop a thorough clean and tidy ready for the XM and partially stripped a spare gearbox I acquired long ago for £30, condition unknown but believed OK. The partial strip has revealed it to be quite good despite some horrible, black oil in it, most of which I spilled over the garage floor So it looks like I'll be able to use it as a spares donor for the XM. Although from a V6 406 originally, I'm not tempted to use it as-is without a rebuild and the nagging doubt remains over its compatibility so best to take from it whatever the original XM 'box needs to get it healthy again.

This is a shot of the XM:



It has multipoint LPG fitted and that's going to be interesting as well. I've never had any experience with it so something new to get my teeth into...

I've not driven my Activa since the National so this evening I took it out for a spin... As usual, it was a real pleasure. I may not drive the Activa very often but when I do it always puts a smile on my face. Maybe I should use it for work; it might make it a bit more bearable

[demag]

Stiff upper lip and all that Jim! I know how hard it can be, I'm supposed to be looking after an automated warehouse system but have hardly stepped out of the office this week due to being wracked with chronic backache. Plus being the wrong side of 60. and I will be up at 4.30am in the morning to spend another lovely day at it! You need to get in the garage and get some of that green blood and atf around your fingers! Ah I can smell it now!

[DickieG]

I know exactly how you feel Jim, I and my colleagues are absolutely exhausted at the end of each week due the high level of concentration being applied all day long, eventually your batteries run flat due to the lack of charging. Interestingly quite a number of my colleagues have left the job recently and every one of them state that after about six weeks of no longer having have your eyes out on stalks and concentrating 100% they found that they could now sleep properly at night and feel far more energetic overall.

The problem with a lot of work places and I know this applies to both yours and mine Jim is that some chinless wonder who's never done the job is looking to get a tick in their box for promotion and see's an opportunity for 'greater efficiency' not caring one jot for the fatigue that they now build up within their workforce which ultimately results in an overall loss of efficiency due to higher levels of sick days being taken and the significant loss of morale which causes resentment and if anything a loss of efficiency as staff are no longer willing or able to go the extra mile to make the job work.

This story in the press today is a typical example where HMRC are found to be struggling to cope with their workload suffering from poor management and demoralised staff, so what do this stupid government do? Cut their staff by 10,000, now that a really a good idea in times where the present level of staff can't cope and yet we need to collect as much tax as possible, unless I'm very mistaken I'd have thought that a revenue collector would be self funding.

[CitroJim]

Richard, you've really hit the nail right on the head, especially with this paragaraph:

The problem with a lot of work places and I know this applies to both yours and mine Jim is that some chinless wonder who's never done the job is looking to get a tick in their box for promotion and see's an opportunity for 'greater efficiency' not caring one jot for the fatigue that they now build up within their workforce which ultimately results in an overall loss of efficiency due to higher levels of sick days being taken and the significant loss of morale which causes resentment and if anything a loss of efficiency as staff are no longer willing or able to go the extra mile to make the job work.

This is a root of the problem in HMRC and likely right across government.

So cut-back are we that for the past two years I've been doing my jobs (I have two distinct ones) absolutely alone, no assistance and worse, nobody to bounce ideas off and discuss how we might solve a problem. And I'm not alone in this. Our morale generally is not zero but negative...

What's worse is that if a manager or some other breed of paper-pusher needs assistance then its there, almost instantly. I know of no managers working alone but when an engineer needs bolstering, forget it "Sorry, we have no resource for that" You'll most likely find that HMRC has a similar problem. They have hordes of managers and admin staff that contribute little to the overall work of the organisation but very few real workers, the quiet minority that work their balls off to get the job done. So pushed are they that although they're doing their best, the overall nett result is a poor service.

Like us, I expect their manager to worker ratio works out something like 10:1

Our managers spend almost their entire life in meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to decide how much more work to off-load on to their few workers. Managers don't actually do any work, they like to think they do, speaking of making "strategic decisions" but in reality they just talk the talk and foist the real work onto others. I've never seen a stressed manager yet When it all goes belly-up (normally it does) they blame the workers for being unable to make their (usually) flawed "strategic decisions" work correctly.

You need to get in the garage and get some of that green blood and atf around your fingers! Ah I can smell it now!

I will be doing that very shortly, and it'll be more ATF than LHM today Now that I have recovered a bit from the week. That'll make me feel a bit better - until tomorrow when the merry circus starts all over again...

[red_dwarfers]

When it all goes belly-up (normally it does) they blame the workers for being unable to make their (usually) flawed "strategic decisions" work correctly.

I'm starting to learn all about this...