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

[CitroJim]

I did have to cut one of the old ones off!! 30secs with a 1mm disc!

Ahh! The joys of an angle grinder Mick Quick, clean and efficient! An indispensable tool

[CitroJim]

Just seen the MoT sheet for Robyn's C1... Advisories on droplinks and track control arm bushes...

Seems a very common problem on the C1 judging by some brief Internet searches. It appears the whole arm has to be replaced rather than just the bush(s) that is/are worn...

Happily they don't seem to be too costly

[CitroJim]

I'm on day 11 of my current 'run streak' A run streak is a count of runs on consecutive days without a break... My biggest streak so far has been 80 days and that was interrupted by an accident back in March... This time I'm going to try and beat it.

Current running mileage for September is just over 140 miles...

This morning, in distinctly wintery weather I ran the 'Town Signs 10K' taking in all of our rather lovely town boundary/welcome/heritage celebration signs

This is the one celebrating Aston Martin having been resident in the town for virtually ever Whilst they've not made cars here since 2008 there remains a massive and thriving heritage centre and swanky showroom

Aston Martin Town Sign

In other news, I've just ordered a big stash of parts for Daffodil, including front discs/pads, and an RH driveshaft

I've also bought some new top quality winter cycling clothing to replace that lost in the accident and because I will soon need it! It was reassuringly expensive I need good stuff as I feel the cold so badly and in the past I've found the stuff you can get in Lidl/Audi/Decathlon and indeed most mainstream bike shops just does not cut the mustard...

The cost of all I needed was described as a 'the debt of a small third-world country' by one of my friends

But at least I'll be warm

[mickthemaverick]

11 down, that means 69 to go Jim. Enjoy!

[CitroJim]

11 down, that means 69 to go Jim. Enjoy!

That's a great way of looking at it Mick I certainly will enjoy it

I keep a count on my kitchen whiteboard as once beyond three or four I loose count

[CitroJim]

No cars today, except driving Sally... Today has been a running day in my very special happy place; the place I feel most alive, happy and content and where I go to perform a soft reboot once a week or so

Salcey Forest 26/09/20

Today I recorded a very creditable 10K time

10K 26/09/20

But the real cracker was my Half Marathon time... One of my fastest ever

HM 26/09/20

I had no plans to run a fast Half at the start. It was a lovely morning and I just ran for pleasure... In fact my 5K time was nothing special at all but by the time I'd got to 10K I realised something special was happening Makes me wonder what my Half Marathon time would have been had I gone full gas all the way?

It was a gorgeous morning, cold but bright and sunny... You can see how happy I am when running in Salcey

HM Happiness!

Earlier in the morning I'd been out for a short and fast ride on the aero bike... I watched the sun come up and it was magical No photos of that unfortunately as when cycling in darkness there's no point in running the video camera...

In a lovely bit of accidental coincidence I rode 13.1 miles on the bike and then ran 13.1 miles - all totally unplanned

[CitroJim]

Been busy with Daffodil Still loving getting the spanners out and absolutely loving having a project car with a few issues that need resolving

Just after her last MoT her rear LH wheel came adrift. It made both Alasdair and I a bit cautious when driving her and on my way home with her I checked the tightness of the wheel studs several times!

Yesterday I looked into it and found the studs reassuringly tight but upon removal some thread damage right at the end by the taper was evident...

Damaged threads

This suggests that the studs worked loose at some point and the wheel rattled against the threads as they got looser and looser...

This also slightly damaged the threads in the brake drums too but a 'clean up' with a tap and a die on the studs and drum threads have made them more or less serviceable...

I did get some new studs but they're not suitable as they have a shoulder before the taper... I guess they're for a kind of alloy wheel. No worries, they only cost pennies... I now need to source some specifically for steelies...

The wrong studs Gromit!

Happily, there's no rush to replace the drum and the studs as they've torqued up fine and are unlikely to come loose again. I will keep a frequent check on them though

Doing it properly!

This does underline the need to check these thing regularly, especially on a three-stud setup! There's no understanding how they came loose as not long before the car had been given an extended time on the MoT brake tester getting a clean pass on her rear brakes!

Just one of those things I guess... But as said, a good object lesson in the need for regular checks.

I checked the RH rear wheel and happily, no problem there at all

Following the change of cambelt the other week, I started noticing a tiny rumbly noise on low idle. The noise is such that even the smallest increase in revs causes it to disappear. As it might have been cambelt tension related I checked that today, fearing I may have over-tensioned the belt...

What a joy it was to be able to work on Daffodil indoors And in a carpeted workshop too! Sharp eyes may notice I've moved the compressor a bit to give just a little more room... I have two inches of clearance on the bumper corner rather than the half inch previously

Luxury working conditions...

And a bench right behind me!

Workshop bench within reach!

It's not the cambelt tension... So that's a bit of a relief... I now suspect it may be an alternator bearing...

More work needed... Just as it should be on a project car

[CitroJim]

As of today I'm on day 17 of my current run streak (running at least once every day without a break) I'm aiming to run every day this month... You might say I'm planning to become a member of RED October

RED in running circles is an acronym for 'Run Every Day' and in January there's a big, high-profile RED event to raise money for the charity MIND...

My plans to go for a bike ride before the storms hit were frustrated by lost of early storms that were not forecast

So instead I did a bit on Daffodil...

The funny noise on idle is simply the clutch release bearing rattling a little. Nothing serious...

One thing that was annoying me was the filthy state of the battery... I gave it a good clean and it's now much better

A nice clean battery...

I later learned it was used to power an electric fence for a while I did wonder why it had some straw around it!

I then discovered I had a small oil leak... Wet oil spotted down on the bellhousing web...

Wet oil...

And wet oil high up by the rocker box gasket...

Rocker Box leak...

It looks like the rocker box was leaking due to the right hand securing nut being quite loose...

I've given it a little tweak and hopefully now all will be good... If not, I'll replace the rubber rocker box gasket.... After all these years I'm sure it's not as soft and pliant as it once was!

At least it's not the head gasket leaking

Daffodil is certainly keeping me amused...

Tomorrow I'm going to replace a couple of blown dash bulbs...

[CitroJim]

Nothing done on Daffodil today due to other things consuming time and resources... Not least being on the 'phone to LV to negotiate a best price for my insurance on Pix and Sally... Sian is a named driver on Pix and even though she's over 25 now she still makes the policy pricey...

Kids

I did however receive this today... I hate to think what the courier thought when I answered the door to him in my skin-tight trisuit I was riding on my Turbo Trainer at the time around a virtual London and the Surrey Hills when he called... The weather is currently not very amenable to outdoor cycling at the moment...

Goodies...

These boxes contain presents for Daffodil Driveshaft, wheel bearings and front discs/pads

[NewcastleFalcon]

Heavy packets Jim, What was the shipping price for those items. Presume they come from Europe somewhere.

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Heavy packets Jim, What was the shipping price for those items. Presume they come from Europe somewhere.

Regards Neil

Free delivery from Autodoc Neil... Originated in Germany and they seem to have everything for the AX I've used them twice now and find them good...

The delivery takes about a week but when in no hurry it's not a problem

[NewcastleFalcon]

Free delivery from Autodoc Neil... Originated in Germany and they seem to have everything for the AX I've used them twice now and find them good...

Never bought any parts from them, but they do have a youtube channel with over 2000 video tutorials of common jobs on different cars. I have shortcuts to them for the Micra/Clio and Corsa, and always give a clear run through of the job albeit with annoying "music". They also give socket/ torx sizes which can be handy. Never a drop of rust to deal with of course, and they never use an angle grinder .

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

It's been a bit damp down here today and one lovely thing about Daffodil being in a nice warm garage is that I can do little jobs on her whatever the weather

So, today seemed the ideal day to replace some blown bulbs in her instrument pod... An improperly lit pod really does niggle me

How hard can it be? Daffodil's a little AX and not complicated...

The job of replacing the heater illumination bulbs was easy That's a good start!

This first picture gives a clue as what needs to be removed even before you can start to remove the instrument pod

Almost out...

Yep, just as in an S1 Xantia... Steering wheel and cowls along with a number of barely accessible screws

The steering wheel put up a fight!

Then it should be easy but.... Daffodil has a mechanical speedo so she has a speedo cable... It's so tight that it will not allow the pod to move more than an inch and there's no obvious way to get behind it to disconnect it...

Consult the Internet. 'Disconnect the cable at gearbox end and feed a few inches in to allow the pod to come forward...' Yea, right... That might work on a left-hooker but no way on an RHD car... I have 'form' when I once tried to replace an XM speedo cable and nearly scrapped the car it was such a pain to 'feed a few inches in'

Consult the BoL even though my BoL is for an S1... 'Reach up behind the instrument pod and disconnect the speedo cable...'

As much use as a chocolate teapot I'm on my own here...

I found it was indeed possible to get one of my girly hands up behind the pod by going in from underneath... I could feel the cable but could not feel how to disconnect it... I assumed it was clipped on a cone so gave the whole pod a determined pull forward... Success! The cable popped off Then I could disconnect the electrics and out came the pod

The speedo cable end can be seen here:

Speeod Cable..

What a bloody job... Literally... Look at my arm where I went in to feel for the cable

Blood Blister

I did remove my Garmin before putting my hand up there

To be fair, I have very thin skin and these harmless, but nasty looking, blood blisters happen very easily to me...

Needless to say, there's not much room to get your hand up behind the pod and I'll have to do so again to reconnect the speedo...

Then, when I look, I find two different types of bulb and a very fragile PCB that looks like it will break with the least provocation

Fragile!

One type of bulb I don't have in stock but it looks a lot like a Xantia heater panel bulb... Can anyone identify the type of bulb this is please?

Instrument Illumination Bulbs...

Oh what fun it was... It just goes to prove an AX is a genuine real Citroen full of Frenchness just like her bigger sisters

It's a good job I love her

[moizeau]

They look the same as BX panel bulbs as well, I think they pull out of the holder, sometimes damaging the 2 filament wires that make the connection.

[Armidillo]

...
What a bloody job... Literally... Look at my arm where I went in to feel for the cable



I did remove my Garmin before putting my hand up there

To be fair, I have very thin skin and these harmless, but nasty looking, blood blisters happen very easily to me...

Needless to say, there's not much room to get your hand up behind the pod and I'll have to do so again to reconnect the speedo...

...

I sympathise Jim - my wretched skin does the same these days - makes me look like an old man . Doesn't hurt, but it's certainly unsightly! In my case I assume it's partly down to sun exposure - bad enough just living in Australia, but living at about 1,000m above sea level (on top of Great Dividing Range) doesn't help - but apparently the steroids in my asthma medication also make my skin thinner and more prone to damage.