Confessions of a Citroholic

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

In France, gas cooking appliances are always connected via flexible hoses, [they] come in 3 categories: 5 year, 10 year and 'lifetime'.

so if you're a cheap-skate or anticipate keeping your cooker no longer than 5 years, its 'implied' that you'll blow up yourself and/or your neighbours after 7 or 8 years if you use the cheapest hose, unless you're so organised that you set a reminder to change it... ?!

[Mandrake]

Flexible hoses are a modern thing, cookers used to all be solid pipe fitted.............and rarely cleaned behind.

Back when asbestos was still in vogue ?

Sorry, couldn't resist...

[RichardW]

Seemingly the 307 has a glow plug light - it was -8 this morning, and it came on for an appreciable time - never seen it before in 4 years / 60k!!

The DPF warning light is on in the Picasso now as well.... might buy a used one, clean it, then fit that to the Picasso, clean that one and fit it to the 307.

[myglaren]

-7˚C here yesterday - never noticed the glow plug light as I just reached in to start the car to run while I removed the ice from the car - once I got the doors open.
Started straight away, no hesitation whatsoever.

Poured tepid water over the screens while the engine warmed up a bit.
Went into the house for tools and other assorted rangem and the car was completely frozen over again when I got back.

[CitroJim]

Poured tepid water over the screens while the engine warmed up a bit.

Never a good idea both for the reason you saw Steve and for the risk of cracking the screen due to differential temperature stresses...

A good old-fashioned scrape whilst running the engine to get some warm air going is still my favorite... If I really must... I try to avoid at all costs and if it's a work day I'll cycle in preference to defrosting a car... Or, if I need shopping I'll walk up to the town...

De-icing chemicals never work well for me plus I find them very objectionable and potentially allergenic...

[Hell Razor5543]

I have found that Rain-X (as well as helping to repel rain) is very good where ice is concerned, as it does not stick hard to the windscreen. I can normally brush the ice off.

[CitroJim]

I have found that Rain-X (as well as helping to repel rain) is very good where ice is concerned, as it does not stick third to the windscreen. I can normally brush the ice off.

That's a useful benefit James!

[RichardW]

I always clean the mounting face (*), and apply some copper slip to ease getting them off in the future. Ones on the Picasso were original fit, and 9 years / 100k old. They were well stuck! The second one I made the cut a bit more tangential which resulted in breaking a piece off - and the remainder still stuck fast to the hub! There was enough lip to get the chisel in behind and drive the remainder off. I have used the brakes against the engine in the past to pull the front discs off, but even this was no-go on the Picasso!

* apart from getting rust flake in behind a disc on the 307 once. Which really upset the braking!!

[Mandrake]

Seemingly the 307 has a glow plug light - it was -8 this morning, and it came on for an appreciable time - never seen it before in 4 years / 60k!!

Only -4C in Motherwell yesterday morning - always seems a good bit colder in Lanark! Are you at high altitude or just exposed ?

I had to stay home to look after a sick Joshua so I didn't actually have to venture out in it, and this morning when I did have to go to work was a toasty 0 degrees.

[Zelandeth]

Think the best personal cold-start test I've done was on the L plate Corsa TD. My parent's place back then was right on top of a hill with absolutely zero shelter around us. Valley off to one side did a great job of funneling the prevailing winds straight at us too. Was showing -21C one morning when I got up to head to work, still started first touch - if a bit grumpy about it and complained about it by blanketing the entire area in diesel fog while I left it to warm up.

Plus side of living in the back of beyond: being able to get up, go out, start the car and then go back inside. By the time I'd washed, shaved, got breakfast etc the car would be fully de-iced and warm, waiting for me to go.

Well, except for the odd day when I looked out the window and realised that the car had been completely enveloped by a snow drift (see earlier comment about the exposed location) anyway. Those days the response was to pretend I'd seen nothing and go back to bed as I'd be going nowhere anyway. The road just to either side of us was a good few feet lower than the surrounding fields so just used to fill up with snow the moment any wind got behind it. So digging the car out would be a futile task anyway.

Getting out when the weather was like that basically meant hitchhiking a lift with one of the farmers in a tractor as ploughing that bit was pointless - it would totally fill in again in about ten minutes.

Do I miss it though? Yes I do. The quiet, scenery and air quality mainly. That and I'm a grumpy antisocial sod who quite likes being able to go for a walk for a couple of hours without seeing a single soul! Having said that, having a supermarket less than 18 miles away is at times useful.

[RichardW]

Only -4C in Motherwell yesterday morning - always seems a good bit colder in Lanark! Are you at high altitude or just exposed ?

We're at 190m ASL, you look to be 95m ASL.

I started the Xantia HDi at -18 in 2009 / 10 when it was really cold. About 20s of glow plug light and it started as normal! Had a bit more trouble starting the Xsara Picasso we had at the time after it had stood for a few days - it did go eventually. Ours friends down in the Clyde Valley were unable to start their diesel 307 - I suspect it was a Siemens with no lift pump; probably couldn't make the injection pressure with diesel like syrup!!

[lexi]

Although the higher ground is generally colder, we have many sheltered hollows and glens where it can be much colder than it's surroundings, ie frost pockets. Glasgow Airport can be like this. The other morning was -9 there and it is only 15m above sea level. Lanark is cold though, as is Shotts with plenty snow.

[RichardW]

Been a tad damp here last few days....! Yesterday morning there were huge puddles everywhere, so much so that I managed to get enough water on the clutch in the 307 to make it slip! At least I hope that was why it was slipping - it only did it a couple of times.

Got to strip the rear brakes on the Picasso tomorrow as they are a bit squeaky, and it's in for MOT next week, and the handbrake is always a bit marginal.

Then I will need to get new spring, strut top bearing, rear wheel bearing, drop link, and probably front arms on the 307 before its MOT before end of Feb!!

[RichardW]

Outboard pad on the OS was well stuck in the caliper - and since it is about 1/2 the thickness of the other pads, must have been tight since I put it in there 18(?) months ago...

Looked at the 307 this afternoon - it's been rattling from the NSR for a few weeks. It dried up a bit so I got it on the ramps, then it started chucking it down again Anyway, turns out the front mount on the rear box has dissolved - it has (had!) a plate made of alloy bolted onto the body, connected to the exhaust with a rubber hanger. The alloy part has just turned to dust. I managed to free off the two nuts holding the remains on, and a new one is surprisingly only £15 so I will get a replacement on. Gawd only knows how you get the old rubber off the box - there is a massive swage in the hanger to get it over; I suspect box might have to come off, and be adjusted with the angle grinder

[RichardW]

Very nearly in the "I need a new car" camp this morning - we had a sprinkling of snow overnight, but it was sort of hail over wet roads - and turned out to be like driving on ball bearings! Just a few 00 yds from the house I go down hill on a single track road, and even though I was not going particularly fast it got well out of shape, and I was more than sure I was going to stuff it in the bank. Caught it more by luck than judgement....

Need to have a look at the rear brakes on the 307 as they seem to have taken umbrage at being driven in the snow / rain / flooded roads we have had recently, and are also seized up!

Picasso MOT tomorrow. If we don't have too much snow!