Fleet wise I'm really enjoying the C5, very comfortable and suits me very well with it's ability to act as a spacious family car loaded with toys galore, however the air conditioning sprang a leak from the large/low pressure pipe running out of the compressor plus the condenser showed traces of refrigerant so I decided to replace them both, this job was made somewhat easier/cheaper as I now have a air conditioning re-charge machine so I could monitor gauges and whether the system was losing gas and at what rate. Interestingly prior to buying the machine I'd had the system re-gassed at Kwik-Fit but after a month or so the system had clearly lost gas due to reduced performance so I decided to invest in my own re-charge machine. As far as I'm aware all automatic air con re-charge machines having put the system under a vacuum (to remove moisture) they can then be set to maintain the vacuum for a set period of time (say 20 minutes) test for leaks but from my own discoveries unless the leak is significant holding a vacuum doesn't really show much as I held the vacuum on my C5 for some hours but nothing was revealed. For detecting leaks I've found UV dye works as good as anything else in combination with a 'sniffer' and basic looking for signs of oil on the condenser/pipework. Getting hold of the correct condenser proved to be a bit of a challenge as Citroen wanted (IIRC) over £400 and then working out how to fit the thing proved to be a challenge but with the very hot weather we've been having recently I'm pleased to say the system is working very well indeed.
The DS has had some love and quite a lot of money spent on it by way of fitting a refurbished steering rack as the old one was leaking, as with all things when working on a DS what appears to be the most task can develop into quite a saga, the workshop manual advises removing both front wings but I decided to take a different route and removed the radiator which turned out to be a good idea as i discovered a fair amount of silt within it so took the opportunity to back flush it etc. Withe the new steering rack fitted the steering is lighter and feels far more precise making the driving experience more pleasurable.
Dawn's BMW had a hic-up with the folding roof where it would stall just prior to closing, after several hours observing the roof operation and having a good read of the BMW manual I discovered that the catch for the rear cover had become stiff so after a light oiling normal operation has been resumed.
Danni's C3 is going well without issue, she's now been driving for over a year and doing well, generally becoming more confident with exploring further afield and more importantly whenever I've seen her driving on the road she's been driving very sensibly indeed.
My Xantia has spent the past couple of years being garaged then driven every few weeks simply to lubricate the air conditioning system and keep the wheels rolling so to speak so I've now taken the decision that my ownership of this car has now run it's course, I've been considering whether to sell it for some considerable time now as feel it's time to move on (hence the advert I've just placed on the forum). Last weekend I replaced the timing and accessory belts, changed the engine oil and filter, pollen filter and will be replacing all four tyres as the present ones are showing signs of cracking due to age. Sad day in many ways but I'm facing up to reality that when I sell this car it'll mean that for the first time in eighteen years I'll not own a Xantia
Part of the reason for selling the Xantia is that another car has landed on my drive
I had no intention whatsoever of buying another car then one day when I was out walking my dog a certain car took my eye causing me to remark to the person I was with about what a nice car it was, well one thing lead to another then a few weeks later the beast arrived on my drive. Beast being the operative word as it has a whopping 5.5 litre V8 supercharged engine so accelerates rather well to say the least,,,,,
I have 2 c5's and a Laguna to do soon so think a recharge kit will have rondo 
Almost as cool as mine!
