C5 new purchase- some questions- gearchange, LPG, stereo

[reblack68]

I went to get some spares off this C5 before it went for scrap with a broken gearbox, having been Relayed back from a trip down south.


DSC_9810 by RichardB5, on Flickr

On closer inspection it transpired that one of the cables had come adrift and there was nothing internally wrong with the box, so I ended up buying it for £250 instead- scrap value pus the cost of the remaining tax. Both the fuel tanks (petrol and LPG) are more than half full too!

It's the outer cable that's come adrift at the gearbox end, so it can get the odd gears but not the even ones or reverse. Are there any tips for securing it again or will I just have to improvise? It's a 1.8 petrol and reverse is next to 4th, not sure what code that makes it.

Does the LPG conversion make any difference to service intervals, reliability etc?

Also- I'd like to transfer a headlamp lens from one unit to another. Removing it from the duff unit won't be a problem but what kind of adhesive could I use to attach it to the good one?

Edit- I knew there was something else I wanted to ask about...

Is it possible to replace the stereo with an aftermarket unit?

[RichardW]

It looks like a BE4R box. The cables are available separately - not too bad at £70 each. The ends are not shown separately, so depending on the failure, repair might or might not be possible. Note there is also a short gearshift link rod, whichis much cheaper - this popped off on our Picasso and was found to be very loose on the ball joint, I was going to replace it, but it never came off again, so I haven't.....

Replacement radio is possible - you need to only connect the power supply and speakers - anything else may send the multiplex into a tail spin! You might to take a permanent live off the fag lighter or somewhere to keep it powered up.

[zipdip]

seems like a good buy,as it is on lpg there is nothing like it ,as regard to service intervals for lpg most systems say 12000 miles but I have found that they do not need servicing that often,lpg systems are very simple,there is a filter that either needs cleaning or changing,they nearly always squirt carb cleaner into the filter box to clean it,try to find out when the system was fitted and what system and when or if it was serviced ,if recently fill the lpg up and check the mileage on your trip meter as the gauges are always suspect,keep a log of what the car is doing to a litre of lpg,you want to be getting between 6 and 7 miles to a litre,if that is so fine if you are getting less maybe a service will help,and above all try to keep a straight face when filling up,its not kind to burst into laughter,when the petrol burners are finding the cost upsetting

[Peter.N.]

This happened to my 406, I sometimes couldnt get reverse as the cable moved away from the the gearchange, I crimped it up using a pair of mole grips and have had no trouble since.

Peter

[myglaren]

Odd gears are the best ones

I often short-shift (1-3-5) and don't seem to have problems. Just like driving an old Ford Anglia

Excellent purchase and worth fixing it to get all the gears though.

[reblack68]

Thanks for the advice/replies everybody. The repair I had in mind involved an indeterminate number of jubilee clips, but closing the mounting up with mole grips sounds easier. Anything has to be better than tying the cable to the exhaust, which seems to have been the previous attempt. £70 isn't the end of the world but obviously I'd prefer not to have to spend it.

The previous owner told me he gets around 25mpg on gas but he drives quite fast. I'm hoping I'll get closer to 30mpg, which will be close to diesel fuel costs. I couldn't pass it up at £250, especially as it has none of the clunks and rattles that you can get on cheap (and not so cheap) French cars. It's had new front discs in the past couple of weeks too.

Thanks for the advice re. the stereo, the potential lack of DAB and mp3 was one of the few "cons" about a C5 for me.

Steve- I often miss out gears too, but it's quite difficult to do without reverse The problem in selecting the even gears also makes it difficult to come out of the odd ones so I'll be glad to get it fixed.

[Peter.N.]

I just bought a 2.2 diesel estate for £300.00, I didn't really want a 2.2 as the fuel consumption is not all that good but it was cheap! its averaging about 40 mpg whereas my 2.0Hdi 406 is doing well over 50 mpg, so I would think should your 110bhp C5.

Peter

[reblack68]

£300 is a bargain price for so much car, just shows there are still bargains out there. I believe you can delete the FAP on the 2.2 but it involves modifying the engine management programme.

We get just short of 50mpg in the 110 estate, that's mostly town and B roads, and it can get close to 60 on a run. I'll be happy if the new one returns similar miles per £.

[CitroJim]

You really have had a bargain there Richard. Well bought!

[citroenxm]

EvEN I would of bought it at that price! I have done a gear cable change... they are certainly available on their own and IIRC after removing the exhaust heat shield the remote control house isn't that bad to get out. I get the feeling the exhaust will need to come away!...

The bottom of the house then levers away to reveal the two cables attached inside the house.. Its an okay job to do, but as you have already said theres the thought of exhaust off and heat shield away. At that price most certainly worth dooing!!

Well RESCUED! What a waste of a car it would have been with out someone just needing to have a proper look over!

P@##@es me off really!

[Peter.N.]

My 406 generally does around 60 mpg on a decent run but the best I have managed with the 2.2 is 49.6 mpg and that is driving very carefully. I had thought of de fapping it but I have bought a litre of Eolys for the time being.

Peter

[reblack68]

I've got it home now and had a better chance to check it over. The gear cable proved very difficult to bodge, it's now secured with a 10" jubilee clip from the exhaust manifold! That's just to get it usable for now, I'm going to have to stump up the £72 for a new cable. I filled it up with gas last night, it was quite a novelty to see the litres advancing faster than the pounds.

First impressions are mostly good. It's not fast, but it's not slow either. It drives nicely and everything seems tight. The previous owners are guide dog trainers and they have two German Shepherds that didn't make the grade (one blind, one stupid) so a bit of a valet is required. There are a few other minor things to put right, but I don't feel a car is really mine until I've done some fettling on it so that's ok. If I can get a usable picture of the gear cable bodge I'll post it later.

[reblack68]

I finally got around to fixing the gearchange properly-ish. I bought a new cable but didn't fancy dropping the exhaust and heatshield- I just knew it would get complicated. If only I could remove the bit I need from the end of the new outer cable and just use that. On closer inspection it turned out that I could, so I did It was a bit of a fiddle to do but it only took just over an hour (including tidying up and a test drive) and, more importantly, 0 knuckles and 0cc of blood. Gearchange now has the precision you expect from a 150k mile FWD car.

The stereo is now fitted and working, thanks to advice from here. I was pleasantly surprised at how neatly it fitted with the correct fascia adapter.

Gas consumption is thoroughly acceptable. Every pump fills the tank to a different level so mpg has to be averaged out over time, but it looks as if it's the right side of 30mpg overall. That's the equivalent of high 50s on a diesel so I'm happy.