CitroJim wrote:Excellent stuff Simon, delighted the kit worked to make a good exhaust repair. That saved a good cat and a fortune at the same time
Well the only thing we actually used from the kit was one of the conventional u-bolt clamps.

I'll keep the rest of the kit in case I have any further problems. I did check the flare of the fittings to see if they match the flare of the end of the silencer - which it does seem to, and the inner diameter is a perfect snug fit for the end of the cat tail, however because there is a reduced diameter section between the end and the flare its impossible to slide it over the cat tail completely to reach the original weld line, hence going for a different approach which also saved trying to remove the cat from the car!
On the coolant level, I always maintain mine so that when cold the coolant is just lapping at the edge of the round tube you can see in the tank. That I'd say was about 2/3rds full...
Ok, must remember that. I plead temporary insanity, I should know better than to fill up the expansion bottle to the brim when cold!

It certainly gave me a scare when I arrived with coolant leaking all over the ground.

(I bet Richard wasn't too chuffed either

)
That's an interesting article on the gearbox indeed. It'll be a good idea to swap the oil as soon as you can but sadly, on the HP20 the filter is inaccessible unless you strip the gearbox. There is no other access and I've looked very carefully to see if there is but sadly it's an engine out job and a gearbox strip. If you go that far you'd be well advised to drop the torque converter off at Mackie's for a rebuild as well.
I managed to contact Stempy by PM last night to see what his recollections of his gearbox problem cure was, he had this to say: (I hope he doesn't mind me reposting it here)
Stempy wrote:
As I remember the problem I had was caused by low oil level caused by a leak from the oil return banjo union on the side of the gearbox. After I fixed the leak and replaced the oil the problem did not return and the gearbox was fine up to the 120 odd thousand miles it had done when I parted with it.
That's both very encouraging and also a bit worrying. Encouraging that when he fixed the problem it went from 56k miles to 120k miles with no further problems. Worrying that he had problems as early as 56k, and that he found a leak that needed fixing since low oil is so deadly to an autobox.
Can you describe where this return banjo is and what it looks like so I can check it for leaks ?

I hope its not low on oil, I really should have checked it weeks ago but I wasn't sure whether I was chasing an engine problem or gearbox or both at the time...
Another piece of information I've read on the net (taken with a grain of salt) is that if the car has done a high mileage without any changes that there is actually a significant risk of causing problems doing the 1st change - the new detergent in the fresh oil can loosen up deposited sludge allowing it to circulate in the oil (much like doing a hydraflush) and get into places where it will cause trouble...so their advice was actually to not change the oil in a sealed for life box if it has already done more than 100,000 miles without a change...
I wonder if whats happened is the box has had no oil changes until lexi did one last year at 98,000, and in the 2000 odd miles since the sludge has detached and started circulating and causing problems...the oil may have looked relatively clean at the time he changed it if the gunk was still caked onto the surfaces...if this is what has happened the only way forward is to do another change ASAP to see if any sludge is removed and do a second change in a few hundred miles.
When you drain you'll get about 4.5 litres out if you really try. I find it best to raise the front high on stands and let the rear drop as low as possible and then the drain plug is at the lowest point. I'd be tempted to do two changes in relatively quick succession.
Yep that's how I did my HP14 - front of the car up on ramps, drain the oil, put the plug back in, roll the car back down onto the ground without starting it, then top it up. So you think I should get a minimum of 5-6 litres ?
Best place to get LT71141 easily is from a Citroen dealer. It's available under part no. 9736.22. Else that, if you plan on more than one change then go for 20 litres of the stuff from one of the wholesalers.
I think I'll do that. A 20 litre drum (which would allow 3-4 changes I guess) is rather pricey when I don't know if it will cure the problem, and could take a bit of time and trouble to source. I have a Citroen dealer a mile down the road that I've got parts from a few times now, so I think I'll just phone them on monday and see if they can get me 5-6 litres ASAP.