Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
ekjdm14
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Excellent blog Van, hugely interesting to the point I've just read it all (at the expense of getting a move on with a CV boot prior to the Escort MoT at 1pm!) but I have to ask, if it's not too prickly a subject, how on earth did all your tools/engines etc end up getting scrapped? :(

Also, I'm in need of a new jack really, my current "old faithful" is a very small no-name grey item of probably 1-tonne capacity I pulled from a skip probably in the region of 10 years ago. It's seen all sorts of abuse in my "ownership", sustaining some nasty bends to the top linkage/saddle bracket when it was used to remove wheels from a scrap Land Rover soon after I got it, and required mauling out from under said 4x4 with a lump hammer (I was an utter animal, I know! :D ), it's been left outside in winter fully raised supporting a motorbike project with no forks, the oil is whatever I had to hand when it got low (currently a mix of 10w/40 and 2-stroke I think) and more recently had the locknuts stolen from the castors to replace suspension bolts on a Suzuki Vitara, hence the ball bearings have made a successful bid for freedom.

Despite all this and much other abuse it still works perfectly well, if a little unstable at full height, but really I need to retire the poor thing before it does suffer a terminal/dangerous failure of some sort. Here's one for Jim, do you think I would be able to make a sphere tester from it or would it have to be a bottle type jack? (I don't want to just throw it away after the years of faithful service so would much prefer to give it a new lease of less safety-critical life if I can)
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van ordinaire
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

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Just a quick update for now- 'cos I've just noticed the time.

The correct gear oil arrived today, as promised (£19.74 for 5 ls, including p&p + 10% off next order!) but nobody told me when I got home, I'd hoped to get away soon after 4 - but actually left work at 6:50 AND just missed a train so idea of going straight to Aldi, draining the box when I got back still in (possibly failing) daylight had gone completely out the window - & that was before I found I had a puncture (or, at least, a flat). Do hope it's not the former in one of the "new" tyres! Broke out Lidl toy compressor, pumped up tyre, did the shopping, came back, but replacing the gearbox oil'll have to wait to the w/e now. Checking the tyre in daylight (I hope) is just one more thing I'll have to do tomorrow, before setting off back down to Devon tomorrow evening.
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

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CitroJim wrote:I'd love to visit Vietnam... Sadly it'll now just be a dream but I do hear it's a brilliant place to visit...

I'd love to sample the food there...



Jim, we've been here before, in a manner of speaking, but all I can really say is, stop dreaming, get weaving! Think about it like this: if you can get to a rally, you can get to an airport, once there you are only at risk of terminal (how apposite!) boredom, 'til you're on the way to your 1st night's accommodation - unless maybe you're flying United (remember the 2 geese T-shirt?). After that it's just driving from A - B, much the same wherever you are, although the degree of spectacle/excitement/UV exposure/amazement/confusion/apprehension, etc may vary. VietNam is not for the go it alone type (once you've outgrown backbacking) for one thing you couldn't get a licence, but the people that organise these things are very adept at dealing with their patrons' individual requirements.

Someone who went the first trip I've just done wrote this, in a magazine, Old Stager, I must confess I've never heard of:-

" . . . and now for something completely different...
It was all Drexel's fault, he was the man who talked us into it... Drexel and Pat Gillespie had already been on one of Steve McCulloch’s Classic Car Journeys to the Himalayas; Steve is the man behind those tours of India in Ambassadors (Morris Oxford circa 1958 to you and me), writes Steve’s latest jaunt was to have us drive ex-US army Jeeps down the Ho Chi Minh trail in North Vietnam from Hanoi to Da Nang. The trouble is that the Vietnamese authorities won't issue Vietnamese driving licenses to foreigners, which is why Clarkson and his two fellow imbeciles had to use mopeds on their Top Gear Programme on Vietnam.
Steve managed to convince them otherwise, which is why 20 crews set out from Hanoi on 24 April, the first foreigners to drive in Vietnam under the new license system. This obviously appealed to the rallying fraternity as seven of the Jeeps were crewed by regular historic rally people, Mark and Sue Godfrey, Paul and Jayne Wignall, Drexel and Pat Gillespie, John Bateson and Tina Lowe, Peter and Helen Morris, Neil and Sue Revington and Paul and Eira Davis.
I must point out there was no element of competition about this event, other than avoiding the kamikaze mopeds that came at you from every direction! The standard of driving, is, shall we say, different; in Steve's view, more dangerous than India. Within 10 minutes of getting our Jeep we had two mopeds collide right in front of us which isn't surprising as the moped riders, and there are millions of them, have tunnel vision and don't look to the right or left, just assuming the other person will give way. Driving in Hanoi was brilliant, very competitive, we worked on the theory that if you can't beat them join them, and the Jeep was stronger than a Honda 50 anyway. Steve provided a Tulip road book which was quite easy to follow, even if the Jeep didn't have a working speedo. We stayed in the best hotels where available, including the Grand in Saigon and the Hotel Saigon Morin in Hue, both hotels
dating from the French Colonial era, but completely updated, wonderful.
The Jeeps in question were all left overs from the Vietnam war (or as the Vietnamese call it, the American war) I suppose it all depends which side you were on. Many of them have been modified with replacement Toyota engines and gearboxes, some have wide alloy wheels and low profile tyres, just a few retained their original drive train, most had period accessories like field telephones, axes on the running board, snorkels for river crossings and so on. In the heat of Vietnam the fact that they were open was a definite benefit as once on the move you had a cooling breeze. You may wonder what did the
North Vietnamese think of us 'whities' driving around in the 'enemy transport’; in a nutshell they thought it was great, waving at us as we
drove by, each time we stopped we soon had a crowd of interesting onlookers. There were a few problems, on the second day we
had a cam belt break, but the resident mechanics were summoned on the local mobile phone provided by Steve for each crew, we took over their Jeep whilst they fixed ours, turning up at 9:00pm that night with the job done. One Jeep had a big end go, that was terminal, but apart from a few minor problems that the cheerful mechanics sorted out, on the whole they were quite reliable and surprisingly comfortable
What about the driving? As already mentioned, in towns you had to pay serious attention to what was happening around you, quite often
people would be riding their moped on the wrong side of the road towards you, this happened even on a dual carriageways, mopeds would
frequently pull out from the side roads without looking or veer across the road without any form of signal, but it is surprising how quickly you
get used to it, amazingly enough, no one gets angry. The roads are good tarmac, some with a few potholes, but then when you live in the UK
nowadays we are used to that!
The Ho Chi Minh trail is a bit of a misnomer. There were many Ho Chi Minh trails cut through the jungles and forests across Vietnam to enable the North Vietnamese Army to transport supplies to the war front. At the time it was precarious, often very muddy, and bombed to oblivion by the USA. Despite all this they carried on. Today it is a good tarmac road with very little traffic. Vietnam is a long narrow country, most of the traffic stays on the coast road, our route ran close to the border with Laos for much of the time so we were in a remote area. The scenery became monotonous at times, acres and acres of rain forest and bush, but it would not be long before there was a village, the route took us across the demilitarised zone and along a wonderful coastal road with many interesting villages with women in traditional dress
You can't visit this area without seeing many of the remnants of the war. We visited several museums in Hanoi, including the famous Hanoi Hilton prison where US aircrews were held and the one at Khe Sanh, site of the former US marines base where they held out for 77 days, besieged by the NVA. These museums all told the Vietnamese side of the story, not surprisingly, and often with exaggerated claims of the numbers of planes shot down and tanks destroyed, whilst the heroes of Vietnam are glorified, whichever way you look at it, the Vietnamese are a very tenacious race and proved to be an unbeatable enemy. Amazingly enough there was absolutely no sign of animosity shown towards us, despite being in the US Jeeps, even when we turned
up at a big war memorial at the famous Dong Loc junction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail on what was obviously a special day, with many Vietnamese war veterans in attendance.
Away from the war we visited the world heritage site Phong Nha, where some of the world’s largest caves are accessed by boat.
Reflecting on the trip, it was firstly very good value at around£5,000 per couple, which excluded air fares but included lunches and most evening meals. Steve pushed the boat out more than once on the drinks front, and each day your Jeep’s cold box was stocked with cold soft drinks. The insight it gave into the lives of the Vietnamese people was tremendous, you really learnt something on this trip. The group were all like minded people who really got along well.
Steve McCulloch and his team are to be congratulated on doing a first class job, so I would highly recommend this trip if you want a motoring adventure with a difference and no regularities. Have a look at http://www.classiccarjourneys.co.uk.

Now if that hasn't wetted your appetite - & it's really all about the food, then just take yourself of to your friendly neighbourhood Vietnamese restaurant (although i suspect that might entail leaving MK) - likely to be more authentic than your average High St. Chinese (strains of Dave Edmund's "Crawling from the Wreckage" vying with CDB's "Still in Saigon" - one of my favourite protest songs - firmly stuck in my head)

b-t-w, I met Drexel on the "see Southern India from old Ambi. taxi tour" - had him down as the clown of the group, now idea he was "almost famous" :-D
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van ordinaire
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by van ordinaire »

ekjdm14 wrote:Excellent blog Van, hugely interesting to the point I've just read it all (at the expense of getting a move on with a CV boot prior to the Escort MoT at 1pm!) but I have to ask, if it's not too prickly a subject, how on earth did all your tools/engines etc end up getting scrapped? :(

Also, I'm in need of a new jack really, my current "old faithful" is a very small no-name grey item of probably 1-tonne capacity I pulled from a skip probably in the region of 10 years ago. It's seen all sorts of abuse in my "ownership", sustaining some nasty bends to the top linkage/saddle bracket when it was used to remove wheels from a scrap Land Rover soon after I got it, and required mauling out from under said 4x4 with a lump hammer (I was an utter animal, I know! :D ), it's been left outside in winter fully raised supporting a motorbike project with no forks, the oil is whatever I had to hand when it got low (currently a mix of 10w/40 and 2-stroke I think) and more recently had the locknuts stolen from the castors to replace suspension bolts on a Suzuki Vitara, hence the ball bearings have made a successful bid for freedom.

Despite all this and much other abuse it still works perfectly well, if a little unstable at full height, but really I need to retire the poor thing before it does suffer a terminal/dangerous failure of some sort. Here's one for Jim, do you think I would be able to make a sphere tester from it or would it have to be a bottle type jack? (I don't want to just throw it away after the years of faithful service so would much prefer to give it a new lease of less safety-critical life if I can)


Thanks for the compliment, I wish, in a way, I'd had the hutzpah to do it from the day I bought the thing; perhaps I've found my niche? Maybe, when I'm bored, I'll serialise a retrospectve! 8-[

Hope you got your MoT OK, I'll feel guilty otherwise.

The tools, etc? Itinerant Romanian scrap dealers! (still at least I got the wings into the house, before they came back the next day).

Hydraulic jacks are like auto trans - wait for it - they often respond well to being flushed & refilled with clean fluid. I use to use brake fluid, but the proper stuff is fairly easy to get hold of now.

Proper jacks (i.e. semi-pro, as opposed to, toytown, ones) can refurbished, although (mainly thanks to inflation) it'll probably cost more than the original purchase price, but less than buying a similar replacement.

Best bet for new ones is to wait 'til, e.g. Machine Mart or Sealeys is having a sale, bargains can be had at shows BUT don't be tempted to buy one at some huge venue like the NEC! There's usually a few at autojumbles (& the odd boot sale), especially if you're not too fussed about appearance.
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
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'99 Cadillac STS :|
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van ordinaire
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

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So it wasn't the oil after all, I was right all along, it WAS the clutch - but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Set of last night later than I'd hoped but taking some consolation from the fact that I should've missed the traffic (although it transpires, there never was any!). All was going really well, in fact I had to keep reminding myself that the smoothness, speed & silence (well, I could hear the radio at M-way speeds) were relative to my recent 1,000 miles of Vietnamese roads in a Mutt experience. Got to the Amesbury roundabout on the A303, changed down (probably the first gear change since the lights over J3 on the M25), no problem, no suggestion anything was amiss, but as I tried to change up - nothing, no baulking, no graunching, no gears! - or was it stuck in, probably, 3rd with no clutch? Anyway I got it more or less off the roundabout, but with n/s f wheel hard up against the kerb, it wasn't going any further. Desperate attempt to adjust the clutch came to nothing, as i discovered when I pressed the pedal - & it stayed on the floor. That was when the police arrived! In fairness they were very friendly, helpful & really just concerned about the safety aspect. An attempt to push it onto the verge failed because it was stick in fear, so couldn't be pushed back off the kerb to try & bounce it up. They asked about recovery, even offered to lend me a phone but I'd already discovered mine had a flat battery - &, of course, the No. was in the phone; still by then it was on charge! Then, I managed to find neutral (I think the cops who, by this time were radioing for reinforcements, were actually quite impressed with that) so we pushed it up on the grass. Then another police vehicle turned up & the driver of the LandRover that had originally stopped, as if suddenly realising my van was mobile, asked if I'd mind if he towed it somewhere a little more to their liking. So that's what we did (another unspoken bonus point for being able to quickly attach tow rope, as probably used to fiddling with plastic covers - only to find the owner's no idea where the screw-in tow eye is). Took the opportunity of asking exactly where I was now parked, so I could pass it on to the recovery controller. In due course, but right on time, a ridiculously over-sized recovery vehicle turned up & we were on our way - to Exeter Services! Driver didn't have enough hours to finish job - & get home! services were derted, very odd for the small hours of a bank holiday, & it was cold! So much so, that I started the engine - only to be rewarded by a terrible noise, pretty well confirming my suspicions about the thrust having failed. Fortunately another wagon turned up literally within minutes, for the last 20-odd miles.
When we got here the only space is accross the drive, sandwiched between 2 Cherokees. When the driver started to say "Best we can do . . ., " I said i'd move one: difficult to unlock front door & pick up car keys - when your fingers are crossed that, after a couple of days short of a month, it'll start. It did, & the driver went to some trouble to get the van reasonably close to the kerb (I'll slew the tail in on the trolley jack tomorrow.). Why didn't I do that today? Mainly because I decided I wouldn't set the alarm for this morning. When I awoke it was bright & sunny, as well it might be at ten past one - then I remembered the clocks went forward while I'd been away! BUT, I had been up for 22 hours on Friday, had had several late nights on-line during the week, might still be a little jet lagged - & still actually only has as much sleep as many have/require every night! Priority today was hot-cross buns, text the driver of the 1st recovery vehicle, who'd found my ticket case in his cab & thank someone for a package - which I'd retrieved from the wheely bin (good job I found the postman's note) - but I have ordered a clutch!
I know I could have just said C15 arrived back in Devon - on the back of a truck - but that's not the style of this blog!
Have to be up in time to get to Princetown for breakfast about 9-ish, so Good Night - & Happy Easter!
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by CitroJim »

van, most interesting on Vietnam :) Loved reading that! Thanks for your words of encouragement but sadly health prevents me travelling far from MK these days and certainly not beyond these shores...

Sorry to hear of your disaster by the Amesbury roundabout on the A303... I know that roundabout very well indeed and never understood why they installed lights at it.. Totally unnecessary... I used to traverse the A303 from the A34 junction as far as Podimore every couple/three weeks until the beginning of this year ending 40 years and goodness knows how many instances of that particular trip... I still occasionally go down that way but for different reasons now...

Let us know what the clutch/gearbox problem turned out to be...
Jim

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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by RichardW »

Bad luck on the clutch.... as I said in another post, almost certainly the cover plate has failed; they almost always go like that!
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

van ordinaire wrote:....Hope you got your MoT OK, I'll feel guilty otherwise.

The tools, etc? Itinerant Romanian scrap dealers! (still at least I got the wings into the house, before they came back the next day).....



Well, the Escort did in fact fail although nothing to do with my 45 minute CV boot swap so your conscience can remain clear. (It was a small rust hole on the rear chassis leg I missed.)

I like the "diplomatic" way in which you describe those caravan-dwelling type fellas, I think I'd have come up with some less PC names for them... I take it the police were of no use in the circumstances? (they seem to be scared of travellers round here, only taking any sort of action when there's no excuse to avoid it!) A mate of mine was lucky one day in that respect, he was eating lunch when his dog started going mad at something/someone in the yard so he went out only to find two Romany gents jumping back into their van having loaded up a good portion of his car & skip wagon spares.

He gave chase in his vehicle (and he's not a small bloke, I have no doubt what treatment was in his mind for the lads!) but on reaching the end of his driveway they pulled straight onto the main road without even slowing down to look. As luck would have it, they did so right in the path of an undercover police BMW who then pulled them over for a word or two, Darron rocked up and described to the gallant officers (who I'm SURE would still have stopped the van had they known the occupants were travellers! :roll: ) the events leading up to that moment & subsequently made sure he pressed charges and followed up in court...

For once the blighters got their come-uppance, even if they got away in your case! Anyway sorry, I'll stop hijacking now (until I get the new high jack haha)
EDIT- and also sorry to hear about the clutch, at least you got some fairly decent coppers in that instance. Some of the ones round here would likely have had me doing FIT tests, fining me for causing an obstruction and all sorts rather than offering a tow! (not that there are no "good guys", just far too few & far between compared to recent years)
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van ordinaire
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by van ordinaire »

CitroJim wrote:van, most interesting on Vietnam :) Loved reading that! Thanks for your words of encouragement but sadly health prevents me travelling far from MK these days and certainly not beyond these shores...

Sorry to hear of your disaster by the Amesbury roundabout on the A303... I know that roundabout very well indeed and never understood why they installed lights at it.. Totally unnecessary... I used to traverse the A303 from the A34 junction as far as Podimore every couple/three weeks until the beginning of this year ending 40 years and goodness knows how many instances of that particular trip... I still occasionally go down that way but for different reasons now...

Let us know what the clutch/gearbox problem turned out to be...


That piece was written 5 years ago but nothing much has changed, although they do now have some very sophisticated traffic lights, at least in Saigon, to ignore - just like the French ones they've still got in Hanoi!

Only you know your own limitations but people do manage not merely to travel but be quite adventurous, despite age &/or health issues.

I thought light controlled roundabouts were a peculiarly Northampton thing (but then they never did really come to terms with roundabouts - mind you they interpret traffic lights differently to the rest of the country!) but they are all to common on the 303. I've been doing this run at least twice a year all my life, the first time on my own was straight from school after my last A-level (although that would've been on the A30: my parents' favoured route - so the one I knew) & about 6 years ago I was driving down every weekend for a year - it may only be once a month now.

My money's on the thrust - but we'll see, all in good time.
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by van ordinaire »

RichardW wrote:Bad luck on the clutch.... as I said in another post, almost certainly the cover plate has failed; they almost always go like that!


It was living on borrowed time (bit like the cambelt really - & I got away with that) so I can't complain. At least now I can quantify how much notice the first symptoms are giving. Not done a clutch for years but bever had a cover go on me - but, 2 Jags aside (oh - & a 2CV), they were all common, conventional British cars. However, I did remember what you said, so one of the first things I did was to whip off that 1/2-moon cover at the bottom of the bellhousing - but all I've found is 3 ball bearings! Of course what's behind the fly-wheel remains to be seen.
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by van ordinaire »

ekjdm14 wrote:
van ordinaire wrote:....Hope you got your MoT OK, I'll feel guilty otherwise.

The tools, etc? Itinerant Romanian scrap dealers! (still at least I got the wings into the house, before they came back the next day).....



Well, the Escort did in fact fail although nothing to do with my 45 minute CV boot swap so your conscience can remain clear. (It was a small rust hole on the rear chassis leg I missed.)

I like the "diplomatic" way in which you describe those caravan-dwelling type fellas, I think I'd have come up with some less PC names for them... I take it the police were of no use in the circumstances? (they seem to be scared of travellers round here, only taking any sort of action when there's no excuse to avoid it!) A mate of mine was lucky one day in that respect, he was eating lunch when his dog started going mad at something/someone in the yard so he went out only to find two Romany gents jumping back into their van having loaded up a good portion of his car & skip wagon spares.

He gave chase in his vehicle (and he's not a small bloke, I have no doubt what treatment was in his mind for the lads!) but on reaching the end of his driveway they pulled straight onto the main road without even slowing down to look. As luck would have it, they did so right in the path of an undercover police BMW who then pulled them over for a word or two, Darron rocked up and described to the gallant officers (who I'm SURE would still have stopped the van had they known the occupants were travellers! :roll: ) the events leading up to that moment & subsequently made sure he pressed charges and followed up in court...

For once the blighters got their come-uppance, even if they got away in your case! Anyway sorry, I'll stop hijacking now (until I get the new high jack haha)
EDIT- and also sorry to hear about the clutch, at least you got some fairly decent coppers in that instance. Some of the ones round here would likely have had me doing FIT tests, fining me for causing an obstruction and all sorts rather than offering a tow! (not that there are no "good guys", just far too few & far between compared to recent years)


I'm not so conceited as to turn immediately to my blog but early Friday morning I had something topical to post & not a lot of time, so I didn't see your post 'til after I'd had some sleep. You were unlucky wscrith that "hidden" rust - hope you get it done in time for a free re-test. (Although I've found the sort of garages we use to be quite liberal in their interpretation of the qualifying period: seems to be the one area where they can still beat the system).

Not so PC really, they really were Romanian, or so I assumed as their van had RO plates AND there are a lot of Romanians in the scrap metal game! I never reported it, I had very little evidence - & I could hardly expect the police to stop every black Sprinter with Romanian plates in SE London.

What I don't understand is how the clutch deteriorated so much when it wasn't being used, it's not like it was slipping. I've found that traffic police (at least, I assume that's what they were) absent any moving offence are generally really only concerned with safety issues. They did ask for ID - oh how I wish I'd had my Vietnamese driving licence with me - so they'd obviously checked the registered keeper; I did wonder how they'd have dealt with finding out it didn't all check out, given they'd still want to move the van somewhere safer but they'd have to switch from friendly to formal, without missing a beat.
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by van ordinaire »

Not much to add really, disconnected clutch cable - well it almost fell off, removed battery tray: doddle - & I was expecting it to be a pig, it's so rusty! Left oil draining, after all cold hypoid's going to take it's time. Can't remove starter because the hex bit's back in London & that's as much as I can remember, so another refresher with Mr Haynes is next.

Oh, I did slew the back into the kerb (the front's only an inch or so out) so at least it's quite tidilly parked now. Then got a bit carried away & thought I'd see what I could do with the Cherokee with no drive as it's where it was dropped off the recovery wagon all those months ago, getting on a foot from the kerb because it's just too heavy to move single handed, especially on a slight slope. Got the back into, but not touching, the kerb quite easilly but the front's another story: the diff's not in the middle AND it's, literally inches from the back of the Caddy, well it was, before I got the rear wheels just clear of the ground - & it rolled down the slight slope! Now I've either got to pull the Cherokee back a bit, but I can't get directly behind it - because the van's too close OR move the Caddy forward BUT, the rad's in the kitchen, actually less of a problem for the 5 mins at most it'll be running than the fractured trans cooler pipe - & that was before I noticed it's got a flat tire! Oh well, perhaps things'll look better in the morning.

Quickly reverting to an earlier post, stopped off at a car boot sale this morning on my way out over the 'moor: low & behold - a trolley jack: very well used & so old it's probably collectable: ideal for that vintage garage set piece! However, it
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
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van ordinaire
(Donor 2017)
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by van ordinaire »

does prove my point: these things are out there! (how did that happen? no idea, the last post seemed to submit itself, before I'd quite finished it.)
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
ekjdm14
(Donor 2020)
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Joined: 19 Jan 2015, 18:42
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

van ordinaire wrote:does prove my point: these things are out there! (how did that happen? no idea, the last post seemed to submit itself, before I'd quite finished it.)



Wow there's a strange one... :?

I had originally thought the theft took place outside London, not so great a chance of catching the blighters in the capital then :(

Sounds like a right game of musical cars, not good when you have non driveable ones in the mix. I don't know if you have any decent anchor points around (although I would imagine a vehicle with chocked wheel would suffice) but maybe a Tirfor type hand winch could be useful for shifting them about?
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
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van ordinaire
(Donor 2017)
Posts: 2537
Joined: 23 Jun 2015, 14:45
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Re: Travels & travails with a C15 (& other vehicles)

Unread post by van ordinaire »

So, mission impossible became mission accomplished, at least so far as the Cherokee's concerned: heave on wheel (& I do mean heave) to give lots of right lock, so as it goes backwards, the front swings into the kerb, attach improvised tow strop to o/s spring shackle & lay it out in the road astern, position 2nd Cherokee (avtuallly the 3rd but lets not confuse things even more) on the wrong side of the road but alongside the C15, & gently roll down the slope until the strop will just reach the o/s shackle (they're back to back remember, & one's outboard of the other so the strop is in straight line with the springs of both vehicles) then at little more than tickover ease the working Cherokee foward whilst watching very closely in the door mirror so as (a) not to remove the C15's mirror (they WERE very close!) & (b) watch progress of dead Cherokee as creeps about 18" up the slope. Stop, climb over the console & out the passenger door, check all is good (I can almost see the dent in the Caddy's back bumper popping out). Apply handbrake, stick in Park, back to working Cherokee, clamber in, back it back down the road a couple of feet, (why I didn't keep going 'til I could open the driver's door in front of the C15 I'll never know), scramble out, detach strop, park even further up the road, remove strop & I now have room to place trolley jack under front diff & lift it just enough to get both wheels off the ground (but because the diff is offset, by the time the 2nd wheels has daylight under it, first is pawing the air) but the same methodology applies - just needs a little more care - position jack diagonal to centre line of vehicle & gently pull horizontal handle through 90 degrees, or until vehicle is where it's wanted - please don't ask me to explain why the jack doesn't just pivot under the diff - but it doesn't! In that respect shifting the Cherokee sideways at least a foot was easier than the 6" at most the c1i5's tail needed to move. All that was left to do was straighten up the steering & put everything away, including the working Cherokee which, for want of any kerb space has to be squeezed alongside the original one (now relegated to parts car) on the drive/front path, which is only 2" wider than 2 Cherokees!
Points to note: - this whole exercise could only have been contemplated because it was in a close, so no through traffic &, on Easter Sunday afternoon, very little at all (in fact none - up to the point I was positioned alongside the C15, then more cars than I'd seen all day!)
No, it couldn't be done with a £20 toy jack from, e.g. Lidl's (for a number of reasons, upon which I'll not elabourate)
Some time on Saturday the Cherokee decided it didn't like its pre-set tickover but preferred 1,000 RPM, double that in Park/Neutral, so that needed a little fettling before doing anything.
Needs must when the Devil drives/necessity is the mother of invention = a very poweful combination!

By now, dear reader, you will either be asleep (as I should be) or have realised that, having returned to this, after not so much a rest as a change, I have rediscovered the "edit" icon. So, quickly moving on:- scarcely any further progress with C15, but did remember to replace the gearbox drain plug! On which subject, does anyone have a good spare they can pop in a Jiffybag for me, as mine looks like it's seen rather too much attention from a pair of waterpump pliers (or similar). Odd really, given its service history, or lack thereof, I'm quite surprised it's ever been removed before.
Would've got more done, if hadn't decided to change he idlers for the serpentine belt on the Cherokee, in the vain hope it might cure the 63 mph+ squeal, faced with the prospect of bringing it back to London. I only discovered this returning from Shepton Mallet, up 'til then the longest journey we'd done, although still must have done twice the total mileage previous owner had done last year.
Last edited by van ordinaire on 19 Apr 2017, 01:23, edited 1 time in total.
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o