Suspension sinks on Sundays! C5 X7 that works hard + 206 GTi HDi (and 406 Coupe and 306 HDi). - MattBLancs

[c16rkc]

With the stuff you get into, I never would have figured you for an office worker....

I hope you are not a lawyer or an estate agent...

[MattBLancs]

With the stuff you get into, I never would have figured you for an office worker....

I hope you are not a lawyer or an estate agent...

Ha ha! Engineer, design ventilation systems. Though I'm slowly being promoted away from much of the actual designing. Lead a team now (feels pretty alien, not sure I like it!)
I would have quite happily been a car mechanic I think but they told me I should go to university so here I am!!

[c16rkc]

Ha what a co-incidence; I work in building services too. We make Fire/Smoke dampers, Fan coil units, and Grilles/diffusers so not exactly ventilation; more HVAC.

But even stranger, I'm the engineering manager and lead the design team for new products and testing... so it seems we have similar jobs!...

I assumed you were something mechanical from your talents... how wrong was I!

I never went to University, went the HNC route. Boy is it hard to be taken seriously in Engineering without a Degree so I regret that decision, but I battled through

If I were you I'd go for it with management, it just gets easier for more money, as long as you can accept the responsibility. Personally I don't give a monkey what I do for a job, I'd clean Romanian toilets or design machine guns for the Russian army if it gave me more money to spend on my beautiful family.

As I think you were suggesting, schools push gifted students into what they consider the right paths for them, and we are then 10 years and a mortgage down the line before we realise we have been duped, and we are now underpaid and underapreciated tools for industry... and we do a job we don't even like!

Meanwhile the thick kid who used to bully everyone starts up a skip hire business and ends up a millionaire...

I'll be telling my boys to start a business, and if that fails start another, and another... until it works out. I won't be telling them "go get educated and work for someone else so they can be rich and you can be mildly comfortable".

[MattBLancs]

Management, both people managing and project management leave me cold, sadly.
I'm kind of person who wants to solve problems all day every day - so "and then I encouraged Person A to solve that problem quickly enough to keep Project Manager B from waving the Gantt chart at me again" not really getting my juices flowing really!

The job I'm doing is a pretty specialist field of it, so given experience is in short supply, I am needed to get into the detail too. Which just translates as "I'm very busy, continuously" but hey-ho the weeks zip by and then I am back in my overalls directly fixing something!

Agree about family is why we're doing it in the first place, though think you're on the wrong lines with loo cleaning - wonder if there's gap in the market for another skip hire chancer?

[MattBLancs]

C5 fill up this morning:

604 miles covered,
£91.19, 144.7 PPL = 63.02 litres = 13.68 gallons

43.6 MPG.

Quick wipe of the codes with the Bluetooth OBD2 reader and torque app. Snip of logged codes.

Engine management light didn't return on trip in, but C5 feeling a bit "flat" at moment.

Will get DiagBox on the go soon for a read.

Also try and read up on Euro 6 adblue related issues and decide if I could live with a car looking perpetually filthy (i.e. a white one. In particular this contender: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... ion=Manual. )

[MattBLancs]

Notes about weird tyre sizes duly noted - I'd wondered about a "downgrade" to less sexy 16" wheels for a nice bit of squishy sidewall to improve ride comfort. Firm ride noted in reviews I've been watching on YouTube.

[c16rkc]

That's pretty decent MPG

That's some sort of fancy car the white Peugeot you showed, though I could never bring myself to spend that much money on such a "practical" car

Very frustrating you still have an issue with your C5, here's hoping it shows itself soon so you can sort it.

[MattBLancs]

That's pretty decent MPG

Yes for a big heavy car, not driven particularly gently, it does well.

That's some sort of fancy car the white Peugeot you showed, though I could never bring myself to spend that much money on such a "practical" car

Yes, it's more than 3x what I've ever spent on a car, ever!

I really need to make my mind up on the ULEZ = Euro 6 "requirement" to be honest. If I abandon that then £1200-£3000 207 SW or £2000-£2500 circa 2010 5008 become serious options.

At present Manchester has abandoned it's ULEZ zone plans, recent trips with work (Glasgow, Bristol) were completed in hire car, so I have not yet been affected. But I am keen not to change my car then wish I'd stretched a bit more to something compliant...

Very frustrating you still have an issue with your C5, here's hoping it shows itself soon so you can sort it.

Ah it'll get sorted! Not giving up as yet!!

[MattBLancs]

308 SW MOT test completed this morning, Pass with defects:

Pass with defects

Repair as soon as possible (minor defects)
• Brake hose slightly twisted Nearside Front [1.1.12 (b) (i)]

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories)
• Suspension arm ball joint has slight play Nearside Front [5.3.4 (a) (i)]
• Coil spring corroded Nearside Rear [5.3.1 (b) (i)]
• Coil spring corroded Offside Rear [5.3.1 (b) (i)]
• Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge Offside Front (inner edge) [5.2.3 (e)]
• Oil leak, but not excessive [8.4.1 (a) (i)]

Twisted brake hose is rather odd, will have to have a look at that I didn't notice anything weird!

A couple of new springs on the back, usually pretty cheap so will just get them swapped.

Oil leak I think is the sump gasket (actually just sealant) so will likely swap that next oil change - maybe spring next year. It does not drop much at all.
I have the modified sump with non-inny drain plug to put on at the same time.

Will have a look at the ball joint soon too.

[MattBLancs]

Coil springs:

Cheap as possible, eBay, £26 for a pair.

Decent brand, KYB, again eBay cheap source: £24 each.

Carparts4less and Halfords trade both uncompetitive at £65 each!

Think the eBay KYBs are the answer.

Was thinking if I'd done something odd to that brake hose when doing the wishbone, but caliper wasn't removed for that!

[MattBLancs]

Part numbers checked on KYB website (rear 308 SW springs: RH6101)
Car Parts In Motion, cheaper through eBay than on their own website!?
Springs worked out at £22.25 each, then buying two dropped it to £21.14. then a voucher for 10% off knocking it down again to £19.03 each.

Same seller I've bought a pair of Febi Bilstein front ball joints, £15.08 for the pair, the above voucher taking it down further to £13.57.

Totally up the above gets me to £51.63 but eBay has charged me 3 pence less, £51.60, who knows, but suits me!

KYB website

eBay transaction

[MattBLancs]

Can anyone confirm: Google suggests I need a 41mm deep socket for the ball joint task - is that correct?

I'll have to get under the car and get my Verniers at it, nothing anywhere near that big, certainly not in deep format.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155183944240
(£8.88 half inch drive)

Halfords
https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-too ... 12526.html
41mm £11.19 on trade card


Or could get a 10 piece set, including 41mm, for £25
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364899793008


B&Q (in their new "pretend to be eBay/Amazon" mode)
https://www.diy.com/departments/us-pro- ... 390_BQ.prd
£8.85

[Armidillo]

So do the 308 ball joints look different to the 406?

I presume you've already got the special tool with the 4 lugs, which in turn requires a 35 mm deep socket to turn it?? Mine does 406 & 605 ball joints, plus Xantia & XM (and no doubt others).

[MattBLancs]

So do the 308 ball joints look different to the 406?

I presume you've already got the special tool with the 4 lugs, which in turn requires a 35 mm deep socket to turn it?? Mine does 406 & 605 ball joints, plus Xantia & XM (and no doubt others).

Yes, all change!

406 / 605 / (just checked and discovered whilst grabbing a picture) Citroen C5, C6 and seemingly Xantia 405, 407, 607 = special tool with 4 prongs.

Prong ball joint removal tool, in 2 sizes

308 (seems full list is: "Citroen C4, DS4 and DS5. Peugeot 307, 308, 508, 3008, 5008 and Partner" ) = a big hex, 41mm. Odd partner listed but not Berlingo!

Big deep socket, 41mm

[CitroJim]

Good result on the MoT Matt

I still have one of those balljoint tools, complete with the socket and a five foot breaker bar to go with it... Never failed me! Either on those balljoints or hub nuts