c16rkc's mad house
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Really??? 2 Citreons!!!! You really have been bitten by the Citroen bug
Ryan
'99 Xsara 1.6 X (Red) with Sunkissed bonnet. T59 SBX
'54 Astra Estate 1.7DTI (Artic White)
'06 C8 2.2Hdi Exclusive (Aster Grey)
Champion of Where's CitroJim
Yes I ask the stupid questions, because normally it is that simple.
'99 Xsara 1.6 X (Red) with Sunkissed bonnet. T59 SBX
'54 Astra Estate 1.7DTI (Artic White)
'06 C8 2.2Hdi Exclusive (Aster Grey)
Champion of Where's CitroJim

Yes I ask the stupid questions, because normally it is that simple.
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Welcome to the old man comfort rides, I know your not old but it shows maturity as a person to ditch the Merc and boy racer look at me cars. I'm very glad your part of this forum as I've never driven a Merc and don't want to unless it's an old one.
Ryan
'99 Xsara 1.6 X (Red) with Sunkissed bonnet. T59 SBX
'54 Astra Estate 1.7DTI (Artic White)
'06 C8 2.2Hdi Exclusive (Aster Grey)
Champion of Where's CitroJim
Yes I ask the stupid questions, because normally it is that simple.
'99 Xsara 1.6 X (Red) with Sunkissed bonnet. T59 SBX
'54 Astra Estate 1.7DTI (Artic White)
'06 C8 2.2Hdi Exclusive (Aster Grey)
Champion of Where's CitroJim

Yes I ask the stupid questions, because normally it is that simple.
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- A very naughty boy
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
That's a lovely garage Chris 

Jim
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
The French Connection
A lot has happened this week.
My Mercedes S class has been for sale for a couple of weeks...
...but then given Lindsey's Audi was finally fault free, and had cost me over £3,200 in repairs over the last 3 months... we made the decision to put that up for sale too.
The A7 Audi is known for burning through the expensive dual clutch, and eats timing chains too, so along with the minor oil leak that garages don't seem to want to fix, we decided it was time to get rid
The idea was when the first car sold, we could find Lindsey a new car while she drove the remaining car.
Well... would you beleive it, they both sold on the same day!
Tuesday a chap phoned me about the Mercedes, he liked it so much he offered me a deposit without looking at it. I did not take the deposit, but he collected it the next day.
Then someone came to see the Audi Tuesday night, and bought it on the spot.
So from Thursday Lindsey had no car, and had to walk to work in the rain...
Lindsey did not want to travel far, as we had plans for the evening, so on Saturday, we planned to look at three cars in the local area...
1) A Mazda 3 Diesel that Lindsey found herself, and really liked.
2) A Quashqui thing we decided to take a look at as a cheap family car.
3) A Citroen DS5, which was something I threw into the ring, as it seemed very cheap, local, and high spec too.
So we phoned all three, went to the DS5 first.
It has a couple of dinks, some on the passenger side rear quarter, a scuff on the lower drivers side of the rear bumper, and a dent to the lower of the rear boot lid.
The interior seemed nice, very good condition. Everything seemed to work. Great infotainment system.
But then there were the reasons it was cheap!
- Only one key, and it was not working properly. The buttons did not work, nor did the keyless. The physical key was needed to lock/unlock, and you had to slot the key in the dash to start the car. But this is a common fault with these keys where people crush the internal pins with the battery... was this it?
- The airbag light was on, saying a message about the seat belt. This would be a risk, as it could be expensive to fix I would guess...
- It had 160,000 miles on the clock, though with full service history; mostly Citroen main dealer, and CAM belt done 30,000 miles ago.
- It was due a service!
- Wheels badly need refurbishment, and are fitted with Heinz 57 variety of tyres... though they all had good tread.
Hmmm...
So next we looked at the Quashqui... Lindsey hated it and said within minutes we could rule that one out. I secretly hated it too... so was pleased with that decision
Last car, the Mazda...
We got to the dealer, and it was closed up. No one there... very odd as we made an appointment to see it...

We waited a while, but no one showed up. I found the car in their compound, and Lindsey strode off to look around it.
She came back and said "let's go get the DS5"
I was happy - that was my favourite of the three. So I made a cheeky offer, and the chap accepted...
So Lindsey drove the Citroen home, and I have to admit I'm dead jealous!
So we are now a three Citroen family with Jelly bean the C3... despite Jelly bean bring very sick and non working right now...
A lot has happened this week.
My Mercedes S class has been for sale for a couple of weeks...
...but then given Lindsey's Audi was finally fault free, and had cost me over £3,200 in repairs over the last 3 months... we made the decision to put that up for sale too.
The A7 Audi is known for burning through the expensive dual clutch, and eats timing chains too, so along with the minor oil leak that garages don't seem to want to fix, we decided it was time to get rid

The idea was when the first car sold, we could find Lindsey a new car while she drove the remaining car.
Well... would you beleive it, they both sold on the same day!
Tuesday a chap phoned me about the Mercedes, he liked it so much he offered me a deposit without looking at it. I did not take the deposit, but he collected it the next day.
Then someone came to see the Audi Tuesday night, and bought it on the spot.
So from Thursday Lindsey had no car, and had to walk to work in the rain...

Lindsey did not want to travel far, as we had plans for the evening, so on Saturday, we planned to look at three cars in the local area...
1) A Mazda 3 Diesel that Lindsey found herself, and really liked.
2) A Quashqui thing we decided to take a look at as a cheap family car.
3) A Citroen DS5, which was something I threw into the ring, as it seemed very cheap, local, and high spec too.
So we phoned all three, went to the DS5 first.
It has a couple of dinks, some on the passenger side rear quarter, a scuff on the lower drivers side of the rear bumper, and a dent to the lower of the rear boot lid.
The interior seemed nice, very good condition. Everything seemed to work. Great infotainment system.
But then there were the reasons it was cheap!

- Only one key, and it was not working properly. The buttons did not work, nor did the keyless. The physical key was needed to lock/unlock, and you had to slot the key in the dash to start the car. But this is a common fault with these keys where people crush the internal pins with the battery... was this it?
- The airbag light was on, saying a message about the seat belt. This would be a risk, as it could be expensive to fix I would guess...
- It had 160,000 miles on the clock, though with full service history; mostly Citroen main dealer, and CAM belt done 30,000 miles ago.
- It was due a service!
- Wheels badly need refurbishment, and are fitted with Heinz 57 variety of tyres... though they all had good tread.
Hmmm...
So next we looked at the Quashqui... Lindsey hated it and said within minutes we could rule that one out. I secretly hated it too... so was pleased with that decision

Last car, the Mazda...
We got to the dealer, and it was closed up. No one there... very odd as we made an appointment to see it...

We waited a while, but no one showed up. I found the car in their compound, and Lindsey strode off to look around it.
She came back and said "let's go get the DS5"
I was happy - that was my favourite of the three. So I made a cheeky offer, and the chap accepted...

So Lindsey drove the Citroen home, and I have to admit I'm dead jealous!
So we are now a three Citroen family with Jelly bean the C3... despite Jelly bean bring very sick and non working right now...
Last edited by c16rkc on 05 Nov 2023, 23:15, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Thank you - yes I think its time for me to grow up.Rp0thejester wrote: 04 Nov 2023, 20:38 Welcome to the old man comfort rides, I know your not old but it shows maturity as a person to ditch the Merc and boy racer look at me cars. I'm very glad your part of this forum as I've never driven a Merc and don't want to unless it's an old one.
I agree older Mercs are nicer, I do like my CL500 I have in the corner of the garage. It's probably only worth £2,500 but its a lot more stylish than that S class was. I'd love an 80's SEC500 but they are crazy money now.
But you know what, the S class was noticeably bumper than the C5 when I took it for its last run before it sold.
I made the right choice

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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Thank you - yes I absolutely love it. It makes working on the car 100 times easier. Was one of the best decisions we ever made and being timber it was much cheaper than most people think too.
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Looking forward to hearing all about your DS5 adventures Chris
Good to see the bug has bitten deep!

Jim
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Looks a good buy and, from what you've described, the right time to ditch the other two.
The DS5 does look a big thing - does it feel it behind the wheel or not too bad?
Wheels - diamond turned? My understanding is these are a pain - the turned surface looks beautiful but is sooo smooth as to prevent the clear lacquer from adhering. So moisture gets under and that familiar aluminium oxide mess soon propagates.
I've not had anything new enough/fancy enough to have diamond turned wheels but suspect I'd be sanding and painting them silver! Less beautiful but less hassle
The DS5 does look a big thing - does it feel it behind the wheel or not too bad?
Wheels - diamond turned? My understanding is these are a pain - the turned surface looks beautiful but is sooo smooth as to prevent the clear lacquer from adhering. So moisture gets under and that familiar aluminium oxide mess soon propagates.
I've not had anything new enough/fancy enough to have diamond turned wheels but suspect I'd be sanding and painting them silver! Less beautiful but less hassle
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Thank you Jim - one might say I have corrupted the rest of the familyCitroJim wrote: 06 Nov 2023, 06:54 Looking forward to hearing all about your DS5 adventures ChrisGood to see the bug has bitten deep!

I'm not sure if it was a good buy.... we paid £3K but with the cost of fixing the airbag light who knows if this will end up being a good deal.MattBLancs wrote: 06 Nov 2023, 08:55 Looks a good buy and, from what you've described, the right time to ditch the other two.
The DS5 does look a big thing - does it feel it behind the wheel or not too bad?

The DS5 is chunky, but I'd say a little shorter than my C5; but oddly it seems bigger inside than the C5. Certainly appeared to be more legroom for the kids, not that they need it yet

It's certainly higher than the Audi A7 was, and Lindsey said it is much easier hoofing Spencer in/out the car.
As for how it drives... I have no idea...

Lindsey went off for a test drive while I kept the kids distracted, and she is the only one who has driven it since too...

She says it drives nicely, but as yet I have not been able to experience that pleasure for myself.
We've had a few cars with Diamond turned wheels, and yes they are a pain. As you say the lacquer lifts, cracks and leaves behind a horrible mess. I had my Jaguar XJ Sovereign wheels diamond turned back in 2001 before it was trendy... and the finish only lasted one winter before it started to go.MattBLancs wrote: 06 Nov 2023, 08:55 Wheels - diamond turned? My understanding is these are a pain - the turned surface looks beautiful but is sooo smooth as to prevent the clear lacquer from adhering. So moisture gets under and that familiar aluminium oxide mess soon propagates.
I've not had anything new enough/fancy enough to have diamond turned wheels but suspect I'd be sanding and painting them silver! Less beautiful but less hassle
I confess I love the 2-tone effect the "Diamond turned over darker grey" gives, but you can also get that effect with two colours of paint. I have seen some people get their wheels refurbished and ask for this effect to save having the same problem again.
Lindsey is not happy with the state of the wheels, but I said lets wait until the tyres need changing and then we can look at tidying them up.
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
She may not have to wait for the tyres Chris, when I bought my Legacy the wheels were not great so I looked around and found a set of good condition replacements complete with almost new matching tyres. They cost me £250 which I was happy with as I was able to sell the original set for £200 and ended up with nice wheels fitted with better tyres for a net outlay of £50!! The story is on here somewhere but lost in the mists of time!! 

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Gosh! One winter, that's not good!
I agree with you - indeed I think various manufacturers wheels may only look good with two colours (either diamond turned + grey / black etc or like you say, two colours of paint) - I think some wheel styles would look rather like cheap wheel trims if all one shade!
Good shout about seeking out wheels and tyres to do a swap too!
I agree with you - indeed I think various manufacturers wheels may only look good with two colours (either diamond turned + grey / black etc or like you say, two colours of paint) - I think some wheel styles would look rather like cheap wheel trims if all one shade!
Good shout about seeking out wheels and tyres to do a swap too!
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
That hand brake
From a kind forum member, these are the new electric hand brake cables I ordered.
At the weekend I jacked up all four corners of the C5, ready to change the hand brake cables.
Set up a command station where I could administer the Dogbox diagnostics.
Annoying to discover I have lost a valve cap somehow!
So... back at dog box, I selected the car.
When connected, I ran the "Fault finding" routine, where Dogbox scans the car.
Selected the Electric secondary brake.
Through the warning...
Select "Repair".
Then "Pack repair".
Then "Replacement part".
"Electric parking brake replacement"
...another warning...
Then I selected "Put in fitting / removal position"...
A few seconds later... all done.
With the brake cables fully released, I disconnected the battery to avoid the car moving the brake back again...
The parking brake motor is located in the open, easy to find in front of the rear axle.
Located the end of the brake cable on each side.
The plastic brackets broken both sides.
My goodness is it rusty in here - I'm interested in what others think... is this normal for a 15 year old car?
I removed the electrical connector bracket on the parking brake motor, it just pulls off.
Sprayed up the nuts with Plusgas... though part of me knew it was a waste of time seeing the rusty state of them!
I popped off the plug, this has a rotating slide, and you need to push a button on the top (which you can't see!) to release it...
Took a look at the nuts... but with no effort they just crumbled and rounded off. They were crispy and made of rust!
So it was clear the brake motor was not coming off without a lot of destruction...
I decided to see if I could change the cables in situ..?
I unscrewed the plastic end caps, using mole grips to loosen them.
The shape of the plastic ends holds the catches in place within the parking brake assemble.
These can be unclipped by wriggling them, then slid back.
Then you slide the cable end down, and it pops out.
Leaving the open end, where one can pop in the new cable end
My next issue is the brackets holding the mid section of the cables...
The bolt heads were completely crispy, and round, no tool could remove them sadly.
So of course I used the grinder on the bolts...
New cable fitted by sliding into the groove in the motor assembly, then clipping in the plastic bit.
Then I fitted the ends caps, which are aluminium on the new cables. I also popped the electrical connector back in.
Then clipped in and fitted the end.
...and thats the right hand side done... though there is no longer a bracket to hold the middle still. I'm not sure how I'm solving this riddle...
After releasing the plastic end cap, the left side cable on the other end just pulls out.
Another crispy set of bracket bolts...
Out comes the grinder again.
Wow those ends were pretty awful...
Slid the new cable in.
Secures the new cable at the left wheel.
So that both new cables in... phew!
I reconnected the battery... then...
Back in Dogbox... I do a Parking brake calibration... and hear some whirring. But though the calibration is successful, the brake cables do not work!
The cable ends don't even move...
At this point I have ran out of time, as we are due at a Halloween party for Aston and Spencer...
So I have a non-working handbrake for now
I suspect the left side cable end hasn't threaded into the parking brake motor, and I'm hoping I can force it in by pushing the right side in to release the left cable end, then rotating the left end to thread it in...
We shall see...
From a kind forum member, these are the new electric hand brake cables I ordered.
At the weekend I jacked up all four corners of the C5, ready to change the hand brake cables.
Set up a command station where I could administer the Dogbox diagnostics.
Annoying to discover I have lost a valve cap somehow!
So... back at dog box, I selected the car.
When connected, I ran the "Fault finding" routine, where Dogbox scans the car.
Selected the Electric secondary brake.
Through the warning...
Select "Repair".
Then "Pack repair".
Then "Replacement part".
"Electric parking brake replacement"
...another warning...
Then I selected "Put in fitting / removal position"...
A few seconds later... all done.
With the brake cables fully released, I disconnected the battery to avoid the car moving the brake back again...
The parking brake motor is located in the open, easy to find in front of the rear axle.
Located the end of the brake cable on each side.
The plastic brackets broken both sides.
My goodness is it rusty in here - I'm interested in what others think... is this normal for a 15 year old car?
I removed the electrical connector bracket on the parking brake motor, it just pulls off.
Sprayed up the nuts with Plusgas... though part of me knew it was a waste of time seeing the rusty state of them!
I popped off the plug, this has a rotating slide, and you need to push a button on the top (which you can't see!) to release it...
Took a look at the nuts... but with no effort they just crumbled and rounded off. They were crispy and made of rust!
So it was clear the brake motor was not coming off without a lot of destruction...
I decided to see if I could change the cables in situ..?
I unscrewed the plastic end caps, using mole grips to loosen them.
The shape of the plastic ends holds the catches in place within the parking brake assemble.
These can be unclipped by wriggling them, then slid back.
Then you slide the cable end down, and it pops out.
Leaving the open end, where one can pop in the new cable end

My next issue is the brackets holding the mid section of the cables...

The bolt heads were completely crispy, and round, no tool could remove them sadly.
So of course I used the grinder on the bolts...

New cable fitted by sliding into the groove in the motor assembly, then clipping in the plastic bit.
Then I fitted the ends caps, which are aluminium on the new cables. I also popped the electrical connector back in.
Then clipped in and fitted the end.
...and thats the right hand side done... though there is no longer a bracket to hold the middle still. I'm not sure how I'm solving this riddle...

After releasing the plastic end cap, the left side cable on the other end just pulls out.
Another crispy set of bracket bolts...

Out comes the grinder again.

Wow those ends were pretty awful...
Slid the new cable in.
Secures the new cable at the left wheel.
So that both new cables in... phew!

I reconnected the battery... then...
Back in Dogbox... I do a Parking brake calibration... and hear some whirring. But though the calibration is successful, the brake cables do not work!
The cable ends don't even move...
At this point I have ran out of time, as we are due at a Halloween party for Aston and Spencer...
So I have a non-working handbrake for now

I suspect the left side cable end hasn't threaded into the parking brake motor, and I'm hoping I can force it in by pushing the right side in to release the left cable end, then rotating the left end to thread it in...
We shall see...
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
While I'm at it....
So while I was poking about at the rear wheels, I thought the rear bushes looked a bit odd...
The right hand side.
Does anyone know is it normal for the arms to sit at that funny angle at the connection?
I'm wondering if replacing a few more bushes might be a good idea, as I notice on very rough roads there are still some "knocks" that don't sound right to me.
So while I was poking about at the rear wheels, I thought the rear bushes looked a bit odd...
The right hand side.
Does anyone know is it normal for the arms to sit at that funny angle at the connection?
I'm wondering if replacing a few more bushes might be a good idea, as I notice on very rough roads there are still some "knocks" that don't sound right to me.
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Quick answers for now:
Not very surprised those Allen head rusty stumps didn't co-operate! C5 do seem to get pretty rusty down below, normally seems to be "visually horrible" rather than "structurally deficient" end of the scale other than, as you've found, sometimes for fixings which often seem to have too little of the head left to unscrew easily.
I thought mine was pretty rusty, but from other's photos - particularly Jaybruce's C5, I might be on the better end of the scale surprisingly.
I'd wire brush, phosphoric acid (or Kurust or similar treatment products) then slap on some brush paint to anything I get near really. (But generally can't help myself in that regard. I have greased a jubilee clip in the past, just "have to fix stuff" when I encounter it!)
Mine is black so I use cheap "gloss black metal paint" from builders merchant. Don't worry about the colour match on the underside, just try and protect it.
Suspension bush does not look right to me, will try and get a photo to compare when I get chance (note likely Sunday at earliest)
Not sure if Marc has provided handbrake replacement/ recalibration procedure but I haven't anything specific I can offer to help there, sorry
Not very surprised those Allen head rusty stumps didn't co-operate! C5 do seem to get pretty rusty down below, normally seems to be "visually horrible" rather than "structurally deficient" end of the scale other than, as you've found, sometimes for fixings which often seem to have too little of the head left to unscrew easily.
I thought mine was pretty rusty, but from other's photos - particularly Jaybruce's C5, I might be on the better end of the scale surprisingly.
I'd wire brush, phosphoric acid (or Kurust or similar treatment products) then slap on some brush paint to anything I get near really. (But generally can't help myself in that regard. I have greased a jubilee clip in the past, just "have to fix stuff" when I encounter it!)
Mine is black so I use cheap "gloss black metal paint" from builders merchant. Don't worry about the colour match on the underside, just try and protect it.
Suspension bush does not look right to me, will try and get a photo to compare when I get chance (note likely Sunday at earliest)
Not sure if Marc has provided handbrake replacement/ recalibration procedure but I haven't anything specific I can offer to help there, sorry
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Re: c16rkc's mad house
Sorry Matt - I should have mentioned I have the procedure for the change of the handbrake module. But Citroen assume you change the whole thing, not just the cable, hence that's the bit I'm a bit unsure of.
I think I know whats wrong though, and these videos of a similar unit helped me to understand how the handbrake motor assemvly works.
I think I know whats wrong though, and these videos of a similar unit helped me to understand how the handbrake motor assemvly works.