Surcharges on reconditioned parts
Posted: May 10, 2012 Filed under: Braking, Clutch, Drive shafts, Engine, Hydraulics, Steering, Suspension, Uncategorized | Tags: Citroen parts, surcharges, reconditioned, remanufactured citroen parts 1 Comment »We are having problems getting people to send old exchange parts back to us for reconditioning when they buy reconditioned or re-manufactured items. For some items this is becoming a problem with supplies of old parts suitable for reconditioning running dangerously low. Of course not all old parts are suitable for reconditioning, so supplies will slowly diminish anyway, but this makes it even more important that as many parts are sent back for reconditioning as possible.
Until now the refundable surcharge has been a token amount, but we find most people just absorb the cost rather than send the old parts back, or maybe just never get around to it, so we are having to increase the surcharge to provide enough incentive for people to send the old parts back.
We were discussing this with some of the main suppliers in Europe last week and they are having the same problems. It’s not about the money, we do not make anything from the surcharge because whatever amount it is gets refunded, it’s about keeping the system working. Therefore the surcharge has to be greater than the cost of sending the old parts back or else it all grinds to a halt. All our surcharges will have to rise because of this, unfortunately.
If you have old parts that should have been sent back to a supplier somewhere, not just us, please send them back as soon as you can to help keep the system working.
If parts have to be made new from scratch due to lack of items to recondition, you will not like the quality or the price, so it’s in all of our interests to do our part in keeping the system working.
Rusted core plug in Traction Avant cylinder head
Posted: April 26, 2012 Filed under: Cooling system, Engine, Workshop Life | Tags: 11b, citroen light 15, coolant leak, core plug, legere, swiss, traction avant, water in oil Leave a comment »A Traction Avant came to us for an MOT today and after the 1 mile each way journey, it had a lot of steam coming from under the bonnet. When we opened the bonnet to investigate, we found the steam to be coming from the engine oil filler / breather not the radiator!
We pulled the dipstick and found lots of emulsion instead of oil, but the puzzling thing was the amount of coolant that had got into the oil in a short space of time – too much to be a head gasket and the car was still running sweetly.
I suspected a rusted through core plug in the head and upon removing the rocker cover I found coolant squirting out of 2 tiny holes in one of the core plugs. By the time I’d got the camera it was a welling, rather than squirting, but it did explain things. An easy repair by replacing the plug and a change of fluids later it was all was sorted. The other 2 core plugs were still nice and solid.
Core plug with holes
- New Traction Avant core plug fitted
Video of coolant welling up from below!
The birth of triplets in France
Posted: March 30, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: french speed cameras, speed camera from behind, triple speed cameras in France Leave a comment »I have the privilege to announce the birth of triplets in France.
Yes, on the highway in Bourg-lès-Valence, in the direction of Marseille
Lyon.
Triple speed cameras from behind
Here is a photo of the “Newborn” (they already love the cars!)
Not only that, but they are not advertised beforehand and not seen since they are after a bridge. They take the picture from behind !
It’s new, it just came out, and I think there
will be many more.
What is the right coolant to use in our older cars?
Posted: March 17, 2012 Filed under: Cooling system Leave a comment »Warning:
Coolant (Antifreeze) manufacturers have quietly moved over to new Organic Acid Technology (OAT) from the old Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT). The new formulas are great for modern cars, but in most cases they are totally unsuitable for anything made before about 1990. Luckily some manufacturers are still making the older IAT formula ethylene glycol based coolant, but it is becoming harder to find. As a general rule, the IAT coolant is blue (in the UK ) and the newer OAT coolant is pink (in the UK), but may be other colours in other countries.
OAT inhibited coolant is known to cause leak problems especially in engines that use wet liners, such as most liquid cooled classic Citroens. The major fault with the inhibitor is that it attacks, amongst other things, silicone compounds. The most commonly used base compound for gasket sealants is silicon. It also attacks lead based products like solder that holds our radiators and heaters together.
I once had a 1964 ID19 in the workshop for a service and when I removed the spark plugs, I found that all 4 had pink coloured centre electrodes. Upon investigating, I found that the cooling system had been filled with pink OAT coolant and this had attacked the inlet manifold gasket causing some coolant to be mixed with the air and fuel entering the engine. It went through and out the exhaust along with the combustion gasses, but the dye stayed behind on the spark plugs to tell the story!
For the past few years we have been using pre-mixed IAT Ethylene Glycol coolant in our workshop to avoid getting the lime scale and other contaminants from tap water into the cooling system and reducing it’s efficiency. But lately, this is getting harder to find, especially in reasonable sized quantities. Not only that, but I was concerned about the toxic nature of ethylene glycol. As little as 30ml of ethylene glycol can be fatal in adults and 4ml can kill a cat. It has a sweet taste, so a child or animal finding some either spilt or in a bottle is not put off drinking it by the taste. It also damages paint if spilt on it and as little as 1% ethylene glycol in your engine oil causes rapid main bearing failure, resulting in a ruined engine.
I knew there had to be a better alternative, a coolant which will not attack components in our older cars, poison or children and pets and is more environmentally friendly.
The solution is to use Propylene Glycol based coolant, and from March 19th 2012 we no longer have toxic ethylene glycol coolant in our workshop, we now use exclusively non-toxic, environmentally friendly, long lasting, pre-mixed Propylene Glycol coolant.
Environmentally friendly, non-toxic, long lasting, highly efficient anti freeze coolant for all cars, including classics.
- Propylene glycol is hazy yellow in colour, is non-toxic, will not damage paint, is bio-degradable, and can be mixed with drinking water.
- Propylene glycol has a bitter taste that makes it less attractive to curious animals and children.
- Propylene glycol does not persist in the environment. It is readily consumed by microorganisms. In an activated sludge treatment plant operating at 65 deg F, PG is fully degraded within 24 hours.
- Propylene glycol does not break down into corrosive elements, and can be used for many years retaining excellent aluminium protection, and prevention of lime scaling around the copper tubes in the blocks.
- Tests have shown that aluminium corrosion was lower for PG based antifreeze than for an EG version.
- In laboratory and engine dynamometer studies, PG antifreeze has performed better than similar products containing EG with regard to cast iron cavitation corrosion.
- Heat Transfer efficiency of propylene glycol is superior to ethylene glycol that cannot carry as much heat. More fluid must be circulated to transfer the same amount of energy. Pump volume is increased.
- Fuel economy, and other key performance characteristics were the same for both PG and EG coolants.
The Propylene Glycol coolant we now use is Classic Coolant from AAA Solutions Ltd which will last the lifetime of your engine, provided it is regularly checked and the protection level maintained. This makes it very cost effective and there really is no reason for anyone to still use the toxic ethylene glycol coolant.
CCC D Section Tech Weekend 2012
Posted: March 1, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized, Workshop Life | Tags: Citroen Car Club, Citroen DS Technical Weekend, Tech Weekend, Technical Leave a comment »The annual D Section Tech Weekend at Citroen Classics in Staines will be held earlier this year due to the fact that the ICCCR will be taking up a lot of our time in August when we usually have the Tech Weekend.
The weekend we have chosen for this is April 14th and 15th and the format will be the same as preceding years with your hosts supplying lunch on both days and arranging a group meal on the Saturday evening for those who want it. Let us know as soon as possible if you’d like to attend and what jobs you’d like to tackle whilst here.
Please note that this is open to current Citroen Car Club members only, and you are also welcome to just come along for a look and a chat if you do not have a D Model or do not have work to do to one.
You can contact us on 01784 452299 during the day or info@citroenclassics.co.uk
Scraping noise from DS front wheel.
Posted: January 13, 2012 Filed under: Steering, Tyres and Wheels | Tags: Citroen DS trackrod, DS steering Leave a comment »I have been doing a routine service on a DS in the workshop today and found that it had a worn inner track rod joint on the right side. When I went around to the left side and turned the wheel full lock to access the grease nipples, I noticed a scraping sound when rotating the wheel. Upon investigation I found that the track rod was scraping on the inner edge of the wheel rim and had been for some time judging by the wear mark and shaved down balance weights! Closer examination revealed that at some point in the past, someone wasn’t being too observant and had fitted a right side track rod to the left side of the car. This meant that the bend in the rod to provide clearance for the wheel rim on full lock was going the wrong way and giving less clearance, hence the scraping noise. Strangely, the vehicle owner didn’t notice it, or if he did made no mention of it.
By chance, although it was fitted to the wrong side, the track rod was in perfect condition, so I used it to replace the worn out one on the right side and fitted a new correct item to the left.
There is always something amusing to be found in a classic Citroen garage!
D Model Factory Workshop Manuals (1974 Edition)
Posted: December 31, 2011 Filed under: Workshop Manuals | Tags: Citroen DS workshop manual Leave a comment »The original factory D Model workshop manuals (1974 edition) can be downloaded for free by clicking on the links below.
Volume 1 (Characteristics, Adjustments and Checks)
Volume 2 (Removal and Fitting, Reconditioning, Electrical, Bodywork)
Gorilla Snot
Posted: December 10, 2011 Filed under: Engine, Servicing, Workshop Life Leave a comment »We recently had a Citroen DS23 in the workshop for a number of jobs, one of which involved checking the oil filter bits were all intact as the previous service had been carried out by a local garage, rather than a specialist.
Luckily the oil filter bits were all present and correct, but when I was cleaning the bits to put back in, I discovered something very worrying. The gauze pre-filter that the oil passes through before entering the paper filter was almost completely blocked up with stringy, rubbery bits.
It turns out that when the garage fitted the new filter they had a problem with the cover plate gasket leaking. Their solution was to remove the plate and gasket and apply excessive amounts of “gorilla snot”, otherwise known as silicone sealer, RTV, instant gasket etc. to both sides of the gasket and refit. This stopped the leak all right but when they did up the plate, the excess sealant squeezed out of the joint. What squeezed out to the outside they would have wiped away, but what happens to the stuff that squeezes out into the engine? In use it breaks off and is carried around in the oil until it lodges somewhere, usually restricting or blocking the oil flow, which is what happened here. This is why this type of sealer should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, EVER be used on an engine unless the engine has been specifically designed for it. Many modern engines have a groove which you put this type of sealant into rather than using a gasket, but our classic engines are not like this.
Any good automotive engineer will tell you this and I do not even have any of this sealant in the workshop. It’s not necessary and it is dangerous when misused.
Leaks from the oil filter cover plate are usually caused by distortion of the plate around the bolt holes. When it is tightened up the bolts pull the part of the plate by the holes closer to the sump. When the plate is off, it should be placed on a solid flat surface and tapped back flat with a medium sized hammer. Once clean and flat, a minimal amount of your chosen gasket sealant (not silicone!!!!) should be applied to the plate and the gasket pressed into place. We prefer using a good quality non-setting gasket sealant like Hylomar Universal Blue, and even then, very sparingly. Make sure the sump face is clean and dry, all traces of old gaskets or sealant having been removed, then smear grease on the face of the gasket that sits against the sump and bolt it on. Do not over tighten the bolts which all should have shake proof washers fitted.
Doing it this way, I’ve never had a sump plate leak and it is easy to disassemble the joint next time you need to change the filter. Using Gorilla Snot is not necessary and is likely to wreck your engine if misused! You have been warned…..
Removing a Citroen DS or ID window winder handle
Posted: December 10, 2011 Filed under: Bodywork, Interior Leave a comment »Between the window winder handle and the door card is a plastic ring and behind the door card, against the door, there should be a spring which pushes the door card and plastic ring out against the handle.
To remove the handle you must push the plastic ring and door card back against the door as much as you can. This will reveal the pin which holds the handle on. There are holes in the handle at 90 degrees from each other to facilitate fitting in different positions so check which hole the pin is through and push it out with a small screw driver, drill bit or welding rod, as I do. It isn’t tapered so should come out either way and the handle will then be free.
