PSA Shitroen Shenanigans - C4GP a river dirchy or should that be Oh rev wahh! p4

[richardthestag]

Trusty family 56 plate C4 Grand Picasso has been somewhat testing recently, the car is Mrs thestags primary mode of transport and over the last 8 or so years has collected a fair number of battlescars, mainly around the front bumper!

 

I tend to let the local garage do routine servicing as I simply dont have the time and then do the bigger jobs as and when I have to. 

 

Last month the particulate filter ran low, now I could have fitted the bag but it needed a dealer reshat so I let Citroen have a go for £150 as that seemed reasonable, then Mrs Thestag pointed out that it was 6 months late for a service, I was in Devon welding a Range Rover so told her to get the local to do it, another £180. They warned her that the o/s/r tyre was on its markers, and the front discs needed doing along with the rear calliper sliders.

 

Shitroen wanted £70 for the sliders btw - BIGGRED were nearer £20

 

Roll forwards to last week, 

 

Mrs thestag had a puncture o/s/f, again I was 200 miles away so I sent her down to the local tyre depot, reminding her of course about the o/s/r. Depot pointed out that both fronts had nails in the sidewall. n/s/r was on the markers on the inside, o/s/r was bald and n/s/r had crazing to the sidewall - not bad for a set with 14k miles on them. Wish I had been there but I wasnt so £500 later she has a set of new boots. The tyre chaps also got very excited about the discs and pads, very dangerous etc etc etc

 

Then some nice wanker did this. Naturally they forgot to leave a note. I have prayed that their sump plug comes undone, if you chaps could do likewise.

 

 

I rushed home to change the discs which admittedly were just on their wear marker but the pads had loads of life in them

 

 

Replaced discs and front pads (£150) and fitted the BIGGRED sliders to the rear callipers, cushtly.

 

Then that evening the fucking Turbo lunched itself big time. The car has been a bit noisy recently so I guess it's time had come but talk about fucking timing!!! £1k in over the last 2 months and webuyanywreck say £1100 not knowing that the turbo had died so I expect that offer would have nose dived.

 

I have taken longer shits than the warranty some of the ebay chaps offer on their turbos. There is also a lot of noise on C4owners about cheapo Chinese turbos made from butter. If this car is to last another year I need to put a quality part on it. None of the ebay breakers had a suitable turbo so....  Citroen wanted £990 all in for new turbo and feed pipe. Allparts were £100 cheaper but had a recon turbo with 24month guarantee that didnt include conditions such as "blessed by Donald J Trump" or fitted "by the Pope incumbent" for £600.

 

Not difficult to fit but a lot of stuff to pull off.

 

Leaky Air Doseur was cleaned up before refitting

 

 

That's the turbo playing peak-a-boo

 

 

Rad had to come out to get the precat and heat shield off out, which meant removing the undertray which for some reason was held on with zipties

 

 

There you are, four more 12mm nuts and 

 

 

Yep that be fucked

 

 

No sign of black death carbon build up. soooo either the turbo was on borrowed time or the local made a mess of the oil change. Most likely was a tired turbo and oil change missed by 5k miles

 

 

Anyway £1600 odd quid in the car is a runner again, webuyanycar say £1100 in its current state so it is staying for another year.

 

How far have you lot gone before reaching for the phone / sending over the bridge?

[dome]

My incoming project will get pretty much the purchase price spent again on it in order to get it roadworthy.

 

My E46... I'm into it for a fair bit so I do what it needs. As long as it's not rusty underneath I'll keep on at it. MOT next month could be a decider...

[Junkman]

How far have you lot gone before reaching for the phone / sending over the bridge?

I would not have bought it in the first place...

 

I once scrapped an otherwise fine Granada 2.3 GL MKII because the clutch became slippery and said "there will not be the day those become rare".

Seriously.

[beko1987]

I totted up about £600 worth of work I wanted to do/that needed doing to my old zx. Coupled with the fact that for the previous 3 months I'd become bored with it and bub offering the xantia up made me switch!

 

The Meriva needs to run for another year to get the cost out of the work I've done to it, although if the clutch goes or the engine becomes poorly that might change! It needs tyres next year, only two though. And rear calipers discs and pads but that won't cost too much

[Tamworthbay]

The slow death, it's always a nightmare if a car slowly shafts itself as you have spent good money so sense seems to say keep going but sometimes it's best just to accept the inevitable and let it go. My oppo at work has a dizzel Mondeo that cost him £3k when it was ten years old. The first grand was a clutch and flywheel when he was on holiday (i think he got royally poked on that one), then a turbo, then ecu, then suspension arms and all the brakes, then one thing after another over a year or so. He still has it now and it's behaved for a while. No one thing was big enough to scrap it for but if he'd known the total it would have been bridged. The sad thing is he is a toolmaker by trade and very practical but hates working on cars so apart from the brakes he paid a garage to do all the rest.

[Tickman]

It is the fine line of 'worth' 

If I like the car then I don't mind putting some extra cash in, however if it is just transport it becomes a coin toss.

I had an Avensis (which I got from my dad) which was on 168k original clutch and everything one year I threw a few hundred at the MOT to get it through but the following year I got rid before the MOT as I was bored of it and it needed lots of little bits as well as tyres.

Since then I have cars that have been far worse but a change is as good as a rest

 

Sorry none of that was useful or informative.

[Pillock]

I spent £1300 on a £1300 Leon, it was the slow drip of expense rather than one big bill so i kept going. Had it been one whacking great bill from one garage I'd have been down with the V5 for them, but once you've spent £550 on a turbo, you feel you have to pay for the mullered engine and fitting.

[cort16]

I've spent £1100 quid purchase plus £500 repairs on Fiat Panda worth £1200 at best. Sometimes you just get so far in there's no way back.

[Captain Furious]

I bought my daily Mondeo ST220 in 2010 and to say the first 12 months were trying times is an understatement - apologies in advance for large wall of text about to follow

 

First off, it failed its first MOT in my stewardship on a few things, chief among which was brake pipe corrosion, while inspecting it over a friends pit and deciding that I really didn't want to do the brake pipes myself, I also noticed that the front tyres had large cracks on the inner sidewalls, a rear tyre was about bald and the other one was probably ok...So I had all the rear brake pipes replaced for about £250, replaced all 4 tyres (which were cheapo ditchfinders that I wanted rid of anyway) with Bridgestones at another £450 and while they were MOTing it I had it serviced as well because I didn't fancy changing the spark plugs on the rear bank myself because it involves removing the upper inlet manifold, so a spark plug service came in at another £170.  

 

It came back with a misfire it didn't have when it went in, it was a faint one, almost imperceptible except under certain over-run conditions, but I noticed it every single time I drove it.  I knew if I took it back the garage would take it out for a drive and either declare there was nothing wrong, or that it was a pre-existing condition and charge me to investigate.  So I went and spoke with Ford who asked which plugs it had been serviced with, I told them NGK and the old boy (who is apparently their ST guru) wasn't at all surprised, apparently these engines don't like anything other than genuine motorcraft plugs.  I was a bit sceptical, but since it had only started happening since the plugs were changed it made sense.  I bought some motorcraft plugs from them, went back and changed them myself (the rear 3 plugs really aren't anything to fear) and it was fine again - chalk that one up to experience, lesson: service your own damn car!

 

So not a great start, I suppose, considering this was only a 6 year old car at the time.  But I liked it and had wanted one for ages, I wasn't happy, but these things happen.

 

A couple of weeks later I take it on a fairly long drive to Bristol to look at a car for a friend of mine, I notice on the return journey that its got no power above 3500RPM, it revs fine up to that but just hits a brick wall at 3500.  no misfire, no engine management light, that is just all it has to give.  I originally thought blocked cat, but after driving it home below 3500 and getting in it the next day, everything is fine again, pulls cleanly round to the red line which kind of rules out the cats.  Strange, maybe its haunted, maybe I got bad fuel?  Maybe i'll just have to wait until it gets worse to diagnose it.  A few weeks went by with no reoccurrence and me thinking i'll put it down to a freak happening.  then one night I have to go down to Windsor, because my sister has managed to lock her keys in her car whilst on holiday - moron.  On the return trip exactly the same thing, no power above 3500!  So it seems this problem only happens after its done a long drive.

 

Since most of my journeys are short I didn't worry too much, I wasn't really in the financial position to be replacing parts on speculation or taking it on repeated 100 mile test drives to try and diagnose it, but after a few more weeks it got worse and gradually the distance covered before it started losing power got shorter and shorter.  I was a bit stumped what to do, various people had suggested various things, but none really fitted the symptom that it only happened after a longish journey.  Eventually I took a guess that it was the fuel pump, because it definitely felt like a fuelling problem.  Helpfully there is an inspection hole under the back seat to get to the pump, unhelpfully this is about half the size it needs to be to get the pump out.  Shiters logic suggests cutting the hole bigger, but remember this was my pride and joy and I didn't want to butcher it.  So I sourced a fuel pump from ford, at just £420!  "special trade price for you sir" and had a local garage fit it and clean the tank  (this was a mistake, but more on that later) 

 

3 days before it is due to go in for its fuel pump, the starter motor packs in, intermittently it would work but 8/10 times you'd turn the key and nothing.  So I opened the bonnet and got the part number from the original starter and ordered one online, that way I couldn't get the wrong one, right?  Wrong!  Upon fitting it becomes apparent that I'm not the first person to be here changing a starter motor, that the previous person had obviously got the wrong one and then bodged it on using just 1 bolt.  Since the place had supplied the part I asked for it was my error, so I'd have had to pay return postage and wait for a replacement, which due to the impending fuel pump appointment and the fact the car is now in bits wasn't really an option, so I wrote that £100 off and paid £180 for the correct part from my local ford dealer.  Fitted it, and got it to the garage for its fuel pump swap.  Incidentally the new starter motor was muuuuuuch smoother than the old one, funny that.

 

They had it a day and I picked it up the next morning, I immediately took it on a drive long enough that it would previously have caused it to lose power, about 50 miles down the motorway and back.  As I got close to home I came off the motorway and gave it a 2nd gear bootfull off the roundabout - pulled cleanly to the redline, YES!  I was right!  Did it again off the next roundabout, pulls to 6400RPM - into 3rd - crunch....Whoops, missed a gear, first time I've ever done that... - put the clutch in again, pedal straight to the floor and stays there.  Bollocks!  Call to the AA and a trip home on a flatbed.

 

So by now I'm starting to lose my sense of humour a bit, I had a few quotes from local garages to do the clutch, but they weren't really any cheaper than having Ford themselves do it and weren't going to use a genuine DMF - so in the end I had it done at Ford's, £1100 lighter I pick it up 2 days later with a new clutch, slave cylinder and dual mass flywheel.  Interestingly, when the AA came to pick it up and take it to Ford's for me, the driver suggested their breakdown repair cover - I was sceptical, I know what a reputation these things have for wriggling out of paying, but I subscribed to it, it was fairly reasonably priced, and covered the first £500 of any breakdown repair - allegedly.

 

It ran fine for a month or so, and then one night returning from a firework display it loses power again, exactly the same as it had done before.  I was off to an airshow at Waddington the next day but I wasn't too worried, after all the lack of power issue had never actually caused it to FTP.  Set off the next day and made it to Waddington, though it was desperately short on power by the time I got onto the airfield.  On the way home it was cutting at 2500RPM before I'd even got off the airfield and about 10 miles from the base it would barely go above idle and came rolling to a stop just before the A1.  While the symptoms were the same as before the onset was much faster and more severe.  So a 2nd trip home on a flatbed was in order.

 

Remember how I said having a garage fit a part I'd sourced was a mistake?  Well this is when I realised, because the garage who fitted the pump accepted no liability because they hadn't supplied the part and Ford accepted no liability because they hadn't fitted it.  The only option was to send it to Ford to be 'diagnosed' and IF they decided it was the pump (which they probably wouldn't, because it ran fine when cold) then they'd replace it.  If not I'd be liable for the diagnostic charges and labour.

 

So I'm at a dilemma, its clearly the fuel pump again, but why?  is something else wrong with the car that's causing the pumps to fail?  To have two pumps fail in the exactly the same way within weeks of each other must be practically unheard of, but if I chuck another pump in it and it kills it again...Gah!  But, I had joined the AA breakdown repair cover, and now it was time to test it out!  I took it to another garage (because it has to be a VAT registered garage in order to claim) who eventually reluctantly agreed it was the fuel pump, reluctantly because at first they couldn't get it to do it and didn't really believe there was anything wrong, so they made the case to the AA claims dept, they approved it and the work went ahead.  I had to pay myself initially, because the garage wasn't prepared to release the car on the promise of payment from a 'warranty company' which was fair enough, and then I had a bit of a nervy wait for the cheque to come through, but sure enough it did, £450 (minus a £50 excess) which almost covered the parts and labour - (obviously the part has been supplied AND fitted by the same garage this time!) 

 

Upon collecting it, the mechanic called me in to show me the fuel they had drained from it, it looked like real ale.  He said the tank was in quite a disgusting state and his hypothesis was that it was gradually sucking up shit from the tank which accumulated around the pump pickup gauze filter and restricted flow.  When you switched off the engine the suction would drop and the debris dropped away, restoring full performance until it accumulated again, I'm inclined to agree with him, and in all likelihood neither pump was actually borked, it just required the tank draining and cleaning, which if the first garage had done like I requested, would have been the end of it.  Hey ho.

 

Not long after this I changed jobs and had a company car, by this point the Mondeo was probably worth a couple of grand and I was into it for WELL over that on repairs alone, so I kept it, stored it in my mums garage and it barely turned a wheel for 2 years.  Then I changed jobs again and didn't get a car this time so with some trepidation the mondeo was pressed back into service.  Touch [a lot of] wood, it has driven superbly ever since.  About 15,000 miles now and the only fault has been a failed reverse light switch.  The memories of those times are still fresh in my mind, and it took a while to get any confidence back in it, but now I'm absolutely loving it.  It is finally the car that it should have been when I bought it.

[Bren]

Sometimes you need to know when to get out - oddly enough when the car is running well! I just got rid of our focus for good money because it was well looked after and ran superbly - however it was a sub £1k car so a failed injector, turbo or fuel pump could well have been the end of the road. Sometimes better to get out while you can.

 

A decent garage helps, the one I use most people would drive past - small unit with portakabin outside. However his MOT's are £30 and his labour rates reasonable - plus if your car is fucked he will tell you before taking £££ off you.

[rantingYoof]

SnrYoof spent £1500 on an Omega estate and almost immediately had to spend the same again having the gearbox replaced when it shatted. It took a further 500 quid or so and then worked flawlessly for years. Still, it was never worth 3k and as the lady he bought it off 'forgot' to forward the service history that supposedly existed, it was never really worth £1500.

 

Captain Furious - a true horror story read from behind the fingers. I almost had an ST220 but figured they are probably all driven quite hard with servicing skimped (present company excluded obviously).

 

I did look out for a giffer special dark green 3.0 Titanium X in 55 plate tax dodging spec but they are as rare as hen's teeth (most are post 2006 and therefore £500 to tax...)

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Captain Furious]

Thing was, the warning signs were there when I bought it, it was (and still is) in beautiful condition externally, but shitty tyres put on to sell it, cheapo brakes all round (incidentally the brakes on an ST220 are woeful, I have now replaced them with Focus ST callipers and it improves them no end) the wrong starter motor points to previous history of mechanical bodgery although I wasn't to know that on a test drive. I walked away from it once because it didn't feel like "the one" but I was struggling to find one with all the kit I wanted, basically HID's and cruise control. lots had one but not the other

 

So I bought it and well, that happened. Arguably apart from the fuel pumps the rest could be excused as wear and tear and servicing, just unfortunate it happened all at once and I was in the process of buying a house at the time.

 

Yeah the 3.0 non ST is rare and £500 tax is a killer. Mine is 2004 so well into the 'cheap' tax spec.

 

It's actually a great car now, because I've made it that way. And maintained meticulously because at the end of the day I rely on it to get to work and hate standing around on hard shoulders. Whatever I sold it for would be practically giving it away so fuck it, I'm keeping it forever and getting my monies worth from all them new parts!

[Supernaut]

I now only buy cars that I want, rather than ones 'recommended' to me by others.

 

The Audi A4 1.8T quattro sport that I had was one that was 'recommended' to me. It was a fucking money pit. Bought for £1250, then spent over £1k on it a couple of months after buying it, getting a new clutch, flywheel, and gearbox oil seal (as the clutch was slipping due to oil contamination rather than being worn) and timing belt as it had no recent service history. My logic was that my budget for a car at the time was £2.5k, so I could eat up the cost of the clutch, flywheel and timing belt.

 

Then the fucker kept eating springs, but because it was on the sports suspension I could only get the springs from Audi themselves, at £90+ EACH!

 

Just after buying it, I ended up getting 4 new tyres, and new track rod ends, and an alignment, as it had worn away the inner edges of the front tyres to the point they were almost bald, and the rears were just shit ditchfinders anyway, so they got chucked too.

 

After almost 2 years of ownership I managed to sell it for £950 with an ABS fault (as in it would go off at precisely 15mph all the time, I got used to it, no warning lights though) and a shit handbrake (but a year's MOT on it!). The ABS fault ate a fair bit of money and time too, as I replaced both rear ABS sensors and reluctor rings with no luck.

 

It's now being used by 17-Coffees' dad to commute about 25 miles each way and it's apparently behaving itself perfectly bar the ABS and the handbrake. BASTARD CAR!

 

 

It was actually a lovely car when it was working properly, if not a bit underwhelming in a straight line. The 1.8T just isn't torquey enough for a car that size, it would have been so much better with the V6 I reckon. It was also bright fuck-off green (Java Green is the correct name) so was quite unusual. It cornered like a motherfucker though, as you can imagine with full-time AWD and 225-section tyres.

 

Whenever I drive the Audi RS2 in Forza Horizon 3, I find myself pining for another 90s sporty Audi, but then remember the pain from the A4...

 

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, it also had a horrendous shunt from the back-end when changing gear enthusiastically, I just ended up ignoring it and accepting I'd get rid of the car at some point. Whatever it was, it was probably expensive. The gearstick also wobbled about worryingly under full throttle. Again, I just ignored it... Basically, it was a fucking shed and I got burned badly by it.

[richardthestag]

bloody hell Cpt Furious

 

Makes me feel a load better.

 

Tis a fine line though deciding when to let go. Shitroen is on borrowed time so had better not think about blowing a bulb

[Captain Furious]

Heh, wanna know the best thing, I bought it to replace a Vectra B I had at the time, because we'd just bought a caravan for going to festivals and car shows in.  The Vectra was only a 1.8 and a bit gutless for it so I thought yeah, 3.0 V6 - that will tow like the proverbial boss.

 

Except the ST220 is the ONLY Mondeo in the range that isn't type-approved for towing and therefore has a towing capacity of zero - bum.  I did find out before I'd actually bought it but by then I was set on the ST and there was no changing my mind.  Consequently I've always had to have some other even less reliable rammel around for towing duties, which has led to a few entertaining trips.

[richardthestag]

less reliable ...

[richardthestag]

Not paid any attention to the Shitroen for months, it passed mr MoT last week with no advisories. Mrs Thestag is constantly moaning at me about spurious CANBUS messages that pop up and the EML glowing brightly.

 

Anyway was driving it on Friday for first time in ages and noticed quite an induction roar at over 3k rpm. hmmm lifted the bonnet and noticed that the ducting between the tiny air filter box and the AFM was missing. Fucksticks

 

Air filter is front right just behind headlamp, AFM is to right of engine cam right at the back of the engine bay.

 

 

Local breakers didnt have one, no ebay traders responded quickly, Citroen quoted " a Vanessa*" + VAT for new parts.

 

Looked at Halfrauds and they had a BarryBoy cone filter for 19.99 in stock. Whizzed out to get it and then found that the AFM pipe is too far back in the engine bay to fit it. 

 

Disillusioned I fixed the Jag, then on the Jaag test drive a sudden brainfart. 7cm internal diameter! That isnt far off gutter down pipes. Nipped to the local Garden centre and spent £2.50 on an elbow certain that I would have a length of pipe around somewhere.

 

Got home couldnt find the fucking Shitroen keys, tipped the house, garage, mancave and cars inside out looking for them. They showed up this morning!! Mrs Thestag thinks I am going mad, I think we have a Poltergeist or cat had developed opposable digits so I can move shit around.

 

Anyway using spare key, that doesnt start the car but does at least open it I managed to cobble this up.

 

 

 

Verdict = works a treat, costs £22.49

 

p.s. found that there wasnt even an airfilter inside the airbox so am going to be "avin a chat" with the local garage who serviced it for mrs last Oct!! Especially as the fucking service receipt shows she had bought one

 

* Vanessa - Half a Tonne - £50

[richardthestag]

Pug 307 bought from 83C of this Manor is Matty Thestag (#1 son) Daily Driver

 

4sail and collexshun fred http://autoshite.com/topic/26591-peugeot-307-in-devon-%C2%A3120/

 

Anyway Matty boy loves his 307 and we have been going around fixing the little problems.

 

Paper is still keeping the indicator stalk working correctly rather than having a mind of its own. I have some very low density foam that I plan to install. Brand new door mirror fitted £18.75

 

Two weeks back Matt had a wee shunt, agreed with 3rd party that it could easily be argued that neither party was looking as they met o/s/f to o/s/f. Matt was right across the oposite side of the road turning right and hit a Golf coming the other way from being parked up on the pavement. go figure! 

 

 

Anyway quick check found that the only real damage was the headlamp unit, the rest had just unclipped itself.

 

 

The wing and bumper mounting bracket had shifted but loosening the securing nut allowed it to be repositioned 

 

 

Then with wing in place, 2nd hand headlamp unit (£27,99 delivered) was fitted and tested. Didn't even have to replace the flippin bulbs

 

 

20mins later and all done

 

 

I refused to get the t-cut out because Matt needs to do that, he is also supposed to be paying me back for the headlight unit but I suspect I will whistle for that!

 

Next on the JTD list that I will only do if Matt is there to at least pass me the fucking spanners while he plays on his phone!!

 

1. fix remote central locking

2. fix drivers door lock which has got really wobbly

3. rebodge indicator stalk fix with foam rather than paper

4. investigate 2nd key options

5. could also do with a service at somepoint, Matt is skint and spends what money he has on food

[beko1987]

Looks phat that bruv! But if it turns the eml off, happy days!

[chaseracer]

About three years ago, the Blingo needed clutch, alternator (+ battery) and starter motor within a short timescale.  Recently, it had a brand-spanking rear axle for the MOT.  I suspect the turbo is beginning to feel its age.

 

It's a nice old bus though, that's been looked after - and it's still cheaper and better IMHO than chopping it in for someone else's box of problems.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Our very own 307 is heading to that financial tipping point. It's in getting the sill welded for the MOT, it also needs droplinks, tie rod ends and I think at least one of the engine mounts is on the way out.

After that its almost due a timing belt, the clutch was slipping a bit last summer (but hasn't since ), no point having that done without replacing the DMF and there is a whiff of diesel coming from somewhere. I thought I'd cured it last year by loosening and re-tightening the injector feeds, might be the leak off pipes this time.

 

Basically if we were paying someone else to do all of the above it would be a financial write off

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[83C]

Glad to see the 307 is earning it's keep!

[richardthestag]

Bought one of those Peugeot Planet gizmos off evilbay last year and have been desperate to give it a go.

 

Comes with Lexia software to cover Citroen and PeugeotPlanet 2000 for the Pug

 

Quite a balls ache to install, software only runs from Windows XP. As I didn't have an ancient laptop nor any desire to own one I dipped my toes into the world of Virtual Machines,

 

Oracle do a freeware bit of s/w called virtualbox for which there are a number of Youtube instruction videos to get VMs up and running. This was the easy bit but then I was bitten by the pain of modern laptops having no driver provision in XP. You also need two mouse devices, one that works inside the VM window and one that allows you to access the host operating system. nightmare. Luckily I had an old desktop with a Windows XP COA that I could use to register the million year old OS. Microshaft kept baulking me when following bodges that are available via google.

 

So Windows XM VM up and running ready to install the software from CD. only XM dont recognise my DVD ROM player. Eventually found a USB stick that it did recognise and copied the CD onto that.

 

Installed the software, used the key code generator to get the licence working. I am not bothered about online faultfixing etc as I couldnt get XP to recognise my network port nor the wifi. Maybe I should have bought a shit old Dell running XP afterall!!

 

Software installed eventually.

 

Plugged it into the shitroen first of all. Pretty easy to use except that it has been translated into English via Klingon so some of the instructions are a fumble. In a nutshell use the [*] button to move forwards and the back to front "J" button or Return Button as the software refers to it to go back.

 

With the cable plugged in and the software loaded I was able to interrogate the config and error logs of the car. 

 

 

 

Hmm lots of faults there

 

Tried to read BSI faults and found...

 

 

Cannot clear faults without reading them first but when trying to read I get this

 

 

Arsecakes

 

Did manage to clear some of the local faults down through seperate sections but it would appear that BSI log is still full with no way of reading faults nor clearing them down.

 

That said with the faults I did manage to clear the engine is running much smoother and so far no MIL

 

 

 

[twosmoke300]

Before you make yourself look stupid shouting at the mechanic - if it's a 1.6 or 1.4 hdi then the air filter is up at the back of the engine under the wiper panel - long rectangular one !

[richardthestag]

Pug had my attention today.

 

Back when it was freezing Matt Thestag was trying to get into the car when it was obvious that the lock was frozen! Being a complete arsehat sometimes meant that he forced it, and ever since the drivers door lock has been a proper balls ache to lock or unlock. Conscious that this is the only way to enter the car, remote cen locking dont work... yet.. and no locks on other doors I felt the urge to fix it. Only Matt thestag is a lazy bastad and there is no way I was doing it without him at least showing an interest.

 

Roll forwards to today. Shouted at him until he eventually agreed to come and help.

 

Eventually found that the lock barrel on a 307 can only be removed along with the complete handle unit. i was working blind, without manual nor any real instruction. Pug forums question why you want to remove the lock and then when it is explained the forum fills with metaphorical tumbleweed. After an extensive search of a number of forums and all came to the same conclusion I didnt waste my time asking.

 

So here it is for anyone with a early noughties PSG with a fucked lock, pretty sure most will be the same.

 

Obviously remove inner door trim, no real beef here, three screws and a load of those nasty plastic plugs that shatter if you look at them funny. Disconnect window switches and speaker cable then remove the trim.

 

From inside the door you cant see fuck all until you remove the lower window channel at the back edge of the door. big white plastic thing that guides the window as it lowers. 2 10mm nuts secure it and it can easily be wiggled out of the way. 

 

Because it is tricky to photograph anything while in place I removed the lot and here are the nice pics to demonstrate how it all pops together..

 

This is the door catch that I removed from the door, 3 T27 screws hold it in place and it is very easy to remove.

Two rods on it attach to the outer door handle, the interior door handle is connected via a flexi cable. Central locking loom can also remain connected.

 

 

This is it out of the car. Imaging that you are looking into the door towards the door catch upside down. i.e. the inside of the door skin would be on the right of the photo. The chunk on the left is the door catch as above, the bit on the right is the inner section of the outer door handle, not the metal cam that sits on the back of the lock barrel. I did this pic to show how the two rods connect to the outer handle. Hope this makes sense.

 

To disconnect the rods, rotate the clip at the end of the top rod in the pic and the rod then slips out of it. The bottom rod in the pic just pushes through the white round slider. keep an eye on it, it is loose and will fall out of the handle. I can imagine that loosing it would be a complete pita and that PSG will only supply a new one as part of a complete unpainted door.. probably

 

 

Next and with the outer handle still in the car - removed here for photographic clarity

 

Unclip the plastic bit around the lock barrel on the outside of the door. Three flimsey plastic lugs hold it in place, it pivots from the big lug at the end (far left of the handle in this pic, replacements can be cheaply bought so dont cry if you break the lugs.

 

 

Removing that ^ allows the outer pull handle the space to be removed.

 

This is the handle from the inside again, it is the right way up as if your were looking into the innards of the door. The white lug in the middle is what transfers the pull handle action to the rod with the spring on it and at the other end is where the rod attaches to the door catch. Geddit?

 

 

To remove the outer handle you must pull on the outer door handle, at the same time use a flat blade screwdriver to gently persuade the white lug to the left in this piccy. This allows the outer handle to pass to the right of the white lug. You can tell this has happened because the outer handle will pull right out. In this pic you can see the white lug is pulled to the left, look at the central metal rods position in this and the above pics and you will see what I mean hopefully. You can also see the outer handle half removed from the inner frame

 

 

To remove the outer pull handle completely it hinges onto the forward end of the inner frame, pivot it out to 90degrees from the door and then remove from the door. dead easy

 

 

Next to remove the inner part of the door handle you will need to drill three 4mm pop rivets, the inner part of the handle will tumble into the bottom of the door

 

 

You now have the outer handle removed from the door. with the door catch still in place this is your view from the inside. The interior door handle will still operate the door catch but obviously opening the drivers door from the outside will be a fiddle, trying to find the rod etc. Make sure the passenger door is unlocked/ open before slamming the drivers door

 

[richardthestag]

Before you make yourself look stupid shouting at the mechanic - if it's a 1.6 or 1.4 hdi then the air filter is up at the back of the engine under the wiper panel - long rectangular one !

 

Yep I figured that out just after posting that . Airfilter was big oblong, the pipes are purely for cold air feed. Now replaced with flexi pipe as PSG intended but on the cheap... as PSG intended

 

P.S. isnt the airfilter a complete arsing ballsache to get to on one of these?

[twosmoke300]

Yup . Some you have to remove wipers and panel ! Do the fuel filter at the same time !

 

I must admit that it both annoys me and amuses me that people are so quick to " av a word " with garages / mechanics before looking at the issue properly .

[richardthestag]

Yup . Some you have to remove wipers and panel ! Do the fuel filter at the same time !

 

C4 GP start with wipers, top panel, swearing every time you crack your head on the bonnet catch. And yes fuel filter at the same time

[richardthestag]

Ok so onto fixing the lock on the Pug which even when removed from the door continues to be very difficult to operate.

 

To disassemble the lock

Remove the C-clip from the back of the lock barrel

 

 

This then allows to cam to slip off, there is a spring behind it along with another 2 metal sleeves. try keep an idea on what goes where, which way up and in which order.

 

This leaves the lock and barrel inside the handle.

 

To remove the lock insert the key, turn it 45 degrees and then withdraw it through the front of the handle. The barrel bit comes out through the back of the barrel. Mine was a pain because one of the lock levers/sliders/whatever was damaged which meant that it would not easily remove from the handle.

 

Unless you like monkey puzzles try not to pull the key out of the lock without either holding the lock together between your fingers or having it installed into the barrel.

 

This is the lock removed from the handle but reinstalled inside the barrel 

 

 

The bare handle now looks like this

 

 

To fix the lock

Ok so to fix the lock a tiny bit of understanding as to how the lock and the barrel work together. The lock has 7 flat plates/levers and tiny springs in it. With the key out the plates/levers ping outwards and into the slots on the side of the barrel. This locks the lock and stops it turning.

 

This is a pic from the interweb that shows the lock and its levers

 

 

Install the key and it guides and aligns all the plates/levers so they are flush with the outside of the lock. thus none of them occupies any of the slots on the side of the barrel. Simples

 

I found on my lock that I have to wiggle the key quite a lot to get it to turn through 90degrees. once it is at 90 degrees none of the levers can fall into the slots to the key and lock can with draw from the barrel.

 

I then found that with the key installed one lever was sitting proud. I tried to get it straight and filed it but ended up just removing that one lever. All works fine, lock still works but on 6 levers now. cheap fix 

 

 To reassemble it

 

With the key in the lock, install the barrel from the back of the handle and the lock from the front. With these in place the key should turn through 90degrees easily, if it dont something has gone wrong. With the lock and barrel installed into the handle you can remove the key and continue with the install...

 

Shit photo, I thought I dedicated one for this but failed

 

Working from the back of the handle the bits go back together in this order and in this orientation.

 

1. Big sleeve goes onto the back of the handle first

2. Small sleeve and spring goes next 

3. Cam goes on next, the spring is held the springy side of the lug on #1 and #2

4. c clip holds it all together

 

 

 

[richardthestag]

Trusty family shitrown c4 Grand Picasso treated us to a FTP Easter morning on the M40exit to M25. Oh the joy

 

Result = 3.5h late for lunch at Bruvva Thestags house

 

FTP was down to a shredded alternator / accessory belt which on it final last gasp yanked the Crank posi sensor out. Didnt really fancy fitting that on the M40 when 1/20 cars hit the rumblestrips in a late exit / stay on the m40 type manoeuvre.

 

Called the RAC and enjoyed the Easter morning sunshine. Mrs Thestag and the Twin thestags.

 

Recovery agreed that fixing at the roadside was not safe so offered recovery home. this fella arrived at 1h 20m since breakdown. real nice bloke but the wagon was broke And yes mrs thestags Shitreoen is a right fucking shed

 

He called on his mates who arrived 20 mins later, with the shitrown unloaded the recover bed still would not work,

 

they chose to fix it

 

Mrs Thestag chose time to pick wild flowers from the verge

 

Finally fixed, loaded and ready to go 2h after breakdown so happy days and still in good ish humour. 

 

This morning found the root cause of FTP. this was right chewed up. need to come back to this fella but it did relocated with a satisfying click. just isnt waterproof anymore

 

The belt is a piece of piss to replace according to the web, just need a 15mm spanner and a 4mm metal drill, spanner winds the auto tensioner back and the 4mm drill holds it in place while new belt is fitted

 

Old belt removed, thanks to Eurocarparts for being open on Easter Monday, Halfrauds dont sell anything useful any more it seems

 

Old belt is proper fucked, I am servicing this thing myself from now on, getting the local garage to do it is a fucking waste of my money

 

New belt is fitted but by now the post on the tesnioner that the 15mm spanner goes onto has dissolved. Thus the tesnioer is jammed open by the 4mm drill bit. 

 

After some brief swearage and cussing at the fucking thing a little lateral thought found a 15mm socket and ratchet provided ample assistance. Shitroen is back up and running. need to do timing belt now I thing as I dont trust service history anymore, Is 1.6HDi a "safe" engine or is it an "angry interference" type chap?