Picasso restoration.......a tale of idiocy and citroen fun

[Prote]

21 hours ago, maxxo said:

Funny enough i saw a picasso today that must have been done by that body shop.....the silver was more grey and "citroen" and "xsara" were on the wrong sides..............which annoyed me very much

The bloke I went has gone now, perhaps he headed north east....?

[Prote]

How's yours running now?

 

Mine's making a funny low vibrating noise that disappears at when you raise the revs slightly. Sounds like the undertray - 'cept there isnt one. Must be a plasticky bit somewhere vibrating on tickover. It's definitely N/S front... Waiting for weather to improve so I can get under there and poke around.

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, Prote said:

How's yours running now?

 

Mine's making a funny low vibrating noise that disappears at when you raise the revs slightly. Sounds like the undertray - 'cept there isnt one. Must be a plasticky bit somewhere vibrating on tickover. It's definitely N/S front... Waiting for weather to improve so I can get under there and poke around.

hmmmm, try wobbling the gearstick when it does it, mine occasionaly does a noise similar to that and if i touch the gearstick the noise stops.....assuming it's the gear cables vibrating. otherwise mine seems to be running well, needs about 5 seconds worth of preheating on a cold start but otherwise fine, i do have a suspension clonk but i'm going to silicone the bushes and see what that leads to

[maxxo]

So had done a service today (not the fuel filter as i know the housing will smash to bits while it's still a bit cold)

done the air and pollen filters, siliconed the supension rubers and checked tyre pressures and so on

didn't do my own oil change as my mechanic did it for £40 as well as lubricate the gear linkages....couldn't do it myself for that price

runs great

[maxxo]

in a total masochistic way, i'm going to change the fuel filter this weekend.....of course i will document it all so you can see me fail

I have no doubt the housing will smash to a million pieces the second i look at it, so very exciting!

[maxxo]

I also have no doubts it will start running like crap, FTP or fail to start just afterwards.

It does self prime though, but french so it won't work of course

[lexi]

Use the heat gun or warm hairdryer on the plastic casing to make it more pliable. .....be careful. You may have to tighten it up a lot to get it to stop leaking after changing filter.

  This is if you have a Siemens type housing. My C5 has Bosch injection but Siemens type housing with the Mahle filter. 2.0 hdi 110

[maxxo]

7 minutes ago, lexi said:

Use the heat gun or warm hairdryer on the plastic casing to make it more pliable. .....be careful. You may have to tighten it up a lot to get it to stop leaking after changing filter.

  This is if you have a Siemens type housing. My C5 has Bosch injection but Siemens type housing with the Mahle filter. 2.0 hdi 110

Mine also has the bosch injection with the siemens housing, which makes it far more awkward.

i'm thinking of just driving it until operating temp, leaving it 20 mins then trying it

[maxxo]

You know when you get "that car" the car you can never imagine selling........

well that's me and "pablo" i don't know what it is but i can't ever see this car getting sold..............and i would never dream of scrapping a car.

These are some of the most unloved cars out there, yet theres no need for the hate they get

Same with all shite, this is what this website is about.....the picasso's, the sierra base's, the protons, the rovers and all the other unloved cars which are dying out.

the cars retail value means nothing to me, there isn't a problem this car could have that would make me scrap it

The adventures me and pablo have been on in the last 9 months is amazing, for a car that spent 8 years never going further than 5 miles from home, to cover 15k already

been with me through ups and downs, relationships starting and breaking up, jobs from hell and starting uni......and never gone badly wrong and always been there for me

This year i'm planning on taking it to spain to pablo's "birthplace" to get some pics

I'm being all soppy but cars become a part of you and it's so easy to get attached

[maxxo]

Was going to attempt the fuel filter today, of course had perfect weather for it but had to drive up to newcastle......

So next week/weekend i'm going to do it, last time i tried the housing was completely jammed together (of course it's plastic!) and i didn't want to chance smashing it to bits because french..

Not to worry the filter was last changed in 2012! so yeah it's going to be pretty bad, i'm sure it will benefit a lot from a new one.

[maxxo]

Oh and in other news.......the 8 month old pirelli tyres i have....fitted at much expense are cracking already, never been curbed or parked in water

so that's just great!

Considering replacing them this year with Uniroyal rainexperts, or Michelin crossclimates

[vulgalour]

Disappointing on the Pirellis.  Can recommend the Uniroyals, that's what both of mine wear, and they seem a good all round (hah) tyre for ordinary cars.

[beko1987]

I've done a winter wearing rainexperts too. Wore very quickly on the fronts but that's mainly because you don't need to slow down when it's wet. 

I remember a few times telling myself off for doing 65 when the road is actually flooded, I just couldn't feel it

[maxxo]

3 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Disappointing on the Pirellis.  Can recommend the Uniroyals, that's what both of mine wear, and they seem a good all round (hah) tyre for ordinary cars.

I don't care about them wearing quickly if I get 15k out of a set that's fine as long as they grip well, it's a shame as the pirellis still feel soft and they grip so well but they aren't aging well, still have 5mm on them after what 13k ish and I do "hoon" it a fair bit.

2 hours ago, beko1987 said:

I've done a winter wearing rainexperts too. Wore very quickly on the fronts but that's mainly because you don't need to slow down when it's wet. 

I remember a few times telling myself off for doing 65 when the road is actually flooded, I just couldn't feel it

I'm seriously considering selling the pirellis (I'm talking £60 for the whole set maybe even less) and getting rainexperts everyone says how good they are. 

Either uniroyal or Michelin next, I'm kicking myself for not getting continentals as they were the same price.....

[Prote]

13 hours ago, maxxo said:

I don't care about them wearing quickly if I get 15k out of a set that's fine as long as they grip well, it's a shame as the pirellis still feel soft and they grip so well but they aren't aging well, still have 5mm on them after what 13k ish and I do "hoon" it a fair bit.

I had 4 x Firestone Multiseasons fitted on 2001 Xsara Picasso in late October 2019 and they've been surprisingly good on the 7k miles on them so far. I drive to max where I can (as much as Picasso will let you!), A-roads, dual carriageways, motorways, flooded lanes in torrential rain with muddy passing places, and they've behaved fine with plenty of grip. Never had a slippy moment when cornering hard in the rain. I had an Mitsubishi L200 with Bridgestone Duelers that did unexpected broadsides on roundabouts and sharp bends at low speeds and an old VW Beetle, so I'm not a stranger to iffy handling.

Back when I was a petrolhead with disposable income, I had a Subary Legacy Estate wearing Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 and they were great but the steering felt a bit floaty. The same tyre had the same effect on a Suzuki Ignis 4Grip I owned - grip was fantastic in the snow but you couldn't really get any feedback from the road, ever.

I know Firestones have their fans and haters but these been fine for me - cheap enough and they're snow rated. Got them from Halfrauds:

https://www.halfords.com/tyres/firestone/multiseason-multiseason.html

Best time to buy is a Black Friday sale, I once got a set of 4 x Goodyears for a fraction of the full retail price through Kwik Fit - already offering an online discount and then a Black Friday deal on top.

Here's a real one:

[maxxo]

37 minutes ago, Prote said:

I had 4 x Firestone Multiseasons fitted on 2001 Xsara Picasso in late October 2019 and they've been surprisingly good on the 7k miles on them so far. I drive to max where I can (as much as Picasso will let you!), A-roads, dual carriageways, motorways, flooded lanes in torrential rain with muddy passing places, and they've behaved fine with plenty of grip. Never had a slippy moment when cornering hard in the rain. I had an Mitsubishi L200 with Bridgestone Duelers that did unexpected broadsides on roundabouts and sharp bends at low speeds and an old VW Beetle, so I'm not a stranger to iffy handling.

Back when I was a petrolhead with disposable income, I had a Subary Legacy Estate wearing Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 and they were great but the steering felt a bit floaty. The same tyre had the same effect on a Suzuki Ignis 4Grip I owned - grip was fantastic in the snow but you couldn't really get any feedback from the road, ever.

I know Firestones have their fans and haters but these been fine for me - cheap enough and they're snow rated. Got them from Halfrauds:

https://www.halfords.com/tyres/firestone/multiseason-multiseason.html

Best time to buy is a Black Friday sale, I once got a set of 4 x Goodyears for a fraction of the full retail price through Kwik Fit - already offering an online discount and then a Black Friday deal on top.

Here's a real one:

Something to consider for certain!

i'm just annoyed with myself for assuming they'd last a while, you know being a good brand but they're deteriorating rapidly it seems.

i'm certainly going to check out the firestones, i can see myself getting new tyres again this year

 

[Prote]

1 hour ago, maxxo said:

Something to consider for certain!

i'm just annoyed with myself for assuming they'd last a while, you know being a good brand but they're deteriorating rapidly it seems.

Tis really annoying and tyres aren't cheap. I've had decent brand tyres crack and wear prematurely. I'm sure the quality for any tyre isn't as consistent as we'd like to think.

Someone here has issue with Pirellis cracking early: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=172130

[Prote]

For no reason other than boredom and/or avoiding doing some work on my company laptop...a picture of my engine - 1.6 8v.

[maxxo]

20 minutes ago, Prote said:

For no reason other than boredom and/or avoiding doing some work on my company laptop...a picture of my engine - 1.6 8v.

My god that takes me back to my childhood.....in X477 DDC (check it's mot history it failed epically in 2015) and that had the same engine.

Often didn't seem to like starting and i was told how underpowered it was going up hills

I remember it being very quiet......

But my grandparents owned it and didn't even change the oil for 5 years and it was absolutely wrekced by the time it was 10, i remember the top of the engine being absolutely covered in oil and it really loud tappets? i can't remember properly it was so long ago

[maxxo]

That's unusual.....you have a plastic cover ontop of your ecu....mine's just wrapped in a bag

Might have to try and get hold of one

[Prote]

9 hours ago, maxxo said:

That's unusual.....you have a plastic cover ontop of your ecu....mine's just wrapped in a bag

Might have to try and get hold of one

Wow - well spotted.

[maxxo]

8 hours ago, Prote said:

Wow - well spotted.

okay to add to the confusion i've found out it's pot luck if it has the cover or not

so typically french

[maxxo]

So this is the cracking i'm suffering with these "premium" Pirelli's........if they were a few years old then that would be absolutely fine!

But they're not

The fronts are less than 8 months old

The rears (which are already starting to crack in the same way) are 6 months old

my dads spaceship civic (with 200k on it!) has 2 year old conti's and they are a bit worn (about 4mm on them) but have no cracking at all!

Lets just say i'm not that happy about this at all, to the point where i'm considering replacing them in early may with either michelin, continental or uniyorals as i really don't trust these pirelli's

oh and we have the "bulges" on most of them which are apparently "part of the manufacturing process"

at the end of the day i made a mistake with these, a big mistake!

oh and they were made in 2019 too!

[Prote]

9 hours ago, maxxo said:

So this is the cracking i'm suffering with these "premium" Pirelli's........if they were a few years old then that would be absolutely fine!

That's annoying!! Might be worth dropping Pirelli a line to mention it. At least then you've tried to make them aware of it.

[maxxo]

2 minutes ago, Prote said:

That's annoying!! Might be worth dropping Pirelli a line to mention it. At least then you've tried to make them aware of it.

Already did with some of the other issues i've been having, emails sent and everything

of course nothing back! which is rather annoying tbh.

I'm going to run them until i spot the slightest of cracking in the sidewalls, then they are going to be replaced by conti's or uniroyals

[Prote]

Just to end the day on something that made me smile today.

My Sh*troen shining in the shun!

[maxxo]

looks superb!! i see your rear suspension is also low like mine

I do love how the mk1's look

[Prote]

Just now, maxxo said:

looks superb!! i see your rear suspension is also low like mine

I do love how the mk1's look

My drive slopes more than it shows here and so when the handbrake is on it sort of crouches down. I'll try to take another pic on the road for comparison. I believe there is a measurement from top of wheel arch to centre of the wheel. Can't remember where I saw it online.

[maxxo]

14 minutes ago, Prote said:

My drive slopes more than it shows here and so when the handbrake is on it sort of crouches down. I'll try to take another pic on the road for comparison. I believe there is a measurement from top of wheel arch to centre of the wheel. Can't remember where I saw it online.

Makes sense, mine looks pretty unfucked when it's parked uphill which is nice

I would adore one in this colour! but that would be so hard to find

[Prote]

11 minutes ago, maxxo said:

Makes sense, mine looks pretty unfucked when it's parked uphill which is nice

I would adore one in this colour! but that would be so hard to find

Nice.Never seen that colour before.