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

[Prote]

Have you done an OBD scan to see if any codes are coming up? Mine pointed me to the MAP (petrol version) and then coil pack. Once replaced it didn't hunt when accelerating.

It starts on the button each time. My battery failed last summer and I got decent one from a local motor factors.

April 2019, I bought a cheap Idle Control Valve on Ebay as the revs kept surging when idling - that fixed it.

 

 

[Prote]

My only automotive excitement today was changing a rear indicator bulb. It's an orange bulb but the colour on the glass was peeling off so it was showing white. Surprisingly a doddle to do - unusual for a French car...

I did give the engine bay a quick wipe over - sort of doorstep detailing...

It's really decent car.

When I'm bored with it, I'll see if anyone on Autoshite wants it. It's been well preserved and deserves more than being a tip-run car or a builder's hack. @dollywobbler mentioned on a video once that he'd thought of a Picasso.

[beko1987]

On 8/20/2020 at 7:39 PM, maxxo said:

I assume like mine yours takes ages to get up to temp in the winter, which is incredibly annoying as i live near a dual carriageway and i hate merging with a cold engine

many times during the winter i have had to pull over as the de-icer has somehow frozen to the windscreen leaving me completely blind

mine has a lovely screaming blower fan, only in the winter which confuses me

Ha, I've not owned it in winter yet! Although it heats up very quickly after a new waterpump thermostat and coolant. But it's a diesel, it'll do fuck all until you get it down the road. Ice cold but not damp mornings are the best as it doesn't fog the car up, so you can get down the road shivering like a bastard and in 2 miles have warm air coming out

[beko1987]

16 minutes ago, Prote said:

 

@dollywobbler mentioned on a video once that he'd thought of a Picasso.

We all think silly things from time to time, it's only natural...

[maxxo]

51 minutes ago, Prote said:

Under my car.

Apart from minor surface corrosion on some of the subframe bits, the only bit I can see is paint flaking on what I assume is a rear anti-roll bar? That's an easy fix with rust-convertor and some underseal. For 80k and being 19 years old it's doing remarkably well.

 

my god that's literally like new!

fantastic to see

[maxxo]

49 minutes ago, juular said:

Older diesels with solid flywheels can sometimes make a hell of a racket from the gearbox. I had a 2004 vivaro that I was convinced had a collapsing input bearing but it was in fact just lash within the gearbox. At idle it clattered like there was another engine under there. Engaging drive gave you a loud crack, followed by a sound like a board being dragged along the road as the revs climbed.  I checked a few vans and they all seemed to do it. 

Solid flywheels designs also have big manly springs in the clutch that rattle like a bastard at idle and tend to click as the drive is picked up.

Any chance you could record it?

Yes i can do, got a 300 mile drive tomorrow so should be good to get it nicely warmed up (worse when warm)

 

[maxxo]

14 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Ha, I've not owned it in winter yet! Although it heats up very quickly after a new waterpump thermostat and coolant. But it's a diesel, it'll do fuck all until you get it down the road. Ice cold but not damp mornings are the best as it doesn't fog the car up, so you can get down the road shivering like a bastard and in 2 miles have warm air coming out

Mine does have an electric heater thing, not sure exactly what it's for as i disconnected it due to it causing a lot of excitement one morning

my car is always cold, or too hot

there is no inbetween

[maxxo]

Today i was spending some pennies, and talking to the garage owner for about 2 hours about cars and my dad etc

sure it was far from the cheapest but i trust these guys and it's noticably colder and quieter now which is nice

apparently there wasn't much gas in there, which explains the hissing and how easily overwhelmed it was on warmer days unless you had recirculate on

not much left to do to the car actually

just brake lines, bit more undersealing and tyres as far as i know

[paulplom]

You should have recirc on when using your air con. It's the only way to get it really cold inside. Otherwise your only trying to cool the hot air from outside.

[maxxo]

3 minutes ago, paulplom said:

You should have recirc on when using your air con. It's the only way to get it really cold inside. Otherwise your only trying to cool the hot air from outside.

for maximum coolness i run it with fresh air for a minute of two then go to recirc

will be interesting to see how it copes now, i should have said it used to struggle on recirc too

[maxxo]

Could just be a placebo but the air con does feel noticeable better, and as i say much quieter with no more hissing which is nice

had complete reliability since early may which is the best run yet!

still surprised i'm very happy and still like it after 15 months! now that's good going

surprised citroen have managed to make a car which mostly satisfies the fussiest and most awkward car owner on earth.......me

either has to be perfect for my needs or very terrible for me to love it

[Crackers]

2 hours ago, maxxo said:

the fussiest and most awkward car owner on earth

Please, allow me to introduce myself. 

[paulplom]

Why haven't you remapped it yet? That would've been my first job.

[maxxo]

6 hours ago, paulplom said:

Why haven't you remapped it yet? That would've been my first job.

because i don't trust it not to break

[paulplom]

Nothing to fear.

[maxxo]

a remap is certainly a consideration, just need to think about what i'll be doing next year first

[maxxo]

Next purchase i think, still trying to work out if it's the battery or starter causing my cold start fun

reasons i think battery: speedo turns to 2 dashes and cranking seems slow

reasons it might not be: can often crank for 3-4 seconds when hot

regardless i'll be able to crank the hell out of it with a fresh battery

and this is fairly cheap for a brand new one

[overrun]

I always buy Yuasa batteries. They are very good for the money, IMO. Never had any issues, yet.

[maxxo]

Indeed they are! rock solid and very well made

got a fair bit of money to spend on the car next month, tyres, battery, brake lines etc

so should be very good once done

[Crackers]

Can I just say, and please don't take this personally, I really fucking hate these cars. Like properly hate them,

For that reason, I can't quite figure out why I'm so invested in every update to this thread ?

[maxxo]

3 minutes ago, Crackers said:

Can I just say, and please don't take this personally, I really fucking hate these cars. Like properly hate them,

For that reason, I can't quite figure out why I'm so invested in every update to this thread ?

you're welcome to have a drive of it, give it 10 minutes and you'll end up changing your mind

i always wanted one but the day i got it was really the first time i drove it, absolutely hated it to begin with so i drove it some more

now i'm hooked on flaky french cars

[paulplom]

Costco do bosch batteries cheap as. Five year warranty iirc.

[carlo]

I've just read this thread from the start, really enjoyable!  However mainly because I've just bought a Picasso Exclusive Automatic which I hope to pick up later this week.

A lot of things talked about here chimed with my experience of my 405 (which will be going nowhere!!), a comfy car which gets under your skin and you find you can't find anything else better.  I'm really hoping that's what I find with this Picasso.  In fact I don't know why I didn't think of one before as it's got everything I want i.e a proper French suspension, 2.0 torque converter automatic & petrol engine, A/C, sunroof and cruise control.  And not too massive, with apparently very good rearward visibility.  Will find out soon.

Will also relieve a bit of pressure on the old 405, which is actually running even better than it ever has.

 

[maxxo]

2 hours ago, carlo said:

I've just read this thread from the start, really enjoyable!  However mainly because I've just bought a Picasso Exclusive Automatic which I hope to pick up later this week.

A lot of things talked about here chimed with my experience of my 405 (which will be going nowhere!!), a comfy car which gets under your skin and you find you can't find anything else better.  I'm really hoping that's what I find with this Picasso.  In fact I don't know why I didn't think of one before as it's got everything I want i.e a proper French suspension, 2.0 torque converter automatic & petrol engine, A/C, sunroof and cruise control.  And not too massive, with apparently very good rearward visibility.  Will find out soon.

Will also relieve a bit of pressure on the old 405, which is actually running even better than it ever has.

 

you've bought pretty much the ultimate picasso, and probably one of the best cars for how little they cost

just wait till you try the seats properly, not many cars have more comfortable seats, especially as most of them have adjustable lumbar support on the drivers seat

visability is very good by modern standards, well they aren't really a "modern" anymore as the youngest is over 10 years old now

oh it will, when you first drive it you'll find it weird and perhaps not like it but after say 20 minutes it's already under your skin and you realise why they sold so many

funnily enough i've never driven a picasso auto, but i've heard they're extremely smooth

just watch out for comms2000 problems, quick fix if it has issues with indicators and light is to drive with the sidelights on

[carlo]

I shall hijack your thread and post up a couple of pictures when I get it.

[maxxo]

please do, always nice to see other ones

[maxxo]

So today, i have been injuring myself which means some tinkering with cars

i have done this before, but did a really half arsed job of it,

so this time i'm putting slightly more effort into it

yes that's wheel painting

This one came out reasonable i suppose, certainly better than a rusty steelie

i say rusty the bead is perfect it's just surface shit letting it down

bit shiny for my liking but it will do

yes i know i got some on the valve

drivers side now

this one came out really quite well all things considered

just brush painting takes so long and it's a real pain in the arse job

but it's done!

also got to experience the rat sort of look

apparently bare "steelies" are propa sick!

i can say for absolute certainty i underestimated how long this would take as i'm a fool

at least they have a mediocre at best coat of paint on them

of course probably the wrong paint, using the wrong brush and i didn't prep it other than brush 15 years of brake dust off them

[maxxo]

I'm still absolutely kicking myself for not buying a set of these "estoril" wheels for £40

they needed a repaint and that was it

they were local too and i honestly have no idea why i didn't buy them

still you live and learn, if i could go back in time i would absolutely buy them

[maxxo]

good job i didn't park there any longer than i did

i could hear the sills rotting from miles away

tinkering time tomorrow so stay tuned

[vulgalour]

Good to see you still keeping on with this car.  Citromatics/Martinet Motors are a bit pricey, it's true, but they know their stuff with Citroens and they're at least honest about what jobs they do and don't want to do.  You feel you know where you stand with them, and that's difficult to find these days.