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

[maxxo]

well the back seats just un clip so under those are almost perfect, the fronts are very clean as well, on the whole i keep the interior very clean mainly because i'm not an animal and care about how my car looks as it's embarrasing when i have someone else in the car and it's filthy.

oh yeah! they were just gonna scrap it because for some reason they hated it, new clutch and theres nothing wrong with it even fully functional air conditoning.

The 2.0 HDi really is a superb engine

[lexi]

Did they make any Xsara Picasso in 110 bhp?  Or was is just the C4 Piccaso that got it?  I like the cars in a no nonsense way and they are cheap and practical.

   

[maxxo]

yes the dreaded 1.6 hdi is available in 110 form, or the more reliable 1.6 16v petrol is also 110.

Then you have the ultimate petrol the 2.0i 16v automatic with 137 bhp

They are honestly really decent to drive too and have a really nice looking interior

[maxxo]

I swear i need help......so someone i know is selling a 2.0 petrol automatic picasso for a very good price.

I don't need it

I don't need 2 cars

I don't need 2 picassos

But i want it...........

can someone talk me out of it

[lexi]

Gutsy on fuel around town maybe. There you go.............you are all better now 

   

[Noel Tidybeard]

38 minutes ago, maxxo said:

I swear i need help......so someone i know is selling a 2.0 petrol automatic picasso for a very good price.

I don't need it

I don't need 2 cars

I don't need 2 picassos

But i want it...........

can someone talk me out of it

just do it

[loserone]

This any use to you? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/431931417469838/

Fuck knows what they're actually selling, but includes trims and isn't far from you.

[loserone]

10 hours ago, maxxo said:

I swear i need help......so someone i know is selling a 2.0 petrol automatic picasso for a very good price.

I don't need it

I don't need 2 cars

I don't need 2 picassos

But i want it...........

can someone talk me out of it

Fit a 1.6 manual gearbox for the best of all the worlds.

[maxxo]

I can't really afford 2 cars......i kind of can but not fully comfortably.......

I have told them to sell it to someone else to keep my sanity

but the issue is i think i would enjoy that vehicle very much

[maxxo]

2 minutes ago, loserone said:

This any use to you? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/431931417469838/

Fuck knows what they're actually selling, but includes trims and isn't far from you.

I prefer the excitement of using summer tyres in winter, the lack of grip is a lot of fun

[loserone]

Not sure you would. Half the fun of the 2.0 is punting around the gears, and @scaryoldcortina's only got 30MPG if you were very careful.  An auto will be worse.

It's a nice engine in a 206 though

[maxxo]

I much prefer just wafting around, low fuel economy if a lot of fun too

i'd just love to see what 137bhp of picasso excitement is like

[maxxo]

cold starting fun is about to kick off........

now i was told it had issues with cold starting before i got said car, however today i got to experience it for myself.

so wait for glowplug light, count to 3 then crank is what i usually do on cold mornings......however today it took about 7 seconds or so of cranking to get going and kicked out a massive cloud of unburnt diesel......

obviously there are preheating issues, which is my question, how much of a bastard are the glowplugs to replace on this engine?

[ruffgeezer]

They don't generally use the glowplugs for starting, only post heating. 

That being said I can't recall having a poor starting one.

[maxxo]

it's only when it's very cold, it seems to crank over fine.

i will try to get a video of it today but of course because i want it to happen it will start perfectly

[Bren]

An early 1.6 petrol is about as quick as one of those people who do the London marathon in a deep sea diving suit.

[maxxo]

firstly i'm surprised it actually did the thing when i was filming.....that's very rare!

So i'm starting to suspect it may be the glowplug relay due to the fact it doesn't try to fire when cranking and runs on all cylinders straight away

[Wingz123]

I'd even say your battery sounds a bit low

[maxxo]

the battery is from 2012 so i'm surprised it's lasted this long, i will have a lexia session to see if the glowplug fault code leads to anything.

I'm tempted to replace the preheat relay and the battery and see how it is, i can live with it being like this as it's not much of an issue i just know once it starts getting colder it's going to get worse and worse

[Wingz123]

12 minutes ago, maxxo said:

the battery is from 2012 so i'm surprised it's lasted this long, i will have a lexia session to see if the glowplug fault code leads to anything.

I'm tempted to replace the preheat relay and the battery and see how it is, i can live with it being like this as it's not much of an issue i just know once it starts getting colder it's going to get worse and worse

I say because compared to mine cranking sounds a little bit slower and also your dash lights are flickering slightly

[maxxo]

i wouldn't be surprised at all if it is the battery, before i got it the car had a life of very short journeys.....and it was driven with a failed alternator (warning light and message ignored) until it broke down.....

when i get paid next week i'm going to order a new battery and see if that helps

[Wingz123]

Yeh or just bang it on charge and go from there. If it starts slowing down again then I'd throw some money at a battery. 

[maxxo]

i took it on a hour long drive today......even though the car does around 400 miles a week so lets see how it is tomorrow.

I suspect it will be the same, as long as it starts it's alright for now

[rusty_vw_man]

1 hour ago, Wingz123 said:

I'd even say your battery sounds a bit low

I’d agree with this diagnosis - I’d start by measuring battery voltage before looking for anything else. 

[maxxo]

40 minutes ago, rusty_vw_man said:

I’d agree with this diagnosis - I’d start by measuring battery voltage before looking for anything else. 

so i imagine put a meter across the terminals and crank the engine from cold?

guessing anything below 10v is bad

[rusty_vw_man]

Easiest way is to take it for a free battery check (Halfords and most big national chain garages do these). 
They confirm it’s knackered, then you buy a battery online for a fraction of their price. 
winning. 

[maxxo]

so it was slightly warmer today and it started up just fine, i think it's the battery as it does crank slowly when cold

Going to order a new battery in soon

[maxxo]

cold starting cranks are certainly too slow, warm cranking is better.....

so this points to the battery i feel as of course the engine will use more power to crank when cold,

other than the obvioulsy dying battery all is going well..

We also found a slightly newer and much cleaner friend to park next to today..........okay i drove round the car park and squeezed into a small space so i could park next to it

[Wingz123]

PM me your number I'll record a video and whatsapp you a video of my xantia starting tomorrow (cold) also a 2.0 hdi

[maxxo]

thank you! is much appreciated