2003 Citroen C5 estate.....the end

[maxxo]

It’s a crying shame really, they do suit the autobox extremely well, and it’s a fantastic gearbox, always in the correct gear

shame it’s made by the French and a complete reliability disaster

3 pedal C5 does seem the way forward, bearing in mind I’ve not driven a manual properly since my Picasso there will likely be much stallage

[ruffgeezer]

Also worth trying Boston Automatics for a quote too, very knowledgable.

[Andy F]

Sorry to hear of your gearbox woes.

 

Just parked next to this C5 in Bourton on The Water car park and thought of this thread. Also, got some funny looks from all the posh people in their Range Rovers and Audi's snapping two elderly Citroen's!

[maxxo]

4 minutes ago, Andy F said:

Sorry to hear of your gearbox woes.

 

Just parked next to this C5 in Bourton on The Water car park and thought of this thread. Also, got some funny looks from all the posh people in their Range Rovers and Audi's snapping two elderly Citroen's!

Oh an exclusive too! Either a 2.2 or a V6 with those wheels

[lexi]

On 7/8/2022 at 4:39 PM, maxxo said:

It’s a crying shame really, they do suit the autobox extremely well, and it’s a fantastic gearbox, always in the correct gear

shame it’s made by the French and a complete reliability disaster

3 pedal C5 does seem the way forward, bearing in mind I’ve not driven a manual properly since my Picasso there will likely be much stallage

If it's the AL4 box then made by the Germans..........Siemens

[maxxo]

11 minutes ago, lexi said:

If it's the AL4 box then made by the Germans..........Siemens

French design mostly but yes

the reliability issues are 99% caused by old fluid contaminating the valves

or in the case of mine a combination of things, mostly just worn out, also wrong fluid being used at some point

im really hoping to get 185k from it

[maxxo]

Just gone for a little drive out in the sticks

oh dear

this is at a steady throttle……

I believe this is an undesirable development 

[3VOM]

Air leak?

[JakeT]

Looks a bit ‘hunty’ going up the gears there, but I’m not an expert.

[maxxo]

33 minutes ago, 3VOM said:

Air leak?

oh how i wish that was the case.....

[maxxo]

19 minutes ago, JakeT said:

Looks a bit ‘hunty’ going up the gears there, but I’m not an expert.

surprisingly, the engine isn't hunting

it's the transmission slipping at low speeds under light load

[JakeT]

37 minutes ago, maxxo said:

surprisingly, the engine isn't hunting

it's the transmission slipping at low speeds under light load

Sorry, that’s what I meant. Hopefully you can get it sorted easily enough. I know a good auto box man,  but he’s in Reading.

[maxxo]

3 minutes ago, JakeT said:

Sorry, that’s what I meant. Hopefully you can get it sorted easily enough. I know a good auto box man,  but he’s in Reading.

just going to run it until it dies and then make a decision

[Dyslexic Viking]

One thought, can you buy a car that is as good as this one and that you will like exactly as much as this one for what the cost of fixing the gearbox will cost?

[maxxo]

1 minute ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

One thought, can you buy a car that is as good as this one and that you will like exactly as much as this one for what the cost of fixing the gearbox will cost?

2k for the gearbox

i can get a really nice low mileage C5 for that in top "exclusive" spec

which is what it looks like i'll do

[Dyslexic Viking]

9 minutes ago, maxxo said:

2k for the gearbox

i can get a really nice low mileage C5 for that in top "exclusive" spec

which is what it looks like i'll do

Yeah it makes more sense, here it would be difficult if not impossible to find a good C5 for that price.

 

[jamescarruthers]

Did you drain some of the fluid off when you added the recent snake oil? I’m just wondering if it just isn’t happy being slightly overfilled?

[maxxo]

3 minutes ago, jamescarruthers said:

Did you drain some of the fluid off when you added the recent snake oil? I’m just wondering if it just isn’t happy being slightly overfilled?

125mls or so I believe the additive was

i can’t see that making much of a difference tbh

[jamescarruthers]

6 minutes ago, maxxo said:

125mls or so I believe the additive was

i can’t see that making much of a difference tbh

Me neither, but if the guy who refilled yours has also gone a little over there could be an accumulative effect, plus heat expansion, etc. I think getting the level right is quite complicated to do with temperatures and drips. 
 

Grasping at straws on your behalf here!

The C6 has the same box doesn’t it? If so, here’s the fill procedure: C6AutoGearboxdrainandrefillprocess (1).pdf

[maxxo]

27 minutes ago, jamescarruthers said:

Me neither, but if the guy who refilled yours has also gone a little over there could be an accumulative effect, plus heat expansion, etc. I think getting the level right is quite complicated to do with temperatures and drips. 
 

Grasping at straws on your behalf here!

The C6 has the same box doesn’t it? If so, here’s the fill procedure: C6AutoGearboxdrainandrefillprocess (1).pdf

nope C6 has a completely different box, my C5 has the same box as later xantia's....the AL4

surely for it to be completely problem free for months until recently it has to be wear related

[beko1987]

Has it thrown a big strop yet because you didn't take it to shitefest? 

[jamescarruthers]

6 minutes ago, maxxo said:

nope C6 has a completely different box, my C5 has the same box as later xantia's....the AL4

surely for it to be completely problem free for months until recently it has to be wear related

Ah sorry, I was convinced otherwise. I stand corrected! 

[maxxo]

1 minute ago, beko1987 said:

Has it thrown a big strop yet because you didn't take it to shitefest? 

probably so yes

but i'm in a bit of a strop with it due to how it was behaving today

so much so i pulled over and sat at the side of the road to let it cool down

[AnnoyingPentium]

8 minutes ago, maxxo said:

probably so yes

but i'm in a bit of a strop with it due to how it was behaving today

so much so i pulled over and sat at the side of the road to let it cool down

@maxxo earlier today...

[maxxo]

9 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

@maxxo earlier today...

Basically yes

This was taken whilst I was letting it cool down

[richardmorris]

Auto boxes continue to be the Achilles heel of Citroen. I think the CX three speed was ok if high revving, but the xm, bx, xantia and c5, c6 seem to be made of cheese

[junkyarddog]

Is the Trans cooler working effectively?

[maxxo]

11 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Auto boxes continue to be the Achilles heel of Citroen. I think the CX three speed was ok if high revving, but the xm, bx, xantia and c5, c6 seem to be made of cheese

I can’t say anything bad about this box, touching 180k, had the wrong fluid in it, never had a fluid change before me and god knows what had happened to it at the start of its life

 

but I agree, they seem to suffer a fair bit

[maxxo]

15 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

Is the Trans cooler working effectively?

Doubt it, but again, that’ll be a nightmare to repair 

its ran off the engine coolant so I’m a bit reluctant to touch it in case I fill the transmission with coolant which is very much bad times

[MorrisItalSLX]

Is the £2k sum for a rebuilt or second hand transmission?

It’s possible that a low mileage box from a breaker is out there for a reasonable sum.