Marshall2810 Posted December 10, 2024 Author Posted December 10, 2024 Turned up to work and found this on my desk - so much better for a clean. My mate has very kindly managed to get all four connectors loosened by soaking and persuasion, degreased, de flaked, kurust covered and primed. I'm all out of stone chip so I'll be able to do this and the cover, when it arrives to tidy them up. LightBulbFun, Asimo, Dyslexic Viking and 13 others 16
Marshall2810 Posted December 14, 2024 Author Posted December 14, 2024 I managed to get a couple of coats on the master cylinder and its cover yesterday to tidy them up a bit Today the time has come to try and remove most* of the troublesome pipes on the cit. Primed with coffee and aldi chocolate oaties (recommended) we made a start... One of the rear pipes ended up being a bit of a bugger. We've done well so far and hadn't broken off any bolts until now. As meatloaf said, two out of three ain't bad. a bit of mobile vice action followed which proved futile so will need to try some heat One at a time we got three of the four main pipes off, a couple of others that go to the brake master cylinder and two shorter ones. being short my mate resorted to some mild acrobatics to see the final pipes connection. the last of the four hard lines looks like it goes vertically into a junction with three rubber return? lines. This is a really flexible section and was surprised a hard metal line joins into what looks like a load of returns. the haynes makes no mention of it so have no idea what its called. It looks like it has an old ligarex strap over it (as do the other three) and the nut must be underneath to connect it to something. Wierd, very wierd. As that all looks original and to avoid disturbing all the other returns we're probably going to try to use a join to repair it further down. If it leaks then we've got the pipe to do it again it's no biggie. There's plenty to do with the other lines so there's no rush to get it done. I'll report back once the pipes are made up. Then we can begin refitting and getting it back together again.....maybe 🙂 adw1977, JMotor, jonathan_dyane and 16 others 19
Marshall2810 Posted December 15, 2024 Author Posted December 15, 2024 Did a bit of degreasing the underside of the engine area earlier. Looks better without the 1/2 inch of grease on the top of the front cross member although it may also be what's helped it survive! Not very sexy but necessary. Pleased with that for a first going over jonathan_dyane, Coprolalia, wesacosa and 16 others 19
Marshall2810 Posted December 29, 2024 Author Posted December 29, 2024 Not done too much car stuff over Xmas for obvious reasons but continued the degreasing of various bits of the citroen. Had to abandon mid sesh yesterday due to getting an inch wide clob of grease in my eye. Washed it off and cleaned up, put the telly and had a seriously hot and burning lower eye lid. Short trip to hospital confirmed the gunk I'm using is caustic soda and isn't pleasant. I'll have to wear goggles to protect myself from my own stupidity in future. Anyhow I can confirm between using it in a spray bottle and white spirit being brushed on it's cleaning things up a treat. Before After And fixed a couple of broken clips Small things but it will make life much easier when it comes to reassembly The area where the brake master cylinder lives is much better now The last of the pipes have been removed at the rear (so we could copy the S bend exactly for the other three) This one is a metal line but actually a return which confused me for a while and is a proper work of art. The new cupro-nickel pipes are much more forgiving, easier to use and hopefully fit. I'm told all the pipes, joins, flares and fittings are now ready at my mate's house and in the new year will update how we get on when we begin putting it back together. wesacosa, mat_the_cat, jonathan_dyane and 22 others 25
Marshall2810 Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 6 hours ago, mercedade said: Superb effort Thank you! I'm hoping to make some progress this weekend if the weather behaves. All the pipes have been made up and it's almost ready for a bit of reassembly Westbay, 500tops, captain_70s and 10 others 13
bangernomics Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Everyone needs a “lofty” under the bonnet. Good to see you soldiering on with this. You could be at a nice show in the spring at this rate. Matty and Marshall2810 1 1
Matty Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Brilliant you had second thoughts and kept this on. It'll reward you when you've been through it. Mechanically sound and slightly scruffy cosmetically. Perfection 👌 Stinkwheel and Marshall2810 1 1
Marshall2810 Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 14 hours ago, bangernomics said: Everyone needs a “lofty” under the bonnet. Good to see you soldiering on with this. You could be at a nice show in the spring at this rate. 14 hours ago, Matty said: Brilliant you had second thoughts and kept this on. It'll reward you when you've been through it. Mechanically sound and slightly scruffy cosmetically. Perfection 👌 Thanks guys, yeah it's nice to give it a chance, the materials hasn't cost much at all it's just time really. Proper mission creep with it as you can imagine. A leaky gaiter became a pipe repair that turned into the front to back pipe, then became all 4 front to backs and then the master cylinder ones may as well get done too whilst in there etc etc 😂 Exactly Matty. I like them scruffy honest but able to work (I hope). According to the logbook model there's only 2 of these on the road so would be nice to get it going and add a third come spring/summer. Just getting it leak free and out the garage with working brakes but without causing an environmental disaster would be nice! mk2_craig, LightBulbFun, JMotor and 9 others 12
Marshall2810 Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 After last weekends washout I was keen to get on with stuff this weekend. It was -2° when we started so not exactly perfect conditions for car work but at least it wasn't wet. Got on with laying out all the stuff so it's ready at hand. x 3 front to back pipes x1 long metal return x1 curly brake pipe at front x2 small link pipes Brake Master Cylinder T join for the back and some fresh rubber seals if we needed them The first ones in #1 pipe and was easy enough to thread through from the back to engine bay. Same with the next couple and got the other two lines through, over the fuel tank and ready to connect up at the back. Voila..... With a bit of bodgery got all the back joins connected. We had to improvise a bit of white pipe when securing two of them back in the bracket but happy with that. We bent a pipe end threading it through the engine bay and was getting crowded the more we did. To fix it we had to go back to my mate's house to fetch the die and press thingy to straighten it up and get back on track but it cost us an hour or so. With the light fading, the brake master cylinder went back on which was nice. Just two bolts from the footwell to engine bay and meant we could get the other lines connected up. Master cylinder now on and the four lines connected up with the return feed done too. So its gone from looking like this To this Much nicer and hopefully leak free. The new connector bolts are 10mm M8's instead of the original 8mm M8's which are more robust and less likely to round off too. Still got loads of tidying up to do above and below but really pleased it's now largely in situ. Next is getting all the pipe clips secured underneath and pressure testing it to find any leaks. If that's good then we're onto bleeding the brakes, changing brake pads etc 🙂🎉 cort1977, bangernomics, jonathan_dyane and 34 others 33 4
jonathan_dyane Posted January 12 Posted January 12 Fantastic! You must feel almost elated. You should get some kind of special Autoshite badge Marshall2810 1
Marshall2810 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 Cleaned up the little pug today in prep for the MOT next week. Whilst putting some air in the tyres, the GS spare was as flat as a pancake and to hand so did that too. Then decided to clean it up and give it a very quick blow over to tidy it up. The tyre is well past it but will do as a spare. I wasn't expecting miracles as it's been unused for years and lots of bubbles present on the rim so hopefully it's a reseal job for my citroen man. New these seem to be £150?! Stuff that for a spare. JMotor, mk2_craig, Dyslexic Viking and 2 others 5
jonathan_dyane Posted January 15 Posted January 15 They used to be like £40 and the cheap option! I dread to think how much the Michelin 145 15 xzx is now... Stinkwheel 1
Marshall2810 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 43 minutes ago, jonathan_dyane said: They used to be like £40 and the cheap option! I dread to think how much the Michelin 145 15 xzx is now... Yup, I think they're £150 if you can find them in stock! Thankfully all four currently on the car look great. Did you replace them?
jonathan_dyane Posted January 15 Posted January 15 I did, glad they're still looking ok. The spare is the only original tyre. Wibble and Marshall2810 2
Marshall2810 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 1 hour ago, jonathan_dyane said: I did, glad they're still looking ok. The spare is the only original tyre. Yeah very glad you did! Some more fettling tomorrow so hope to have some good news shortly fingers crossed Wibble, jonathan_dyane and JMotor 3
Marshall2810 Posted January 16 Author Posted January 16 Moar fettling underneath means the back end of the thing is pretty sorted now and the S bends tidied up. at the front the last clip is on. The plan was to get a couple of clips on and fire her up to see what we've got. So.... Well she started and the good news is all the work we have done and new stuff is leak free. The bad news is the 12" piece of original pipe to connect to the return tree is now leaking. We left this to avoid disturbing the returns thing so it's sods law the only piece of the underside pipe we've not replaced has had it, oh well 😂 So we're close but no cigar yet LightBulbFun, 500tops, MorrisItalSLX and 17 others 20
Stinkwheel Posted January 17 Posted January 17 18 hours ago, Marshall2810 said: Well she started and the good news is all the work we have done and new stuff is leak free. The bad news is the 12" piece of original pipe to connect to the return tree is now leaking. We left this to avoid disturbing the returns thing so it's sods law the only piece of the underside pipe we've not replaced has had it, oh well 😂 So we're close but no cigar yet Great work, but i'll break it to you now, as if you hadnt already realised, hydraulic Citroens are amazing, but everytime you think thats its all sorted, they break something else 🤣 Having said that, the only cars I've ever owned that have never ever given me one fail to proceed are hydraulic citroens
Marshall2810 Posted January 17 Author Posted January 17 3 hours ago, Stinkwheel said: Great work, but i'll break it to you now, as if you hadnt already realised, hydraulic Citroens are amazing, but everytime you think thats its all sorted, they break something else 🤣 Having said that, the only cars I've ever owned that have never ever given me one fail to proceed are hydraulic citroens There's logic somewhere in that mate and I hear you! The numbers surviving speak for themselves but I still think it looks stunning. To be fair, we've probably replaced around 80% of the lines in it now so would hope that's gone a long way to reduce the chance of leaks. It does seem like I'm perpetually leak chasing and of course after that there's always rubber and plastic lines of 45yrs in age so nothing to worry about 😆 My mate who I'm working on it with, is teaching me *some* patience and can see progress is happening which always helps but yeah its not easy. It's just frustrating to spend so much time on one aspect of the car that other cars take for granted. That said that's what makes it special Sunny Jim and bangernomics 2
plasticvandan Posted January 17 Posted January 17 Bound to leak,the pressure will be higher now the new pipes are in,showing up any remaining ones,time to bite the bullet and replace them all lol Marshall2810 1
Marshall2810 Posted January 17 Author Posted January 17 3 hours ago, plasticvandan said: Bound to leak,the pressure will be higher now the new pipes are in,showing up any remaining ones,time to bite the bullet and replace them all lol Basically what we've done but yeah it'll find the weakest link and inevitably leak. The remaining ones are to the spheres above the engine and front height corrector which aren't a problem. We only left the short length to avoid disturbing the return tree on advice from Rob at Chevronics. Im hoping its enough for the moment, after 4 months it'd be nice just to get it out of the garage by itself. If it were a dog it'd have been put down many many years ago. JMotor, plasticvandan, Wibble and 2 others 5
Six-cylinder Posted January 17 Posted January 17 14 minutes ago, Marshall2810 said: If it were a dog it'd have been put down many many years ago. Same here! I even sold mine because I realised it would need work in the future. Then after 4 owners who did not do the work Mrs6C made me buy it back and do the work. DSdriver, Bmwdumptruck, Wibble and 3 others 4 2
Marshall2810 Posted January 17 Author Posted January 17 2 hours ago, Six-cylinder said: Same here! I even sold mine because I realised it would need work in the future. Then after 4 owners who did not do the work Mrs6C made me buy it back and do the work. Wow that's supurb! You may be able to help me in that case @Six-cylinder. You're probably one of only a few people in the world that might know the answer... One of the 4 hard lines underneath goes vertically into a return tree/junction type thing. We didn't want to disturb it but are going to have to now. It's got a ligarex strap over rubber type thing but not unsure if it's just a push fit type or if it's been flared to keep it in place? This is the top of it if it helps...... Do you have any idea as I don't want to just pull on it and damage it? I'll never find another
Six-cylinder Posted January 17 Posted January 17 1 hour ago, Marshall2810 said: That's supurb! You may be able to help me in that case @Six-cylinder. You're probably one of only a few people in the world that might know the answer... One of the 4 hard lines underneath goes vertically into a return tree/junction type thing. We didn't want to disturb it but are going to have to now. It's got a ligarex strap over rubber type thing but not unsure if it's just a push fit type or if it's been flared to keep it in. This is the top of it if it helps...... Do you have any idea as I don't want to just pull on it and damage it? I'll never find another Sorry while the suspension leaked badly when I bought mine back in 2013 I took it to Chevronics to sort out. Chevronics were commissioned to it given it a service along with cambelt, exhaust and MOT. They also were asked to cure the petrol smell that took some doing. Now it drove again, even if the bill was several times the value of the car. Next a retired friend who used to work in a car Bodyshop did a major amount of work to repair floors, inner wings, doors etc. Then he gave it a full respray in my home garage. He was always concerned that he could not achieve a spray booth standard of finish but I was very pleased with it. The interior had been changed to a Pallas one before I got it first time but was tatty so I simply fitted seat covers. 10 years later they could do with replacing but I can’t find the same ones I liked so much. The last picture is how I bought it the first time in 2007 at work, a decent running car converted from a 1015cc G Special 4 speed to a 1298cc 5 speed. My car mad boss caught me checking it on E bay during working hours, no I wasn’t in trouble at all. It was the other way round he encouraged me to bid on it and even promised to take me to Grimsby 150 miles away if I won it! LightBulbFun, IronStar, Westbay and 4 others 7
Marshall2810 Posted January 17 Author Posted January 17 17 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said: Sorry while the suspension leaked badly when I bought mine back in 2013 I took it to Chevronics to sort out. Chevronics were commissioned to it given it a service along with cambelt, exhaust and MOT. They also were asked to cure the petrol smell that took some doing. Now it drove again, even if the bill was several times the value of the car. Next a retired friend who used to work in a car Bodyshop did a major amount of work to repair floors, inner wings, doors etc. Then he gave it a full respray in my home garage. He was always concerned that he could not achieve a spray booth standard of finish but I was very pleased with it. The interior had been changed to a Pallas one before I got it first time but was tatty so I simply fitted seat covers. 10 years later they could do with replacing but I can’t find the same ones I liked so much. The last picture is how I bought it the first time in 2007 at work, a decent running car converted from a 1015cc G Special 4 speed to a 1298cc 5 speed. My car mad boss caught me checking it on E bay during working hours, no I wasn’t in trouble at all. It was the other way round he encouraged me to bid on it and even promised to take me to Grimsby 150 miles away if I won it! That's lovely and no worries we're getting down and dirty but it's cleaning up well. Mine is worn on the surface but much welding and work was done by @jonathan_dyane during his care. I’ve read somewhere once you get a GS "sorted" it'll get easier. You've clearly been through all that but what a great car you've ended up with. Like yours, my seats have had it really, particularly the drivers one but the fabric is very thin and delicate after all these years. I've seen some palais seats on ebay but would prefer to cover them in all honesty. This guy seems to have lots of parts which is useful. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283562189577?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=9iW5lb2nSwC&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=q0u7CbdYTNC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Six-cylinder and JMotor 2
Marshall2810 Posted January 18 Author Posted January 18 Right, well it's been another busy day here but made some good progress. Here's a rubbish photo of the tricky pipe we were having issues with last time around. We found it is a push fit but also the end was flared, presumably to give it something to hold on to. Snipped the clip, and removed it easily enough in the end but was careful not to disturb too much. Here it is in all its greasy glory Time for a new bit And....... Ignore the exhaust condensation, turkey tray and cardboard we used for previous accidents. Tried on low, medium and high height settings and currently* no leaks 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Time for a break and my mate across the road rocks up in his Jag he's recommisioning. jags aren't my thing but he likes it and we were glad of a break. So spurred on by managing to fix something we took a look at the brakes First off the fronts. Quite straight forward, just a pin and spring holding things together. they were definitely ready, so pins cleaned up and copper greased etc the seperate handbrake ones turned out to rather interesting. Unlike 2cvs that have these on the front where you can actually see them, the GS has them at the back of the caliper so you can't. we had to use a mirror (as the haynes suggests) so my old rear view mirror came in handy for something. New and old here, worn just over halfway I reckon. For a few pounds definitely better to change them especially if they've had oil sprayed on them as they inevitably have. Next time it'll be the rear pads and bleeding the system but really pleased to make some genuine progress RayMK, CaptainBoom, meshking and 17 others 20
Marshall2810 Posted January 19 Author Posted January 19 So today we finished the handbrake pads off and cracked on with the rear brakes giving them a good clean up. They were similar to the fronts, pins and a spring clip, cleaned up and greased with copper grease. One of the pistons on the nearside was stuck so we changed one of the pads for new and put the old back in to encourage it to move and maybe come back to life. The drivers side rear was all fine and both sides needed doing, new and old here With that complete we got on with bleeding the system. The GS has 3 bleed nipples, one on each on the back calipers and one for the front pair. I wasn't confident but all of them freed off really easily. Some nasty black oil came out of the rears so must have been in there a while. All bled green eventually and all brakes operate on the pedal as they should which is great. We finished off putting a few more clips on (one has broken so we will make a bracket to support it when repaired). And chocks away.... (literally now the handbrake is working better) No videos of it driving yet but it did! A very brief test up the road shows it's not leaking LHM, the brakes work, it changes gear, and we're absolutely delighted to have got it this far. She has a fueling issue so is reluctant to start when cold, thinking probably fuel pump but not looked into it yet and the throttle control is a bit hit and miss. Obviously it's hardly been run for probably 20+ years so the more it's used the better The bonnet release cable still needs installing which @HMC bought for it and the alternator currently isn't charging the battery. Can't tell if the fuel gague is working but I'll keep topping it up. Obviously need number plates and the bumper and trims etc back on too. It may sound and look like a total shed but it's now starting to come back to life. Hopefully we can get some of these issues resolved and keep improving it. Six-cylinder, Sigmund Fraud, High Jetter and 31 others 24 10
LightBulbFun Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Awesome stuff! and Awesome work! I have been throughly enjoying reading how you have fettled this back into health, its especially satisfying to read, knowing how generally oleopneumatic citroens give people the fear and how many dont get the love they need IronStar and Marshall2810 1 1
wesacosa Posted January 19 Posted January 19 top work, I can't even get enthused to do an oil change in this weather so fair play. Glad to see such good progress on such a cool car Sunny Jim and Marshall2810 1 1
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