paul.h

You could look at the crank shaft pulley to see if the rubber insert is breaking up.

In the Haynes manual for the C3 and the 1.4 petrol engine, additional to the info from coastline taxis, there may be an engine under tray that needs removing, drain the oil before starting, a wiring harness may need moving out of the way and the sump does not use a gasket but instead uses sealant between it and the block - this will need cleaning off and fresh sealant used for the new sump. As well as the new sump you will need oil, an oil filter, a drain plug (if the old one is damaged) and plug gasket/seal, sealant, possibly exhaust gaskets. The sump bolts/nuts should be tightened to 8 Nm and the drain plug 30 Nm according to Haynes.

To me this sounds as if the lock cable has come unhooked from the end of the barrel. If the barrel tumblers were seized I would think the barrel would not turn. If this is the case then the lock barrel may not need replacing - to check it needs the door card/trim removing.

I do not know about the fuel cap lock barrel and if it can be removed from the cap.

I can not help with the wiring but I can admire what you are doing. Nice photos, how much of the C3 do you have to change (as well as the obvious cosmetic ones like wheels) to cope with the extra power and how do you get on with insurance ? We had a 2003 1.4 75 bhp petrol C3 and it was a bit slow but going to your vts engine (1.6 L TU5 125 PS (123 hp/91 kW)) I would imagine it will fly.

It is possible the oil cooler was the start of the problem putting oil in to the coolant and coolant in to the oil. Then since you continued to use the car it may have resulted in the head gasket failing. Oil in the coolant would reduce the heat transfer from the engine to the coolant and from the radiator and if the coolant level was low it would also allow the head to overheat.

The battery high use is starting the engine, so if it is started a lot but not given chance to recharge by running the engine long enough it eventually goes flat. You could check the battery for a drain caused by other uses or a wiring fault in case there is something wrong but a normal drain will only be a few mA. Our C5 is only used once or twice a month and it goes flat if left longer than this due to the drain caused by the alarm and also it has the suspension pump and bsi that run each time it is unlocked. It also has a towbar which has a slight drain but to stop this I remove the fuses if it is not going to be used for towing. It was the same on our previous 2004 C5 but other cars we've had did not have this problem.

Have a look in the handbook but possibly it may reset every time the engine is started.

Just a reminder, you need to have the car on axle stands if going underneath it, especially when playing with the height adjusters since the car suspension can drop to a very low level without the stands (or have it on a ramp).

Welcome to the forum.

On the C3 96°C was the start at low speed and high speed would start above this but it never got that high. The temperature was read using a code reader with live data. The thermostat extra sensor is probably another temperature sensor http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Genuine-Thermostat-and-Housing-with-Sensor-and-1336Z2-C1-C2-C3-/282308298972?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368 Our 2003 C3 1.4 petrol had 2 temperature sensors - one was for the temperature gauge and the other (one wire) gave the high temperature warning at 118°C and put on the engine fan if it was not already on from the gauge sensor. It is the ecu that starts the fan and since you have found it runs ok from the air con and also manually then there may be a problem with the ecu or its connections. I would be tempted to go to a dealer to sort this if you can not find anything obvious.

This does not seem to work for many people, can anyone post how they have done this.

Thanks for getting back to us - how did you manage it, did you bother removing the Picasso battery ?

If it is the barrel that is the problem maybe these people can help http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/222092680117?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=44856852224&rlsatarget=pla-276195124298&adtype=pla&poi=&googleloc=1006876&device=c&campaignid=726151085&crdt=0 However, you may be better using one from a scrap car if you do not get one from a Citroen dealer so that you retain the original equipment - if a copy part is used and does not give the same security it may be classed as a modification that would need the insurer to be informed. If it is the lock then maybe a used one from a scrapper will be the lowest cost option, you can try an ebay search.

Maybe you could check the wiring at the ecu, I vaguely recall C3s can get water from the washer bottle which can go up the wiring to the ecu - hard to believe but it has been reported a few times.

Haynes do a workshop manual for the C2, as an example on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5635-Haynes-Citroen-C2-2003-2010-53-to-60-Service-Manual-/122270478392?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368 There is also the Citroen service box which can be obtained through ebay. Does the radiator fan run when the air con is switched on - if not the air con will not work ? From the service box procedures, there should be a high temperature warning at 118°C, the thermostat should start to open at 89°C and be full open by 101°C. I could not find the fan settings but on our C3 it would start at 96°C and cut out at 94°C. I do not know what the thermostat wire is for, maybe there is a second temp sensor - if you have a part number for the thermostat it could be looked up.

Welcome to the forum. Despite the battery only being 1 year old it may need charging (result of short trips) or be faulty or maybe its connections need checking. You need to check its voltage, should be about 12.5 volts before starting the engine, below this it needs charging or replacing. It should have a guarantee so if faulty you should be able to take it back.

Just had a quick look at the procedures for clutch replacement and seen the engine/gearbox has to be removed, so quite a big job compared to most cars. When you disconnected the battery this needs to be done allowing time for the bsi to shut down but if done quickly can give odd electrical problems. On the C5 technical section there is a procedure in the Common Problems pinned topic I have used many times when disconnecting/reconnecting the battery.

Fuel pressure is probably ok and since you have the rpm then I suspect the crank shaft sensor is also ok although the rpm may be a bit low for starting. I do not know anything about the PIN code, you may need to use a dealer for this but this topic may be relevant http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/24316-lexia-code-to-activate-relay/ .

If the key goes in and then can be turned in the lock, does it then unlock that door and also does it unlock the central locking so the other doors are unlocked ? If the driver's door lock only is unlocked then it could be a wiring problem between the door and door pillar or maybe there is a problem with the lock itself. If the driver's door is not unlocked then possibly the lock barrel has become detached from the lock - the 2 are connected by a cable which hooks on to the lock barrel. It could be the barrel is still ok but if the cable has broken and can not be hooked back on, then it would need the lock replacing - these seem to be available on ebay for around £30, as an example which also shows the short cable that hooks to the lock barrelhttp://www.ebay.ie/itm/2004-CITROEN-C2-3-Door-Hatchback-DRIVERS-FRONT-DOOR-LOCK-ASSEMBLY-/351939294442?hash=item51f13774ea:g:HyMAAOSw6DtYW5u2 To check it you will need to remove the door card/trim. For now I would not buy any parts until you have removed the door card and had a look.

The glow plug light only shows for a few seconds if that on our C5 when the ignition key is first turned to light up the dash. If you blink it can be missed.

We've had 3 C4s with the 1.6 hdi and only the 2008 one leaked oil. It was from the casing seal around the doser valve above the alternator and needed a new doser valve to sort it and stop oil getting on to the alternator. In your case if it is leaking oil you should be able to find it but some odd ones on our petrol C3 - it leaked oil from a drive shaft/differential seal, the timing chain tensioner (a batch of engines did not have them tightened enough), some wiring to the oil pump solenoid where it entered the engine block.

Welcome to the forum. It will pay to get a copy of the Haynes manual for your car, full price seems to be about £23, car accessory shops usually sell it for less and through ebay can be about £15 inc postage, for example http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Haynes-Manual-Citroen-C5-01-08-Car-Workshop-Repair-Book-4745-/360957692297?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368 According to the Haynes manual to remove the heater control panel - remove the radio (prise off the 2 plastic covers at each side by using a screwdriver in the lower edge to lever them off, then undo the screws holding the radio in place and then remove the radio) - push out the switches each side of the radio aperture - prise up the gear lever surround trim panel - undo the 2 torx bolts at the bottom of the centre panel which were hidden by the gear lever surround and then prise the centre panel from place - undo the 4 torx bolts holding the control panel, release the clip each side, push the panel forward, pull the lower part of the facia rearwards (towards you) a little and then move the control panel out.

It is in Citroen's procedures to remove the filter with a screwdriver and not put it back. Makes you wonder why it is there in the first place unless they are expecting bits of metal as the engine is run in, but then it ought to be a service item to remove it.

Welcome to the forum. When you say the key does not work in the lock, is this because the lock has seized or has bunged up with dirt but it can still be put in to the lock ? If so before spending any money, you could try using something like wd40 sprayed in to it and then trying to gradually turn the key in the lock to free it off.