Ronin

Cheers Coasty, That stuff worked a treat. £3.99 from halfords and retaining pins from main dealer £1.86 for a pair!!!! :unsure: Finally a cheap citroen part :lol: I grinded the old pins off! Anyway, had a word with the friendly Service Manager called Pete at Croxdale Citroen about this corrosion problem.... He said that a handy tip "but he never told me mind"(wink) is to leave the thin metal dust covers off, the tin plating on it reacts with the retaining pin alloy and causes the corrosion!!!! A handy thing to note is to really get a good bit of sanding down going on around the area so that you have a good surface to key the epoxy steel putty too. Mold the putty into a shape somewhere near and then push the pin through and keep twisting it now an then until the putty hardens (about 10 minutes) As suggested by our Coasty B) I then continued to do the same on the opposite side caliper which gave the first caliper repair time to harden solid. I took the pin back out and took a file to smooth the repair down. Then it was just a case of fitting the pads in as normal... Job done, cup of tea in hand after an hour. I put the wheels back on and left the car for a couple of hours and then took it for a spin to gently bed the new pads in. Thanks a million Coasty... Keep up the good work m8 ;)

Cheers Coastie, :huh: Funny you should say that, Ronin suggested Araldite (or something like that anyway) where is the best place to buy this "tough steel" from please? Are these pad retaining bolts dealer parts only? They are pretty much seized and rounded off on the nut, it looks like an angry monkey has put them on in the past :o I was just going to grind them off and replace the pins if they are cheap enough. I already have the pads at least ;)

Hi it's John again (Ronin's Brother in law). Dont worry, its not another caliper mis-alignment/ corrosion thread!!!! I WAS going to tackle replacing the rear brake pads today but ran into an obstacle right away as soon as i took the rear wheels off. The calipers are straight and true... No problems with corrosion between the faces etc. However.... When looking to take out the pad retainingg bolt I noticed that the bolt itself has nothing much to go through!! In fact, it looks like what would "normally" be two holes that this pin/bolt fits through (I would presume) :o has actually corroded away to two very dodgy corroded valley's... In other words.... What the hell are the pads been held in by?????? I stopped before I went any further... Is this normal? Does it need new calipers Any advice would be most welcome Cheers :huh:

Thanks for the feedback guys, Ronin checked all the connections and swapped/ tested the temperature senders in a friends Pug 406 1.8 16v , they are the same apparently. Still the same issue occured so that ruled out a cold start issue. The problem was starting to get worse it was starting to cut out at junctions and refusing to restart. So next was the crankshaft position sensor as suggested by Randombloke. Guess what? RESULT You were spot on mate, problem solved totally. Ronin cleaned out the EGR valve while he was at it for good measure and went to see an old pug technician mate who had all the relevant ODB/BSI test equipment. He cleared all the faults and now the car feels totally different. All in all a total cost of £30 to fix the problem once and for all. More power and torque, smoother ride and much better economy. So thanks once again lads and a big thankyou to Randombloke, all that from just one sensor

Ok, I guess this is a tough one to diagnose with the limited info available. We don't have a code reader and i've just been laid off so cant afford expensive garage bills if I can help it and fix it myself. Ron has suggesting trying a BSI (Battery negative) reset proceedure however there is a lot of conflicting info regarding what is the correct way to do this and especially how do you do it with just a normal ignition key and no fob key available.... i.e. holding the central locking button down for ten seconds on the key fob etc.? Any ideas guys, please I need someone to suggest a place to start looking;) Thnks in advance.

Hi it's not Ronin but i'm his brother in law, John. Ronin sold his 1.8 C5 and drives a new alfa 159 3.2 Q4 now and is very happy with it, lucky sod :rolleyes:. Anyway back to the issue. Ron is at a loss as to what the problem is with my C5 and advised me to ask you guys for help so apologies for using his account (i don't have a PC you see) <_< . It's an intermittent problem, most of the time the car will start at the first turn of the key and then after a day of regular starting or so it will turn over quite happily but no chance of starting. Ron thinks its an immobiliser issue as the fuel pump charges on ignition and the fuel pressure to the injectors is ok. He confirmed this by testing this at the fuel pressure valve on the rail. The funny thing is that the car will start from a bump start right away when it plays up, I know ! Ron has told me not to keep doing this as it can screw things up further. Eventually after a lot of head scratching and cursing we have figured out that if I relock the car up, leave it for 20 minutes and have a cup of tea then go back out and unlock it the car starts up again with no problem..... Very confusing but it's not very practical to keep doing that as you can imagine sometimes I need to use the car right away. I bought the car from an auction at haste about a year ago very cheap at £450 on a 01 plate but it only had one key, no fob just a manual key that unlocks the doors and turns ignition. The alarm/ central locking works ok still with it though. Any advice would be most welcome as now I'm getting very frustrated with it. Thanks for reading... Ronin says hello BTW and hope you are all well.

You could try "BBtyres" RB, they can send by courier and costs a lot lees than you would think m8 B) http://www.bestbuytyres.co.uk

Some may laugh but future classics are determined by there rarety now. Just look at the ford escort rs turbo's! every essex boy and his dog had one but now the are worth a lot of money in good nick. When was the last time you seen one on the road? Exactly. The general process is contact the owners clubs and get hold of a concourse checklist. New OE parts are the general rule but as long as it works and is clean used parts are acceptable. powdercoating the suspension parts will add to the longevity and is far better than painting. Judges like this idea. All rust can be dealt with in the normal manner but I would advise that the welds are ground down and treated accordingly. Then ziebart underseal the under body floorpans. Tyres really need to be as close to the original spec as possible but often a particular model number goes out of production. The same make but closest model number is good enough. Engine parts need to be close to original spec as possible. You can use new parts. You can use chrome bits and bobs too... Another thing judges like. Original stickers in the engine bay are a big point scorer, they must be pristine and easily read. Interiors can be re-trimmed to original spec A lot of coachbuilders can do this for less than you think with original materials and fabrics or as close as damn it. The check list and rules will help you through the process m8 Good luck :)

It should be ok m8. a Diesel has a long fuel line and the filter housing acts as a reservior so only a small amount will have gotten through to the block itself. Diesels pink (pre detonate) a bit with petrol and then stop dead so it's impossible to cause any further damage. They will go through the process properly and you won't notice anything different. There are loads of people who make the same mistake and they still drive around with no further problems. the worst case scenario is that it might be a little bit smokey for a few hours and the odd occasional chug but thats it. It will soon be back to it's normal self. B)

Ahh Thats real bad luck m8, sorry to hear you aren't having any good fortune. Centreville are a very, very good specialist and you can trust them m8, I do and all my family take their C5's there too. They know what is what. How old is the car Big Dog? It all depends on how much you want to keep the car but if the value is below the repair bill I would suggest that it would be best to get rid too m8. That's the only problem I have found with C5's, they are so bloody complicated to be able to work on yourself. Especially in comparison to cars of a similar age. If you have some sort of storage area like a garage you could remove & sell the parts off it within three weeks or so. Many Alfa owners do this and I know of two guys who have actually bought newer models than they originally had with the profit off Ebay/ forum sales alone! Then all you do then is just get a scrap merchant to recover the body shell £50! Crazy to think a complete car is worth a lot less than spares these days. It's worth thinking about m8.

"There's no such thing as a thick question, just those who are thick enough not to ask" I'll try to simplify it as much as possible ok. "Tickover" is when the engine is idling with no pressure on the accelerator like when you are sat at a set of traffic lights for instance thus the engine is ticking over nicely. The "Lumpy" part to it is when the revs of the engine go up and down slightly but erratically without the driver doing anything, it should be smooth and as regular as possible. The lumpiness can be symptom of various things like not enough or too much fuel getting through to burn in the engine on tick over or not enough air for it to mix with essentially starving or over fuelling. There is always a reason for this and it is usually down to many electronic sensors not doing there jobs reporting back to the ECU (engine Brain) what is happening or the fuel system parts like injectors can be worn, dirty or slightly blocked amongst many other things. The problem is trying to find the offending part, that is the difficult bit. Lumpy tickover is not a bad thing in itself but it can giveway to more serious problems like "flat spots" when a car hesitates during acceleration. Or when a car stalls when trying to pull away through no fault of the driver. Thats why you will see it reffered to as a symptom in many car orientated questions as it has a relation to many parts of the car systems from electronic, fueling, engine management etc. etc. I hope it makes sense and don't worry about asking questions that you may think are silly, we are a helpful bunch and will always try to answer if we can. :rolleyes:

I've been waiting for this a long, long time, actually aware but avoiding it and eventually the conversation popped up the other night. We have two cars, An Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6 24v on an X plate & A Citroen C5 1.8 16v on a Y plate. My Missus has decreed that "we no longer need two cars, especially with the cost of fuel"! and one must go... End of discussion. As women do! I have had the Alfa from brand new and spent ££££'s on her fastigious up keep much to the dismay of the Wife sometimes. If it was at all possible I would have married with this car instead. :lol: Metalic Black Momo leather interior smoked rear lights 18" Antec alloys 225/40/18 zr pirrelli p zero Tarox performance brake kit including Gta calipers. Koni suspension Alfatech polished and ported cylinder head (stage 1) Alfesti road/track derived Eprom chip Alfatech tuned stainless steel exhaust (not boomy or noisy) Alfatech throttle body, injectors, performance filter and fast road cam. Alfatech uprated a/r bar front and rear Tarox uprated twin plate clutch 254 bhp / 270lb/ft torque 0-60 6.1 secs Mpg average is about 27 miles (38 on a motorway cruise) Exillerating drivers car, very reliable (it doesn't get a chance not to be)I know every nut and bolt and can strip this car down and rebuild it with my eyes closed now. so maintaining her is not an issue. We have been through a lot together including Isle of Man, Nurburgring, Monza track day and long European drives. I'll be honest my heart prefers this car by far. Now the contender that I bought for the missus but I use to get to work as it's cheaper to run! C5 1.8 16v Reliable (yes it really is) although I'm waiting for big stuff to go wrong. Comfortable, cheap to insure, cheap to run and plods on regardless. I getting there with maintaing her but Citroens are a nightmare to work on in retrospect. Ave 36mpg & 47mpg on the motorway The missus prefers this as its cheaper and doesn't "scare her" while driving it like the Alfa does :rolleyes: So you see my dilemma. My head "and the Wife"says this car! I have managed to angle an alternative in though which is a possibility depending on a promotion coming soon at work (about 5 month) Buy a brand new Citroen C5 1.6 hdi or get a pre owned Alfa Romeo 159 Q4 24v She is quite happy with either choice as long as it is just the one car. Help Please.... I know we all love Citroen's including me but I don't want to let the Alfa go, I need an honest and unbiased opinion. What would you do? One must go for now and I can't make a choice. :(

Easy things to check first: Remove the centre console gater and check for obstructions, pens, coins and rubbish that kids can quite nicely work in there from time to time, as they do! Remove the air filter box and you will see the gear selecter lever and coresponding linkages. Check the linkages for excessive loosness in the ball joints, make sure that they can't pop off under medium pressure with your hands. Check for corrosion and stiffness in any other linkage /ball joint while a helper select the gears. Grease them all up lightly, give it a good working in and that should do the trick. There is also a couple of rods from the selector that can be checked on the under floor of the car. Ramps are required, suspension on high setting and some gardening gloves to handle sharp heatshields etc. repeat the procces above to make sure they are free If the stifness returns fairly quickly: Have you had any exhaust part fitted recently? Sometimes the centre sections can be mounted slightly too close to the body work that can cause excessive heat around the gear selector rods and linkages thus drying them out. If this is the case, dig out the exhaust warranty and take it back. Explain the situation and they will adjust the exhaust accordingly FOC. Worst case scenario and long shot It maybe the selector itself or the gear elector fork in the bell housing but I have never heard of them causing issues before. Gearbox oil level can have an effect (ask Citroen Saxo VTR, VTS owners) although I seriously doubt this is your problem as all movement, forward, backward, left and right would be stiff after ten minutes or so of driving. I would guess it was probably the linkages in the engine bay playing you up. :)

Realistically the best way is to get it on a set of ramps with the bonnet open for extra light and the suspension set on high. You can get to it via the down pipe tunnel. Expect to use some long flexible U/J extension bars and sockets. Not a difficult job but awkward to get into without proper tools. Dont forget to replace the paper gasket once removing it. You can use hylomar if you can't get it from the dealer.

Remove, clean the egr valve and solenoid if it is still no better replace it and the vacuum pipe. Remove all the interconnecting pipes from the turbo to air box one at a time and check for obstructions, then refit and secure. Try an engine flush to remove any deposits that causing any back pressure and run the car for 1000 mile on a fresh oil and filter change of the thinnest quality oil recommended for the car (mobil 1 15w30 is damn good but expensive). Take the car out for a long run of 40miles at least at a constant speed of 40 mph, no higher, no lower and no interuptions like junctions etc. 2 am on a dual carriageway is just the job. Get a check done on the MAF sensor, it could be giving a false reading. Has any previous owner tweaked the turbo actuator by removing the securing bolt on the bar and twisting it one full turn perhaps? Definately not recommended on a C5 hdi but older 1.9td 306's & Xantias could increase the boost with this trick. someone may have tried it!