Johndouglas

It's a tool for putting some pressure in the hydraulic system after having drained the LDS. It's only a very low pressure, about 7 psi that's required and I've heard that it's possible to get the system working correctly by using a pump and a piece of bicycle inner tube and valve.

For now, providing the engine satisfies the smoke limit, it will pass. But for how long? And on 2008 engines and later, the smoke limit is reduced and there's a fair chance that a later engine might not pass with the filter removed. For anyone who hasn't had a filter removed, but is thinking about it. Maybe think again!

If you're putting in 50 quid a week, that's giving you about 8 gallons to play with. If you do 60 miles a day for (what?) 6 days a week, that's 360 miles per week. That works out at around 45 mpg. A more reliable method would be to brim the tank, note the mileometer reading, run it till almost empty, then brim it again. Then do the sums. Regarding the box fitting or remap. For any practical improvement in fuel consumption, it would take years to recoup the outlay for either of the two systems. In the past I've used both, a tuning box and a remap - mainly to improve my car's towing performance. Both systems were helpful but the remap showed the best improvement. Running without my caravan on tow, fuel consumption hardly changed. It's worth mentioning the fact that sometime in the future, when your car goes for MOT, the output of the engine will be compared with a DVLA database. It might be that any remapping would show, bringing about a failure. Also were you not to tell your insurers about the fitting, your insurance would be invalid.

It also doesn't make any sense. After 30 minutes it switches most things off - supposedly to avoid flattening the battery. But it leaves the 12volt supply socket in the boot live. A few years ago when I was caravanning in France, I parked up for the night, forgetting the 12volt cool box running in the boot area. In the morning I couldn't start the car. If I did the same thing in the C5, what good would eco mode have been?

If you are using a different strut with a spring already on it, you should be OK. But don't remove a spring from a strut without first using a pair of spring compressors.

Spanner on the nut. An Allen key on the bolt to stop it turning.

The suspension spring is under tension. The spring compressors need to be securely in place.

It's not unusual to get a series of messages when a fault develops. Have you had a code reader on it to see what codes are displayed/

Not quite! The drop link needs removing. Once the clamp bolt is removed, knock a small chisel into the gap on the swivel hub to spread it slightly.

I don't know how your mechanic is doing this job for £70. I've recently done this job on daughter's Xsara which had a binding front n/s brake caliper. I found the disc badly scored and the brake pad friction material almost gone. I've got the calliper working freely again with new pads and discs. Even with Eurocarparts sale price (when don't they have a sale? :P) the pads and discs were £64. And the job took me 3-4 hours. Maybe your discs are not vented. That would make them a bit cheaper.

I've just watched a recording of the section of Watchdog which covers the Picasso suspension. Apparently more than 40 owners have complained about a suspension fault whereby the level of the car gradually drops and the ride becomes bumpy. This is happening on vehicles which are 6 years old or even less. Citroen claim that there's no design fault and that it's fair wear and tear. Owners have been quoted around £400 for replacement units. Watchdog had two "expert" engineers look at the suspension units and both agreed that the rubber shouldn't degrade in such a short time and that it's not acceptable that Citroen fails to accept responsibility. A motoring reporter mentioned the fact that on the current Grand Picasso models, the air suspension has been dropped and replaced by conventional steel springs. The outcome of the Watchdog report was that Citroen have agreed to pay 80% of replacement costs on vehicles under ten years old or less than 120000 miles.

There are dozens of reasons why it's on. Get a reader on it and it'll tell you why. Can also turn it off - but without correcting the fault, it may come back on again.

That's good -- and does the heated rear window still work?

I have indeed. A week or so ago I did a ride down the M23/A24 to the coast at a modest 60/65. On the fuel computer I'd achieved 61mpg when I'd reached the outskirts of Worthing, but by the time I'd driven through town and a couple of circuits of the carpark, it was down to 55. But even so, I was well pleased.

Probably you'll have a small light close to the fuel gauge which will glow when you're down to a few litres. Under your bonnet it's a 2 ltr engine that you have. 1900cc engines were never put in the C5, although they were used in the earlier Xantias............................... And yes! I do have names for our cars. Which name I use depends on how they're behaving!!.. :D

Regarding the sticker on the heated rear window, I would leave it where it is. Any attempt to remove it could well damage the printed filament. Your hairdryer together with a scraper should remove the stickers on the side windows.

I got back a couple of days ago from my first tow with the new (to me) Mk 3 VTR+ tourer. First off I found it a new experience to have to wind up the jockey wheel to hitch on – then lower it onto the towball. For the past 22 years I've been able to lower the suspension, place the hitch in position then raise the car to secure the coupling. Then I expected to see the tail end sag a bit with the additional weight on the rear, but not so, the tail end hardly moved. If anything, with the extra weight of the caravan, the steel suspension seemed more like the hydraulic system. Once on the motorway the caravan was as well behaved as it was on my Mk2 Exclusive C5 estate. The big surprise came with the performance. It was a calm windless day and having switched on the cruise control for 56mph together with 16C on the aircon, I was able to do long sections of the route in 6th gear. At journey's end, some 75 miles away, my average fuel consumption was 35mpg. With my previous 136bhp C5 my best average was never better than 30.5mpg. So from a towing point of view, I have no regrets that I changed cars, however there are features that I could well do without. I do dislike the position of the handbrake lever – so far over to the passenger side of the car. No doubt a left-over from it's LHD design. Another feature I could well do without is the central armrest. It's too far back to act as an armrest unless your hand is off the steering wheel. Then there's that ridiculous cupholder within the box itself. The seatbelt connector is difficult to reach, being squashed between the seat and the centre box. And finally, the roof line must be considerably lower than the Mk2 because it's so easy to bang your head getting in and out of the car. Also when I carry my foldup bike behind the passenger seat, it's much more difficult to load because of reduced headroom. That sounds like a lot of negative points, but I enjoy the performance of the car so I have no regrets that I changed. EDIT. When I went to fit my towing mirrors - a pair which I've used on a BX, a Xantia and my previous Mk 2 C5, wouldn't fit. They were the type with two straight arms joined by two strong rubber bands. Because the Mk 3 mirrors are more rounded and bulky, I needed mirrors of a different type.

I can't help you with your specific problem but two years ago when I took my Saxo for its MOT, it got an advisory that the parking brake was almost at the fail level. Before the next MOT I removed the brake drums - which was the first time they had been off in 13 years - then just cleaned out all the dust, checked the cylinders for leakage, applied grease in the appropriate places, then put it all back together. On its recent MOT the parking brake passed without any comment. Although the car is 16 years old, the shoes, the wheel cylinders and hoses are all original. Having said that, the Pug 306 which is the same age needed new hoses and a wheel cylinder three years ago.

This website of any help? http://www.buypartsby.co.uk/details/CITROEN/C8/2.0/2006/__/129/180804/exhaust-part/

Unless you have the V5 for the car, you can't sell or give it to anybody. Even a scrapyard shouldn't take it unless you also give them the document. Presumably someone must be applying for SORN every year.

I guess that's used up most of its nine lives.

If your car happens to be fitted with tyre pressure sensors, the system won't work if the spare wheel is used on the car. On my previous C5 I replaced the steel spare wheel with a matching alloy which had a pressure sensor in it, but because it wasn't recognised by the C5's computer, the complete system failed to work.

Sorry about that - one of us usually gives a welcome to new members -- so welcome to the forum. We hope you enjoy your new car.

Since this topic opened in 2008 a lot of water has gone under the bridge. New testing rules for Xenon lights have been added to the MOT in recent years. Kits such as those shown will not pass an MOT unless the lamps are self-levelling and have their own washer system for each lamp.

Snap!