greyboy

:) I have had another look at the problem and have found that if you turn off the air con the car warms up quicker (interior anyway). It will start blowing warm air in about a mile. Perhaps that is the best thing to do in cold weather, if the "auto" system has not put it off first. My Xantia was a diesel. by the way. with a very efficient manual vent system and excellent air con.

Dear All, My 2002 2.2HDi takes 4 - 5 miles to warm up from cold; ie - for warm air to blow out of the vents and for the needle to start rising on the temp gauge. Ambient outside temp being say 5-6Deg C. Other than that it starts and runs fine with good performance and mpg. Is this normal? My old Xantia was blowing warm 1/2 mile down the road.

:P Dear All, I have had the car serviced again and the hydraulic fluid has now been topped up. The car is 5 years old in March and is then due a complete fluid change and filter clean. I asked at my local main dealer (Coleford, Glos), and was pleasantly surprised to find it will be only £125 or £175 if it needs the main suspension sphere as well. I'm sure those prices would not be much cheaper at an independent.

:( Thanks.

:o I have now checked the level with the car on the low setting and the tank is still empty. Where, apart from a main dealer can i get some fluid?

Thanks very much. ;)

:( How do you check the hydraulic fluid level? My car is a 2002 2.2 Hdi. The hand book is vague to say the least. On normal height setting, the tank is totally empty.

;) Dear All, My car is a 2002 2.2 HDi SX, now done 124K. Recently i noticed a loud knocking/rattling sound from the engine area when idling. Thought it was a stuck tappet at first. Took it to the "main stealer" where the crankshaft pulley was diagnosed as breaking up. (The noise was actually only heard from the RH side of the car ,ie when parking with the drivers side window open, and not when looking under the bonnet). The pulley drives the belt for the alternator etc, not the cam belt, and is rubber damped to withstand the high torque from these HDi engines. Apparently it is a common occurence at this sort of mileage. It is best to get it changed before you do too many miles. I was quoted £291 to do the job which included the pulley at £157 +VAT. An independent is carrying out the work next week for only £110 as the pulley is only £46 from the likes of GSF or Eurocar parts.

:blink: Thanks for the advice.

Thanks for the advice but the C5 seems to be different to the xsara. I have broken yet another cover on mine and have had to glue it back on. Still can't see how you are supposed to do the job. :P

Wise words indeed from KFK. I was thinking of going down the budget route myself as the rears need doing. I will now get the Michelins to match the fronts (before i hand the car over to Mrs Greyboy) ha ha. "Pro Tyres" in Fareham, Hampshire is pretty good on prices. I will let you know how much.

The same happened to me about 12 months ago, also on a 2002 model. It is possible, with a bit of engineering know-how, to carry out a repair that is better than the original without having to buy a seat base at £300 from the "Main Stealer". My car actually failed the MOT because the seat was loose !! There are 5 bolts holding the seat in, one in each corner and an extra one rear right. (You don't have to unscrew the seat rails). There is also an electric plug to be pulled apart at the front. My car also has a CD multi changer which can be unscewed from the seat frame and left in place. Take the seat out and work on it wherever is convenient. The left hand side is easier to work on if that is broken as the seat adjust handle is on the right and gets in the way. I repaired the LH side first then the RH went a week later due to all the weight which had been on it for all the months when i put off the repair! What breaks is a 6 MM diameter lug which is part of the seat height adjusting mechanism. What you see hanging down is the bracket which actually moves the seat up and down. The lug is welded to the side of the seat and then pivots in the curved bracket. Remove the plastic trim as much as you can and carefully peel back the seat cloth. The end of the lug can be seen. It looks like a spot weld. Centre punch this and drill a pilot hole, say 2MM, then increase the hole to 10MM. The other end of the lug must now be drilled out of the curved bracket. This is harder as the broken part spins. I held the stub with mole grips. Use a 10MM bolt of the appropriate length (or cut down to suit) with nyloc nut and washers to suit. Do not over tighten as you won't be able to raise/lower the seat after. I actually welded the head of the bolt to the side of the seat to make it more secure. The repair will be just as good without welding, however. Carefully replace the seat cloth and plastic trim then put seat back in car. Sit back and relax with a beer and think of all the money you have saved!

:D Does anyone know how to take the plastic covers off to change the Number Plate Lights ? The last one i did i could see no way to do it without breaking the cover and then gluing it back on.

I've now had the rear spheres changed and the handling/ride is now back to normal. (ie not quite as good as the Xantia). The garage had made an error with the price of parts, however as the bill was £255 !! I had to haggle and had the labour price dropped to £40/hour instead of £60 and 12.5% discount on parts to bring them down to £82.55 each + VAT. I think i will do the fronts myself as Euro car parts does the spheres for £36.50 + VAT each and they only screw on/off.

:P After a 2 minute visit to the main dealer they said the rear spheres needed changing but the fronts were ok. The suspension was "bounced", if it is rock hard, the spheres have gone. Cost for the rears is £130 inclusive of VAT & fitting. (same price for the fronts).

Yes, I have now found that due to the higher pressures involved, it is not possible to recharge the spheres. Apparently they are now far cheaper, around £35 each. I have the car booked in at the main dealer this week and will let you know the outcome.

I had the same problem on my C5. I put it into the local Main Dealer and the bill was around £130, with the part being £60 odd plus VAT. The old part was smashed to pieces to remove it. The good part was that i had a modified plastic sump tray fitted free at the same time. Apparently the earlier models were prone to falling off! :blink:

My '02 114k mile 2.2 sx hatch failed its last MOT due to a binding front offside brake which had worn the outboard pad to about 1 1/2 mm. The other pads were 10mm, ie hardly worn. I cleaned the calipers, lubricated the pistons, fitted new dust seals and new pads and have had no problems since. The pistons inside the dust seal were very dry and seemed to be sticking on the seal.

:P I have a 2002 C5 2.2 HDi sx hatch. It has done around 115k miles and runs extremely well. The ride is not as good as my previous Xantia but has got worse in the last few months. The car tends to roll about like a boat at medium speed and is jittery over poor road surfaces. It also is very harsh when hitting pot holes. The Xantia was cured of the same symptoms by recharging the gas spheres. Does the C5 have the same spheres and can they be recharged in the same way?

My 2.2 hdi sx brakes squealed from the day of the test drive. I still bought the car as it was the best condition / price / colour etc . I removed the rear wheels to find brand new discs/pads but no copper grease on the pad backs. A good smear later and the dreaded squeal has gone. It had done 102k miles when i bought it. :D