Ay up, lads!
The simple answer is YES!!! The bounciness of the ride at the back is unbelievable and my spine (and indeed that of Mrs XN) cannot stand this much longer.
Nothing done today - sitting the office while the movers were shifting stuff round me (ooooooooh, me aching head) then the Staff Meeting (zzzzz).
She'll be on the ramp tomorrer and if anyone wants me for owt other than Fifi repairs, then I'll tell 'em where they can go.
Fifi and Friends
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Xantia-nut
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- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:46 pm
- Location: Wolverhampton
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Re: Fifi and Friends
If in doubt, give it a clout!
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
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Xantia-nut
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:46 pm
- Location: Wolverhampton
- Contact:
Re: Fifi and Friends
Ay up!
No, Fifi diid not get repaired on Tuesday. I was teaching. The regular tutor was off sick so I had 5 kids. Carl informed me that he wanted to teach 'em basic polishing so I gave 'em some suitable rags and showed 'em how it was done. Then set them going. The Daewoo is shining like its never shone before. I then had to shoot off to a meeting (ooooooh, me aching back!) with the requests of the kids to do more motor mechanics wi' me rather than painting and decorating. So I got summat right.
I told everyone I wouldn't be in Weds then turned up anyway, got Fifi on the ramp before anyone else got there and found this:
The plastic dog bone hanging down should be clipped to a balljoint in the slightly rusty bracket. Except that the balljoint was still in the bone.
And there's the little wossname! Amazing how summat so tiny can immobilize the car! I also found that the corrector was seized co cleaned and lube'd it and, interestingly, the plastic bone had worn a flat on the steel ball! The ball and bracket were welded back together, excess weld ground off and the car reassembled and road tested.
I can now assault speed bumps with my customary contempt!
No, Fifi diid not get repaired on Tuesday. I was teaching. The regular tutor was off sick so I had 5 kids. Carl informed me that he wanted to teach 'em basic polishing so I gave 'em some suitable rags and showed 'em how it was done. Then set them going. The Daewoo is shining like its never shone before. I then had to shoot off to a meeting (ooooooh, me aching back!) with the requests of the kids to do more motor mechanics wi' me rather than painting and decorating. So I got summat right.
I told everyone I wouldn't be in Weds then turned up anyway, got Fifi on the ramp before anyone else got there and found this:
- And the bracket.JPEG (126.89 KiB) Viewed 1737 times
- The balljoint.JPEG (120.96 KiB) Viewed 1737 times
I can now assault speed bumps with my customary contempt!
If in doubt, give it a clout!
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
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Xantia-nut
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:46 pm
- Location: Wolverhampton
- Contact:
Re: Fifi and Friends
Ay up!
I recently had a puncture and I was listening to the tyre chappie struggling to re-fit the alloy. His use of foul language was pretty impressive, I have to say, but I thought to meself "There's gotta be a better way of doing this." Indeed, I've had the same swearfest meself trying to get the ?#@$!!! things back on!
Anyway, there is a better way of doing this.
Here it is:
Nigel's Patent Wheel Locator Tool. Basically I took a couple of old wheel studs, cut off the heads then welded a piece of threaded bar onto the threaded portion. Grind to taste, then you have a choice. You can either make 'em long enough to get hold of 'em with Mole grips or similar or cut them shorter, as I have done, and cut a screwdriver slot in the end.
An enjoyable afternoon messing about with a welder and grinder. And they even go in the ashtray, next to the locking nut key.
I recently had a puncture and I was listening to the tyre chappie struggling to re-fit the alloy. His use of foul language was pretty impressive, I have to say, but I thought to meself "There's gotta be a better way of doing this." Indeed, I've had the same swearfest meself trying to get the ?#@$!!! things back on!
Anyway, there is a better way of doing this.
Here it is:
- Wheel Tool.JPG (107.6 KiB) Viewed 1722 times
An enjoyable afternoon messing about with a welder and grinder. And they even go in the ashtray, next to the locking nut key.
If in doubt, give it a clout!
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
Re: Fifi and Friends
Quick! get ye to the Dragons Den!
Just the simple sort of thing that would be just the ticket on a cold, dark, wet and windy hard shoulder in the middle of winter when you suffer a flat!
Just the simple sort of thing that would be just the ticket on a cold, dark, wet and windy hard shoulder in the middle of winter when you suffer a flat!
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suffolkpete
- Posts: 1136
- Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:54 am
Re: Fifi and Friends
Unfortunately you've been beaten to it. My late lamented Citroen C5 had one in the tool kit when I bought it new ten years ago. A similar idea appeared in the Matra forum recently as well.mach1rob wrote:Quick! get ye to the Dragons Den!
1974 Rover 2200 SC
1982 Matra Murena 1.6
1982 Matra Murena 1.6
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Xantia-nut
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:46 pm
- Location: Wolverhampton
- Contact:
Re: Fifi and Friends
Ay up!
Fair do's.
Eureka moments don't come often for me these days....
Fair do's.
Eureka moments don't come often for me these days....
If in doubt, give it a clout!
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
-
Xantia-nut
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:46 pm
- Location: Wolverhampton
- Contact:
Re: Fifi and Friends
Ay up!
I managed to escape from my office based captivity into the workshop for a couple of days. How desperate was I? I repaired a Ford Ka, so pretty desperate!
This failed its MOT with a broken rear spring and badly perished rear tyre. The tyre was changed on our changing table. Easy. The spring involved extracting two bolts from the back axle then two nuts on the strut top. The axle "beam" I rested on a pile of Escort IV alloys with tyres. The Boss who owns these wheels would have had a bird but he's on holiday so what he don't see.....
Had a pleasant surprise whan I found that, under a goodly coating of road dust, the LHS spring was brand spanking new, so I just changed the offside one. Had I found the LHS spriing to be manky and rusty, that would have been swapped too, Replacement required precision use of the lift (very possible) then simply bolting it all back together.
No piccies because quite simply, had it been mine, I would have put a match to it before seeking psychiatric help for buying such an 'orrid little thing in the first place! I could not be bothered digging in the laptop bag for my camera, despite it being a mere 2 feet away from me....
Next up is sorting Fifi's scabby alloys.
I managed to escape from my office based captivity into the workshop for a couple of days. How desperate was I? I repaired a Ford Ka, so pretty desperate!
This failed its MOT with a broken rear spring and badly perished rear tyre. The tyre was changed on our changing table. Easy. The spring involved extracting two bolts from the back axle then two nuts on the strut top. The axle "beam" I rested on a pile of Escort IV alloys with tyres. The Boss who owns these wheels would have had a bird but he's on holiday so what he don't see.....
Had a pleasant surprise whan I found that, under a goodly coating of road dust, the LHS spring was brand spanking new, so I just changed the offside one. Had I found the LHS spriing to be manky and rusty, that would have been swapped too, Replacement required precision use of the lift (very possible) then simply bolting it all back together.
No piccies because quite simply, had it been mine, I would have put a match to it before seeking psychiatric help for buying such an 'orrid little thing in the first place! I could not be bothered digging in the laptop bag for my camera, despite it being a mere 2 feet away from me....
Next up is sorting Fifi's scabby alloys.
If in doubt, give it a clout!
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
If that don't work, fetch a bigger 'ammer!
1993 Citroen Xantia 1.8i LX
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