I bought a new sender and had it on my todo list for the next oil change, assuming that removing the sender would require the engine to be free of oil.   However, my mechanic stopped by recently and told me that it can be changed at any time, and even changed it for me quickly.

I assumed that would be the end of it, however the light continued to come on randomly, and even sometimes came on at idle.  Coming on at idle made me think that maybe there could be more to this, so I decided that I wouldn’t drive the car until I tested the oil pressure properly.

Of course, Citroen didn’t use a common sized oil pressure sender, so none of the adaptors in my mechanical oil pressure gauge would work.    I still had the gauge from the saga with my 300SE a few years ago.

I looked online for adaptors.  They were not expensive, but most of them seemed to come from the UK with shipping higher than the actual adaptor.   I eventually found a local one.   The sender unit is a male M10x1.5 thread.   I found one that provided two ports, one a more standard size and the other for the original sender.  I purchased it.

When it arrived it looked pretty good, but there was a problem.  There isn’t a lot of clearance to get this larger adaptor in, and while I could get the adaptor in, I couldn’t then get the fitting for the mechanical gauge in.   I tried a few times, both from the top and the bottom.  Since the gauge was out of the car, I couldn’t start it, so I used a jack to lift the car to try from the bottom.  In my ineptitude I managed to let the car fall off it and put a scratch on the side.  Luckily its not that visible from the side and mostly hit the bottom.

That left a sour taste in my mouth, so I decided to just order one of the smaller adaptors from the UK.   It took a few weeks to arrive.  It was much smaller and doesn’t have provision for the current sender.  That wasn’t an issue for me as this is a troubleshooting step and not a permanent install.

After all the time wasted with the old adaptor, I had the new one installed quickly.   Its smaller size making it much easier.   I soon had the gauge installed as well.   Starting the car, I had good news.   about 4.5 bar of oil pressure, or 65psi.   It would rev to about 70psi.

I let the car warm up a bit and the pressure stayed good.  A I then took it for a drive around the industrial estate where I keep my cars. I was never able to get the pressure to lower even at 4,000rpm.   I then let the car idle for a while until the electric fan came on and the oil was good and hot.   The lowest pressure I saw was about 2.5 bar or 35psi at idle. I consulted the workshop manual, and the specification for the oil pressure is that it must be at least 3.8 bar (54psi) at 3,000rpm with the oil at 60 degrees. (assuming 20/50 oil, which I use).

At this point I was pretty confident I didn’t have an oil pressure problem. I took the car for a drive again with a warmer engine and hot oil pressure was still good.   I also noticed something else that really sealed the deal.   At one point, the oil pressure light came on when revving the engine.   This should not be possible as the sender is not plugged in.

Its possible that this is related to the circuit board in the instrument cluster.  I know mine already has an issue as I had to bridge the connection for the illumination.    It may also be to do with excessive voltage at high RPM.   I’ll put a voltage gauge on the car at the same time so I can check.

This test, has given me much more peace of mind that there is nothing actually wrong with my car.   Citroen DS engines are very tough.

The post Citroen DS Oil Pressure light appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The car has been a project for the last year or so and is finally on the road.    The colour is called Blue Danube and it has an Ivory roof.  Being a late (1975) D Special, it is fitted with Air Conditioning, although this has not been connected yet.

Given I was going to look at a D Special, I took my DS along.   It was in good company with two other D models, both of which are regulars at this event.   It was good timing, as the DS has been in my garage at home for the last month or so, and as the weather heats up, I was planning on swapping it for a car with A/C fitted.   This is probably the last outing until end of February for the car.   My car, being a 1970 model was the oldest of the four cars.

The event was much smaller than usual.   Weather was good, but it has been raining heavily yesterday, including into the evening.   People are often quite busy in December as well.   It was still worth going,  there are always some interesting cars on display.

Probably most interesting was the pre-war Rolls Royce with the turntable and glassware in the back seat.

The post Auto Brunch St Ives December 2024 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

My mechanic sent them away to Pleiadies in Queensland.   They were able to fully rebuild my rear spheres including new diaphragms, and repaint them to the factory colour and pattern.   When they arrived back they looked almost too good to put on the car!

A bit of a contrast to my front spheres.    It would only be a few years later that Citroen went to the disposable spheres.    That seems a shame, as the rebuildable spheres are still going strong 50 years later.

Fitting them is pretty straightforward, and my Mechanic had them on in a few minutes.

A quick top up of LHM later, and the DS was back to its original ride quality.   The ride is such an integral part of these cars.

The next day I took the car for a drive and confirmed everything is working properly.   The ride is back to its previous quality, and its a nice car to drive again.  The rebuilt rear spheres are doing their job well.  Since I was out on the road in the car, my Mercedes mechanic has always been interested in seeing the car, as his father had a couple of DS models in the 60s and 70s before switching to Mercedes.

I probably get more positive comments about the DS from people than any other car I own.

Of course the only downside of a drive on a Saturday morning is all the hyper aggressive cyclists. It seems once they put that lycra on, the rage builds inside. Sometimes I think they ride like they are trying to get hit, just to prove a point. Really not sure the point of cutting off cars and trying to block them on a bicycle.

The post Citroen DS rebuilt rear spheres appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The biggest impact on ride quality is the state of the suspension spheres.   There are four suspension spheres, one for each wheel.   In addition to the suspension spheres, a D will have at least one accumulator sphere.  These store pressure for various reasons, and my car has two, a main accumulator sphere for system pressure, and a brake accumulator sphere to provide additional pressure for the brakes should there be a leak in the system or the engine cuts out.

The spheres work by having a diaphragm with nitrogen gas under pressure in the top part of the sphere, and hydraulic oil (LHM) on the other side of the diaphragm.   The compressed gas acts as the spring.    This fails to work properly if the gas pressure is not correct.   Over a period of years, the spheres gradually loose pressure.   As long as the diaphragm is still intact, the sphere can be tested and re-gassed to the correct pressure.   Eventually the diaphragm will fail and then the sphere will no longer provide any damping.    The suspension spheres on a DS can be rebuilt with a new diaphragm if needed.

This is quite a contrast to the spheres used in the Mercedes-Benz self-leveling rear suspension, which is uses the same principal.   Those spheres are disposable, and cannot even be regassed let alone totally rebuilt.   Even worse, some people simply assume that a non-punctured diaphragm means the sphere can be re-used.   Just as in a Citroen, over time they lose pressure too.

The Citroen club have regular tech days where they offer Citroen DS sphere regassing and testing.   In the roughly ten years I’ve owned the car, I’ve removed the spheres and taken them for testing to a couple of these tech days.   Last time, they were just borderline on pressure, but the Citroen DS sphere regassing system wasn’t available, so I wasn’t able to do it.

It’s not always easy for me to make the club tech days, so I enlisted the help of my mechanic for Citroen DS sphere regassing.   He first checked the rear spheres and the news was not good.  One was totally dead, with no pressure at all.  The other had a little pressure, but negligible.  These will be sent away to be rebuilt in Queensland.

The fronts were a lot better.   They had a pressure reading of around 28, when it should have been around 60.   He was able to regas these for me without issue.   He was also able to lend me two dead spheres so at least I can move the car around the garage.     I took the car on a short drive, as I wanted to do a quick oil change before putting the car away.   I did one a few months ago, but obviously didn’t seat the oil filter gasket properly, as I had a decent oil leak from the car.  Its not possible to change the filter without draining the oil.  The driving feel was quite odd.   The front being bang on spec and the rear without any give at all.

The rear spheres should be back in a few weeks.  I anticipate them transforming the ride back to what it was when I first drove the car.   It’s one of the things that makes the DS special.

The post Citroen DS sphere regassing appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Highlights and lowlights

The big highlight of the year was the Mercedes Benz Clubs National Rally in Glenelg.   The rally itself was great, but it was really the drive there and back that was the highlight for me.   There were also some good cars shows I attended, including the two in Canberra (Wheels 2022 and the ACT German Car show), The eastern creek show and the JDCA cars and coffee.   Lowlight of the year was all the events that were cancelled or impacted by the torrential rain.

On the cars themselves, it was great to have the 280SE running so well by mid year that I could enjoy using it.   And I just managed to get it going for the 50 years of the W116 event.

Fleet Changes:

None this year, although the 280SE and 300SE are now for sale.   I’ve been talking about selling the 300SE since the COVID lockdowns and I stopped needing a ‘daily’, but I am finally going to do it now.  I need to make room for a couple of other cars I have my eye on.

1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC

I took the 450SLC on two major events this year, the National Rally and Wheels 2022.   I’ve owned this car almost 20 years and 50,000km and this year was the most mileage I’ve put on the car since I owned it.   The car did really well on both trips and it was a lot of fun.    I’m really enjoying the small modifications I’ve done to the car – the Nardi steering wheel and AMG Penta wheels.    People are finally now waking up to what I have known for 20 years, what a great car the C107 is.

• KM Driven: 5,200
• KM on Odometer: 310,000
• Spend Level:  Medium
• Availability: Excellent
• Highlight:  National Rally 2022
• Lowlight:  Finding out the genuine Mercedes-Benz engine mounts I had fitted only a couple of years ago are already collapsed.   They were not cheap.
• Work this year:  Preparing for the National rally (Shocks, steering box adjustment etc), Fitting a Nardi wheel.
• Plan for 2023: Refitting the Becker Mexico cassette.  Finally stopping the A/C condensate dripping on my feet.

1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC

I drove the 560SEC a lot this year as everyday transport rather than big club events.    It’s a great combination of power and comfort.   The ECE version is so much better to drive than the Australian version.  This car with 220KW/455Nm is modern car fast.    It’s also great to have the proper Becker Radio installed in the car.

• KM Driven: 2,100
• KM on Odometer: 172,000 mi (277km)
• Spend Level:  High
• Availability:  Good
• Highlight:  How well the car is driving after all the work done this year.   I’m also very happy with my Becker radio install.
• Lowlight:   None really.   Was expensive this year but everything improved the car.
• Work this year:   Had the front brake calipers rebuilt, fixed a few suspension issues including guide rod bushings and rear SLS.   Upgraded the A/C condenser for really cold air and installed a period Becker Cassette.
• Plan for 2023: Fix the sunroof lifting arms.   Look at replacing the armrest cover.

1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL

After using this car a lot the last two years, this year I only drove it 1,500km.   I had planned to take it to the 2022 Sacco day, but that was cancelled.   Other than a slight wheel wobble at 110km/h the car drives really well now.  The final step was the new Bilstein front shocks that went in this year.    I should pass 340,000km next year.

• KM Driven: 1,500
• KM on Odometer: 337,500
• Spend Level:  Low
• Availability:  Good
• Highlight:  ACT German Car show 2022.
• Lowlight:   Having to turn back from the night drive with a sticky rear caliper.
• Work this year:   Rebuilt rear calipers and new front shocks.
• Plan for 2023: Fix wheel wobble and rear seat recline function.    Potentially fit the uprated A/C condenser I used on the SEC, should an A/C regas be required.

1965 Jaguar E-Type

It was a pretty uneventful year for the E-Type.   I took it on some nice drives, and had it serviced and tuned.   It had been a bit reluctant to accelerate in high gears.   The tune added some more fuel so its much better to drive now.    I had planned to take the car to the All British day.   That was cancelled due to wet fields so attended the JDCA cars and coffee event instead.

• KM Driven: 1,100
• KM on Odometer: Unknown, 70,000mi indicated.
• Spend Level: Medium
• Availability:  Excellent
• Highlight:  JDCA cars and coffee.
• Lowlight:  None
• Work this year:   Tune, rear wheel bearings.
• Plan for 2023:  Keep driving it.

1970 Citroen DS21

I had no real issues with the car this year.   I think all I ended up doing was a routine oil change.   I’ll have to do that again as its leaking, I suspect from the oil filter gasket.    Earlier in the year I took the car for a nice drive up to the blue mountains to see the Jensen National Rally display.   I also took it to a few cars and coffee events.    The ride is getting progressively worse, so I will need to have the spheres tested early 2023 and either regassed or rebuilt.

• KM Driven: 1,100
• KM on Odometer: Unknown
• Spend Level: Negligible
• Availability:  Excellent
• Highlight:  Excellent
• Lowlight:  Ride in the latter part of the year.
• Work this year:   None
• Plan for 2023:  Check spheres.

1965 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Cabriolet

It was a mixed year for the 250SE.   I’ve been having ongoing running issues with the car for the last 18 months.   After another tune it was much better in the second half of the year.    I also had all four brake calipers rebuilt after I had to abort a night drive with dragging brakes.    The weather this year was not very conducive to convertibles, but I was able to take it on a couple of night drives.     I’ve also had strange issues with my radio locking up.    I’m starting to suspect the rebuilt alternator I put on a few years ago, so I have a new one ready to go on.   Instead of the 35A alternator that was standard with the car, I plan to use a 55A from a 280SE.

I suspect the one that came out of the car was rebuilt with a higher capacity than standard even though it said 35A.   With a radio, the A/C etc, the 35A alternator is not really up to the job.    I’ve also got a few minor oil leaks to sort out next year and I suspect my subframe mounts may need a look.

• KM Driven: 1,100
• KM on Odometer: 282,500mi (455k KM)
• Spend Level: Medium
• Availability:  OK
• Highlight:  MBCNSW Photo shoot
• Lowlight:  Ongoing running issues
• Work this year:   Tune, brake calipers
• Plan for 2023:  Get the car back to the point where it is really nice to drive again

1979 Mercedes-Benz 280SE

At the start of the year the car hardly ran.   It had a collapsed drivers seat and an exhaust system made from swiss cheese.    Now, its reliable and great to drive.   However, I have my eye on something else so It will need to be sold.   I’ve enjoyed my year with a W116 280SE.

• KM Driven: 1,000
• KM on Odometer: 235,000km
• Spend Level: High
• Availability:  Poor
• Highlight:  60 Years of the W116
• Lowlight:  Stuck ignition barrel.
• Work this year:   Getting the car running well.   Fuel pressure testing, drag link and tie rod ends, exhaust, seat repair, stuck ignition barrel.
• Plan for 2023:  Sell the car.

1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SE

I originally bought this car as a daily driver.   It served admirably in that role.   Since COVID I work from home a couple of times a week.  I also have a different job where I take the bus from close to my house, vs previously having to drive to a park and ride.   Based on all that, I just don’t use the car like I used to.   This year it was used once a week to take the kids to soccer and general errands.   That resulted in lots of logbook entries but not many miles.   Owning two other W126s mean this car doesn’t get enough use, which is a shame as its very nice.  Time to find it a new custodian.

• KM Driven: 1,000
• KM on Odometer: 298,000
• Spend Level: Negligible
• Availability:  Excellent
• Highlight:  It’s been reliable and has cold A/C.  What more could you want?
• Lowlight:  None
• Work this year:   Routine maintenance such as oil change, transmission oil and filter change etc.
• Plan for 2023:  Sell the car.

The post 2022 Fleet Update appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Highlights and lowlights:

The highlights this year are the 60th anniversary of the E-type celebration, and some of the extended drives I did while I was between jobs earlier in the year. There was also Youngtimer Sacco day and the 107 Bridge drive.   The lowlight of course was crashing my 250SE Cabriolet into a Kangaroo, although that was later tempered with how well it was repaired.   It was also a shame that so many events were cancelled this year due to COVID-19.    I’m also happy with the purchase of the AMG wheels for my 450SLC and 560SEC.   Overall I drove the cars 18,500km this year, quite high for me.

Fleet Changes:

I purchased the 1979 280SE, which will replace the 1986 300SE.   I also purchased the 1987 420SEL parts car, and have started dismantling it.   I didn’t sell any cars this year, but the 300SE will be for sale soon.

1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL

The 560SEL is  a fairly recent purchase (March 2020) and I managed to use it a lot.   As a one owner car that was well looked after, it had the foundation to be really nice and I’ve now done a lot of the things I need to do to get it up to the level I wanted.    You really wouldn’t know it has 336,000KM on the clock.  Despite no major issues, I ended up spending a fair bit on this car, but I expect it should be a lot less next year.

• KM Driven: 5,200
• Spend level: High
• Availability: Excellent
• Highlight: How well this car drives now I have re-instated the self-leveling rear suspension.   Youngtimer Sacco day.
• Lowlight: Front suspension rebuild was more expensive than I was hoping.   The sway bar mounts required the fuse box and brake booster to be removed.  Took a couple of goes to get the alignment right.
• Work this year:  I had the B pillar trim and sagging seat fixed, as well as the front suspension rebuilt, new brake hoses and oil level sender.  I also changed the wheels out for a refurbished set.
• Plan for 2022:  After doing a lot in 2020 and 2021, just routine maintenance.    I’ll see if I can hit 340,000.

1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC

I’ve now owned this car for three years and it’s getting better and better with more use.   This year, I did a fair few things to this car, but they were mostly upgrades rather than mechanical work.   I’m really happy with the Cocomats, stainless steel exhaust and the AMG wheels.   It may not be next year, but at some point I plan to fix the rust under the rear window and fit an upgraded A/C condenser.   I’m glad I bought a 560SEC when I did as prices have started to climb.

• KM Driven: 4,300
• Spend level: High
• Availability: V. Good.  Was out of commission for about a month while I waited to do brake hoses.   The car had a spongy pedal.
• Highlight:  Some of the longer drives I did and how well the AMG Aero I wheels came out after refinishing.
• Lowlight: None.
• Work this year: After driving the car on a hot day and experiencing a very spongy pedal, I had all the brake hoses changed.   I fixed the in-dash outside temperature display, purchased, refinished and fitted the AMG Aero I wheels and had a new stainless steel exhaust system installed.  The A/C was also recharged.  There is a minor leak from the compressor.   The A/C is really cold when freshly recharged on this car.  For some reason it is much better than the 560SEL.
• Plan for 2022: Oil level sender is leaking.

1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SE

I originally purchased the 300SE as a daily driver.   These days, with my children a bit older so they don’t require fitted child seats, and regular working from home, I don’t have the same need for a daily driver as I once did.   The 300SE went on club rego and still got used when I needed to run errands or take the children to and from daycare and school.   Now owning the 560SEL, I found I didn’t drive it as much as last year.   I also had the strange issue of the oil pump catastrophically failing.  I was lucky I noticed the low oil pressure and was able to troubleshoot this and have the pump replaced before any damage to the engine.   This car will be for sale early in the new year with an asking price of $11,000.

• KM Driven: 2,500
• Spend level: Medium
• Availability:  Good.  Was unavailable for about a month while I waited to have the oil pump replaced.
• Highlight:  Its a great car to drive around town.   Its far more nimble than the V8 models.  I also really like the Signal Red.
• Lowlight:  The failure of the oil pump.
• Work this year: Replaced the oil pump, changed the brake hoses and bled the brakes.  I also changed the fuel pump, adjusted the self-leveling rear suspension and changed the passengers window regulator.    The car now has a USB port in the dash too.
• Plan for 2022:  Sell the car.    I’ll miss the car, but I’ve got two other W126 models and have never owned a W116.

1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC

I ended up doing a lot of work to the 450SLC, most of it not planned.   I discovered rust in two places that I addressed – on the passengers floor from the A/C condenser and under the rear screen.   The floor I tackled myself, but the rear screen needed a fair amount of work to be done.    Due to COVID, the car sat without a rear screen for months, meaning that I probably only had access to it for about half the year.    The driving experience had become progressively worse over the last couple of years, so this year I had the subframe mounts changed.

• KM Driven: 2,200
• Spend level: Very High
• Availability:  Poor.  I wasn’t able to use it for extended periods of time and it wasn’t running or handling well for much of that.
• Highlight:  The MBCNSW 107 drive over the bridge.   We had 47 cars, which which was pretty cool.
• Lowlight:  Finding rust under the rear screen and having to spend a lot of money to get it right.   I am very happy with the outcome.
• Work this year: Replaced fuel accumulator, drive shaft flex discs and centre support, installed a new foglight lens, replaced the rear screen, fixed the rust and had that part of the car repainted, purchased AMG ‘Penta’ wheels and tyres, fixed the A/C rust, replaced subframe mounts, fixed sticking odometer, new plugs  three new suppressors.
• Plan for 2022: I am planning to drive this car to the Mercedes-Benz clubs national rally in Adelaide, April 2022.   At some point, I would like to install a Nardi steering wheel and a set of cocomats. I’ve also got a noise from one of the rear wheels I need to sort out.   I think it is caused by a lug bolt touching the parking brake spring.

1965 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Cabriolet

The main occurrence this year was the crash.   I was also chasing some rough running issues.  I really enjoy driving this car and am glad I was able to have it repaired so well.

• KM Driven: 2,100
• Spend level: Medium
• Availability:  Poor:  Was off the road for months due to the ‘Roo incident.
• Highlight:  Having the car fixed after the ‘Roo incident better than ever.
• Lowlight:  Hitting the ‘Roo.
• Work this year: Repairing the car after the ‘Roo.    I also fitted a new battery,  had rear seatbelts installed and addressed some running issues.
• Plan for 2022:  Nothing major, drive the car.   Apparently the Mercedes Club are planning a Paul Bracq day next year.  I’m still getting some strange issues with the radio I need to sort out.

1965 Jaguar E-Type

I was able to take the E-Type on a few really good extended drives, where its in its element.   One of them went down to Oberon and then back up to Bathurst.   The other was also to Bathurst, but with the Jaguar Drivers club for the 60 years of the E-Type celebration.   The car was also featured in the November edition of the JDCA Jaguar Driver magazine.   I really enjoy driving the E-Type but its not the sort of car you use for errands, so it does slightly lower mileage than some of the other cars.   For all the stories about classic Jaguar reliability – I find it to be a very reliable car.

• KM Driven: 1,300
• Spend level: Low
• Availability:  Good.   Just a minor electrical problem in one of the tail lights.
• Highlight:  60 years of the Jaguar E-Type celebration.
• Lowlight:  None.
• Work this year:  Preparing the car for the 60th anniversary drive by fixing a minor electrical problem.
• Plan for 2022: None, just drive the car.

1970 Citroen DS21

I only used the DS a couple of times this year.   There were a series of minor issues that kept me from using it and COVID lockdowns exacerbated the time taken to get them fixed.   I started out with a very leaky hydraulic pump that was sent off for a rebuild.   There were a few issues getting it fitted, as at first it wouldn’t prime.   Once that got sorted out, I had two further problems.   One of them sounded like an engine knock.  Turned out it was just a broken air cleaner bracket.   engine vibrations were causing it to tap against the exhaust manifold.   I also had increasingly poor running.   This was caused by one of the idle jets working its way out of the carburetor.   Finally, I had a bad LHM leak from the brake accumulator.     The good news is that none of this was particularly expensive.

• KM Driven: 900
• Spend level: Low
• Availability:  Terrible.  A series of small issues have kept me from using the car much.
• Highlight:  None really.   The one decent drive I had the car kept stalling as the idle jet had fallen out.
• Lowlight:  Not being able to use the car much.
• Work this year: Rebuilt Hydraulic pump, broken air cleaner bracket, carburettor idle jet and leaking brake accumulator.
• Plan for 2022: Drive the car more.  At some point it will need a clutch, but not immediately.

2021 Fleet Update Summary

It was a an odd year in that I got to use the cars a lot in the first six months, due to being between jobs.   In the second half of the year we had lockdown for about four months and I had a new job that kept me very busy.   For most of the year, the fleet didn’t change much other than a parts car, but I was able to do some nice upgrades on a few cars, and managed to crash and repair my 250SE.   I’ve also started a change with the introduction of the 280SE.

The post 2021 Fleet Update appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The ‘new’ one on the left looks a bit sturdier too.    The stiffening piece in the middle is full length, instead of just around the mounting holes.   That isn’t how mine failed though.    Changing the Citroen DS air cleaner bracket was really easy.   I had already sprayed penetrating oil on the nuts, so they came right off.

The easy part of the job was over.   Re-installing the air cleaner to the bracket is a major pain.   The first thing I noticed was that with the grommets, the air cleaner no longer fit on properly.    The air cleaner housing has three captive bolts that go through the holes on the Citroen DS air cleaner bracket.   There are also spacers on these bolts, that hold the air cleaner at the right height.   Probably, because the rubber grommets were missing on my old bracket, there were also some nuts after the spacers.   I removed those, so there was enough room to bolt the air cleaner to the bracket.

I used a washer with each nut on the underside of the Citroen DS air cleaner bracket.   This job is really fiddly.   You can only get about two fingers of each hand under the bracket.   A magnetic pick up tool is a must as it would be impossible to not drop the washer and nuts a few times.   I found a long spanner was the most useful for the drivers side front bracket, a socket on a thumbscrew for the drivers side rear, and a short spanner for the passengers side.    The whole job took about two hours which was about three times what I thought it should.

I think this was a pretty poor design on Citroen’s part.   If the captive bolts were in the bracket, and the nuts inside the air cleaner housing it would be a very simple job indeed.  I suspect this would have been more expensive to produce.

Starting the engine, I didn’t notice the rattle any more.   I wasn’t able to take the car for a test drive, as it was parked in by four other cars, but I will do so soon.     When I first heard that rattle, I thought it may be from the engine, so if this is the complete fix, that is excellent news.

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The pump on my car had been leaking more and more over the last year or so.   This is not ideal not just from a mess point of view, but can cause a safety issue.  The DS has inboard front brakes, and the leaking pump allows hydraulic fluid to drip onto the right hand brake disc.   Obviously this is not ideal for stopping power.

The DS hydraulic pump runs as an accessory off the camshaft pully.   On most DS is is a fairly straightforward exercise to remove it.   On a BVH car (semi automatic gearbox), the Centrifugal regulator runs as a subsidiary accessory and makes the job a bit harder.   The photo below shows the new pump tucked in under the regulator.

My pump was sent away to be rebuilt.  It came back looking much nicer than it left, with a new coat of green paint.

I had a friend help me change it out, who had done it many times before on his car.    We ended up having to do the job twice as we could not get the pump to prime the first time.   Normally leaving the bleed screw open, and pouring LHM down the hose will do the trick.  For some reason it wasn’t working for us.    Second time lucky, and the pump was able to build pressure, and without leaving a green puddle on the floor.

Before the pump was removed for rebuilt, I had started noticing a strange rattle from the engine.   At first I was a bit concerned about internal damage, but I realized that it wasn’t changing in line with revs.   Since the pump needed a rebuilt anyway, I figured it made sense to wait to see if the leaking pump was causing the rattle.    It wasn’t.

In the end, while testing the new pump we were able to find the cause of the rattle – the air cleaner.    Our assumption at the time was that the air cleaner was loose.   Today I removed it to check the various mounting screws.    I found that it wasn’t loose, the mounting bracket was broken.  The broken bracket was allowing vibrations to cause the air cleaner to rattle against the remaining bracket.

I’ll have to find a new bracket.  I’m sure used ones are available.   I guess it could be fixed but a used one seems a much easier option.

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The current battery was a Super Charge MF50 Gold.    Its dimensions were 230mm long, 170mm wide and 180mm high (not including terminals).    My estimates from measuring the frame, its attachment points and the tray was that I could accept a battery that was up to 263mm long, 175mm wide and about 200mm high.

I spent a lot of time researching various battery sizes.   While there is some logic to the model numbers in terms of explaining the features of the batteries, I could not decipher the various sizes.    I spent a lot of time researching various battery sizes including the various recommendations from parts suppliers, manufactures and so on for the Citroen DS.   In the end, the best fit I could find was the Century NS70X MF.   The NS70 part of the model name refers to the size.   That is 259mm long, 171mm wide and 202mm high.   This increased size provided a significant capacity improvement – from 600 to 720 CCA and 60 to 85 AH.

As can be seen in the photo above, the battery fits almost perfectly in the Citroen DS battery frame.    The battery was not cheap, at $280, but I expect it to last a long time.   There is a very similar NS70LX MF.   The L means the terminals are on the other side.   You don’t want that one.

At some point I plan some upgrades to the wiring around the battery.   There are all sorts of auxilliary wires coming off the positive terminal.    Some of them have in-line fuses, but not all of them.    I plan to fit a bused fuse box with a single wire from the positive terminal to feed the headlight relays, radio and cooling fan.    I also plan to add a relay for the driving lights.   Basically that would mean a fuse for radio, fan, low beam, high beam and driving lights.   The fuse box would then feed the existing relays that can’t be seen to the left of the battery.    While I am there I will also fit a better disconnect and Ctek charger port like I did for the 250SE.

Once I had removed the old battery I gave it a quick test on my battery tester.    Only 184/600.   No wonder it was struggling to start the car.   In addition, it was starting to bulge on the sides.

As a comparison, the new Citroen DS battery is registering better than spec: 746/720.

I tried what the Ctek battery recondition can do to the old one.   My experience is that it can bring back batteries that are a bit tired, but cannot do much with a battery as far gone as this one.   That was the case again as all it was able to do was bring the CCA up to 200/600.

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The easiest course of action would have been to solder a wire in place.   I didn’t go with that approach as there is no soldering used on this circuit board at all.  It uses rivet looking connectors to take the power to the other side.    I wasn’t sure how well the backing would hold up to the heat and was worried about the solder breaking off.  The board flexes each time the power connectors are removed or installed and it can get hot in behind the dash.

The copper tracks on the board are particularly wide.   This gave me enough room to drill small holes in strategic spots.  I chose spots that were wide enough so I did not touch any other tracks.   I then used conductive screws to bring the power to the back of the board where I could use wires to get past the crack.    The bolts are 3mm.

The four screws are set up so I can bypass the break.  The break is near the square hole in the top left of the picture.   The outer track is for ground and the inner for +12v.   The screws stick up a bit more than the rivets do, but they are quite secure and are not going to come off over time.    You don’t want normal screws at the hardware store as most of them are coated and have low conductivity.

The picture above also shows my quite rare temperature gauge.  This was generally fitted to cars in very cold climates only.  It is very useful in hot ones too!

Once the screws were in place I was able to create two lengths of wire and crimp eyelet connectors on each. This is a similar approach to the tachometer.  The tachometer uses the rivets instead of the screws though.    It was then a simple matter of connecting up the wires around the back of the speedometer.  The wires are tucked so they should not be in the way.   The only downside is the board sits up a bit  more on this corner.  The bulb just near the wires leaks a little light because it is sitting up.

Once I put the cluster back in I was rewarded with lights that worked without flickering or pushing on the cluster.

While I was at it, I also swapped over the petrol gauge from the parts cluster.  It was in much better shape than the one on the car.    I have not yet taken the car for a test drive, as the weather in Sydney has been poor.  I expect my home Citroen DS instrument cluster repair to hold up well.

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