This was a question that recently was sent in to me, and I covered it a bit in the article that I wrote about removing the Citroen D Model fuel tank, but I will go into greater depth here.

What I will be explaining here is the removal of a fastener from your vintage Citroen . Most of these fasteners will be 25 plus years old, and you are perhaps removing them for the first time since the Citroen was new.

Depending on the location and the vintage, and of course where a fastener has spent it’s life, can have a great deal to do with how difficult it might be to remove when you want to take it apart.

When I say location, I mean if the fastener is located under the dash of your Citroen or holding the front bumper on will make a great deal of difference as to how you want to approach removal.

If the Citroen was ever run in the winter on salty streets, or for that matter lived in the  humid eastern part of the U.S. or the drier western part will also make a huge difference.

If the fastener is located inside the Citroen interior and did not see any corrosive damage, it should be relatively easy to remove. But, if it spent it’s life on the outside, or even worse if it spent it’s life in a location such as the exhaust system of your Citroen where there is a constant change in temperature as the system heats up and then cools off, then you might be in for a challenge.

Several things can be done to help in the removal of a stubborn Citroen fastener and here they are:

• Shock
• Heat
• Penetrant
• Lubrication
• and lots of back and forth movement.

1. Shock: This is something that may not appear at first to be helpful, but can add up in the end. What you want to do is find a way, if possible and space permits,to give a couple of good solid blows with a punch or drift to the end of the fastener head. Be careful to not slip off and mess up or deform it and make it so a wrench or socket will not fit on it. I personally find that this is a very good practice to do when removing Citroen engine head bolts, especially when you have two dissimilar metals at work.
2. Heat: Another way you might want to try if you have a small flame torch and that is to heat up the fastener. This is especially useful when you are trying to remove, and have good access to, a nut that you want to remove. Heat up the Citroen fastener until it is glowing hot. Try to just heat up the nut as much as possible and not the bolt. Once it is glowing be careful not to burn yourself and get a nice (preferably 6 point) socket or box end wrench on the nut. Now, see if it will loosen up at this point. Here is where you really have to use your judgement and take things easy because if you meet any resistance you want to back off and reheat the nut. If I get any movement from the fastener at this point I usually back off and turn it back towards tightning the fastener .
3. Penetrant: Spray a good quality penetrant on the threats and start to work the fastener back and forth tightening and loosening.  With each tightening and loosening you make a little more progress towards removal. This will sort of make the fastener act like a tap or die depending on whether it is a nut or bolt. The fastener will slowly work it’s way through the rust and as you continue to spray penetrant on, things will hopefully wash the threats out, lubricate them and make things easier to remove. The main thing I want to stress here is take it easy. If you meet any resistance stop and think about the problems and time you will waste if you snap that puppy off and have to try to extract the remains of the fastener by the use of a bolt remover, or worse yet have to drill things out. Sometimes that will just happen and you will have no choice but try things easy first to avoid that if possible.
4. Lubricate: When you do get things apart, using products like Never Seez to coat the threads of the Citroen fastener when you replace it will prevent the fastener from being frozen and difficult to remove next time.

Put your comments in the box below,  because I am always open to new ideas for Citroen fastener removal that I have maybe never tried before.

Thanks,

Denis

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Question

I have problem with my Citroen CX 25 turbo 2 rear brakes. Front work perfect, but rear not! I changed 3 brake valves and same result. All spheres have proper pressure, so I have no idea how find solution.

Citroen Tech Tip

One thing that we have noticed lately here at Citroen Tech Tips is that quite a few people having trouble with bleeding down the rear brakes in most any of the Citroëns with Hydraulic suspension.

What has to be realized is that the rear brakes don’t come into use on these cars unless there is a good bit of weight in the rear because of the brake proportioning system.  This system puts most of the braking force to the front wheels because most all of the weight of these cars is biased toward the front of the car. Plus these cars for the most part have their rear brakes fed by the rear suspension.

The typical situation we hear about. is a person has done some brake work on the car and the system was opened up, or they had a brake accumulator that ruptured or leaked nitrogen into the system. They work on the system and then take the Citroën out for a ride and notice that the rear of the car dives down every time they apply the brakes. An attempt is made to bleed the brakes but no fluid comes out of the rear brake bleed screws.

How to properly bleed down the rear brakes on a Citroën with hydraulic suspension.

First safely put the Citroen up onto jack stands, or on a lift. With the engine running put the Citroën in the highest suspension position. With an assistant applying the brakes in the car bleed the front brakes.

Now come to the back of the car and bleed the rear brakes. It is very important to have a Citroën with hydraulic suspension in it’s high position when bleeding the brakes or you will not get the rear ones to bleed down. This  means even when you have it elevated and the wheels are hanging, because when the wheels are hanging the rear brakes are completely shut of hydraulically unless the suspension is in the highest position.

Good luck and be safe when doing this procedure. Hope this Citroen Tech Tip helps.

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Question

My car is an 1987 Citroën CX that has an intermittent stall when the engine is hot. It starts straight away from the ignition switch. It doesn’t happen all the time.

Citroen Tech Tip:

The most likely cause is a bad ignition pick up sensor on the flywheel. We recommend everyone carry a spare with them. Because this is a very frequent problem an owner should always carry a spare.

One other area you should check on with a car like this with electronic fuel injection is the condition of the air intake manifold, hoses, and connections.

An air leak in this area can cause all sorts of drive-ability issues, as the ECU tries to adjust and readjust the fuel mixture to compensate.

Hope that this Citroen Tech Tip helps you,

Denis

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Question

How do I remove the exterior rear door handle on a 1972 Citroën D-Series?

Citroen Tech Tip

Got this question in recently and thought we would answer it here on Citroen Tech Tips since it is not the first time the question has come to our attention.

I am at a loss as to how to access the outside rear door lift handle assembly for removal. While attempting to press out a small dent surrounding the outside door lift- handle using a lever through the window glass slot I dislodged one of the “bobby pin” shaped flat springs from the backside of the handle. So I not only need to replace that, I also still need to remove the handle to finish the dent removal. Any information will be sincerely appreciated.

To take a 1972 or later Citroën D-series door handle off you will need a combination 8mm wrench, a small punch, a door panel remover, or putty knife, a flashlight and a mirror.

We have included some pages from the parts book to more easily describe things. Have the window in the full up position for this procedure.

8-983/7 shows the Citroën door panel that you need to remove, but first you want to look at plate:#7-961/1. This shows the window crank #5 that needs to be removed first. What you will want to do is push in on the door panel around the window crank to compress the spring #13 around it’s base. When you compress the spring this will expose the shank of the window crank.You may have to turn the crank slightly to see the cross drilled hole in the
crank that has a pin in it. Here you may get lucky and have the pin drop out when you compress the handle, but if not you will need to use the small punch or even a finishing nail to push it through.

Once the crank is removed you can then look at plate #8-983/7 to see how the #8 clips are arranged that need to be carefully popped out with the panel remover or putty knife placed under the panel and carefully pry. Be careful not to tear the Masonite panel that the clips are mounted in.

Carefully work your way around the edge of the panel and remove it.Under the panel you will see what we
Ike to call: “windows” that are through the back side of the door. These are closed off by pieces of plastic, unless someone else has been in there before you and failed to put them back. Here you will want to remove several of these plastic closing pieces close to the back end of the door where the exterior door handle is located.

Now, looking into the door with the window rolled up, you should be able to see the door latching and lock mechanism. You may have to use a flashlight and even a mirror of some kind to see the back side of where the exterior door handle is mounted.

Referring to plate #7-861 you should see a backing plate #12. This plate has two 5mm bolts with 8mm heads that hold it to the back side of the exterior door handle. You will also see in plate #7-861, a pinch bolt #13
that holds linkage #11 in place. Be sure to get a marking pen or some type of marking device to mark the location of this linkage where it goes into the latch mechanism so that when you slide it back into the latch mechanism it is in the same position as when it was removed. If this is not done the adjustment of the door to open from the inside and lock will not be correct.

Once you have marked the linkage position loosen up the 8mm headed pinch bolt so the linkage is loose.

Now move to the two 8mm headed bolts that hold the backing plate #12 to the back side of the external door handle. Remove these bolts and the door handle should be able to be removed from the outside of the door.

Putting it back in should be the reverse. Make sure to check the latching and locking of the door before you close things up. Another thing to remember is to reinstall the plastic on those door “windows” we described before. Here an all purpose contact cement can be used. These pieces of plastic are vital to sealing the door off from water getting to and warping the Masonite door panel backing.

As far as the “Bobby Pin” clip that you spoke of, we are not exactly certain what you were referring to. With the backside of the door opened, if it fell down into the bottom of the door you should be able to find it and figure out where it went in the mechanism.

Something we forgot to mention is… you might want to keep a few bandages around for those cuts you’ll be getting from some of the sharp edges inside the door. They are treacherous.

Good luck with removing your Citroën-D series exterior door handle. We hope this Citroen Tech Tip has helped. Please leave a comment below if you have any suggestions.

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One of the most common questions people ask about their high pressure Citroëns hydraulic systems is… How do I release the pressure on the hydraulic system to remove a sphere?

The last time I tried I carefully loosened the bleed screw on the regulator, but still got a hydraulic bath when I tried to remove a sphere”

Well there can often be more to releasing all the pressure on the Citroën hydraulic system then just opening up the bleed screw on the regulator, because there will still be residual pressure in the system even after that is done.

Here is a method that you might want to try: First get yourself some eye protection in the form of some safety glasses or goggles. Next turn the engine off on the Citroën. Open the bleed screw on the regulator. (this can be located in various places depending on the particular model of Citroën) Check your owners manual if you have one.

If not look for the sphere in the engine compartment that is attached to a  metal bodied component with two steel lines and one rubber hose coming from the body of the component. That seems to be the easiest way to describe it if you don’t already know where it is located.

Once you have located the regulator, check for a bolt head on the side of it that should be 12mm in size. With the car turned off loosen this screw about a quarter of a turn. You will hear the pressure release in the system when you do this.  Now move into the interior of the car and grab hold of the height adjusting lever or switch . This is located down by your foot on a D series Citroën, and in the center console on GS, and early CX, and a sliding switch in the center console on later Hydraulic Citroëns.

What you want to do with that lever or switch is move it to the lowest position first and let the Citroën settle completely down. Now that it is in it’s lowest position and resting on it’s bump stops, move the lever or switch to the highest position. If the Citroën still has residual pressure in the system you will notice it attempt to lift up.  What you want to do at this point is move the lever or switch slowly back and forth between these two positions until you don’t get any more reaction out of the car and it just stays down in the lowest position.

At this point the hydraulic system of your Citroën should be completely depressurized. Now move around to the front of the car and grab hold of one of the two suspension spheres and try to move the sphere from side to side . You should be able to get some movement out of them showing you that the suspension no longer has any pressure in it. Now you should be able to remove any of the spheres without getting a hydraulic bath; but be sure to keep those safety glasses on for your own safety.

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This is just a short reminder to all you Citroën SM lovers out there.

It is extremely important to get in the habit of checking and correcting, if necessary, the tightness of the bolts fastening the differential shaft extension housing to the Citroen SM gear box .

This should be checked after any repair involving removal of the motor, the gear box, the drive shafts or the front suspension units.

The tightening torque is 10.5 to 13.5 m.kg. (76 to 98 ft. lbs.)

Stay safe!

Denis

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So you want to flush out your Citroën hydraulic system?

OK, so one last hydraulic article and I will move on to other topics, but I couldn’t let you get away with out telling you about a hydraulic flushing product made by Total called Hydraurincage . We seem to call it Hydroflush over here, but Hydraurincage is the correct name for it from the mother land.

This is a good product that I personally have had some very good results with. Any LHM vehicle can benefit from the use of this product if it has any age on it or has sat around or been in storage for any length of time. Total’s Hydraurincage will flush and clean out the hydraulic system making it perform very near to new again.

Now here is what the manufacturer says for use instructions.

1. Drain the hydraulic system as much as possible (Also clean out the Hydraulic filter at this time)
2. Fill the system with TOTAL Hydraurincage . (Bleed the brakes until you see Hydraurincage coming out) (You want it throughout the system to get maximum results.)
3. Drive the vehicle for 1500 to 5000 Km maximum. (Take through one oil change or 3000 Miles)
4. Drain and clean the hydraulic filters . (You will be amazed at the amount of crud you will find)
5. Refill system with Total LHM Plus . (Bleed those brakes once again until you see LHM coming out)

The results that I have found with Total Hydraurincage in the system for just 100 miles is pretty profound. Much better steering response. If the car had Citromatic , or a hydraulic shifting transmission , the shifting was night and day better.

The ride was even improved. In fact, I am told that the product was developed during the production of the CX to help with the varnishing up of the suspension cylinders causing sticking in the suspension cylinder pistons and a harsh ride.

However it was developed is beside the point. It is just a very good product that should be used in every old LHM Citromatic transmission before you set it up with the Dellinger adjusting article .

Total Hydraurincage can be purchased in this country in the East from Brad Nauss Automotive at www.bradnaussauto.com phone: 717-691-8550. Tell Brad you want hydraulic system flush . (and tell him Denis Foley sent you. :0) )

In the West it can be found at www.westernhemisphers.com It is listed as part# M-1200435 Cleaner,hydraulic flush Total.

Now what this product does is get all the varnish and dirt out of the system and bring it back to the filter, and it holds the smaller stuff in suspension until you drain it out. Very good product that I can’t say enough about. Take care of those Citroen beauties, don’t make ‘em any more.

Later,

Denis

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Here is a quick tip when setting the dwell on your Citroen Traction Avant 11B, the 11BL, or the 15/6. It also works on your Citroen D Model, both 3 main and 5 main bearing models. You can use it for the Citroen GS and pre 1982 GSA or the Citroen SM as well. It even works for the Citroen CX. For that matter, it works for any Citroen model that you may have that is equipped with a distributor with points.

This method can also be used on any car, truck, or motorcycle out there that has a distributor with points.

Assuming you have set the timing and the gap on the points it is now time to set the Dwell. Here are the steps to follow:

• Remove the distributor cap.

• Remove your spark plugs.

• Pull the coil wire from your Citroen’s coil.

• Make sure your Citroen’s transmission is in neutral.

Now connect up your dwell meter. If you have a Citroen D Model you can use the nice little starter relay that is located on the positive post of the battery.

If you are not setting the dwell on a Citroen D Model, then you want to use a remote starter trigger switch that is available at the same auto parts store that you obtained your dwell meter from.

Now we will assume you have a good starter and a fully charged battery.

Get your favorite small, flat blade screwdriver in hand. Flip on your ignition. So with your Citroen’s ignition on, your favorite small flat blade screwdriver on the points adjusting screw in the distributor and the dwell meter turned on, push the relay or starter trigger button and turn the engine over.

As you will notice with the spark plugs removed, the Citroen engine is able to turn over quite quickly with no compression. In fact it will turn over fast enough for you to see what the dwell is and adjust it very quickly.

So hopefully this little tip will let you adjust your Citroen dwell accurately and in a very short amount of time, without having to turn the engine on and off to take your distributor cap on and off.

Best of luck, and please leave your comments and questions.

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Boy, this is how everyone should get the oil in their Citroëns changed. I think my SM is due. :0)

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