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The saving of YR56

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MGmike   
Sun May 06 2018, 02:16pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
I'm a gluten for punishment

I haven't yet ironed out all the re-commissioning issues with CP07 and yet I've gone and bought YR56. I hate to see a car in reasonable condition go to the breakers when it doesn't need to......

So... YR56 will be saved (I hope!)

I'll use this thread to document the work carried out and hopefully my many years of ongoing use and maintenance.

To get us started here she is...







Bought sight unseen as a summer project in the full knowledge that the engine had dropped all the coolant at motorway speeds and has no compression!
I think I found the cause of the coolant loss!!! Inlet manifold with 50% of the seal support missing. Note to all, if you haven't replaced yours yet, do it soon!

Work started on the strip down but still yet to lift the lump out. Replacement engine has been sourced from a Pug 407 and the 'box will be used from my other spares car.

Replacement engine has now got...
1, new cam belts and tensioners
2, 'stat housing and inlet manifold

Next task is to mate the engine and 'box and get it ready to go in when the old one is removed.

I'll update periodically as work progresses and will (eventually) get to stripping the blown engine to see just what damage has been caused!!! If it can be saved it will be...


321dave   
Sun May 06 2018, 07:00pm
Joined: Sep 09 2011
Member No: #614
Location: Dublin

Look a nice car Mike. Well done on saving it! Will be great to see some pictures of the engine as you work to get the car back on the road again.
MGmike   
Sun May 06 2018, 07:41pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
thanks Dave, but all that glistens is not Gold!

It has a few hidden horrors that I'll uncover and expand on as we progress..

321dave   
Mon May 07 2018, 12:59pm
Joined: Sep 09 2011
Member No: #614
Location: Dublin
MGmike wrote ...

thanks Dave, but all that glistens is not Gold!

It has a few hidden horrors that I'll uncover and expand on as we progress..




That very true, I'm particularly interested as I'm going to redo the timing chain and tensioners on the 2.7, to elimate the startup rattle and have a good slow look again at the glowplugs so I don't snap anything. My P1351 glow plug code appears and sometimes disappear! Car started very well during the recent cold weather/snow and plug light came on a good few times for a few seconds even. It was the first time I had seen that before. Put overall I can complain. But I do keep a good eye on everything.
MGmike   
Mon May 07 2018, 05:36pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
Dave, I hope you mean belts and tensioners!
An easy job with the engine out of the car but a right b**ch with it insitu! Access at the front end is very tight and you should expect a lot of grazed knuckles and swearing! The diesel pump belt is a little less challenging but they are both a good stretch if the bumper and supports are still in place. Let me know if there's anything specific you would like covered

So far I've not had the P1351 thankfully.
321dave   
Wed May 09 2018, 04:50pm
Joined: Sep 09 2011
Member No: #614
Location: Dublin
wrote ...

Dave, I hope you mean belts and tensioners!
An easy job with the engine out of the car but a right b**ch with it insitu! Access at the front end is very tight and you should expect a lot of grazed knuckles and swearing! The diesel pump belt is a little less challenging but they are both a good stretch if the bumper and supports are still in place. Let me know if there's anything specific you would like covered

So far I've not had the P1351 thankfully.



Thanks Mike, can't think of anything yet, but it I'll let you know if any problems pop up nearer the time. Much appreciated.
MGmike   
Fri Jul 20 2018, 12:34pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
OK, I've been a little (ahem) remiss in not updating things so here goes.

The replacement engine and 'box are back in with all the usual preventative maintenance carried out e.g. thermostat, water inlet manifold, water pump, belts and pulleys. The 'box will get an oil change when I confirm it's working fully..

Had a few challenges with the swap! Removing the O/S drive shaft from the intermediate bearing carrier was a right pig and getting it back in on the replacement engine is proving to be the same! I'll probably end up taking it out again in an attempt to understand why and if any action is required!

The engine came without the harness and swapping that over was fun, not helped by some damaged sensors and having to remove the alternator, aircon pump and carrier to get the oil level sensor connected. Having put all that back, it all came out again to remove the sump to allow a dent to be knocked out and the fitting of a new gasket! I can't believe the lack of forethought in the engineering of some of this, to be unable to remove a sump just because the position of one bolt flange interfering with a massive auxiliary carrier! Rant over...

I managed to get the engine running yesterday but... It needed some easy start to kick it in to life and it refuses to start off the key without help! I'll try another starter motor and double check the connections/earths but does anyone have any other theories ?

Once the engine starts reliably I'll be checking out the other MOT related stuff before looking at one or two horrors lurking around...

At the minute YR56 is "doing as well a can be expected" but remains in a critical condition...
321dave   
Fri Jul 20 2018, 04:28pm
Joined: Sep 09 2011
Member No: #614
Location: Dublin
MGmike wrote ...

OK, I've been a little (ahem) remiss in not updating things so here goes.

The replacement engine and 'box are back in with all the usual preventative maintenance carried out e.g. thermostat, water inlet manifold, water pump, belts and pulleys. The 'box will get an oil change when I confirm it's working fully..

Had a few challenges with the swap! Removing the O/S drive shaft from the intermediate bearing carrier was a right pig and getting it back in on the replacement engine is proving to be the same! I'll probably end up taking it out again in an attempt to understand why and if any action is required!

The engine came without the harness and swapping that over was fun, not helped by some damaged sensors and having to remove the alternator, aircon pump and carrier to get the oil level sensor connected. Having put all that back, it all came out again to remove the sump to allow a dent to be knocked out and the fitting of a new gasket! I can't believe the lack of forethought in the engineering of some of this, to be unable to remove a sump just because the position of one bolt flange interfering with a massive auxiliary carrier! Rant over...

I managed to get the engine running yesterday but... It needed some easy start to kick it in to life and it refuses to start off the key without help! I'll try another starter motor and double check the connections/earths but does anyone have any other theories ?

Once the engine starts reliably I'll be checking out the other MOT related stuff before looking at one or two horrors lurking around...

At the minute YR56 is "doing as well a can be expected" but remains in a critical condition...


Well done Mike for you efforts to keep a C6 out of the scrapyard and on the road! From my experiences it's not always easy working on a C6, but quite a good feeling when you can overcome what is giving you trouble. I had a rusty sump on my C6 and bought a new replacement one, but it was not so straight forward as I initially thought to change it.

Regards
Dave
MGmike   
Wed Aug 15 2018, 09:57pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
It raining outside so I thought I'd do a little update on progress...
The summer months have been great in allowing a reasonable amount of time to get things sorted but I need another few days to finish things off (don't you always!).

She now starts off the key after the chief mechanic realised he'd left the cam sensor unplugged
Whist investigating I found 5 out of 6 glow plugs were u/s. The old engine donated replacements which came out easily unlike the faulty ones! A lot of Plusgas and patience required to extract them without snapping any

The glow plug controller was also reporting a problem and the spares car was pressed in to giving up a replacement. I'll be cutting the old one open during the winter months to see if I can work out the cause of the failure!

With all that sorted the alternator decided to squeal like a banshee after just a minute or so of tickover. So off it came again... What a pig of a job that is and I would hate to do it with the radiator in place!!!

Now I'm confident the engine is actually a goodun and the gearbox moves the car forward and back (only a couple of feet tried so far!), I decided to open the wallet and replace the injector return hose which had been bodged by the previous Pug owner! Also needed to replace one of the heater feed hoses which was sourced from Robert at B.L. Autos (Robert, if you're back from your hols, let me know how much I owe you?).

All that remains to be done before checking the other gears is to bolt the headlights in after doing a mounting lug repair and fit the bumper and arch liners. Then I need to sort the airbag fault which I think is related to someone having removed the passenger side dash side panel. No idea why but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

In summary, the patient is out of intensive care but still has some recovery and rehabilitation to do before heading out in to the world at large.....



MGmike   
Tue Oct 09 2018, 09:04pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
Crikey is it really two months since my last update.

Things have progressed well in the last couple of months

The headlight repairs were a success and everything was back together when I realised I had a couple of plastic trays/ducts missing between the bumper and the engine under tray, so off came the bumper again
A new engine under tray was sourced on eBay and fitted as the old one had snapped at one of the bits that extend rearward either side of the exhaust and the missing bits were donated by CP07 for now.

The reason for the dash side being in the footwell was for nothing more complicated than a broken hinge pin on the glovebox. I borrowed CP07's for a quick fix and will repair it at leisure over the winter.

Good news is the airbag fault has cleared it's self (or as a result of many lexia error resets over the past few months, we'll see in time I suppose).

So, after one false start at the MOT (because I'd missed refitting a hose clip! ) the patient is out of hospital, street legal and raring to go with a fresh MOT, and a painful dent in the wallet for road tax!

There's still some bumps and scratches to sort and one area of major surgery to tackle but that will be a subject for next summer. For now I'm going to enjoy the ride with the satisfaction that I've saved a C6 from the breakers, had a bit of fun (and a couple of nightmares) over the summer and I'll keep you updated on how life goes with a C6
Paulius   
Wed Oct 10 2018, 05:46pm
Joined: Aug 14 2014
Member No: #1821
Location: Vilnius
Thanks for the story! And thanks for saving such a lovely C6!
MGmike   
Tue Dec 04 2018, 11:00pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
And so another two months have past!

What's it like being a C6 driver? Well not all a bed of roses! I've done around 700 miles with one near fatal breakdown and a few strange messages!

First the breakdown....
They say pride come before a fall... so true... only I wasn't expecting it to be less than an hour later! After a few weeks of road trials I invited a friend out for a couple of beers and had YR56 valeted for the occasion. She looked great and was running well apart from the occasional loss of about 1/2 a ltr of water a week that I put down to air locks as I couldn't see any sign of escape (first mistake!). On the way home after cooing over my summer achievements the bit*h dropped her Aux belt tensioner and the temp went in the red! Fortunately I had the presence of mind to drive it straight in to a petrol station parking space where she spent the next few nights in disgrace. The retaining bolt had snapped and what pig of a job that is to replace in situ! I guess that one's on me as I thought it didn't really tighten up properly on installation the first time.

Whilst replacing the tensioner I noticed the water loss had become significant over the day or so since checking it and when it came to restarting the engine the source was found to be the small expansion tank to engine bleed pipe. It had snapped at the entry point on the engine end. Message to all, if you ever need to remove these pipes... replace them, they're only about £10 each and I think you should replace them as a 10 year service item.

So, the engine was probably saved by my poor workmanship on fitting the tensioner in the first instance (every cloud and all that) and it only cost me a red face and a three mile walk in what felt like sub zero temps on the first proper frosty night of the winter! Oh, and a lot of scratches up my forearms!!!! Another few hundred miles under our belts and all's well with ZERO water loss but the parts for the coolant level sensor are ordered.

Except.... She throws up the odd ABS/ASR/handbrake fault now and again!
Lexia, reports a number of errors (most of which are unknown!) but if you read back to the MOT saga there's a bit of a clue. Whilst I have been using the car it's been mainly on short runs (4 miles ish) with all the heat and lights on. I'm now fairly certain the problem is related to battery voltage and the BSI/ABS ECU throwing a wobbly when it drops. She never fails to start and the errors don't appear for a few days after a good 30 min run. Moral of the story is to use her more! A bit more monitoring required to confirm.

Apart from that she's been great, if a little pitchy fore and aft (guess a trip to the stealer for a software upgrade is called for!).

Oh and she might be for sale if anyone is interested (I've got my eye on another lady in Red )




MGmike   
Thu May 23 2019, 09:43pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
Flipin' heck! I can't believe it's nearly 6 months since the last installment!
Note to self; get a grip and keep things updated!

To be fair YR56 has been parked up for most of the winter due to driveshaft and suspension knock issues. That and I'm getting soft and no longer enjoy working outside in the cold and wet weather. I did do a couple of checks on the ABS sensor but it was stuck fast in the hub and likely to break so I left it well alone and just cleaned what I could reach. As luck would have it the fault has cleared, result

In the first spell of good weather a couple of months back I did get the front lower bushes replaced (pictures to follow) which has made a big difference, no more knocking from the front end.

I've eventually found a second hand drive shaft but have yet to fit that. For now I'm enjoying the drive in the knowledge that when it does finally give up I've got the back-up plan sorted.

As we've had some good weather this week I've started on the easier body repairs (more pic's to follow!). A deep scratch on the NSF wing/bumper has been rubbed back, primed, coloured and top coated. I ended up flatting and top coating most of the wing as I wasn't happy with the blend! It's okay now, not great but what can you expect from a rattle can working outdoors! Colour match is great and I'm sure plenty of elbow grease will put a bit of shine on it to make an acceptable finish for now. A touch up kit (small bottle with a brush in the top) was used on the rear bumper scratches. With a rub back and a bit of top coat this area actually looks quite good (from a distance ). Still got the dent to sort on the OSR wheel arch but the arch liner needs to come off for that so hoping for more good weather next week...

I've replaced the cooling system expansion tank for one with a level sensor from a Pug 407. I was a little surprised it was a direct swap so didn't bother cutting the hole in the original for the sensor. Still got the wiring to do and when it's done I be happier taking it on a longer journey.

I have done 1200 mile or so around Cumbria to build a bit of confidence and I think I'm now at the point where I'm almost comfortable nothing serious is amiss. Well nothing that's going the affect its ability to move forward, back and most importantly stop!

There's still a bit to do and it threw up a parking sensor fault that lexia tells me is the front LH outer one. The spares car will donate one to be fitted next week, weather permitting.

Oh and the spare wheel well is half full with water but that's the least of the trouble at the rear end!

A quick update has turned in to a bit of an essay and I'll try to be more regular with updates as I do bits and bobs through the summer!

I think it's almost safe to say YR56 is now officially saved but is still in need of some rehabilitation




MGmike   
Sun Sep 15 2019, 09:49pm
Joined: May 21 2017
Member No: #3151
Location: South Queensferry
Well blow me if another 4 months haven't flown by....

To be fair I've not done much to YR56 this year but it has just passed it's MOT again

I did replace the O/S drive shaft for the spare I picked up a while back as the gator on the inside inner CV joint was the wrong type and most of the grease had escaped! But, other than that everything is okay (well in the eyes of the tester anyway!).

During one of the short spells of good weather we did have up north this year I sorted a few scratches here and there. I still have to flat and polish the topcoat but it's looking a little better. Well, it was until someones bumper left a few more scratches down the N/S rear door!

One thing I have noticed is that when the battery is low (after about 10 days with no run) the ABS reports a fault which clears when I've done a run to charge the battery again. Anyone else had this happen?



321dave   
Mon Sep 16 2019, 11:08am
Joined: Sep 09 2011
Member No: #614
Location: Dublin


I've had a few battery related issues before Mike, funny thing when I replaced
The old battery which was a bit low for the C6's Cold crank. All got a lot better with a full Citroen too spec battery (I paid heavly for it thought) €200. But I think the C6 should have two battery's in fact for all the electric stuff. Door dropping glass & moving seat & column spec cars normally need more juice!




 

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