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There I fixed it*  *just don't let the engine warm up to operating temperature
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Jan 21, 2023 21:24
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There are zip-ties made of metal and high-temp plastic, just wanted to throw that out there.
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Jan 22, 2023 21:22
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I found out MIG wire is a poor mans substitute for bailing wire. Pulled it apart and have swapped in some 304 stainless M4 hex socket head cap screws (commonly used in 3d printing and other "maker" stuff) because I realized I don't have a 4mm wrench or socket for my 8.8 hex head M4 bolts  It's a 3 minute job to go in and swap it out again later.Increasingly looking like this cross-country trip will happen. I might spread it out over three long weekends flying back and forth at each leg. Also, simply because you don't run across high production value, 90 minute videos of driving Citroens crossing the congo, please enjoy google translate posted:In February 2007, the BIOTRECK AFRICA expedition left Paris to reach Madagascar across the whole of South Africa in the footsteps of the Citroën Black Cruise of 1924. The objective is to produce a 90-minute film for FRANCE 5 on the actors of the sustainable development and to test one of our 4 bioethanol vehicles across the African continent. The crossing of CONGO DRC is the most complicated part of this 5-month adventure, which will give rise to another documentary film: "Zinzin au Congo" illustrates the adventure of Eric Massiet and his team of technicians and reporters.    Looks like at the 7:40 mark he is jumping it and I definitely recognize that air filter (and again at 18:27) and engine block so appears to be a fairly stock setup. Only spent about 5 minutes looking at some of the footage but looks pretty legit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSwyTMMxgFY
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Jan 28, 2023 20:23
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Have you considered doing EFI and ignition? Not suggesting that you should do it, but I've seen people with old cars do it to make their lives easier as a daily. I haven't owned a carbed car myself, but my dad did, and it was often a challenge if it was too hot, or too cold, or the gas was slightly different, or the planets didn't align quite right. Hadlock posted:Also, simply because you don't run across high production value, 90 minute videos of driving Citroens crossing the congo, please enjoy
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Jan 29, 2023 16:48
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mobby_6kl posted:Have you considered doing EFI and ignition? Not suggesting that you should do it, but I've seen people with old cars do it to make their lives easier as a daily. I've got a friend who did six months of archival research in Kinshasa and another couple up the river in the interior (some old colonial records repository) and he said it was pretty rough even by central African standards. Now, this was ~2012 so maybe it's improved drastically in the last decade, but back then it was notably under developed.
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Jan 29, 2023 18:23
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DR Congo is a huge country with much of it being forested, has low population density and lots of rivers, on top of being one of the poorest countries in Africa. So uh yeah, things are a bit rough.
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Jan 29, 2023 21:50
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Other than the lack of power (largely fixed by using the in-cabin timing adjustment) the carb has been not an issue at all. If you manually prime the fuel pump (there's a lever on it) the car will typically start on the first crank. I haven't tried starting it below about 38 though. Given it's largely all original probably will skip EFI. If the engine dies catastrophically, probably looking at an electric conversion My RTA arrived today. Aka "Revue Technique" it's in French but it's really handy to finally have a "Haynes manual" for the car. A lot of the parts websites have some of the diagrams but it's nice to have everything in a printed copy ready to go. Google translate with the live camera view works well enough but largely not needed   
Hadlock fucked around with this message at 15:49 on Jan 30, 2023 |
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Jan 30, 2023 15:46
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I started reading it but then I got hungry because it keeps talking about scallops.
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Jan 30, 2023 15:55
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Jan 31, 2023 23:54
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Ok Comboomer posted:that plate really should say « ZUT ALORS » Your command of the French language is commendable
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Feb 2, 2023 08:34
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Finally got to road test my fix  
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Feb 8, 2023 00:49
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Good goddamn, what excellent photos! That last one is  and you should post it in the Cute thread
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Feb 8, 2023 03:26
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One last photo, putting her away for the night just now. C'est de l'art   I will find this thread you speak of and post there, yes
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Feb 8, 2023 03:54
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Yep, your already gorgeous photos just keep getting more amazing.
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Feb 8, 2023 16:57
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NO! HEAD PETTING
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Feb 8, 2023 20:39
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Ignore horse entirely?Scratch Monkey posted:NO! HEAD PETTING
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Feb 8, 2023 21:27
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Spotted this horse related sign around the block from that other one More importantly, came across this just now https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7195536222540926213 
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Feb 11, 2023 01:24
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Batman rear end looking car
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Feb 11, 2023 07:53
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So good and bad Good: went to the beach a highschooler walked right up and said "that's a really nice car"  Better: horn mysteriously started working today! Heard my car speak for the first time https://hadlocks-bucket.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/PXL_20230220_202805132.mp4 Edit: watch my sensitive amp meter tremble when the horn goes off  Bad: car was running like absolute rear end Cannot figure out why. Timing, choke were fine. It's probably been 10 days since I last ran the car but shouldn't be an issue. Started up ok, but had trouble holding an idle at stop lights, almost like it was a vacuum lock issue, but it barely cracked 70 today and on the way back from the beach it was closer to 61 and moderately windy. Was fighting the idle with the throttle to keep it from stalling out. Car was really struggling to pull off the line unless I revved it for a while. Very strange. Very frustrating. Car was running really well, felt like power was way up, suddenly now it's struggling to make power. Intermittent problems are difficult to diagnose The only thing that comes to mind is I have a fuel pump, and underneath it has a manual fuel pump level to prime the system. I typically do prime the pump on every cold start and once it's primed you can feel the pump doing work and pumping what feels like at least an ounce per pull. Occasionally I "over pull" the fuel pump and the lever gets stuck in the fully pulled position, but once the engine starts I can push it back in place. Anyways that happened today. I can't imagine that would cause the problem, I especially feel like that wouldn't cause the problem after the second start. Air fuel spark. Air fuel spark. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Feb 21, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 00:33
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That horn sounds exactly as French as I remember. My Mom's Renault 6TL horn sounded the same. It does sound like a fuel delivery issue.
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Feb 21, 2023 06:12
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Well it's supposed to be in the mid 70s here today and I have the garage to myself, time to go pick up a fuel pressure thing from HF. Looks like uses standard 5-8 psi system. Might as well pick up a compression test while I'm there since the engine is ancient and I don't have any baseline numbers to work with Before I forget, oil dip stick looked low when I got it home, panicked, put in 600ml of 5w-30. Just looked at it (sitting cold overnight) it's sitting dead in the center of the stick now Edit: also can't find the fuel filter in the engine bay, fuel line disapears so I'll have to uh, look for that Hadlock fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Feb 21, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 15:53
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Spliced the line and put a meter in there Showing 2psi even when giving it some gas. I do see it pop up to ~2.4psi if you goose it and pull your foot off the gas, but then idles back to 2.0. Before running any gas through it (new) I gave it the 'ol suck-n-blow lung/sanity test and meter appeared to be calibrated correctly   I think most every resource on the internet shows that you should have between 4 and 7psi, with 8psi being extremely unusual Any thoughts on this particularly old system? Also ran the compression, cyl 1-2-3-4 all measuring ~65psi which is... low, according to this guy he had 1 @ 65psi and 3 @ 90psi. He was able to resolve with a valve adjustment. Apparently valve adjustment also solves oil consumption on this head. So I guess I have that in my future too.  Spark plugs were crusty. De-gunked them and chipped off carbon deposits but didn't gap them.  
Hadlock fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Feb 21, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 21:07
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Did you find the fuel filter? Wouldn't be surprised to find it full of sludge.
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Feb 21, 2023 21:13
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It's a straight shot from the pump to the carb, loops over the water pump. If you stand in the right spot you can see the whole line. From what I've read it's inadvisable to put a filter on the intake side of the pump. I have the invoice for the new fuel tank (2019 i think?) and fuel hose looks to be of the same vintage.
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Feb 21, 2023 21:20
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In other news while contemplating my fuel pressure problem I decided to go ahead and grease my nipples. I got all of the front suspension except one of the top bushings on the upper control arm. I think that zerk might be seized. I have some spares in a box I'll have to check out later but kiddo is about to arrive home Tried to get an action video shot but this is messy business, so please enjoy this photo with several nipples on display after being freshly greased and nipples tweaked to clean  The... Uh, ball joint... Seal, bag thing on the driver's side (bottom, and top, but mostly bottom) looks a little rough, especially compared to the passenger side. Inflated it about half full with grease. I've read some "internet wisdom" that you can blow out some seals if you overdo it. Not sure if this is the case on riding lawn mower level tech but I can always dial it up to 11 later Did the drivers side drive shaft, just... Kept pumping grease into there and... Never saw the end result. Not super clear on what this is greasing, presumably the U joint next to the drum. Put in at least 20 pumps, did not see anything, decided to stop there and reasess. Usually I joints have their own zerk so it's unusual that the drive shaft itself has a zerk Forgot to grease the passenger side drive shaft. Forgot to grease steering knuckles on both sides Edit: peekaboo  I never park the car in the garage this way but seemed nice to take advantage of the extra light and fresh air Hadlock fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Feb 22, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 23:49
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Ooh la la
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Feb 22, 2023 00:39
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I can see why you have to keep adding more grease, it just leaks out and covers everything huh
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Feb 22, 2023 00:50
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The whole car is covered in some kind of dry Edit: suspension greasing is standard preventative maintenance suggested every 1000 miles, see near the bottom of page 1 Hadlock fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Feb 22, 2023 |
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Feb 22, 2023 01:09
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Those photos are amazing.
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Feb 22, 2023 02:15
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Googling for this poo poo is maddening because almost nothing is written about this car in english. Once I realized "fuel pressure" and "fuel pump" needed to be translated to "pression de carburant" and "pompe à essence" started getting some results. Reading these forums is maddening because they'll switch from complex technical stuff, to classically french sexual jokes and back again. Sometimes the joke is to make a point of how it works, sometimes... not? You have to read to the end (and often read the next posts) for context. e.g. in a discussion about cylinder pressure "c est pas bien de se moquer des dames fortes qui font du cheval !!!" (It's not good to make fun of strong ladies who ride horses !!!) I end up spending more time trying to understand how that joke is relevant than researching what needs to be known. This is then followed up by a photo of a horse mounting another with the caption "Bon, voici une forte montée ! / Bien sûr il y a des variantes" (Alright, here's a steep climb! / Of course there are variations)  french humor is uh interesting Ok here: https://www.forum.la-traction-universelle.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=433&p=3241&hilit=pression+de+carburant#p3241 quote:comparable to that of the Solex regulator, which did not have an integrated filter function , but which was mounted between the fuel pump and the carburetor and which had the effect of limiting the pressure at the inlet of the carburetor to 80 mbar. 80mbar is 1.16psi And here: https://www.forum.la-traction-universelle.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=433&p=3240&hilit=pression+de+carburant#p3240 quote:''On an engine, the feed pump delivers gasoline to the carburetor under a pressure of 130 to 160 grams. This pressure is necessary to bring gasoline from the tank to the carburetor and avoid vapor-lock in the summer. "grams" appears to mean g/c³ 150 g/c³ is 2.13 psi So anyways yeah looks like 2psi is about correct for this pump. Kicking the starter briefly will move the cam lobe that runs the fuel pump which allows for manual prime to work correctly. Of note, this seems to be a pretty common fuel pump design, mine has a rather classy looking glass bulb which is no longer in production so I'd prefer to keep it original, but "sealed" or "metal top" units are readily available. Seems like a lot of people converted to electric in the past when parts were difficult to find, but everyone is switching back to mechanical as they're actually quieter. I suppose most concerning is the cylinder pressure of 65psi. Looks like I want to be in the 80psi, and I guess I should be doing the compression test with my "foot flat on the floor" to open up the carb so I guess I need to do it over again. I guess I want to be shooting for 7-8 bar (100-110psi) source https://www.forum.la-traction-universelle.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4289&p=62501&hilit=pression+du+cylindre#p62501 I did find this post: https://www.classicjalopy.com/2016/08/traction-engine-troubleshooting/ quote:I found that #1, #3 and #4 had compression of 90PSI but #2 only had about 65PSI compression. On a well running engine they should be similar. The Traction engine is a low compression engine. In this post he's even using the same harbor freight compression tester, and getting the same reading (65psi) so holding out some hope that a valve adjustment is in my future. After valve adjustment he's up to 90psi which according to other posts is acceptable for normal driving. I have already started pricing out cylinder sleeves and pistons @ $330 (https://www.citroen-traction-avant.com/en/shop/article/D111-02/4_LINERS_AND_PISTONS_78) on the plus side for this engine you just pop out the entire cylinder liner and pop in a new one with a fresh piston. Low compression is bad in these cars in that it decreases power but also means you just need to swap in new cylinders and correct sized pistons. I don't even think they're press-fit, compared to a sleeve you might see in a modern aluminum block.    so TL;DR in this order A) fuel pump is fine @ 2psi. reassemble fuel line B) will re-test compression 1) with foot on the floor (may increase psi by 5 or more PSI) 2) add oil to cylinder to validate rings are in ok shape 3) if pressure doesn't change, add "adjust valves" to my to-do list C) rebuild carb (finally) to validate carb is in good order Hadlock fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Feb 22, 2023 |
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Feb 22, 2023 16:42
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Hadlock posted:... That may be low - but what is more important, is that they are withing 10-15% of each other. It's fine, so I wouldn't be overly concerned if your other methods don't raise it. Hadlock posted:.. The bag split. They tend to do that. The only permanent solution is to replace the ball joint, but in the meantime. lube it often to push accumulated dirt out. The ball joints on my '66 Pontiac do not have sealed bags, so grease itself acts as a seal - the lube interval is shorter to push in new grease to keep it clean. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 02:13 on Feb 23, 2023 |
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Feb 23, 2023 01:24
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PainterofCrap posted:The bag split. So I looked it up. It's called a gaiter in this case and it's made of leather which.... Explains the suede look/texture to the boot. I'll have to inspect it again I don't think it's split https://www.citroen-traction-avant.com/en/shop/article/426=!618-A/Ball_joint_gaiters_leather_lower Hadlock fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Feb 23, 2023 |
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Feb 23, 2023 02:12
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You're right - it's not split. It may work like my Pontiac's though; you can try to clean the excess grease off of the joints using orange grease remover and a (softer, maybe brass) wire brush & once they're clean you can see where the grease is coming from. On the driveshaft zerk: are you sure that it was actually taking grease?
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Feb 23, 2023 03:11
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I'm mostly amused that my car doesn't have leather interior, but part of my suspension is made from leather Yeah I'm 99.9% sure it was taking grease. If the gun was off angle by more than 15° or so it would leave a big mess of grease I had to clean up manually with scott towels I don't have a proper impact wrench and my lug nut removal tool is the original thing so I wasn't able to take the wheel off and really give it a good once over with paper towels. Also was running out of time, was trying to take my time but also wanted you at least squirt all the nipples before my toddler got home Now that I think about it there might be an ugga dugga gun in my dad's tool chest. I'll give it another go soon I don't understand why similarly bad compression is better than one being off by 15%. 65psi is way more than 15% off from 100psi seems like you're giving up a lot of power
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Feb 23, 2023 04:42
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Less power, sure, but you're not beating the crap out of the rotating assemblies. Having one or more cylinders way off from each other means a rebuild is imminent.
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Feb 23, 2023 04:50
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Hadlock posted:I'm mostly amused that my car doesn't have leather interior, but part of my suspension is made from leather I am reminded of the AI poster with a little old Nissan who found out the body mounts for his car were made partly of horse hair.
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Feb 23, 2023 05:34
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I was watching the Great Escape recently - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v2-ErZmuGxc
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Feb 23, 2023 06:17
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Looking like the car may do it's big trip end of April or May And here's a photo of when my toddler tried to "trap" me in the garage last week
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Mar 3, 2023 20:34
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Hadlock posted:I don't have a proper impact wrench and my lug nut removal tool is the original thing so I wasn't able to take the wheel off Man just get an 18" breaker bar and a set of 1/2" drive sockets from harbor freight and do them by hand. No need to be anything but gentle with an old timer like this. So it takes a minute longer, big deal.
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Mar 6, 2023 22:22
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The lug nut wrench isn't a standard X design it's shaped like _∩_ I think because it's supposed to do triple duty as the jack handle + starter handle. Not compatible with the 8' section of steel pipe I have in the garage. You can torque the nuts pretty good with it but I can't de-ugga dugga what's on there right now I do have a baby electric impact wrench I ordered some adapter for I'll give that a try. I also probably have a proper impact gun in a box but getting ready to move so hesitant to go opening boxes I don't want to repack I did get the carb off this weekend, gonna maybe rebuild it tonight. Starting to think my valves need an adjustment. Spark is good, after the carb fuel system will be validated, valves I guess fall under the category of "air?" car runs the same with the air filter on and off. Running out of things to diagnose Hadlock fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Mar 6, 2023 |
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Mar 6, 2023 23:00
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