new spanner set
- Thread starter ghostlymoron
- Start date
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Do come and have a go on my DS sometime. It requires the removal of the RH front suspension sphere, steering column, air filter, exhaust downpipe, exhaust manifolds and heat shield. Easier if you take the front wings (and headlamp steering mechanism) off too, along with the hydraulic pump. This is why I like working on my cramped, inaccessible boat engine ... it's just so easy in comparison!
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
The family owned a 2CV for a while. It takes real skill to design a vehicle that is so maintenance-unfriendly!
fastjedi
Well-Known Member
I inherited Gordon and Britool AF and Whitworth from my father
- At home I have a well used 15 year old Draper Expert metric combination set
- On the boat I have 12 year old cheap Draper metric combination set
- For the racing car I have a Halfords Pro metric ratchet set mostly purchased at £3 each this time last year
They are all fit for purpose ...
- I really like using the Draper Expert set
- The standard Draper set have been on the boat for 10 years / virtually no rust
- The Halfords ratchet spanners are great when in a hurry
- At home I have a well used 15 year old Draper Expert metric combination set
- On the boat I have 12 year old cheap Draper metric combination set
- For the racing car I have a Halfords Pro metric ratchet set mostly purchased at £3 each this time last year
They are all fit for purpose ...
- I really like using the Draper Expert set
- The standard Draper set have been on the boat for 10 years / virtually no rust
- The Halfords ratchet spanners are great when in a hurry
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the suggestions. I have 2 socket sets large and small both from Halfords many years ago and surprising both still complete. I also have 2 sets of short spanners bought for my first boat and I found them ideal for use in the confines of a small boat engine compartment. Unfortunately both sets of spanners have some missing which are always the ones required. I reckon a complete set of combi spanners, mole, grips, hacksaw, adjustable Bahco, various screwdrivers, pliers and multimeter should do me - oh and a hammer.
I think I'm going for the Silverline as they are immediately available. I haven't got room for a huge set of tools and will store them in a bag rather than a box as it's then possible to stuff them in an odd shaped locker.
I think I'm going for the Silverline as they are immediately available. I haven't got room for a huge set of tools and will store them in a bag rather than a box as it's then possible to stuff them in an odd shaped locker.
lw395
Well-Known Member
Deep sockets in 8mm, 10mm, 13mm are very handy.....
Silverline spanners seem OK and are cheap enough on ebay.
An oil filter wrench that works on that particular engine is worth adding?
Silverline spanners seem OK and are cheap enough on ebay.
An oil filter wrench that works on that particular engine is worth adding?
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
My engine doesn't have an oil filter - VP MD1!
Como
Active Member
Are you sure? My MD2 has so I would be surprised if yours didn't have one.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
I had a 2CV and I disagree - it's the most maintenance-friendly car I have ever owned. There is only one nasty, which is the need to remove the fan to set the points ... that's why the wholly electronic 1-2-3 ignition system is so popular. Otherwise I found it a fantastically easy car to work on - probably because it was designed to be maintained and repaired by village blacksmiths with little by way of specialist tools or knowledge. The DS, by contrast, was so beyond the skills of rural garages that Citroën had flying repair squads to mend them.
As an example of easy maintenance, it took me 20 minutes to change all four shock absorbers in mine ... and ten of those minutes were spent working out the first one.
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
Be surprised then. The MD1 has a long oil strainer which removes the lumps. I don't know about MD2 but can look at the manual later. MD2 manual does show an oil cleaner (looks like canister type filter) as well as an oil strainer (which mMD1 has)
Last edited:
RichardS
N/A
I decided to bring my Aldi set of spanners to work on the boat this week rather than the "professional" set which I bought 35 years ago.
When it came to removing the saildrive anode I tried the 24mm, then the 26mm etc etc until I got to the 32mm which is the largest in the set and much larger than anything in my professional set.
Of course, I was delighted that Aldi included a 32mm although I can't imagine that it will get much use anywhere else!!!
Richard
When it came to removing the saildrive anode I tried the 24mm, then the 26mm etc etc until I got to the 32mm which is the largest in the set and much larger than anything in my professional set.
Of course, I was delighted that Aldi included a 32mm although I can't imagine that it will get much use anywhere else!!!
Richard
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
Did you ever change the front wheel bearings? I had to make a tool from hardened and tempered En24, with a lever about 8 ft long to unscrew the bearing retainer. The rear brake pipes corroded and changing them was a major task as some went through the chassis. Naturally they were not standard Bundy pipes but needed to be made up specially by the local dealer.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Yes, the torque on those is astonishing. Luckily, however, I had acquired a suitable 3/4" drive socket set (Britool, to return vaguely to topic) and with a short length of scaffold pipe and some jumping they came apart fine. Definitely in the blacksmith maintenance tradition ... no great subtlety but a hell of a lot of grunt.
Replacing the front kingpins was a bit fiddly, but only because there were so many things to line up ... and even after that the MOT tester tried to fail it on kingpin play until I pointed out that the testers' note for the 2CV specifically says that they were designed with 3mm play there. Mind you, that was the same tester who tried to fail my DS on the grounds that the handbrake was completely inoperative, until I gently suggested that he try testing it with the front wheels on the rollers. I gave up on that testing station after that.
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
I did this on my Austin Allegro (I know!). I got a tractor socket 3/4" drive and a 3/4" to 1/2" reducer, connected my ratchet drive - wouldn't budge so I put a 4' scaffold tube on it and jumped on it. The ratchet broke immediately (pawls I think). Eventually removed it with proper 3/4" bar and scaffold tube.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Assuming that it's the same driveshaft nut as a proper Mini, it's the same one as a 2CV as well. I'd be surprised if the Allegro needed 250 lb-ft, though.
corbu
Active Member
After reading a few reviews last year I plumped for the Draper Expert 68234 11-Piece Combination Spanner Set. I have no experience of high end sets but I found these to be a big step up in quality from the cheap assortment I had before. Or it could be that I am swayed by the high polish finish which certainly looks good and has remained rust free. My only quibble is the plastic holder, I think a roll may be more practical. A high quality feel for around £20.
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
It's not removing the nut on the drive shaft that is the problem, it is the retaining ring that holds the bearings in. It is an externally threaded ring about 3 inches in diameter that mates with an internal thread in the suspension upright. This gets full of road dirt and rust of course. The ring has two internal slots. First off I tried a piece of mild steel bar ground to length, turned by 18" Stilsons and a long tube. The mild steel bent immediately. At work I had various samples of alloy steels and full furnace capabilities, so I heat treated some En24 and made up a new tool. The tool was clamped to the upright with a couple of G-cramps to keep it in the slots, then Owen and I hung on the long tube until the ring moved.
Birdseye
Well-Known Member
Buy cheap from lidl or aldi. half decent quality but you dont want to spend much anyway - whatever you do they will rust on board.
daviddb
Well-Known Member
Just a heads up for a set of quality ratchet spanners by Sealey that are extra short. Ratchet at one end and open ended at the other. Only just within your suggested budget but I find I use them all the time in preference to the full length jobbies.Especially when working on the intricacies of our DS exhaust system. ....
I'd suggest adding a quality 3/8ths socket set and job's a goodun.
yrs ever etc
I'd suggest adding a quality 3/8ths socket set and job's a goodun.
yrs ever etc
Ripster
Well-Known Member
Its funny reading this. I did nearly exactly the same when I had an Allegro (red face) many years ago. Both me and my mate stood on the bar to get it undone and broke the 1/2" bar. So hade to go get the bigger kit. Still have the 3/4" sockets and bar too!