This meant two tasks for us!
First to get the mileage confirmed for the insurance company, to ensure we don't go over our annual mileage. This involved going to the local garage with a form for a mechanic to record the mileage and check that we had not tampered with the mileometer. This year was slightly different; the mechanic was "busy" so the receptionist recorded the mileometer reading. I suspect he said "You do it".
Second was to change the oil and oil filter.
The make and type of oil was the same as had been used by the previous owner (a retired mechanic) when we bought the car. The filter was from a UK company as the price was about a third of what I could find here in France!!
DIY oil changing is always a messy job! The sump plug was easily accessible but the oil filter was a different matter.
The filter was made worse by the fact that I think it had been tightened with a spanner. However I tried it would not move. In the end I had to resort to the main mechanics tool, 'the big hammer'!
This is where it got messy; puncturing the filter was unavoidable and as there is a ridged floor plate below it, there is no way to catch the released oil. Until you see where it goes and then... Yes it's toooo late.
I did get it off eventually although it was a little battered.
With the new filter filled with oil and screwed back on, hand tight only, the engine refilled with the new oil, (about 2.6 litres) the job, as they say, is a good one !
3 comments:
Next time you change the oil filter....
take the damned wing OFF!
It makes it a doddle...
and hand tight is wrong!
It needs another quarter turn after hand tight...
one of those silicon oven gloves is fine for the purpose.
Or a Boa if you've got one in the kitchen
[sorry Elizabeth...
it washes!]
but care needs to be taken to avoid badly denting the filter...
you need to use it hard up against the engine end!!
Or, much easier still...
borrow my chain wrench next year...
I do mine in the summer when the weather is more clement!!!!
You always need the chain wrench...
or a stout screwdriver and hammer...
to get it off...
it seems to self tighten!!
And!!
What did you pay for the filter?
I get mine from the Intermarché at around 6 to 8€s... cheaper than any price I've found in the UK.
But you have to buy them when you see them 'cos it fits a lot of common vehicles and, I think, some motorbikes.
Thanks Tim. I used the hammer and screwdriver method, works every time but messy. Think taking the wing off is a bit OTT. I have bought a cheap, €4.90, contraption from Auchan this morning that looks like it could go in the gap. we will see. I paid £3:24 for the filter from eurocarparts.com when they were on offer. I bought four! They are still available at that price... See the link.
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Citroen_2+CV6_0.6_1983/p/car-parts/car-service-parts/regular-service/oil-filter/?501735020&1&08487cf42d733247af01dd8275bbf9368e603f9b&000231
How often do you change your oil? the book says every 3 months!!! The old oil looked reasonably clean but we only did 3500kms last year.
The 2CV was designed to have the wings taken off for engine bay maintenance.
Wing removal:
Remove the fletch panel [4 nuts tighten the clamps - loosen and swing clamps round]
Remove the wing itself.
Undo the four 19mm nuts:- bottom of doorpost [on outside], inside the wing on the bulkhead, top and bottom on the headlight bar... no need to take them off... unplug the flex to the indicators on the wing.
Place a clean [on your car] piece of cloth between the wing and the headlight bar and begin easing the wing back and down to release the two top fittings...
ease the hot air dump hose out of it's rubber socket....
once the dump is clear of the wing ease the front end clear at the bottom and clear of the lightbar.
Now pull it forward half an inch or so and take it off completely.
You need to do this to both once a year to clear any build up of muck between the wings and the body... a bad rust spot!! Twice if it has been a bad winter!!
Other winter work...
You also need to remove the bonnet at this time of the year...
lift to 45 degrees and slide it sideways in the channel... rest it on the ground clear of the car.
Brush out BOTH the channel on the car, and tipping the bonnet forward, the one there too!! It is vital to remove anything that might abrade the paint [in your case - what's left of the paint in ours]... there is no way of replacing the hinge section on the bonnet... people have tried using the repair strip for the top of the bulkhead... but in every case the profile of the bonnet has been destroyed. And there are NO new bonnets around... which is why there is a spare here with a good hinge.
Treat any rust found and then apply a good ribbon of clear/neutral grease along the channel on the car...
NB: put the bonnet back on after the wings... this saves cracking your head when replacing the wings...
please note...
2CVs BITE!!
It's just their way of letting you know they appreciate the care!
Once the bonnet has been slid back in place add more grease along the join and wipe in.
It can always be removed if showing the car off!!
When replacing the wings apply Coppaslip to the threads... makes wing shifting much quicker.
Oil change at 3000 miles / [or kilometres] or annually [whichever come soonest]... it should really be every thousand, but as you noticed 3K+ doesn't leave much in the modern oils especially Total oil....
but the oil will have deteriorated.
Another thing...
Grease knife-edges every 500 miles / 800 kilos...
finally, if your chassis isn't a galvanised one, paint some of the drained oil on it!! Means parking the car on old cardboard boxes for a few weeks, but it is worth it...
Have fun!!
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