Venting some steam..

TrickyWicky

There are times when I love french cars. There are times when I hate french cars and there are times when I decide I would like to dismantle french cars. Today the latter has occurred.

So there I am, trying desperately to get this old fuel filter out of a plastic bracket with two stupid screws in it, exposed to the water and salt on the roads for years on end they naturally wouldn't unscrew and rounded their heads. The bracket is a fixed part moulded into the fuel tank so thats not replaceable. Ok, I'll hacksaw through and then use cable ties... the glitch? The angle and the lack of hack saw access.

So to see if the engine will run better with a new filter anyway I decided to disconnect the old one and just put the new one in and let it hang while up on the axle stands. Broke the stupid connector in the process and had to bodge the fuel line..

Car runs, no problems, bit low on juice and the tank is at an angle because its up on stands but it runs and starts A-OK.

Back to the fuel filter clamp. More attempts to hack saw through it result in failure so I decided "I've already replaced the knackered distributor, why not save myself the hassle and just see if it'll still run on the old filter?" So I go to try and make my fuel line bodge a bit more permanent. Result? G clamp rips the inner plastic pipe in the fuel line meaning the whole line needs replacing.

No biggie, I can do that, I have spare fuel line... goes in the boot to disconnect it.. another plastic connector GRRRRRR. Ok, I'll be gentle, it's gonna come off somehow.. SNAP.. taking the nipple clean off with it (I hadn't even started pulling - i literally touched it with my finger :eek:)

£300 to replace that :mad:, none listed second hand on ebay and the local scrapsters don't even have this car so I can't get the part there either!

Bottom line for anyone out there looking for cars:

DO NOT BUY A FRENCH MADE CAR.

They're a pain in the grass, often fragile, have stupid bits of plastic that snap easily and are expensive to replace, and if it's a banger it can easily be the end of your car.

I'm stuffed for any potential work now.. :doh:_pale_ :wall:

Geforce

Gah, I feel for you... Unfortunately it's not just French cars though!
Having said that, my long term girlfriend has a 207HDi and never had a problem with it for the last 3 years. Probably because she has never lifted the bonnet, ha.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Ah i have every sympathy.

French cars are made to be worked on by people of extremely short stature, max 3ft tall, incredibly thin with 2 pairs of long multi arms and at least 4 hands, this has been my view since first i worked on a Renault 16 in a previous life.

If you had asked first i would have advised you to play a fan heater on the whole area you need to work on for several hours before touching anything with French plastic fittings.
Its something i do now if forced to work on any French vehicle in the cold.

vikingaero

All cars have some sort of defective trait or achilles heel. But French cars are designed and built in such a unique manner that I'll never own one.

TrickyWicky

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

If you had asked first i would have advised you to play a fan heater on the whole area you need to work on for several hours before touching anything with French plastic fittings.
Its something i do now if forced to work on any French vehicle in the cold.

You know I never thought of that! I'll remember that for the future as we have another identical car

Any ideas how to deal with those pesky plastic fuel connectors on the end of the fuel pipes?

gilbert_and_sullivan

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Any ideas how to deal with those pesky plastic fuel connectors on the end of the fuel pipes?

Can't visualise them other than they will be some clever fitment with the tiniest flimsiest most brittle release catch that only someone barking mad could invent.

No chance of completely by-passing i suppose, grafting on some stiff plastic or copper pipe to the tank/filter assembly and running standard reinforced flexible hose in its stead with real Jubilee clips instead of the rubbish fitted when they threw it together.

You ended up with 2!!!:eek::whistle::wall: Dear Lord man what on earth happened to cause that.

I'm quite taken by the new Dacia Duster for its simplicity as much as anything, one can only hope the French haven't had too much input there, will be having a good poke nose underneath one when i have some free time.

GolfBravo

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

I'm quite taken by the new Dacia Duster for its simplicity as much as anything, one can only hope the French haven't had too much input there, will be having a good poke nose underneath one when i have some free time.

Dacia Duster is based on the Nissan B0 platform, with legacy Renault components. According to German AutoBild magazine (Auto Express sister publication) and TÜV Dacias are officially Germany's most unreliable cars (2-3 years old, 13.3% major fault rate). And on top of that only 3-star NCAP.

anotherbaldrick

The old 2CV one of the best cars ever made !

worried_jim

I remember having to take a gearbox off a Renault 4 just to replace the oil filter. Shouldn't grumble as the car was given to me free. Have to admit I have been biased against French cars simply from all the horror stories I read on here and they usually involve Citroen's and Renault's.

angel00079

You have my sympathy.

We had a right game changing the rubber boots on my Renault. It is twelve years old so took about an hour to get some of the bits off.

When we had finished we were discussing that you don't often think about how easily bits can be replaced when buying a car.

jase1

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

The old 2CV one of the best cars ever made !

When a 65 year old econobox is used to defend a country's car industry you know you're in trouble :rotfl: