RUST

[Rob.Lincs]

Took my van in to have a new tyre the other afternoon. I was invited to show it at the local car show cos they were having an alternative energy stand - one of the tyres was border line legal so thought I'd best replace it!

The tyre place put it up on the lift and I took the opportunity to have a look underneath. Shock horror - RUST. I didn't get a very good look but the fuel tank box and the shields around the various pipes and brake cables look BAD. Further investigation required.

Is the fuel tank housed within the box or is that the actual tank? There doesn't seem to be a great deal of metal involved. Would these be parts to get from Citroen or would I need to remortgage the house?

Robert

[ChrisB]

I'm pretty sure what you saw was the fuel tank guard rather than the tank itself.

I think the tank is plastic so no worries there

As for the tin work that carries all the pipes etc then yes they can start to rot out but TBH nothing a cable tie here and there cant sort out

Brake pipes do need to be checked mind you as they can rot out, along with the flexies to the front disks and the rear flexie to the rear axle, bend them and if the rubber is showing signs of cracking then replace.

Check also the area below the windscreen, I think theres a grill/plastic thing once you open the bonnet, hook that out and check for leaves and general muck build up in the corners as they can rot out there too.

ChrisB

[Grumpy-b]

The fuel tank is plastic and the metal work is purely a cover/ part of the mounting. It also has a 6mm bar frame inside which is also part of the mounting. So no worries.
I do have spares for all the parts if you ever need them. Many of thes parts can be simply re-manufactured using a press brake if urgently needed to be got locally. They will be costly from Citroen though.
These parts are not well painted in the first place, so Im not surprised you have problems.
One thing I would suggest is to remove the battery mounting bolts one at a time and copper ease them. Nothing worse than having to remove them and not being able to. A lot of these do rusta and can be difficult to get off. Similarly the 6mm bolts that hold the pipework pans, put penetrating oil on them then copperease. They can tear out of the floor pan.

Grumpy-b