The things you learn while tinkering.

[Gadgetman]

So, my clutch is a goner...  
(It's slipping if I give a bit of accellerator in high gear. And no, it's not the cable, I checked)
That happens, and new parts are available at a not too horrid price.

And today I decided to get it done. 
moved the car so that the rear was poking out of the garage, and the righthand side was closer to the wall so that I had a bit of room to work on the lefthand side. Jaced it up, removed the wheel and started disconnecting and removing all the crap in the engine bay that was blocking access to the gearbox, while occasionally checking The Book...  

Weird, it's telling me to remove both driveshafts?

No matter. probably another 'disconnect battery before doing anything at all' situation... 

Tinker on...  

Yeah, there was a reason... It's just about impossible to pull the gearbox far enough to the left to get it to disconnect from the righthand driveshaft...  

I may need another chain hoist and the Gods only knows where the long spanner for the wheel nuts have gone. 
Luckily, the HW store is open tomorrow...  At 2pm...   

I wonder if I have enough clearance on the righthand side to remove the wheel?

[jimbo]

Fun isnt it.

[THE BADGE]

I know the feeling only too well, sometimes you look at a job you're doing & think, no, that'll be ok, & then halfway through you can't get the part/parts off because you 'just' need another half inches clearance !
Aaarrghhh !! B****y annoying, we do seem to like to learn the hard way, hope you managed to get your other wheel off.

[Gadgetman]

picked up an electric impact wrench at the hw store, and it did short work of getting the wheel off.
(I have about 1foot clearance on the righthand side, just enough to work the wrench, really.)
Breaking the ball joint loose didn't take much longer...

Then there was the effing bearing where the driveshaft goes through the rear motor mount...
The Book says to loosen the nuts(incidentally they're the only 11mm nuts I've found on the car...) and rotate the bolts 90degrees so that the excentric head releases the bearing.
Rotate 90degrees WHICH WAY?

Then PULL... And PULL...

I hate that design...

how the F! could it rust stuck so quickly?
(I had the engine out a few years ago)

It may be easier to just unbolt the rear motor mount...

My battery-powered LED worklights are out of power, and so am I.
also, my hair is full of oil...

[Jo3ey]

also, my hair is full of oil...

Don't worry too much about that. Another day or two like that, you'll have pulled it all out with frustration 

[Gadgetman]

And todays lesson is...

Every parts store out there is more than willing to sell me a complete clutch set...

But they're all 200mm, and the cluch disc i finally got out today has a diameter of 180mm.

No, the 200mm parts doesn't physically fit on the flywheel, and no, I'm NOT replacing the flywheel.

[Gadgetman]

That was weird...
Not a single site is selling a 180mm clutch for a Berlingo with a 1.4i

Quite a few are selling a 180mm kit for an AX or Saxo with a 1.4i, though.

The engine is a used replacement, but it came from another Berlingo. I'm beginning to wonder if it was originally from yet another car...

[Gadgetman]

My 180mm clutch kit arrived last tuesday, but I've been fighting the flu and its aftermath.

Yesterday's lesson is that the driveshaft seals on the gearbox have different sizes.

This is kind of important to know when you buy a set and plan to swap them out.
Because you'll need a socket or similar piece of metal that matches the metal ring on each seal in order to drive it in correctly.
I had only checked that I had a suitable tool for ONE seal, not both, so had to stop tinkering pretty soon.

[Gadgetman]

The gearbox is back in place...

I'm getting closer and closer to believing that replacing a clutch is best done by pulling the engine first. Because you also need to remove the starter motor, and it's NOT fun to lay down over the front of the car in order to remount the bugger.

Anyway...
Today I was going to get the driveshafts all the way back in, reconnect the lower ball-joints and possibly even refill the gearbox.

Next lesson is to EXAMINE everthing nearby thoroughly when dimantling something.
The rubber on the RH side lower ball-joint is damaged.
Which is something I should have spotted when I took everything apart. then I could have ordered the new parts last effing year!
(always replace the same part on both sides at the same time whhen ealing with steering, suspension or brakes.)

Also, Citroën changed from 16mm to 18mm cone tip between 98 and 99.

These ball-joints are kind of a pain to match up to the hub after you've been messing about with the axles.
But I now wonder if it's easier to fit the cone first, then the 3 bolts holding it to the lower arm.

[Gadgetman]

The new ball-joints are in place.
The lefthand side one must have been changed before, and obviously by an amateur.
It had hex-head bolts holding it in instead of the low-profile torx-heads used by Citroën.
Also, the rubber cone had been crushed down, which is a sign that the tap had been inserted too far into the hole under the hub assembly.
If the tap is visible above the clamp on the bottom of the hub assembly, it has gone too far in...
The tap should be just about flush with the overside of the clamp.
If you need to 'help' the clamping bolt into place with a hammer, it's a good bet that the tap is in the wrong position.

Why do we always replace brake and suspension parts in pairs?
Not just because if one is failing the other is probably also not long in this life, but because of difference in wear. Unmatched parts will result in unbalanced behaviour and possibly harder wear on both the new and old parts. Possibly even on adjacent parts...