ACTUAL (ham-fisted) TINKERING! Citroen GSA Speedometer fix (not what I thought)

[@Zadster]

"Another inch would make all the difference" - How many times have blokes said that over the years! Welcome back tinkering videos. Good times!

[@rose-ey6ct]

When the NSU car company were in business, they had an awkwardising department. Once any part of the car was designed, the awkwardising department took it and made it almost impossible to work on. When VW took over NSU, they sold the department to Citroen, who quardupled the staff working in it.

[@lardmarc]

"awkwardising" 😂

[@donkmeister]

Chevronics, small world - some years ago I was taught to spanner by one of their specialists! Vic, I assume long-retired, showed me how to fix various things and importantly, taught me how to work safely! Lovely bloke.

[@frank9244]

Happy to hear i’m not the only one waiting for French parts from Germany.

[@paulbowers7343]

Didn't you know, the speedo cable was the first item on the assembly line, the car was built entirely around it!!

[@seancooke4127]

Believe me, we do know how happy that makes you Ian. We can see the effort and the triumph on your little face. Well done man, top job. Coolest car.

[@triviace]

I am relieved to know that I am not alone in my mechanical klutziness.Good Job ,something small that is really a major victory with old cars!

[@dandy1dandy198]

You are a very patient person Ian. You deserve an OBE (even in a oh bloody ell narrative) for entertaining Citroën complexities. Accessibility a nightmare soon as you lift the bonnet. Bravo sir hubnut.

[@TheRealSasquatch]

Disconnect the drive cable from the gearbox - feed it through the dashboard and connect it to the speedo binnacle. Push the speedo binnacle back into place and then reconnect the cable to the gearbox. So much easier.

[@derek-press]

so simple but genius

[@HubNut]

That's not actually possible, due to that fixed washer on the cable. It can only come a short way into the car.

[@HubNut]

Though I s'pose you could do it with that washer on the inside, but I'm pretty sure it's meant to be on the outside to ask as a bit of a blocker to stuff coming in.

[@TonyJewell0]

That was my thinking - if the gearbox end goes through the hole behind the speedo then the washer at the speedo end is to keep it on the back of the speedo.

[@CXensation]

The washer is in fact a retainer for the cable, to have it stay inside the dashboard. It effectively does what your zip-tie trick did for you. Its not meant as a dust cover.

[@Scodiddly]

I'm generally not masochistic enough to own a French car (especially living in the States), but I almost would for that printed circuit board themed display.

[@retr0naut823]

Excellent, back to doing what we love you for. Tinkering in your distinctive style to varying degrees of success.

[@martinfield1484]

Hubnut iv been a mechanic for 40+ years working on that would drive me mad you have immense patience

[@Laz_Arus]

"Another inch on that and it would be marvellous" ... thought no-one's missus 😮

[@Hairnicks]

Good to see you working on a car again, even if it hurt so much, you make me laugh so much, thanks for your cheering films.

[@peterriggall8409]

Well done Mr. Hubnut. That ‘working’ speedo is a work of art. It took me a while to realise the DS has a join in the speedo cable under the bonnet so the binnacle can be removed with the speedo cable attached. Could not see a join in yours however.

[@mikerobinson1788]

Must be the first tinker in about 7 months, great to see.

[@HubNut]

I did manage a bit of tinkering in New Zealand, but nice to be doing it again here.

[@johnhunt2388]

You were lucky to fix it on the same day as I was having trouble with my speedo , it took me about a month of trying different things before I finally got it fixed.

[@chrisrumble2665]

My father once did an engine rebuild on a customer's GS 1220 Club. When the customer came to collect it my father told him to never bring it back...In fact from that day he never worked on another Citroen!

[@johnroche8307]

Well done. Excellent diagnostic work and excellent repair. You must be feeling a great sense of achievement right now.

[@skodakatie7341]

It’s great to know I’m not the only Katie to be interested in motor vehicles lol, very challenging repair, well done!!, stay safe Ian!.

[@channex8179]

I love the GS & GSA range they are among the CX as the last proper Citroens. My Dad swore by Citroens whilst I grew up in the 70s & 80s we had GS's & GSA's although my dad preferred the GS, We also always had & my dad actually still always has a 2cv in the garage. He restores them to concourse condition to go on for another 20-30 years service as they are his passion!

[@danielpothier9990]

Fantastic episode totally understand the parts frustration and it makes your ultimate tinkering victory all the sweeter. Cant wait till your first long distance outing with the Citroen!

[@deancary6676]

Ah! The Citroen speedometer - there was a reason early 2CV's apparently lacked them. Two of five Citroens in my life had these triublesome components: a 1995 Xantia VSX, whose speedo was fixated at 80 km/h intermittently, and a 2006 C5, whose speedo died when the car was 12 years. I'm told that's acripe old age... I took the C5's electronic cluster out myself and got it fixed (C5's are tricky but not vicious like GSA's). Didn't bother fixing the Xantia. I'd just assure my partner I could judge tge speed by looking out tge window.... Congratulations on sorting the GSA - well done!

[@josepelotudogomezcredulo6993]

My bro had a Visa II Club she had a two pieces speedo cable, one near back of speedo short as 20 cm. and a normal one from it to gearbox retained a box by a flat spring "U" clip. Very easy and enjoyable to change too.

[@Turnbull50]

When I worked as a mechanic in the 1960's a guy came in with a snapped speedo cable I fitted a new cable and gave the customer his car back and we could hear him revving his engine constantly. He came back into the garage complaining that the speedometer was still not working I explained that the pointer would not move when he was stationary and he had to be moving before the speedometer would register. He then left and since he did not return I assume it was working.

[@bombakdik]

That was very handy to have the wiper the function it gave you to be able to have a view on the speedo cable! Having read before that you already sorted it out, I was looking forward to watch this video. You had quite a bit of luck that the gearbox end of the cable wasn’t wrecked by being “fitted” so long in a wrong way. Don’t forget that WD40 doesn’t lubricate! It is quite a well spread misconception. Just a drop here and here of oil is the best thing you can do. It would also be handy to have exploded views of you car parts and all the systems. You could have done it the other way round. First plug it in the binnacle, lead it through the firewall hole, and then wrap it around the heater box and then into the gearbox? Then there wasn’t that “natural position” of the speedocable being offset from where it plugs into the meter itself. The “stress” you still have on the cable right now is not good for the speedocable. You made it yourself complexer than it could have been I guess.

[@rickbee53]

great resilience shown Ian, and satisfaction of a fix!

[@MartsGarage]

It's amazing how the brain can build up a virtual image of your surroundings just based on feel. I often work with my eyes shut when things are in confined locations like that. Glad I fool with early Fords. they're all a bit more agricultural and easy to work on. glad you got it fixed and it was in reality an easy fix. Mart.

[@millomweb]

YES, I see better in the dark with my eyes shut !

[@macgvrs]

@@millomweb Ha ha. I suspect you aren't a mechanic? Many times I have had to "see" with my finger tips. Closing your eyes gets rid of distractions and does help you "see" better.

[@millomweb]

@@macgvrs I'm far more than a 'mechanic' !

[@macgvrs]

@@millomweb So, you were just trying to be funny? I guess I didn't get it.

[@millomweb]

@@macgvrs No, but sorry, it's something I'm struggling to understand myself. In darkness, with eyes open, I guess you're always looking for 'light' for clues - and that keeps your brain busier. With eyes shut, it cuts that out and your brain focuses more on memory of the place. Hang on a mo - that's just what you said earlier - where you can't see what you're doing - but in your case, it was in the light. Same thing applies then in darkness !

[@paultaylor9652]

Lovely Jubbly, brings back memories of my 92 VW Polo, that kept popping of the back of the speedo, very sore arms.

[@StewSims]

Well done. I had a similar saga with the speedo cable on an MG Midget I used to own. Took a few weeks of arsing about finding the problem and then the right parts to fix it (it had a gearbox with overdrive so non standard). They kinda suck for access to things too. It's so satisfying when you finally fix it though.

[@alasdairboyd7299]

‘And here we see the HubNut back in his natural environment ‘

[@nick2203]

I remember trying to work on my GSA when owned one. Easy maintenance and GS is something that is rarely if ever said.

[@0161pumaste]

well done ian, theres no better feeling than fixing something thats been bothering you for a while!

[@ADMIRALSCORNER]

That takes me back to similar awkward jobs on classics. Glad it was successful in the end!

[@mattwalker4034]

Proper Hubnut fix, couple of cable ties 🙂

[@chrisbradley1192]

HubNut back to being HubNut again. Love it.

[@skimmingstoness]

The eccentric Frenchman that designed that instrument cluster was either blind drunk or an utter genius.

[@Robhalifax]

Plot twist: The missing cable arrives.

[@Unknown-jl7mg]

hhahahahahahaha

[@ianinnes8063]

Haha yea wouldnt that make great viewing lol .

[@millomweb]

That could be a good thing if it's a 'correcter' cable than the one he's using - which I am completely suspicious of with it having a hose clip on it at the gearbox end !

[@nicksss1843]

Hahahaha

[@nissanman5738]

Your tinkering vids and tourism vids are the best thank you 🙏

[@graemew7001]

I do know how happy that makes you, we don't mind a lot of discomfort when it actually achieves something and costs us nothing to fix something. Innuendo was hilarious 😂

[@brettsalter3300]

I might be missing something here, but if it happens again (cable detaches) perhaps insert dashboard end in first, enabling you to pull cable right through dashboard and work in car, and then work under bonnet, where there is more space to attach a limited cable length? Oh, my apologies, I just read this theory three or four comments below, and about fixed washer. Non the less, having just tried to insert some dashboard lights on an old Toyota, I feel much better knowing someone with more skill and knowledge can still struggle with such jobs.

[@StreakyP]

sorry Brett I accidentally duplicated you comment (and yours was better than mine anyway).

[@marcusdamberger]

I think the issue attaching from the dashboard and back to the engine bay was the metal washer thing though the firewall was somehow limiting the cable travel back and fourth. I was thinking the same thing when he showed behind the instrument cluster. But then he talked about the limited cable travel because of the design.

[@julianowens4071]

When you started the video I really didn’t think you’d fix that Speedo , what a relief 😅

[@Shane_Marsh]

Thanks for that superb lunchtime caper. It's great to follow you through your tinkering and huffing and puffing. Pure magic Ian. 👍

[@waynetetley584]

Nice to see a working revolving drum speedometer Citroen style. Well done!

[@rydermike33]

Really good to see you tinkering, although painfully, once more Mr HubNut.

[@twocvbloke]

I guess that's why James Herriot used lubrication before inserting his arm up to his elbow... :P

[@timhancock6626]

How about sawing off the metal washer and replacing it with a split rubber grommet held by a cable tie. That would give you some wiggle room behind the dashboard. Well done with the fix so far. Thats a definite thumbs up from me.

[@HubNut]

That could be a good move if I need to go there again.

[@davidhynd4435]

It makes you wonder what car manufacturers were thinking sometimes. Some years ago we had a Peugeot 505 8 seat wagon. Lovely, comfortable car. Gutless, but comfy. Then it developed starter motor issues. Let the fun begin. The bulkhead on this vehicle followed the shape of the bell housing on the gearbox with a few inches of space between the two. The starter motor, which in the engine bay stuck out into a fairly uncluttered space was bolted onto said bell housing with two, fairly long bolts. Now the fun part. Instead of the lugs (I think that's what they're called) on the bell housing having female threads to accommodate the bolts it was the starter motor mounting lugs which had the internal thread. This meant that instead of being able to screw/unscrew the (very long) bolts from the uncluttered engine bay side of things you had to bolt/unbolt the starter motor a bazillionth of a turn at a time with your hand and the spanner (which would drop down between the bell housing and bulkhead about every third turn) in the tiny, cramped and awkward-to-get-to space between bell housing and bulkhead. This turned a five minute job into a forty minute test of will power. What the hell were they thinking!?

[@dogwalker666]

I agree about that white grease they started using on the fork lift masts then the next thing we found was the bearings seizing.

[@CXensation]

Reminds me of my BX days. The Citroen BX had exactly the same insane cable layout for the speedometer, except I am lucky living in LHD land, which is not as bad. The later design incorporated a split cable with a stubby cable on the head unit itself, just reaching through the firewall. Here you had a screw connector in the engine compartment to the gearbox cable. The fun part here was to hit the hole in the firewall when pushing in the head unit, but still a lot easier. BTW: A very nice GS specimen you have got there. Usually they are completely rotten away.

[@DerekArmsden]

I know exactly how happy that makes you! I had a CX2200 with the same speedo and the cable used to unclip every few months from the back of the dial - so I got very good at groping about behind the dash to pop it back in.

[@allanpadfield2370]

I would say it's not a bolt but a roll pin as being French .I am glad you are back on the spanners as much as you can.👍

[@simonredfern2584]

Yay tinkering! Not many cars are nice behind the dash, once they taste blood they want more! Top work mr hubnut

[@millomweb]

Sometimes the best tool for a job like that is a small boy.

[@FritzPinguin]

When I had a GSA Break (after two DS20s) a technician at the Citroen Garage told me "Whoever repairs a Citroen with his hands will repair any other car with his feet". I had the pleasure to change the driver side window including the complete lifting mechanism at my DS20. The boss of the garage told me I get the spare for free (from my old car), if I do the change. 45 minutes later I was done. Normal working time for that job would have been 1:10 after Citroen rules...

[@leastone22]

That's great your sorted. When your working on Citroen's just remember one thing, they were designed as LHD and converted to RHD and if you were working on an LHD car it is much easier to do these jobs as you pointed out with the speaker hole in the dash. When you get to your spanners and unlock the adjusting nuts, clean and lube the threads and just tighten the lock nut up finger tight and this will make future adjustments much easier.

[@HubNut]

Thanks. Leaving the adjusters finger-tight on my 2CV once saved me when the cable snapped away from home. And I had no tools!

[@heartland96a]

Well done , success .even if only for a short time at least you found the problem of the missing retainer.

[@asdeaff]

I seem to remember replacing a "Y" shaped piece of exhaust tubing at the rear of the engine & I can confirm that YES these cars can be changeling for the simplest of jobs. Keep em coming boy ; I`ve now been furloughed for another 3 weeks ......booger!

[@keithfletcher6123]

Your pain gave many others much joy ... Good man 👍

[@gevmage]

That's wonderful. This video makes me so happy. Thanks for the tinkering video! Here's hoping that it will be possible for you to get to the other cars soon.

[@andrewhofler]

Wow! So many green wires in behind the instruments! It is quite an interesting car though! Quite tempted to check out the GS for sale up the road from me!

[@chrismifsud7154]

My mum had a GSA Pallas when I was a kid. Dark grey metallic and a blue interior.

[@stephenshippam9374]

Hi well done some jobs you just have to persevere with and a lot of jobs on citroëns are just hard to get to and sometimes you just have to feel your way or maybe a small mirror if you have one, but you know you love citroëns really, keep it up and stay safe...

[@timleech]

Same issue with my marina, ordered a new cable...wasn’t correct. Turned out it had popped off at the back of the speedo! Cable tied it back on and 12 months later it still works! Hazar!

[@iankirk2266]

Brilliant ! So satisfying when you can fix these problems without needing new parts or spending money 😄👍well done !

[@Zeem4]

That reminded me of when I recently changed the heater blower resistor and plug in my Grand Scénic, including the lines imprinted into my arm. The resistor pack on the non-climate control RHD versions is accessed by removing the small shelf thing to the right of the instrument panel and forcing your arm into the gap. The official way is to take the whole top off the dashboard, which I wasn't going to do. I did end up having to remove the centre of the dashboard, the radio and the glove box to get the new wiring to the fan motor connected. But now I can use settings 2 and 4 on the fan, which is pure luxury (or it will be when I eventually get an MoT on the car). I'll carry on working on it when Euro Car Parts deliver the rear discs, pads and tools that I ordered. I've been waiting three weeks so far. I understand that they're busy though - I wonder how much of that is people like me with "project" cars that they've now got time to work on!

[@macgvrs]

It occurs to me that there is a lesson here. Check from the end that you have the easiest access to first. This is a reminder to self. Hopefully self remembers that. Don't know how many times I have created problems for myself by not thinking of things like that which would save me grief. I have never enjoyed removing the speedometer or the dash when it involves disconnecting the speedometer. They never give you enough length of cable. It does occur to me that removing the transmission end, on cars where that would help, would be a very smart thing to do. That thought struck me as you were fighting with yours. I know it won't help you but many old American cars simply use a rubber boot to seal the cable which means you could disconnect the transmission end and get more length. Not sure why I didn't think of that years ago. I have an old car that I had to remove the dash from and I was dreading putting it back together because of that annoying speedometer cable. I now know that I can make my life easier when it comes time to put that back together. Thanks for your video. It inspired a very helpful idea for me. Others probably have been doing that for years but I can be a bit dense sometimes.

[@Anthonybush83]

Thanks for keeping up with the content, I am ensuring I allow the adverts to run (unless they are ridiculous 3 minute plus) hoping it helps you get paid to keep up with the content. Stay safe.

[@paulrandles5249]

Been there did that, in about1988, I can still feel the pain. I paid a garage to change the pads.

[@g.uu.]

At last, a bit of tinkering with Hubnut ingenuity, happy days.

[@660einzylinder]

Reminds me of changing Renault 5 starter motors, if I remember correctly it went something like this. Remove air cleaner, carb, various cables fuel lines, disconnect exhaust, remove manifolds and engine mounting bracket. Now you can see the starter motor you may use odd shaped spanners to remove it. After refitting the starter and all the other parts you will A) have a very short fuse, B) an exhaust that rattles on the inner wing, C) very little of the working day left and D) not much skin on your knuckles.

[@qrm8772]

Glad you figured it out. If you don't have to swear it's not a repair. Honestly you might be spoiled by the simplicity of the 2 cv

[@DavinaTheWeena]

Always the way, you work it out much later afterwards - often a fresher mind

[@grayfool]

Oh yes! GSA greasy bits. Seeing that engine gave me flashbacks to my Ami Super. Now that's a car I bet you don't see too often now? Yet another one I should not have sold. DOH!

[@timbre7999]

Having owned a big Citroën with Hydractive suspension, I can say that the sometimes frustratingly illogical design and construction can drive anyone bonkers. but when all is well, they are great fun.

[@alanlansdell7533]

Love the headlining perforation design.

[@obelic71]

Repairing old Citroens is always a masochistic thing. Swearing in french or any other language helps alot. On the other side nothing beats the magic carpet ride of a citroen 😁

[@carlfrizell2849]

The ignition light flickering could be down to that oil leaking onto the alternator and may resolve itself with use unless you get it off and clean it all off

[@HubNut]

Maybe, but I suspect there's an electrical gremlin somewhere.

[@nt004b9392]

I actually spit my tea out laughing at that innuendo Ian love it!

[@GPOTOM]

Top tip for sticking your arm through uncomfortable openings: take a piece of rubber or soft plastic hose (like fuel hose), cut to length to match the diameter of the opening, slice along it lengthways, then press it over the sharp edges around the opening. You might need to secure it with some tape to stop it popping off while working. Your hands and arms will thank you!

[@butterfliesandtape]

same components (different layout) as on our old BX 16 RS. Love the drum speedo! Non-self-canccelling indicators, not so much....

[@mainwarc]

Nice to see tinkering taking place

[@darrenwilson8042]

My GS was never an issue to work on...then again I had access to Martin a Citroen trained mobile mechanic who charged very reasonable reates.

[@MapleMarmite]

Satisfying result to that job! I like the interior on that GSA, even if it is a bit of a pic’n mix of seats (at least I think you said it was not as per the factory) and trim. The only bit I’m not so keen on is the almost white that the door cards and console has been painted. Think you might ever change that? Darker brown like the dash would be my choice, I think.

[@daniellee9015]

Brilliant Citroen haha missed your tinkering your the best ian

[@shaunw9270]

Wales seems much more strict than England with this policing the lockdown thing. Nice to see some tinkering Ian 👍

[@giannisantypas9316]

Did yoy know? In the GS, the sister car and predecessor of the GSA, the speedometer's rotating drum is tinted differently according to the speed, to remind you when you are supposed to change gear.

[@rjft7003]

Actually was yellow, green, orange and ending with a red stripe to show the approximate petrol consumption. The very end was eventually such a high consumption that even a Sheikh would complain directly to Citroen's management... 😄

[@giannisantypas9316]

@@rjft7003 Having owned the GS I had read in the owner's manual that the purpose was a reminder for changing gears, and I confirm it was almost like that: yellow > green > yellow > orange > orange with a red stripe (unattainable :D ) A very interesting disassembly video on the rotating drum is here kzbin.info/www/bejne/sH2sqI15gLZ1Z8U

[@Kenny_P_abz]

Nice to see this come through at lunchtime

[@twobob8585]

Had the same problem with my 88 AX GT, ended up buying a new cable which didn't fix the problem and then a whole new instrument cluster, which again didn't fix the problem. I loved that car but had to sell it because it had so many electrical problems.

[@aldman]

"Fromage frais" = Fresh cheeze

[@markriches6400]

You fixed the speedometer issue. Now you need to fix your alternator as the battery light is on with the engine running.

[@HubNut]

It's a hoax. It's charging fine.

[@CauliflowerMcPugg]

Hooray tinkering! Your pain our gain, well our entertainment 😁. Good old cable ties what would we do without them.

[@robinwells8879]

Vintage Hubnut. Citroen GS. How deliciously fromage fraise. This is my statement for the week for all things French engineering.

[@martinnorth2680]

Glad it's working! Ps a bit of string attached to old cable when you pull through blind spaces let's you pull it back again a bit easier.

[@ianstewartorr8455]

I’m glad it’s sorted good luck with DHL

[@exidy2290]

Inboard brakes and oil leaks, not a great combination. What's more, the inboards tend to run a tad hotter because of airflow issues. Cooks up the seals a treat. They do reduce the unsprung weight however and that's a benefit to handling.

[@ginggur17]

Result, well done.

[@Adam_T]

Great to see HubNut tinkering again ........ Great work .... has a bulb failed in the Rev counter (it`s dimmer than the Speedo)

[@grahampeters6609]

Looks like a good day and a good result

[@kim007250]

Deep Joy, been there done that when that Springy thing springs into the dark depths of the engine bay

[@sonofjak1971]

The tinkering has cheered me up!