Filling a disc-brake car with the more common DOT brake fluid accelerates O-ring/seal deterioration, and can finish the calipers and brake master cylinder off completely. Tread carefully if the rear brakes require attention, as this is a job is straightforward only if you have access to specialist tools.Ĭars fitted with disc brakes – usually post-’82 – must only ever use LHM (liquide hydraulique minerale). The brakes are unstressed, but will judder and cause the car to pull to one side if in need of replacement. Excessive wandering can sometimes be down to badly corroded suspension mounting points or badly balanced wheels – either will drastically increase tyre wear, too – an obvious clue. Being air-cooled, too, the cooling system needs to be up to scratch, so cars fitted with an electric fan are desirable.Īll 2CVs are almost absurdly softly sprung, so consider this a characteristic rather than a fault. These engines are notorious for oil leaks, not least around the front and rear of the block, often as a result of perished crankshaft seals. – but could also indicate low compression, and therefore an engine in need of imminent work. A persistent misfire can usually be traced back to an electrical problem – check plugs, leads, dynamo, contact breaker points, coil wire, etc. Keep a weather eye out for the usual issues when starting from cold – reluctance to start, lumpy idling, blue or black exhaust smoke – and be sure to take it out on a test-drive. Whichever engine you opt for, however, you’ll be looking at knife-and-fork mechanics, so trouble-shooting should be straightforward. Unless you’ve set your heart on a very early car (or enjoy driving everywhere at walking pace), it’s usually best to stick to the later (1968-on) 602cc models, which develop a dizzying 33bhp (29bhp after 1979). Wherever possible, it’s always a good idea to get a good look at a prospective purchase’s underside – ideally on a service ramp. The seam above the rear wings is a further common rot-spot.ĭon’t dismiss uneven panel gaps as a minor problem, either, since this can be indicative of a terminally corroded frame beneath a superficially tidy body. More serious rust develops in the floor, front and rear bulkheads, around the windscreen and at the base of the A-, B- and C-pillars. Thankfully, parts back-up is exceptional for all models bar the earliest corrugated panel examples, and major items such as the doors, bootlid, bonnet and wings are easily replaced. This was a cheap car built from average steel with negligible factory rust-proofing and no real intention of it lasting much more than a few years, so it’s hardly surprising that these cars can – and do – rust with the best of them.
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