Normally to do deflection testing, 3 corners of the frame are fixed to stands which, in turn,  are bolted to the concrete floor. Focer is applied to the free corner  by a hydraulic ram with a pressure gauge,  deflection is measured with a dial gauge, and calculations are used to convert the results  into lbs-ft of torque per degree of deflection.  Here is a rough idea of what the test set-up  looks like.

However, my garage floor is in poor shape and weak, and I am not prepared to drill holes in it to bolt things to, nor have I a hydraulic ram.  Any stands I have are too weak to take that kind of load.  I had a plan to measure the deflection of the frame across corners but it was half-baked so I called on Bob for  advice – and it is a very good thing I did.  Had I  gone with my original plan, the results would have been unusable. Here is my original scheme.

Bob helped me realize that the stands would probably compress enough to wreck the readings and that there would be no practical way to mount the dial guage on the floor without it wobbling and giving an inaccurate reading.

Bob hit on the idea of using a laser pointer instead of a dial gauge. We  were originally going to point it at lines on the wall but that would not help us because the stands would compress or wobble and throw the reading off.

After throwing around a few ideas we came up with pointing the laser at a target on a post stuck out from the frame, like this. With this scheme, we would be measuring deflection of the frame relative to itself and not through the intermediary of stands. No requirements to bolt anything to the floor either!

Bob then pointed out that the frame rails would twist and throw the laser high like this, but we needed to ensure that the laser remained unaffected by the twist of the frame rails.

So we finally came up with placing the laser at the neutral axis and modifying the attachment point for the target that held the post.  The scheme isn’t 100% perfect but it should give us a value that is usable.

I have done some rough calculations to figure out how far up the target the laser beam would move up the target just to make give us an idea if our plan will give us sufficient movement of the laser beam up the target I knew that trig I took in high school might actually come in handy some day.

Distance of frame rail from the neutral axis. 19″

Length of pointer arm relative to neutral axis 89″

Vertical movement of frame rail when torque of 1200 lbs-ft is applied to the frame.

Movement of laser beam relative to target

That was one of the few other 2CVs that I have driven at length, and I immediately noticed that the steering felt quite differerent.  It was very precise, very direct, and the steering wheel was “quiet” in my hands, even over rough or irregular roads.

When I got home, I was no longer satisfied with the way my car drove.  It was vague on-centre, but not too bad once it took a set through a corner.  The car did not like rough roads, and kicked back through the steering wheel.  Through the fall, I made some half-hearted attempts to locate the source of the problem, but was still wondering about it when the car had to go into storage.

This spring, my wife was planning a trip back home to France, so I saw the opportunity to have her pick up some parts from a supplier I met at Salbris, who has a store in Orléans.  All I need to do was figure out what parts I needed.

Thus began a serious analysis of the problem.  Having worked on many types of cars over many years, usually I am fairly good at narrowing down a problem like this.  I started with the basics, by removing the front fenders so I could get a good look at things.

Before I go on, I’ll provide a quick overview of steering on a 2CV:

• The steering wheel is bolted to the steering column.  This steering column engages via splines into the pinion of the steering rack.  Thus, turning the steering wheel rotates the pinion, which in turn moves the rack to the left or the right.  Still with me? Good.
• The steering rack moves a central carrier that has two spherical projections.  To each projection is attached the inner tie-rod end, one left and one right.  These inner tie-rod ends are the inboard ends of the two steering arms, which extend out to the front wheels.  At the outboard end of  each steering arm, there is the outer tie-rod end which connects to another spherical ball on the end of a lever attached to each of the front uprights.
• The uprights can swivel (steer) to the left or right due to the presence of the famous kingpins.
• Lastly the wheels are attached to the upright through a wheel bearing.
• Any of these elements can wear out and develop play, which will translate to some sort of steering problem.

OK, lesson over and let’s get back to our story.

First I wiggled the steering wheel left and right, to look for slack in the response of the tires.  To my surprise, no matter how little I moved the steering wheel, I could see both front tires responding.  Normally, this would mean that there is no play in the pinion, the rack, or the inner and outer tie-rod ends.

Nonetheless, I proceeded to check the tie-rod ends.  You do this by wrapping your bare hand completely around each tie-rod end in turn, then then getting someone to wiggle the steering wheel.  If there is play, you will feel a very slight movement in at the point that the tie-rod end fits over the spherical ball.  There was no play at any of the tie-rod ends.  Hmmmmm.

OK, well let’s check the rack for play.  You can do this in two directions.  First, you can move the steering wheel very slightly and observe the central carrier.  It should move in perfect unison with the steering wheel.  And so it did.  The other option is to grab a front road wheel and wiggle it as if it was steering.  This will push and pull on the steering arms, which are connected to the central carrier (remember?).  Sometimes this reverse loading will reveal play that is not evident from the steering wheel method.  But not in this case.  The central carrier did show a wee bit of up and down movement (which is generally OK), but nothing from side to side which is what would be perceived as sloppy steering.

In fact, during that reverse loading from the road wheels (I did both sides), it was clear that the steering wheel was reacting directly to the small movement imparted into the rack, and hence to the pinion, through the splines and up the steering column.

This was getting really weird!

Not having ever owned another car with kingpins, I did not really know if or how play in the kingpins might translate to steering feel.  Nevertheless, I checked both kingpins.  You can do this by putting a jack under the big front suspension arm (no, not the steering arm!) to raise the road wheel off the ground.  Then you grab the tire at the 12 and 6 position (top and bottom, think of a clock) and try to wiggle it in and out towards the engine.  There will always be a very small amount of play, since it is necessary to allow the wheel to steer.  I was  looking for a real “clunk clunk” kind of action.  Once side was pretty much perfect,  the other was a bit looser, but not alarmingly so.  Still no bingo moment.

While I had each wheel jacked up, I also checked for play in the wheel bearings.  You do this in a fashion similar to checking for king pin play, except that you grab the tire at the 9 and 3 positions (remember the clock analogy) or possibly at 10 and 4, to make it easier to exclude steering movement.  I found a little play on one side, and none on the other.

So, what did I have so far?  Well, no play in the steering mechanism itself, but a small amount of play in one king pin, and a similarly small amount of play in the opposite wheel bearing.  This was just not adding up.  And so far I had no list of parts that needed replacing.

One of the luxuries of having a Collector’s Car is that you don’t HAVE to repair everything on any given day.  So, I decided to let the facts stew, and also to consult local member Terry H, who has a deeper history in older automotive technology.

Terry came over, and he drove the car, agreeing that something was indeed amiss.  We then repeated pretty much every check that I have described above, thinking that a second set of eyes might spot something I had missed.  To Terry’s point of view neither the king pin play nor the wheel bearing play was enough to explain the car’s behaviour.

At one point, we were rocking the car from side to side and heard an odd clunking sound.  Now we started to wonder about things like the huge bearings that connect the big suspension arms to the traverse.  That would be a pretty weird source for what we were feeling, but we didn’t have any better ideas, so we jacked up under the chassis on one side to let the suspension arm droop all the way down.

Once it was up, we were trying to figure out how to test the arm bearings for play.  While we were discussing this, I absentmindedly grabbed the tire that was up in the air and wiggled it, watching the various elements of the steering system without really thinking about it.  Suddenly, I snapped to attention!  Although the steering arms and the rack were reacting as expected to small inputs, I could not see the steering wheel responding.  What the heck….?

Terry and I were now both focused on this new development.  Sure enough, with the suspension loaded up on one side (due to the other side being jacked up) there now was definite play at the steering wheel.  With renewed zeal we both started peering into the darkness around the pinion and the bottom of the steering column.  To our amazement, we could perceive a tiny amount of movement between the steering column and its socket at the pinion.

Using the bare hand technique described above (for detecting play in the tie-rod ends), I was able to confirm that the steering column was very slightly loose in its connection to the pinion.  The splines on the steering column once engaged in the pinion are secured with a clamp and a pinch bolt.   Further investigation showed that the pinch bolt was not quite tight.  Could it possibly be that simple?

Grabbing my torque wrench, I quickly tightened the suspect bolt to the required 13 lb/ft.  Sure enough, the steering wheel now obediently followed every input from the road wheel.

We lowered the car off the jack, and took it for a quick drive (without fenders!).  The change was immediately noticeable.  No more sloppy on centre feel.  Hooray!  High Fives all around.

So, why did it take us so long to figure this out?  Here is how I see it.  The pinch bolt was only very slightly loose.  When the car was stationary in the garage, there was enough tension that small movements of the steering wheel could be transmitted perfectly well.  That was why I could not detect any play with those tiny inputs.  However, when the car was driving, and the tires were under load from road traction, cornering forces, and engine power, the clamp would flex slightly, and allow the splines to move very slightly where they insert into the pinion.  It would be especially noticeable in a transition from a left turn to a right turn.   It also would be felt if a wheel hit a pothole, since there would be a sudden and sharp loading through the clamp.  That was the kickback that I was feeling under those conditions.

So, tightening one slightly loose bolt was able to restore the pleasure of driving this 2CV.  Once again the car has given me a lesson in simplicity.

Oh, and the only part I decided to buy was a new pinch bolt, just in case the nut or the threads on the original are damaged.  I think it cost me $5.

The brake problem was a lingering hangover from when I replaced the master cylinder in 2010.  Since that time, I had not been able to get the right feel in the brake pedal.  The car stopped just fine, but the pedal was inconsistent.  The first push would always be a little “long”.  A second push brought the pedal right up, but would only stay that way for a few seconds between uses.

I had chosen to install the master cylinder without bench bleeding.  Bench bleeding is a technique that fills the body of the new master cylinder with fluid before installing it in the car.  In the case of a 2CV, installing the master cylinder has to be done from inside the car, already fitted to the full pedal assembly.  If the master cylinder is already full of fluid, that job can be really messy.

So, for a season and a half, I had been assuming that the pedal problem was due to air trapped somewhere in the brake system.  I got really good at bleeding the wheel cylinders, which I did at least three times each year, allowing time in between for furtive bubbles to make their mysterious ways along the brake lines to the wheel cylinders.  Each time, I was sure that I got the last bubble, and all would be well.  Alas, it was never true, and I just became very adept at pumping the brake pedal twice when I used them.

This spring, I consulted the community of experts on the Yahoo Groups site for 2CV topics (2CV-L).  Many suggestions were made, including a technique for reverse bleeding (pushing brake fluid into the system from the wheel cylinders).  However, the most common recommendation was to adjust the brake shoe eccentrics.  These adjusters move the brake shoes closer to the drum to compensate for wear.  As a result, the master cylinder does not have to move so much fluid to cause the brakes to come on.

My car has four drum brakes, so both ends have eccentrics and there are two per wheel, for a total of eight.  Since I had adjusted the front brakes only 8,000 km earlier, I figured that the rears were the most likely suspects.  Unfortunately, 2CV adjusters are infamous for seizing over time, and the rears can be awkward to access from underneath.  So, with the help of Terry H I removed my rear fenders, for the first time since I bought the car 12 years ago.  To my great pleasure, all the fastenings came off, and soon the car was sitting with naked haunches.

The next step was to apply liberal amounts of penetrating oil and patience.  Both of these are indispensable tools for a home-based mechanic.  Each time I applied the penetrating oil,  I also firmly but gently pulled and pushed with a wrench on each adjuster.  This gentle stress has the effect of creating micro-cracks in any accumulated rust and corrosion, allowing the penetrating oil to seep deeper and deeper into the joints to do its magic work.

After several rounds of “soak and wait”, I got serious and started trying to actually move the adjusters.  Having heard that these beast can be very fragile, and knowing that the consequences of breaking one would be to have to dismantle the rear drums, I took my time, and rotated my efforts around each of the four adjusters.  Each time, I would increase the torque I was applying, always worried that I would hear the “snap!” that tells you that you have broken off the bolt.

To my complete joy, with a sharp crack one of the adjusters finally moved.  I squirted in yet more penetrating oil, and began to work the wrench forward and backward.  Each cycle freed up the adjuster more and more.  I continued around the four adjusters until all of them were free.  Hooray!

Now Terry and I began the adjusting process, one of us spinning the tire as the other progressively moved the brake shoe outwards towards the drum, until contact was made.  Then you have to back the adjuster off to free the wheel, and finish by again adjusting outward until just before the shoe would contact the drum.  It is very important always to finish with an outward adjustment, not a backing off.

Surprisingly, three of the adjuster required barely 1/16 of a turn, and the fourth barely 1/8 of a turn.  Nonetheless, I hopped into the driver’s seat and confidently pushed the brake pedal.  No improvement! Dang!

Dejectedly, we replaced the rear fenders and lowered the car to the ground.  We were out of ideas.

Later in the week, as I was driving the car, it occurred to me that the parking brake had been becoming less and less effective over time.  In thinking about that, I started to put two and two together.  The parking brake on a 2CV works on the front brakes, by pulling the brake shoes into contact with the drums by means of a cable.  Since I was now running out of travel on the parking brake handle before the shoes started to touch the drums, maybe in fact the shoes were out of adjustment, despite having been set only 8,000 km ago.  What the hell, it was the last possibility I could think of, no matter how remote the chances.

I returned to the garage and grabbed the only wrench that will fit on the front adjusters: a 14 mm open ended wrench, not the ideal weapon to avoid rounding the bolts.  With the help of my son Scott, but without much hope, I started the process of  adjustment, using the open-ended wrench and a piece of square tubing for leverage.  Happily, these adjusters moved quite easily.  Much to my surprise, the adjustment required was much greater than for the rears.  Each of the four needed nearly 1/4 turn of adjustment.

With great trepidation, I slid into the driver’s seat, and pushed the pedal.  It was firm, short, and consistent.  Hallelujah!

With that, a two-year story came to an end.  The moral is never overlook the simple adjustments, and don’t make assumptions.  These are wonderfully simple cars, and the answers to problems usually are just as simple.

Recently I offered to help a local member diagnose an electrical problem on his 2CV.  After a few test with a multimeter, I determined that the alternator was not charging the battery.  On further investigation, one of the wires leading to the alternator was found to show signs of heat damage, although it was still carrying current.  To me, this was not the problem, but rather was just a symptom.

I continued my investigation by tracing the wiring harness back from the alternator towards the battery.  What I found was chilling.  It appears that the harness had come loose from the brackets that normally hold it in position.  This allowed it to flop down onto the hot exhaust manifold.  One wire must have burned through, and shorted.  The resulting heat in that wire then overheated and melted the rest of the harness in a cascade of shorts.  One of those shorts also damaged the alternator.

So, the immediate result is that the wiring harness needs to be repaired or replaced, as well as the alternator (I hope it is just a diode that has been damaged).  It may have been just luck that the car itself did not catch fire during this event.  Fires like this can happen even when the car is parked and unattended.  It just depends when the wire melts.  The older wiring on our cars also increases the risk of shorts.

So, what if the car had been parked in the garage at the time?  The result could have been a catastrophic fire.  Sadly, it happens more often than we might think.

But you can prevent this scenario for only $10, by installing and using a battery cutoff switch.

These useful devices are easily installed on the negative terminal of the battery.  When you leave the car in the garage, all you have to do is lift the engine hood, and give the green knob a twist.  This disconnects the battery from the electrical circuit, so that a short cannot cause a fire.  The next time you want to use the car, just twist the green knob the other direction.

Here is view of the battery in my 2CV6, with the switch installed, as well as a close-up of the switch itself.

Installing a switch like this is as easy as connecting the battery cable to the post.  Just remember that it goes on the negative post.  It will not fit on the larger positive post.

You can get these switches for $10 Cdn or less.  Here is a link to one at Princess Auto.

Isn’t you house worth it?

One of our favourite events is back this year:  the 2CV Méchoui at Michel and Danielle’s home in Vaudreuil sur le Lac, near Montréal.

Our club will organize a convoy, most likely from Winchester, leaving at mid-morning on Saturday May 26.  It is about a 2 hour drive.

Here are the details, translated from Danielle’s posting on the Forum 2CV Québec:

———————————————————————————————————————————-

The traditional méchoui is back this year.  It will be held Saturday May 26 at 26 Rue des Erables, Vaudreuil sur le Lac

There is plenty of space for anyone who wants to camp overnight.

This year there will be two possible activities on Saturday afternoon:

• a short drive, details to be provided closer to the date of the event
• or you can stay put and participate in the community-wide garage sale, even set up your own stand on the  lawn

In the evening, dinner will include:

• Traditional Méchoui – BBQ of beef, lamb and pork
• Salads and bread
• coffee
• and good times for all

Don’t forget to bring your picnic tables and chairs, and your choice of beverage.

A small charge of $20 per person will help offset the costs.

Please confirm your attendance by contacting Michel or Danielle by e-mail to  mdl2cv@yahoo.ca or by phoning 450-455-7624.

See you all soon,

Michel and Danielle

Frankly, I am amazed that this plate was not already taken.  All the other 2CV owners must be kicking themselves.  Congratulations to Ian.

• 9:30-10:15 – gather for coffee and croissants at the French Café in Manotick, starting at 9:30 a.m. (Google Maps here)
• 10:15 – Drive to Brockville, via Smiths Falls and Highway 29
• 11:30 (approx) – arrive for tour of Fulford Place (more info click  here)
• 1:00-2:30 Lunch, possibly at Bud’s Place (Google Maps and info here)

(Other suggestions are welcome. Discuss with Jim)

We have seven cars registered so far for this event.  You still have time to get your car out of storage!

If you are interested, please let Jim McC know you are attending, by phone or e-mail before April 26:

613 six nine two 2227

1984deuxchevaux (at)  gmail.com       – replace (at) with @