The "Special Tool" thread

I came across these-------I reckon that they are a must for Citroen D CX ang GS wiring loom repairs. They make a professional job of crimping those annoying little 6.3mm female blade connectors that always seem to break off. It is then possible to use the correct plastic insulator cover for the terminal!
3 9mm Bullet 6 3mm Terminals NON Insulated Crimp Cutter Crimping Hand Tool T110 | eBay This is the crimping tool.
And these are the offending terminals:-
20 PCS Brass Female Spade Cable Terminals FOR 6 3mm Connectors | eBay
Notice how inexpensive they are!
 
My take on a pump dismantler

Having been inspired by Roger's effort a page or two back, I thought it was time I tackled the task of creating a hydraulic pump dismantling tool myself. Part of the motivation was to do something creative, the other part is to begin refurbishing the spare pump for Moby.

A brief description of why this is needed may be in order. To gain access to the insides of the 7 cylinder DS type pump it's necessary to remove the outer cover, which is pressed over the main pump body and sealed with an O ring. To remove it one has to push it away from the pump body by the flange formed at the pump end. To do this you either need a Citroen special tool, or one of these created yourself. Any means of doing this will require a means of (1) attaching a tool to the pump body and (2) pushing against the flange of the cover forcing it gently outwards and off the seal. In the best Haynes tradition, "Reassembly is the reversal of removal" or so I hope. I knew what I had to achieve, had a picture of Roger's creation using a Mini flywheel puller to work from and a yen for creativity.

Scrounging around in the scrap bin I found I had a pair of round plates, about 12mm thick, which appear to be flange caps of some kind, perhaps for steam pipe. Not sure where they came from but they're the perfect basis for this job.

The bolts that hold the pump together, as has been mentioned, are M8 1mm pitch thread, so I hit the local engineering supplier for a few to work with. I elected to go with 3/8 whitworth for the pulling studs as that was the thread on the long coach bolts I had handy. Cutting off about 80mm or so and welding the M8 bolts on was relatively easy. I used the drill stand as a jig and made a sleeve to be held in the flat vyce. This meant I could weld a bead, then rotate the whole assembly through 180deg to balance the weld. Ended up with three almost straight studs with M8/1.0mm one end and 3/8 whitworth the other, with a 13mm hex in the middle, just because I could.

I used a bit of cardboard to make a template for the pulling holes, and also marked the area where the mounting of the pump masked the cover from the tool. Bolting the two plates together resulted in a lot of drilling swarf all over the bench but a pair of plates with matching 10mm hole sets. I chose 10mm to give me a bit of wiggle factor if my fabrication was a bit off. Drilling and tapping the centre hole of the "puller plate" was straightforward, as was selecting a suitable centre bolt and grinding a shallow point on it for location in the pusher plate.

After measuring the diameter of the pump body at 96mm the hunt was on to find a bit of pipe that was close in diameter. Wouldn't you know that the only bit I could find that would do the job was too short (only about 55mm) to allow the "pushing plate" to move far enough without fouling on the centre shaft. My solution was to use another bit of smaller diameter pipe that was 75mm high and cut three sections out of it. Judicious hammering on a lump of old railway line resulted in a close match to the right curve. Marking a 96mm diameter circle on the pusher plate with the lathe made it easy to locate the cleaned and matched curve sections to the plate using the bench vyce for a welding jig.

Last night saw me get it all welded up and tested. As you'll see from the photos, it was immediately successful. I'm a happy and fulfilled little camper!

The bonus, when I get to it, is the the puller plate will also serve to press out the centre spindle from the bearing, as well as providing a stable platform (with the 3/8 nuts on the "inside") for when I press the cover back on eventually. The last task will be to carve a bowl in a lump of wood to "cup" the top of the cover neatly in the press. I might even paint the tool yet, just to be a bit posh.

I hope the photos tell the story. This sort of fabrication is one of the more enjoyable parts of playing with old cars I reckon!

Cheers, Pottsy

PS. I know the bench is untidy, just impatient to try it out. It'll all be clinically clean before I start dismantling in earnest, I promise Richo! :)
 

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gerrypro said:
I came across these-------I reckon that they are a must for Citroen D CX ang GS wiring loom repairs. They make a professional job of crimping those annoying little 6.3mm female blade connectors that always seem to break off. It is then possible to use the correct plastic insulator cover for the terminal!
3 9mm Bullet 6 3mm Terminals NON Insulated Crimp Cutter Crimping Hand Tool T110 | eBay This is the crimping tool.
And these are the offending terminals:-
20 PCS Brass Female Spade Cable Terminals FOR 6 3mm Connectors | eBay
Notice how inexpensive they are!
Click to expand...

Definitely worth having in the tool box. A caution, though: they'll crimp the non-factory reproduction pins and the newer tinned factory pins ok, but not the older factory 3 & 4mm. The brass is simply too thick on the 4mm, and the small crimp wings on the 3mm can be a problem. They'll do a decent job on the 1/4"/6.3mm spades. I would recommend a drop of solder once you finish your crimp.

Yes, I do have a similar set. I even use them.
 
gerrypro said:
I came across these-------I reckon that they are a must for Citroen D CX ang GS wiring loom repairs. They make a professional job of crimping those annoying little 6.3mm female blade connectors that always seem to break off. It is then possible to use the correct plastic insulator cover for the terminal!
3 9mm Bullet 6 3mm Terminals NON Insulated Crimp Cutter Crimping Hand Tool T110 | eBay This is the crimping tool.
And these are the offending terminals:-
20 PCS Brass Female Spade Cable Terminals FOR 6 3mm Connectors | eBay
Notice how inexpensive they are!
Click to expand...

Yeah I have a set of similar crimpers. There ok, but I'd still prefer to solder the crimps as well. brass terminals are cheap.... probably best bought by the bag of 100. I used to have book marked a good site int he UK for ordering in a nice variety of different sized (useful) crimp on brass terminals. I've lost the bookmark now though :( .... And nearly used all the stuff I bought last time around. It's good to have a variety of ring terminals as well as spades, in a variety of wire sizes.
 
pottsy said:
I hope the photos tell the story. This sort of fabrication is one of the more enjoyable parts of playing with old cars I reckon!

Cheers, Pottsy

PS. I know the bench is untidy, just impatient to try it out. It'll all be clinically clean before I start dismantling in earnest, I promise Richo! :)
Click to expand...

Ray you might enjoy this video, the bench is on par with yours and the creativity certainly is - don't try this at home :eek:



Cheers
Chris
 
DoubleChevron said:
Yeah I have a set of similar crimpers. There ok, but I'd still prefer to solder the crimps as well. brass terminals are cheap.... probably best bought by the bag of 100. I used to have book marked a good site int he UK for ordering in a nice variety of different sized (useful) crimp on brass terminals. I've lost the bookmark now though :( .... And nearly used all the stuff I bought last time around. It's good to have a variety of ring terminals as well as spades, in a variety of wire sizes.
Click to expand...

I'll have to poke a bit, but I have a list of 'electrical' bookmarks as long as the driveway. A number of them are UK and Oz. I'll dig some of that stuff up for ya.
 
Chris. Would've saved me a lot of work.

I've read about using a grease gun full of oil to do the same thing and even contemplated it. In my photos you may notice the outlet hole is plugged with a wheel stud (same thread) but I chickened out on making a big mess.

That's actually quite an inspired method, but I think I might have used a bit less pressure!

Cheers, Pottsy
 
GreenBlood said:
Ray you might enjoy this video, the bench is on par with yours and the creativity certainly is - don't try this at home :eek:



Cheers
Chris
Click to expand...

I want to see a video of his first effort .... the one where he learnt to wrap the pump in a plastic bag :roflmao:
 
OK, Shane, as promised:

Home: Ashdown Ingram You should know this site.
Farnell element14 | Electronic Component Distributors like Radio Shack on steroids. There is an Oz page.
Body Shop Supplies | Automotive Chemicals, Fasteners, Hand Tools & Electrical Supplies I know there is an Oz-specific page, just don't know what it is
Winzer Corporation Based in the US, but the quality is good and the prices reasonable
Vintage Wiring Harness - Accessories Mostly complete harnesses, but this particular page is all sorts of bits and bobs
Vehicle Wiring Products Ltd. Suppliers of auto electrical parts. Based in the UK. Giant selection of parts.
Nedco Electronics is a nationwide distributor of electronic and electro-mechanical components Another based in the US, worth a look.
Happy Terminals These guys carry GM/Packard, which is some of the best quality electrical components in the industry, period.
LARRIKIN PRODUCTS - Cable Ties, Electrical Terminals, Wholesale, Trade, Retail: direct to the public - Category Electrical Terminals + - Another Oz site. This one also might be worth your while.
Welcome to British Wiring - classic British car wiring harnesses and components One of my favorite go-to suppliers. Very good quality, decent prices.
Lucas Replacement Smoke Kit Don't argue, just read it.

I have hella more, but I culled these out with 1/4" spades and other usable terminals in mind.


There- that should keep you occupied until the ADD sets in. :D:cheers:
 
pottsy said:
Chris. Would've saved me a lot of work.

I've read about using a grease gun full of oil to do the same thing and even contemplated it. In my photos you may notice the outlet hole is plugged with a wheel stud (same thread) but I chickened out on making a big mess.

That's actually quite an inspired method, but I think I might have used a bit less pressure!

Cheers, Pottsy
Click to expand...

That's Ok, Pottsy. A genuine redneck would have figured a way to fill it full of butane and light it off in front of his friends, blowing the can 150 feet away and losing only an eyebrow while drinking a beer. :nownow::burnboun::adrink:
 
I always wanted one of these:

strange tool.jpg

If I knew what to do with it, that is......
 
Is this the ultimate Citroen mechanic's tool?
 

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Hotrodelectric said:
That's Ok, Pottsy. A genuine redneck would have figured a way to fill it full of butane and light it off in front of his friends, blowing the can 150 feet away and losing only an eyebrow while drinking a beer. :nownow::burnboun::adrink:
Click to expand...

So, are there videos or photos of when you did this?
 
I found some under Hotelectric (note -without the rod)none of which are fit to link here:nownow::D
 
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