Though I have not owned a Citroen D or GSA for some
time, They have not strayed far from my heart. They
are but a few of the European cars I have owned over the years. I've
had two Saabs and am on my third Volvo. Two Mercedes 240D's have graced
my driveway over the years. All of them were restored or at least
serviced by me.
I started this page when I had the Citroen ID and added information on
GS's when that incredible car came my way. They are
very rare in
the United States because they were never officially imported here.
Eventually I added a section on my most recent car, a 1987 Renault
Alliance convertible. I have made some import restoration discoveries.
I will do my best to
keep you informed on progress. Despite the fact that she
was built less than 100 miles from where I live, in Wisconsin, parts
and service are scarce, so we AMC Renault owners must be inventive!
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My '87
Alliance convertible.
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Renault information
After selling my Citroens, I spent several years with a 2002 Saab
9-5
wagon as my daily driver. For my project car, I chose a white 1987
Mercedes
240D. It was in very good cosmetic condition and was from a road
salt-free state, but it had numerous mechanics issues, which I solved,
one by one. Some time ago, I had a 1974, and was still intrigued by
diesel. Though I enjoyed the car, my love of French cars never
abated.
Many years ago, I had many AMC's. The last one was a black Renault
GTA two door sedan.
It was one of the only cars I ever had that I sped up for the corners.
When I worked for twelve years as an auto tech, many of my customers
had Renaults, and I became quite familiar with their quirks and an
admirer of their frequently ignored strengths. I became the go-to guy
in the area for them.
As with most of the small-volume European
imports,
their greatest issue was lack of technical support. French cars
were also victims of ingrained prejudice. Owning one normally made that
vanish. The only French carmaker to overcome this to any degree in the
United States was Peugeot.
Renault failed, along with AMC.
There is so little web presence for Renault or AMC that finding
something to post is difficult. Eventually I will put up some articles
of my own. I have some great ideas and will be adding them soon.
American Motors has long been treated like a "red headed
stepchild,"
so it is no surprise that almost every car made by them in any
numbers can be found on a "worst car" list. Couple that with the
still-engrained prejudice against French cars and we have the perfect
opportunity for auto writers to have a field day, with no fear of
repercussions. We AMC owners laugh it
off, because we know better. The articles are invariably copied from
each other. There is no way any of these ill-advised "car experts"
have ever even sat in one. Most commonly picked on are the Gremlin, the
Pacer and the Alliance. They sometimes even dredge up the Metropolitan.
Here is one of the more extensively written
ones, called, "Worst Car Wednesday." If you can make it to the end of
the article you can suffer through their "25 worst cars" list. Without
any further ado...
Renault parts manuals and wiring
diagrams
Renault Technical Information
Citroen Information
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I bought this car 1997. It was a
Texas car, brought to Wisconsin and stored for 23 years. Restored,
enjoyed then sold in 2008.
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My
1983 Citroen GSA break, as imported from France in 2009. Sold in 2015.
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Citroen general information: clubs and manuals
- Since the Citroen Club of North America died in 2011, the only
clubs left in the United States are regional. The club that assumed the
largest number of members was Citroen
Club of Canada. I retain my membership there.
- Citroen
Club of
Minnesota. They are a very active and interesting group!
- Wisconsin has CitroWisc. It is not an organized club, but we
gather periodically. For many years, our annual gathering was at Botham
Vineyards near Barneveld, the that show was discontinued. We stay
connected using the CitroWisc email list.
- In the Washington State area is the Northwest
Citoen Owners Club
- San Francisco has two lively clubs, Citroen Car
Club and San
Francisco Citroen Club.
- While Facebook gets a lot of attention, if you want the best
technical advice, email lists are still the way to go. Not only are
they
usually better managed, but the users are more focused and the better
ones have searchable archives. Find out what is happening in the
midwest United States at CitroWisc
email list. This email list originated in Wisconsin, but it covers the
upper midwest, including the Chicago area. The Citroen Club of
Minnesota participates in a lot of our activities.
- I am happy to add links to more clubs. Please contact me. Also looking
for more service and parts sources in North America.
- These other email lists have been around for a long
time. This list is devoted entirely to D models. It's archives go
back into the 90's. For the GS and GSA, there's GSGSA-L.
Looking
for a part? Can't fix it? We can help. See you soon! Click here
for A model
coverage, 2CV
and derivatives. CX
here. Traction
Avant
here.
- List of links to locate
Citroen manuals on the web.
- There were never official American specification car wiring
diagrams. However Mitchell published these in
the 1971 Foreign Car Manual. They are unique because they are in a
completely different style from the factory diagrams. They are not
entirely U.S. Spec. The front lights still have the parking and turn
signal lights as separate bulbs.
- Download GS and GSA manuals
- GS's and GSA's are not common, even in Europe. This is perhaps,
the rarest of them all, the Camargue.
- A list of factory
issued manuals that were available for various Citroëns. Some
of these are linked to files.
- CKC Autoteknik.
An informative
page, with many manuals. Also a source for parts. Multi-lingual, but
located in Denmark.
- A French site with many manuals and other repair-related
documents BK23
Documentations
Citroën
Citroen technical information, parts sources, repair in North
America
- Phil Caron not only fixes
Citroens, but he plays a mean bass! His shop is in Hamden Connecticut
- Dave
Burnham is
locate in Delanson, New York
- Chris Dubuque has
been rebuilding carburetors, hydraulic and electrical
components for a long time. He is located in Seattle, Washington.
- Full service facility in San Diego, California, Citroen Classics.
- Citroen
Andre in the
Netherlands. Premier source for Citroen parts. It was Andre who helped
me import my Citroen GSA.
- List of parts sources and service found here
- Jiint
Nijman's site
has been around for many years and is chock full of technical
information and Citroen history
- Citronet
has a wealth
of information
- An Italian site
- Mostly SM, here
- Technical bulletins contained the latest fixes and parts changes
They also had changes for the model years. At one time, I had the
largest collection of U.S. Spec bulletins in the world. I
scanned them before selling them
Disclaimer: Be
advised that we will not be held reponsible in
any way for the consequences of using any fluids not specified by the
manufacturer. In other words: use any of these suggestions at your own
risk!
- Tony Jackson's Fluid Summary,
a compilation of knowledge on fluids and seals.
- My search for an LHS
substitute. This led to the use of automotive air conditioner oil,
PAG and DOT 3 brake fluid to lieu of increasingly hard to find LHS.
- Everything GS, in Germany.
- The late, Red Dellinger's definitive guide to adjusting
the Citromatic transmission.
- End voltage regulator problems permanently and invisibly in
your
D or SM. Hide a Ford
Regulator inside your existing one
- At last, the mysteries of timing a D using a strobe light are revealed.
- How to properly rebuild a height corrector.
- A factory-issued service bulletin describing proper drain, refill and flush techniques
for LHS cars,
- Coolair installation
instructions
- DS/ID factory shop
interchange
charts for rubber seals with English translation. This chart is in
Dutch. This chart is
in
French.
- A compatibility
chart
for fluid
and rubber types. This was the work of Henry Sheil
- Aiming headlights
without special tools.
- Anatomy of the Citroen
D gas tank.
- John Chassin's famous book, Why Citroen in .pdf format
- Don James' rust
articles.
- Phil Caron has been around D's for a long time. Here is his
article called Rustproofing
a Citroen D Series "the easy way"
- Roof Replacement A
factory bulletin that addresses the most common types of leaks in
bolt-on type roofs.
- Lance Hellman's
fabulous
Kegresse half track model, found by chance in a Massachusetts
antique store.
- HD 19.
This
site is dedicated to the first fluid made expressly for the hydraulic
systems of early D car. In French. It contains the one of the most
completely documented D restorations ever performed. Here is an actual, unused can of HD 19.
- Jint
Nijman's pages, full of
information.
- From Italy: Pomini
Paolo's fascinating site.
- In 1970, a German fellow converted a Citroen D into a boat.
- How did Citroën attain the machining tolerances required
to
make their hydraulic wonders? See
here.
Other information
Copyright 2023 by Mark L. Bardenwerper, Sr. All rights
reserved.
citrogsa@charter.net
Last Modified October 22, 2023