I am in the process of fixing my 1997 Uno 999 FIRE. About 2 months ago I drove into a concrete pillar in the work car park, damaging the left front indicator, body panel, and causing a road-speed related vibration in the drive train. I did a very poor panel-beating job on the left front body part, just so it keeps the indicator and headlight in place.

I use the car to travel from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and back most week days for work (165 km round trip). I am driving my wife's 2005 Citroën Xsara Picasso 2.0 HDi now, but I feel more comfortable in the Uno in the city.

Last week I decided it was time and started the process of fixing the Uno so I can drive it again. I initially thought it will be necessary to remove the gearbox from the start, but after some deliberation decided to start with the drive shafts.

It took some time to find information on my Uno's drive shaft layout. It is "dry", being a cup with tripode in grease, separate from the gearbox oil. I eventually found some information on the forum, after which I joined.

The left hand drive shaft's tripode elements were loose and it had lost some of the pin bearings. I removed it and it has been completely refurbished with new boots.

The right hand drive shaft was fine but had almost no grease in the boot. The outer CV joint has been repacked and has a new boot on. The inner CV joint will be completed tomorrow by the shop's people because I could not remove the cup from the gearbox, no matter what I tried. I want to get a tool made for future that will look like a tie rod end splitter but with a wider Y neck to fit the cup. Has anyone seen a tool for this?

The shop gave me grease and I tried to fit the boot to the cup, but was unsuccessful. Does anyone know this technique?

Tomorrow I will find out if the left drive shaft was the only problem or not.

Wonderful what a few hours of sleep will do. I remembered the technique to get the drive shaft boot onto the cup is described in my Haynes manual, so now I do'nt have to drive the Uno to the shop with a loose boot!

What was the technique you used?

(just in case anyone has the same problem and finds this thread, they will also know what to do)

The boot is new so it is a little tight. It is also slippery from the new grease, so some effort is still required, but it works. You roll the first fold of the boot back on itself, and then roll it back onto the cup.

I tried the technique used to fit a bicycle tyre, but there is not enough space to work, and the boot may be damaged by the tool used to force it onto the cup.

The Uno is running well now. The vibration was caused by the left hand drive shaft inner CV joint's tripode being damaged.

I will be servicing the Uno on the week-end and applying new material for the sump gasket, and adding new material to the tappet cover gasket, to stop some annoying oil leaks.

After that it's the bodywork and left front indicator's turn, and after that I want to fit an anti-roll bar.

Good work on the inner CV joint (typically called the 'tripode' joint as you said, since CV joint tends to refer to the 'balls' (Rzeppa) type). I remember the horrible shaking caused by a failed tripode joint in an Uno I drove once. Driveshafts are always worth checking for any speed-related shaking (after buckled wheels are ruled out). Just think what might have developed if you hadn't found the problem and the joint had broken up...

The sump on the FIRE engine doesn't have a gasket at all. Before you re-do the sealant (which requires removal of the exhaust downpipes - potentially more problems with sheared studs), can I suggest you fix the (easier) valve cover leak first, because I have learned the hard way that a sump leak is often not actually a leak at all and simply oil running down the engine (perhaps at the gearbox end from the distributor O-ring) and then running around the sump flange, and dripping off. Oil runs a long way on a hot surface, especially if the block is clean. It looks for all the world like a leak from the sump flange, but is actually not I've replaced two sump gaskets on other engines over the years, and both times totally unnecessarily. You'd think I'd learn from my mistake

Well, I have learned - now I start fixing leaks at the top and work my way down... And as for the cam cover gasket, it is actually a rubber seal. I could be wrong but I think you will find a new rubber seal more effective than adding sealant to an old (possibly hardened and cracked) rubber seal That only works if you can get it super-clean, absolutely degreased... and even then, I've had it fail a couple of times. A new seal works every time and is not expensive...

As for straightening the damage to the front corner, you'd be surprised what a few pieces of four-by-two (wood) can do, using a short plank as the fulcrum and a long plank to lever the panel back into shape. It's a good sign when the indicator/headlight fits correctly. A bit of filler and paint will sort out the rest. Probably best to take the bumper off and make sure the crossmember behind is not buckled - if so, might be best to pull it straight (chains etc.) so that it does its job properly in the future.

You have my sympathy about the damage inflicted in a moment of inattention - I think we've all been there. The night I bought my Uno Turbo, I drove over an unseen short wooden post and caused hours of work.

Glad to hear you've got your Uno safely and properly back on the road... I'm sure it will be useful when the Citroen is in for an expensive service

-Alex