MatraSport Forum

Then I can inform you, that the steering wheel of a Murena 2.2 WILL give up before you break the lock on the steering column !!

I know this because some god damn useless (censored) !! wanted to drive a Murena but didn't care to pay for one.. (or even ask if They could have a try)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/krede/Assholes.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/krede/Asshoels2.jpg)

The poor thing was sitting wounded in the street, waiting patiently for spare parts to arrive (the clutch was gone), and was completely helpless...but in PLAIN sight from my living room window!!

The damage is minor (though I'm not sure that a new steering wheel is available as a sparepart) and my insurance will cover everyting with no bonus loss... but still... I am far beond being pissed off!!!
People who know me will know how much I LOVE this car, and how much time and money I have spend on it (especially recently)... so, that people have such little respect for it.......... sod it!! Im getting a gun!!!       

OH NOOOO !!!!!!!!  >:( :o :'(

You know what I wish to You? To catch that piece of sh*t who made this, if I will, he can be absolutely sure that both his hands will be broken, many times also as his fuc*in head - oooh how much I hate "people" who are doing this!!!

Im pretty sure that If I try to apprehend a car thief, I just end up with a knife in my stomach!! 
No.. I dont want to "catch" the bastards... I want to pick them off from a far using a high powered rifle...!!

I keep my car on the road and dread this happening, I just hope that everything damaged can be repaired/replaced without too much cost, was your car alarmed etc?

Sorry to see that mate. Hope it all works out.
If you get stuck for a steering wheel, I have a spare one you can have on a long-term loan.

I have an alarm, but havent gotten around to installing it yet, as I wanted the injection up and running first (for the immobilizer).
But trust me.. this job has taken priority... though I don't think i will have the time before I go to Kosovo next month.

The damage isn't that severe...no broken glass or locks.(though it remains to be seen whether the steering rack has been damaged) But than again, its pretty easy to open it with a piece of piano wire.. I know.. because I did it once.
My only real concern is that a replacement steering wheel will be very hard to come by as I recall somebody telling me that you cant get them any more.

One thing that pisses me EXTRA off is, that I'm pretty sure I know exactly WHEN the a**holes tried to get away with my car..  I clearly recall hearing a car sounding like its exhaust was broken, having difficulty starting!!!
With the TB's even I have trouble getting the car started.. theres a trick to it... But they must have gotten it running (why else try to smash the steering lock?)

Its a very unpleasant thought..... because Its parked in a REALLY crowded place where people come and go ALL the time.
I have a suspicion that they were trying to take it to a more quiet,dark and cold place , where they could have their way with it without being bothered, and where nobody could hear it scream!
BUT MY BABY FOUGHT BACK!!.. stubbornly refusing to start.. and when finally overcome.... It was saved by the unusually designed steering wheel that promptly broke in defiance of the cowardly act in progress.
Had the Momo wheel still been in the car..... I afraid that it would have defeated the steering lock though...
How far they would have come without a working clutch I'm not sure.... never thought that a car breaking down might actually be a GOOD thing...!   

ps: Thanks Macaroni... I will be sure to take that into account!... as I really like the original steering wheel design an awful lot...
Ill give finding my own a go first.. the momo one will keep the car on the road.. And Ill have about 4 months to find one before as I first return from Kosovo in the middle of may.
Simon have it listed in their new catalogue, with price and everything... so I might be lucky!

 

I have an original wheel but sadly its gone soft, it was replaced with a Momo wheel and time spent in the garage didnt do it any favours. It sounds like many originals suffer the same fate so good luck finding one.

Krede, how awful. I'm completely speechless. I feel so sorry for you! SO SORRY. And for your car.
Thank heavens it didn't get stolen. It's good to know that the steering lock actually works... better keep the car and miss the steering wheel than miss both  ::)
I hope you can get your car towed (or driven? though I think it may be difficult when it's so tricky to start) to a safe place while you are away.

The simplest possible immobilizer is one of these with the green screw-in thing removed and a 10A fuse connected to power the radio, clock, central locking etc. The fuse will blow immediately if someone tries to start the car, and it will take some time before the thieves spot the battery and find something useful to short the missing connection:

(http://gallery.dinsen.net/d/1731-2/DSCF0264.JPG)

huiiii  :o :o :o
I feel the cold sweat running down the back.

What type of alarm are you installing - COBRA ?

/Henrik

It will be towed tomorrow morning, it couldn't be done today before the workshop closed. And since its the insurance thats gonna pay they INSIST that one of their workshops  fix it (though I offered to do the work myself once agreed what parts was acceptable to replace)...
Finding a workshop WILLING to take on a murena was actually quite hard, and of cause NONE of them have any idea where to get spares.. so I HAVE to come along tomorrow and asses the damage, and THEN get the parts myself.. for them to replace... ridiculous
OF CAUSE It just so happens that Im going on exercise until Friday next week.. stating tomorrow at 0600am!!...
BUT there is NO WAY! I'm leaving my car as it is for that long!!

Henrik: Defa..it was recommended to me by a friend.
 

Im going to fit an immobilizer next, can anyone offer advice.. I have one already but it needs fitting, has anyone got pic/diagrams for me. Thanks

When You are angry and human law is on Your side, your body is able to produce twice more power than usually. I tried this when three ukrainian men (there is a lot of them here in CR, because they are cheap workers, but most of them are here illegally) crashed my silver Murena from behind. When I saw that they were driving drunk, I started to call police by my cell phone. That was what they didn't want, so they went to beat me! It was like in some movie, one of them came and wanted to hit me into my face, I was faster and he hit the ground, at the same moment second one wanted to kick me, I catched his leg and pulled it up and he fell down, than I felt that the third one kicked me into my back. It was really bad, very hard fight, but after 15 minutes they run away in their car and I had only one bumb on my head, sure it happend that good because 10 years ago I was the 5th on the Czech championship in boxing. Terrible was that all cars passed arround us and nobody stopped to help me or to call police  :(

I've collected a good deal of info and experience, which I'm ready to share over e-mail!

Thats great, please email me on davidewanprice@hotmail.co.uk, ta

I have!

I have a spare steering wheel in almost original condition.  The centre cover says Bagheera but that would not be an issue since you have the murena cover.

If it is of use to you I would be willing to part with it - it was probably heading to ebay to help fund the re-trim of my murena interior ;)

http://cgi.ebay.fr/VOLANT-MARON-MATRA-MURENA-1L6-2L2-NEUF_W0QQitemZ290199502397QQihZ019QQcategoryZ79069QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.fr/VOLANT-NOIR-NEUF-MATRA-MURENA-1L6-2L2-ET-BAGHEERA-II_W0QQitemZ290199503930QQihZ019QQcategoryZ79069QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

amazing how much they charge for some spareparts that aint even in good condition.  its not a ferrari ::)

the murena is very rare and much of parts are not available....
the prices of the parts are a true problem for us owners of murena (especially 2.2)

40,- E? :D Few months ago I was bidding on new outer mirroirs for Tagora, I stopped me on 300,-E and at least they were sold for cca 700,- Euros !!! That is unbelievable!

last year I sold a used outer mirror of murena on ebay it was sold 230 euros...

quote
--------
its not a ferrari
--------------------

No, its a Matra and only 10580 are made.
Its unbelievable how much spares are stil available for this car.
A steering wheel in good condition goes for around €80 here.
We can't complain.

just a little more
Murena 1.6 : 5640
Murena 2.2 : 4560
Murena S : 480
Total : 10 680

 ;)

Sorry for the mistype, but you are correct.

your mistake is not serious, the Matra are nevertheless more rare than Ferrari
(http://www.matra-passion.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif)(http://www.matra-passion.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif)(http://www.matra-passion.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif)

For now its the insurance that has the "ball" regarding getting a new steering wheel for my car... I hope that Simon has one in stock, but if they don't you will be hearing from me!!
Im not sure that the center "murena" badge survived the abuse

NOOOOOOOOOO! ARGH OH NOOOOOOOOOO! Your lovely car. MY lovely car! They will pay for this in the next world, believe me. The people who did this are beneath contempt. So so sorry this has happened Krede. Sorry you have had the clutch go as well, it is not a good time for you. My (our) best wishes for a speedy recovery (literally!)

 :o  That is  :o

Rest assured Rupert... If I ever catch the guy who did it I will eat his bloody heart.... and make him watch!!

Haha and I know you could! I wanna watch too!!

Update:
The good news: is that it appears that a new steering wheel can still be bought.

The BAD news: I have had the Momo wheel fitted so It can be on the road while I wait for the parts to arrive, but when I got behind the wheel I immediately noticed that the entire steering column felt "soft" and that the steering wheel could be moved in all directions without much effort!!
The bolts underneath was fine, so I fear that the mounts connecting it to the chassis itself has been damaged!!
That sadly means that the dash will have to be removed completely to find the damaged area , and I will probably be without my car for a considerable amount of time......
     

Annoying!

Krede, you should start "pushing the buttons now". Do you have a workshop appointed yet to do the job? Have you told the insurance company about this? Tell them that you are relying on this car and need it running fast. Then they will offer you a Citroen C1 or similar, but that will cost the insurance company money for every day your own car is standing still - i.e. they will start pushing the workshop too to finish the job. Find buttons like that around you. Don't tell them you can live without your car; we who know you know that you CAN'T. You'll end in mental hospital if this takes too long (ok, just joking there!) ;)

That said, to me it sounds like the problem could be the bearings in the steering column. They are made of rubber and can be crushed. It should also be possible to check whether it's the column that moves, or only the axle inside it that does so. (My Espace phase I failed MoT once because of a worn steering column bearing. They are dead simple to change once it's all taken apart, but it may be faster to fit a new (restored) column from Simon. I fitted a good used one.)

- Anders 8)

The car went on a lorry to the workshop the very next day after I discovered the damage.
I offered the insurance company to have their guy asses the "value" of the damage and then do the repairs myself, but they declined, so it has to be fixed at one of their "approved" garages.... their loss.... apart from the damage to the steering column, its a less then an hour to fix.

They won't give me a loaner while I wait for parts.. only for when they are actually working on the car.
And it wouldn't be a c3 in anyway.. neither Peugeot nor Citroën would take on a Murena... what a bunch amateurs!
 

Hi Krede, the bracket holding the steering column is brocken this is a week point proberly made for collision protection, see the German board:
http://www.matraforum.de/thread.php?threadid=2959&boardid=7&styleid=1&sid=e6509b77eb68b45104cd86ad37ba5d6e
Mine has bin broken there too  :), but you can weld it.

-Finn

Update:
FOB you are absolutely right... They just called from the garage, and it was broken exactly as you said.
And on a further high note.... The steering wheel and other parts from Simon had also arrived, so it should be ready to hit the road by mid day tomorrow...

Only bad thing is that the clutch is still broken... It will de clutch... but only just... So I will take it straight from the garage, to where I work, and fit a new slave cylinder.. and if that doesn't cure it, a new master cylinder...(yep.. I believe I single handedly keep Simon in business)

Should neither get the clutch going again, I fear the car will go into storage, as I haven't got the time to wait for MORE parts to arrive, and still carry out any major repairs.... but.. lt's see if it comes to that. :)

For now...... Im extatic :)     

HOORAY. Fingers crossed here. Good you found the reason, and we even documented what appears to be a common fault!

Update:
Picked up the car today... from the looks of it, Id say they have done a decent job... they welded the broken steering column and the trim is nicely fitted.
The new steering wheel is excellent, and much firmer then the old one (even though it was in god condition).

My clutch problem remains though.