Le bus oignon - Xantia of many Autoshiters - GYPSY CURSE

[The Moog]

What was the electrical issue?

[vulgalour]

It's the alarm.  The keyfob had stopped working reliably but with a bit of fixing* the spring that holds the batteries in place is now improved and the buttons work reliably.  However, the alarm sometimes goes off when you get out of the car, or when you get in the car, for no obvious reason.

[The Moog]

You can disconnect it. I think you get in the car and turn the key to position 2 and push and hold the alarm button at side of steering wheel untill it flashes. Voila no more alarm. *

 

Only lock it then with key and so it doesn't reset. If you use the remote central locking it activates it again.

 

The infra red c\l sucks donkey cocks hence never using it

 

* check online for exact answer. I searched it when i got the car.

[KruJoe]

Dodgy fuse?

[vulgalour]

yay, worms!  I love worms, especially the canned variety.

[MikeKnight]

Not.. actually.. that.. bad..

[HMC]

Does this mean vulgalour plus new mega economic transport will be able to do shitefest?

[vulgalour]

Until I've had chance to get used to the car and do some fettling I'm committing to nothing, as much as I'd like to say Shitefest is doable.  Items I can remember that chompy has told me about (there are going to be more things):

 

Alarm - randomness, need to sort this properly or be sure to use the car only during sociable hours

 

Brakes - at idle they're a bit spongy, once running they firm up.  They're sharp but not predictably so I'm guessing an LHM flush to get air and dirt out of the system is the first port of call and then investigate further.  Will likely also need calipers replacing/rebuilding and new discs all round

 

Steering - wheel bearing and balljoints ought to be done both sides.  Parts are about £33 per side, but the labour puts the cost up a bit on top of that.  Tracking also needs doing so might need new track rod ends.

 

Suspension - lazy nose.  This could be related to the possible LHM problem, or the sticky caliper, not entirely sure.

 

Clutch - is high and will need replacing.  The car is far from undrivable and not as bad as the BX was, but I'm only going to get a few thousand miles out of it with careful driving.

 

Rust - that one patch on the rear arch/sill juncture needs treating.  There's nothing of note elsewhere

 

I'm not fussed about the inoperable clock or steering wheel controls, no loss to me there.  I'm finding the turbo a bit of a learning curve, the close ratio box is a bit too easy for me to confuse third and fifth and fifth gear itself is something of a novelty that's going to take me a while to get used to.  This is easily the most modern, fancy and nice car I've owned but it's not so modern and nice and fancy that it scares me.

[Lacquer Peel]

If The Moog wasn't using it much, I've found tired hydro Citroens get a lot better with regular use.

[Richard]

Take out, I think, Fuse 17 to make the alarm a bad memory. While you're at it unplug the keypad with the engine running and you'll never have to worry about that again either.

 

The brakes shouldn't be spongy, they don't work like normal brakes. If there's air in the system you get a delay in operation, not the sponginess you'd get with conventional braked. I think I'm right in saying the movement in the brake pedal is actually artificial so as not to upset non-Citroen drivers.

[vulgalour]

There's no delay in operation, they're as immediate and sharp as you might expect.  But there's definitely a sponginess at idle that goes away once you get running.  There's also too much LHM in the system and occasionally the ride goes a bit firm, especially on very rough roads.  My gut feeling is that an LHM flush should improve some of this.

[Lacquer Peel]

I feel your pain chompy, I've sunk money into a lot of cars, it can be never-ending if it's a well used cheap shitter and you want it perfect or even decent.

[The Moog]

I was using it lots put on about 10k since august last year. I also did the citrobics once a week at least.

 

Lhm had full change and flush in December including removing filters and cleaning them all. All the brakes were bled at the same time. I found them pretty good to be honest certainly up to all the other xantias i had. It was just that left sticking caliper that was a pain for the brakes.

[vulgalour]

tbh, I've not looked at things in any depth yet, it was such a suprise thing that when I found out I was halfway through swapping a radiator and rebuilding a head (not related incidents) so I've been put on the back foot a bit with this today.

[Inspector Morose]

Vulg, don't take this the wrong way but it's another white hydro citroen estate. The last didn't end too well did it? I only worry you're taking on too much to the detriment of the true loves of your life. Take it easy chap.

[vulgalour]

Yeah, I don't want another project car but unlike the last hydro moby this one hasn't got severe bum rot and just needs a few mechanical bits sorted.  I just need some trouble-free* motoring for a couple of months while I get the others sorted and this is ideal as it's costing me just about the square root of fuck all.

 

If it's easy enough to fix the bits that are tired and I can get another year out of it I'll be happy, if it isn't and I can't then it's no big deal.  I'm trying not to get too attached and so far it doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi as the BX or the Princess and I doubt it ever well even though it is a pretty superb machine.

[vulgalour]

Just wanted to jot some thoughts down on this car now I've had chance to have a bit of a blezz in it on my own.

 

I don't think I like turbo cars.  I've had a go in some sillier turbos and been a passenger in some very silly turbo cars and while they offer a moment of giddy thrill, the novelty wears off pretty quickly.  Admittedly, on a long uphill slog having a turbo bolted to the Xantia is very useful, but it feels a lot more hassle in regular driving to keep it on and to make use of it and it means the car isn't as relaxing as it could be as a result.  Interestingly, this is a complaint I've seen others levelled at the turbo Citroens so at least I can see where they're coming from now.

 

The seats are pretty good.  The passenger seat has a habit of pinching your bottom if you sit in it just so but the driver's seat doesn't do this at all, must be a European design feature or something.  I'm struggling to get the seating position just right, I can get it just-off but never exactly where I want it which is pretty annoying.  The steering wheel is also too small, but this is a complaint I seem completely alone in as everyone I know wants a car to have a tiny steering wheel.  I prefer a larger wheel for comfort rather than anything else and while the wheel fitted is perfectly well suited and the steering pleasantly light for parking and weighted for driving, I can't comfortably rest my arm between wheel and door when driving.

 

Gearbox is very nice and the clutch is okay.  I have almost stopped putting it into third/fifth when I don't want to but I'm still struggling to get my head around having a fifth gear.  Handling is also very nice, I did get a bit of a wiggle out of the back end when I went a little too rapidly around a corner, but otherwise it doesn't feel like a great big long estate car and handles exceptionally well.

 

The lights were the biggest surprise.  This is the first car I've had with really good headlights on dip and main beam.  The control is a bit... Citroen... but that works for me once I remember where it is.  Dash is pleasant enough to look at too, though I have found I have to be a little eagle eyed on my speed as it has the same trick as the BX of making you feel like you're going slower than you really are.

 

Reversing is surprisingly easy, the corners of the car are where I expect them to be and though I'd been warned the turning circle is pretty bad I'm not finding this to be the case personally.  It's a pleasant and relaxing car to drive on the whole but it somehow doesn't feel special as a driver in the same way it does as a passenger.  It's missing something that the BX had lots of and I'm not sure what.   It's a little thirstier than the BX was but I'm putting that down to it being heavier and me not using the turbo to its best advantage.

 

The other thing I've been assessing and thinking about is what exactly I plan to do with this car.  There is a shopping list of items to attend to if I want to get it through the next MoT but in all honesty I expect it to soldier on as it stands without complaint.  As a stop gap car it's ideal.  All I need to do is tax it, put fuel in it and use it.  Insurance isn't a worry at the moment and neither are repairs as apart from the noisy corner it's not really shouting for anything just making polite request.

 

My quandary is the long-term with this car.  It's very good at being a big, practical, floaty estate car that's easy to live with, cheap to repair (not counting labour costs) and cheap to run.  Utterly sensible and nicely built and affordable, it's the sort of car I *should* own.  And yet...

 

For now I'm just going to continue with the tidy up and continue with keeping it in use while I decide if this one is a sensible keeper or a car that I'll fix and re-home when my beige car is back on the road properly.

[320touring]

My only advice is "dont fall in love with it!"

 

I hate it when you rescue a car that needs work- and a sufficient volume of it to make it another "project". Then you drive it a bit- some small advantages pop up and, BEHOLD-IT MUST BE SAVED.

 

I have 2.5 such cars at the moment, and my burd has another 2. none of them work and I have my dad's 10yr old bmw to potter about in.gah

[vulgalour]

I don't feel like I've rescued this or that it's a project.  It's by far the nicest car I've owned overall and certainly the least rusty.  I think I want to keep it going for the duration of this year and just do what's needed to keep it reliable rather than lavishing lots and lots of money on doing every little job but at the same time I don't want to neglect it as it feels like a decent machine with a good amount of life still in it.

 

Unlike the other cars I've owned I reckon this one is just too nice for me to get really attached to it.

[The Moog]

Reason for the good headlights is night breaker bulbs. The old ones were like waving glow worms around

 

one option maybe that you sell the alloys and stick some steels on it and then that frees up some cash.

 

You are absolutely spot on with your appraisal. It is practical comfy cheap to run etc.

 

if you play wheel bearing roulette then you don't really need to do anything till end of may when tax is up.

[messerschmitt owner]

Can I say that some people should buy new or nearly new and never get involved with old cars.

[KruJoe]

Vulg, if you make it to Shitefest, I will donate a 20L cubie of processed WVO to get you home and a bit more (and you can bring that tow bar for me )

I don't even yet know if I can attend, but I'll send it with Will if not.

[ruffgeezer]

Thing is here, is we don't actually know the issue with the front suspension or brakes, if you assume the worst then it is easy to spunk a wad of money at it for no gains.

 

For the alarm, change the batteries in the remote and remember if you are going to be using it, point it at the receiver near the rear view mirror.

The door lock I think had a lazy motor when I had the car, so it probably wants replacing, but a free check is to pop the grommet out from between the door and A pillar to make sure none of the wires are broken.

 

The lazy front isn't really anything to worry about, put simply it's because mechanics who don't "get" this sort of suspension don't lubricate the valve, it's a bit stiff but it works, bung a bit of oil on it and leave it alone.

 

As for the suspension well you need to get the front jacked up, put the car in low and then drop it on the deck, once it's sat down completely, jack it back up again and have a wobble on the joints, we are already pretty sure there is 1 bearing gone, if you are tight for time, perhaps get one off of a scrapper and put a new bearing in it?

 

As someone has said on here, perhaps if you wanted to free up a few quid (or trade for some other parts?) I've a set of 15" steels I'd trade against your alloys

[vulgalour]

Happily, I'm not tight for time.  I've got the 6 month's tax money set aside for the end of May so I can keep it going, I'm not in a rush to part ways with this car and I'm happy to run it until the end of the MoT in November as I cannot get a cheaper solution than this that will be anywhere near as practical.

 

I'll let the alloys go if and only if I can get a full set of matching Xantia trims on good steels with nearly new tyres because the alloys currently have nearly new tyres fitted.  I do wonder if some of the minor issues are related to the car being slightly under-tyred at the moment.

 

There's nothing that's making me panic about the car's ability to stop, the only thing that really needs a bit of money spending on it is that wheel bearing.  I'm holding off doing anything about it because I'm not doing anywhere near the miles my brother does, it has actually quietened down a bit since we collected the car and I'm still figuring out what I feel needs sorting on the car and what my priorities are with it.  I will get the bearing done, but I'm not in a super mega panic rush about it.

[meggersdog]

My old Xantia had a mechanical vacuum pump for the brakes connected to the camshaft via a belt.(gearbox end).If the belt is slightly loose this can cause head scratching moments with brake problems.

[ruffgeezer]

The brakes on Xantias run off of the hydraulic pump, there'd be no need for a vacuum pump.

[vulgalour]

It's official, the Xantia just hates my brother.  Not only did it decide to play up with the central locking when my brother got in it where before there had been nothing and there has been nothing since, but when he borrowed it for a quick errand he asked me what I'd fixed because it drove better.

 

Nothing.  I have fixed nothing.  The wheel bearing is definitely quieter, the brakes are better, the suspension is smoother.  I guess the car just likes me more, because I'm foxed if I can figure out what else it could be that's made the improvement.

[beko1987]

The alarm and locking doesn't sound too broken, just a bit citroney. Both the zx and xm have had their little daily traumas! Zx used to shit its self about 3 hours after alarming it. I just didn't alarm it from then on. Never alarm the xm either just in case

[vulgalour]

I reckon my brother is just afflicted with a Gypsy Curse in all honesty, destined to forever suffer from cars that hate him until the curse is somehow lifted.

[vulgalour]

I'm definitely okay with this car, I have decided, and I think I can risk starting to invest a bit of time and effort in it as I go through it and sort out the things that I can sort out.  Since I'm still investigating I'm not spending just yet, any free repairs I can do make the car that bit nicer and make it more sellable should I want to later.

 

Today my Dad and I checked the interior lights and apart from one needing the bulb holder tines tweaking to make contact, nothing else was required to get all of the interior lights functioning correctly.  Free repair that took under half an hour, that's what I like.

 

Next was to investigate my belief that the LHM had passed it's best and that there was too much in the system.  We started with just a little jar, we thought maybe it was only a bit over filled...

 

Doesn't look too healthy either.  The first bit of LHM did come out nice and clear, but as more was removed it just got blacker and blacker.  This has now been made the most important job, LHM should not look like this.  We had to get a bigger container and after putting the contents of the jar into the milk carton we had this much.

 

That's a whole litre too much.

 

Happily, the UFO gauge is where it should be now.  I did recheck this a few times and it's sitting more clearly between the red lines as it ought.  Previously the tip of the UFO was touching the top of the sight dome on all settings.

 

Do you know what, this was a sensible thing to do too because now the wheel bearing noise is further reduced, the handling and brakes quite dramatically improved and the suspension much more predictable.  Gone is the funny little rear end jiggle and the need to correct as much when cornering briskly.  The suspension itself is softer in a good way and behaves more as I'd expect the car to.

 

I have heard some Citroens make a mess of their LHM very quickly but this is pretty bad.  The LHM is so dirty you can't shine a torch through the milk carton, not even a little bit, it doesn't even glow.