Le bus oignon - Xantia of many Autoshiters - GYPSY CURSE

[PhilA]

Youyr brother appears to have the same curse as my wife.

 

Put her in a new car, she'll drive for eleven squillionty miles with no problems. Put her in a piece of old shite and.. well, all hell breaks loose.

 

We went tour the country in my (until then) trouble-free Bluebird. We get to Shrewsbury, the pax electric window deposits itself with a hefty THUMP into the bottom of the door. Then the sunroof develops a leak. Then the central locking didn't. On the way home it began to rain hard on the M6 and the driver's side wiper linkage broke, leaving me with only the passenger side wiper working. Cue driving all the way back leaning into her lap.

 

Then I take her out for a quick spin in the Victor.. a mile from the house the ignition loom begins to smoke out the cabin, we arrive at destination, the thing boils over and barfs foam and coolant all over the carpark.

 

Some people are honestly cursed.

 

--Phil

 

Edit:  That's right, the week after that the headgasket went on the Bluebird. It ended up with a single cylinder that had compression. How does a headgasket fail on three cylinders at once? It was so bad no matter how fast I poured coolant into the radiator, it'd pour out of the exhaust...

[Lankytim]

You can stick that excess LHM in the fuel tank (I think)

[vulgalour]

You know what I haven't done?  I haven't made a list and since I don't have a bucket shot to take a list will have to do.  It's traditional, like.

 

Bodywork

- one bit of rust

- lots of paint cleaning and polishing

 

Mechanical

- LHM flush

- Front wheel bearings, ball joints and maybe track rod ends and then tracking

- Brake check, there is a caliper sticking on or off or both on the driver's side

- Clutch has a few thousand miles left in it, might want doing at some point

 

Trim

- rear outer light lenses to replace due to minor damage.  Need the smoked top half type.

- load bay cover missing

- tool kit missing

- immobiliser keypad soft touch cover is coming away, could do with replacing

- one boot cubby door locking swivel thing is missing

- rear seat base cover needs stitching repair on the bit you can't see

- one part of centre console trim has screws in it, could do with a decent replacement

- rear central ashtray hinge not working, not sure what's amiss but the ashtray won't stay put

- front passenger door lock pin cover missing

- C pillar trim appears to have been modified (neatly, happily) and could do with being replaced

 

For me this is like having a new car, it's silly.  Can't see it taking too long or costing too much to correct.

[beko1987]

Do some heavy citrobatics and bleed the brakes. Use that surplus lhm to top up. Then get it toasty hot and more heavy citrobatics.

 

Xm was transformed after that. Still have to do heavy citrobatics when it goes a bit hard.

[The Moog]

I think i might have the load cover somewhere although maybe up in Scotland. Will have a dig about for you and see what i can find

[vulgalour]

@Lankytim:  Really?  I suppose that makes sense, it is an oil and oils are generally combustible.  I have already disposed of it though.

@beko: I will try this, at some point.  Probably.  Maybe.

@The Moog:  I would appreciate that, if it's still about, just makes things look a bit tidier.

 

Since draining off the excess LHM I've noticed the rear end stays up for longer but the front drops after a couple of hours.  I went for a late night bumble, in part to get some needed supermarket stuffs but also so I could assess and photograph without people being in the way.  This is the car in normal setting after being left to its own devices for an hour, perhaps a little longer.

 

 

The car is exhibiting nothing untoward so I don't have any worries, it just struck me as peculiar that it now drops the front end when parked.  It rises much quicker than it did, from low setting previously it was taking around two minutes (we timed it) to come level, now it takes at most 30 seconds and similarly when you start the car the nose lifts in a matter of seconds with barely any tick as you'd want from a healthy system.

[gadgetgricey]

  On 28/04/2014 at 20:23, vulgalour said:

 

Trim

- rear outer light lenses to replace due to minor damage.  Need the smoked top half type.

- load bay cover missing

- tool kit missing

- immobiliser keypad soft touch cover is coming away, could do with replacing

- one boot cubby door locking swivel thing is missing

- one part of centre console trim has screws in it, could do with a decent replacement

- rear central ashtray hinge not working, not sure what's amiss but the ashtray won't stay put

- front passenger door lock pin cover missing

- C pillar trim appears to have been modified (neatly, happily) and could do with being replaced

 

For me this is like having a new car, it's silly.  Can't see it taking too long or costing too much to correct.

 

Got an estate breaker in the garage, that I use for my own Xantia Estate. 

Defo got a load bay cover, and believe may have some/most of the other bits if you want them. (beer tokens happily recd, though not required)

However mines an S2, but I think most of the bits are the same.

 

Get back to me if you want anything.

 

Cheers

 

- Dave -

[vulgalour]

@Dave:  This one is, I'm told, a facelift series 1 car and doesn't share a huge amount of trim with the series 2, but anything that does crossover I'm interested in.  I'm guessing tootling over to you, removing bits, throwing some beer tokens at you and tootling home again is the best bet, I can't imagine any part of the West Midlands being that far removed from me.

 

@lankytim:  Krujoe pointed out that you mentioned ages ago having a wheel bearing for a tenner posted, but since I can get them locally for the same price it may be best you sit on that one for now unless I become really unstuck.  I'll shout if I need it

 

---

 

The drone from the front corner has gone completely now.  The noise hasn't changed so much as become a distinctly separate one.  Where before we were getting a random knock and a drone, now there's a more regular duggaduggadugga noise as you might expect from a duff ball joint rather than a wheel bearing.  If it is just a ball joint it seems that's an easier thing to fix.  I'll probably still acquire all the parts as previously planned for the front corner but I may not need them.  It's also moderately evident from tyre wear that the front passenger corner is at fault rather than the driver's corner.  Mileage on the car since dropping into my grubby little paws has reduced to something around five miles a day average while I use it only for jobs I need to do until I can afford to fix things.

 

I did plan to purchase all the parts for the nose end yesterday, but a chance letter from the bank put paid to that and I'm now in financial limbo where I have the money to spend but I don't know if I'm allowed to spend it yet, I'll know either way in a few days.

 

There has been, today, a new smell I noticed.  It's a very odd smell, the only way I can describe it is a freshly used nappy, a smell I only know because of my tiny nephew.  It's not a burning smell, or a sour smell particularly, but it's that strange combination of fresh pee and new nappies.  There are no nappies used or otherwise in the car.  I did wonder if it could be mouse related as there is mouse damage evident in the engine bay which The Moog had told us about.  Perhaps there's mouse urine in a filter or near an air intake somewhere, the smell isn't too dissimilar to that.

 

 

Not a lot to be done there.  The clutch needs replacing soon, I will concede that point, but since I'm so light on it in usual driving I doubt it'll be an issue for a while yet.  Ã‚£250 fitted including the Valeo parts seems very fair and saves me the trouble of doing it, so that's the route I'll go when I have the cash to do it.

 

The first job to spend money on is going to be that LHM change (£30 tops) because I think that will improve a lot of things and highlight more accurately what is and isn't wrong.  I also think the dirty LHM is the cause of some of the indefinable niggles with the car, nothing that's exactly wrong but a sensation something is slightly amiss.

 

But for this week I'm going to focus solely on cleaning.  It's something I enjoy doing, I find it relaxing and it'll make the car look and be a nicer a place to be.  Made a start on the driver's door and then a thunderstorm closed in and put paid to any further work.

[The Moog]

sorry forgot to reply,definitely got the load cover. not sure what the best way to get it to you is?

 

Regards to the tyres, they came off my gf xsara and did a whole total of 25 miles on xantia so I wouldn't base any fault finding on them.

[vulgalour]

I could pick it up once the ball joint issue is resolved, I think it'll cost something like sixpence hapenny in fuel to do the trip.

[vulgalour]

More cleaning today.  It's not too bad a job but it is tedious doing it on your own.  Weather has been a bit hit and miss for it too.  The bonnet is pretty good now, in the main because of chompy's work getting it to a point where it can be.  There's a couple of stone chips and scratches so I want to put some new theory I've learned into practice when I get hold of some touch up paint to really make the most of this.

 

Got some degreaser on the alloys and they've come up lovely.  They are a bit knocked about in places and could do with a refurb, but they look a world better now than they did so I'm happy enough.  I've also done the bulk of the cutting back on the rest of this side of the car, still more to go as you can see the panels aren't all the same uniform white and don't quite match the front wing, but it's a good bit better than it was.  Haven't made a start on the sill yet.

 

There's a little bit of lacquer peel on the D pillar and a deep scratch that need remedying at some point.  Can't see them in this picture because the white is really forgiving unless you're quite close to the car.

 

Tailgate is probably the one bit of the car that needs the most cleaning now because it looks distinctly yellow against the rest of the car.

 

I might make a start on cleaning around switches inside the car later today, and I might not.  I'm taking things very easy.

[MrDuke]

I'm sure you've already researched this, but don't be disheartened by the crustiness at the back corner of the rear doors - nearly all estates will go there, regardless of how well they're looked after (iirc something to do with badly placed sound-deadening creating a massive water trap). That area is double-skinned, and the inner skin will almost certainly be sound, so there's no need to go to town cutting and welding. Annoyingly, my MOT man failed mine on 'corrosion too close to belt mounting', and it was only weeks after having it very crudely but cheaply patched, that another local garage with more experience of Citroens told me it shouldn't have been failed at all   So yeah, find a decent garage too.

[The Moog]

  On 30/04/2014 at 22:12, vulgalour said:

I could pick it up once the ball joint issue is resolved, I think it'll cost something like sixpence hapenny in fuel to do the trip.

 

 

Cool, just let us know when

[500tops]

I'm really starting to like Xantias - especially the estates. Those rims absolutely make the car imho.

[vulgalour]

The rear door/sill/arch bit is the only area of concern and it's not even that bad.  Driver's side has a bit of a bubble under the paint and passenger side has some surface rust that needs remedying, looking at the construction there's a dirt trap where you can't easily jet out, it looks like moisture sits in the seam and does a Maestro.  Easy enough to fix, my plan is to just blitz it with sandpaper, rust converter and white paint so it gets no worse, I'm certainly not worried about spending megabucks on resolving it.

[ruffgeezer]

I've still got the roof bars for when I owned this, and other assorted shite xantia estates, although I'm pretty sure now I will not have another.

[vulgalour]

Well last night I accidentally slipped the clutch on chompy's steep drive and today it feels like there's only the barest whisper of clutch left.  I am now not driving it until I can afford to get a new clutch fitted.  What a colossal moron I am.

[HMC]

That's looking much sharper vulg! Sorry to hear of your clutch woes, is it much of a job on these?

[vulgalour]

yes, yes it is.  So it's going to the garage so they can spend 5-7 hours fighting with it.  I've been advised not to do it at home unless I've got access to a garage of my own and at least one helper and given the way I am at the moment that to me says I should give it to a garage to do.  Ã‚£250 inc. Valeo parts and labour doesn't sound too appalling in all honesty.

[320touring]

Cheap for a clutch! Burds Renault is looking at 450 for a garage to do it..so it'll likely have to be a home nightmare.

 

As for white estates in various shades and stages of cutting-they're for winners!

 

(although my 320 doesn't have topcoat-therefore is lighter and faster;))

[ruffgeezer]

Make sure they put the acc. sphere housing & associated pipe work back properly, take photos before hand if necessary as if the pipes don't go back correctly, they can fracture and piss the expensive, froggy green magic juice all over the place, and the pipes aren't available any more.

 

Edit: That bit in the door shut is a triple skin, I'm sure I had it repaired on one of the Xantias I had, I think perhaps the one Lacquer Peel had off of me.

[KruJoe]

Oof.

I feel your pain V&A.

[The Moog]

Bad luck. I looked at DIY but after researching online I decided against. I got a quote 50% more than that from both the Citroen specialists round here.

[vulgalour]

Another day of doing a bit more tidying on this one.  I really could not be arsed with yet more paint cutting and decided instead to turn my attention to the interior.  Toothbrush and soapy water at the ready I tackled the driver's part first because even very clean people seem incapable of wiping the surfaces they touch the most.  Most of this little jar of grime is from the driver's part of the dashboard... it's like a tiny little bucket shot.  Lovely solution of snot and skin flakes and finger grease in soapy water.

 

Thing is, when was the last time you looked at the stalks and steering wheel in your car?  I bet a fair few people have stalks like this.

 

In under a minute with a solution of soapy water and a 9p value toothbrush you can have them looking nice again.

 

Then just wipe them over whenever you do the interior.  You do clean your interior, right?  Because you should.  Ew, germs, &c.  Anyway, after doing battle with the usual grime I could wipe down the door cards and the rest of the interior which now looks, feels and smells much nicer.

 

 

 

There are still a few tiny bits of the dash I need to broggle with cocktail sticks and cotton buds where muck has settled in awkward places, but that can wait for now.  I did find that some of the dash trim has been glued in the past so that's another minor item to add to my list for replacement eventually, though really only because I can't get rid of the bloom in the plastic from the glue that was used.

 

I'll keep digging away at the interior, I've not done anything in the boot because in all honesty I ran out of impetus.  I've not even touched the grubby headlining, but that'll have to be done eventually.  Instead I turned my attention to getting some glass polish on all the glass and some Autoglym vinyl treatment (the same as I use in the cabin) on all the black work now that the paint is closer to being finished.  I'm very pleased with the results.  The Autoglym vinyl can be used on plastic lights and brings them up a treat, top tip for you there.

 

 

 

 

I think I accidentally put it in low while scrubbing and fiddling with the height adjuster trim.  Never mind!  I also put some Kurust on those bits on the arch to put things in stasis until I can get the tools on it to put it right properly.

 

 

This is one of the centre console trim items I'm after, I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be held in place with two screws.

 

I'm hoping I can get just the rubbery bit for the buttons on the keypad too but I'm told you can't dismantle and rebuild them and I'll need to get a replacement keypad.

[KruJoe]

YES! to the miniature bucket shot.

[Richard]

Just delete the keypad and get an oddments tray.

[MrDuke]

  On 02/05/2014 at 17:38, Richard said:

Just delete the keypad and get an oddments tray.

 

This, I'm pretty sure later models came with a tray that slots straight in. If you do take the keypad out, do NOT throw it away, as the immobiliser will reset if the battery is disconnected.

[vulgalour]

I like the keypad.  There, I said it.

[MrDuke]

I liked it too, right up until, oh, around about the 750th time that I had to punch in the code. Then I started hating it, bitterly.

[Richard]

I unplugged mine on the journey home from buying the car.

 

There's a slight possibility it's still in my shed, I'll have a look for it tomorrow.