Xantia of Desires - Farewell xantia!

[binhoker668]

Ha thats great! I never did anything with the engine. Youll need a new dipstick for it too...

My dipstick has always been like that - but with no rag around it or owt.  Never been a problem though!

[bub2006]

Ive took it to newquay

[vulgalour]

It's well travelled then because Chompy took it to Crail and Mike and I took it to Anglesey.  There's not much further it can go without getting seriously wet!

[beko1987]

My dipstick has always been like that - but with no rag around it or owt.  Never been a problem though!

all it did was coat the bonnet sound deadening stuff with a fine mist of oil over the few years.

[dean36014]

Think I have a new dipstick for it somewhere, rag was just to stop water from the pressure washer entering the engine. This weekend I'll drag the column out and have a look at sorting it out.Glad you sorted the radio Sam, easy fixes are the best!  

[beko1987]

More low level looking about today! I popped her into high, and checked the LHM. It is fine. The fluid looks green too. Not 100% bright green, but green enough to not need an urgent change.

 

all week, whilst crawling on the bypass I noticed a metallic rattle coming from the engine bay. I thought nothing of it, but with the bonnet up and the engine on I noticed this loose bolt on a bracket that does nothing, and the washer was doing a little dance

 

 

I've not put all the shit from the boot of the ZX into the Xantia yet, so didnt have my socket set, and I couldnt be bothered to open my mums garage to find a spanner, so had a look around the engine bay

 

 

Aha, thanks Bub!

 

 

All fixed!

 

 

This is the broken LHM pipe. It's bone dry for now, so going to leave it, and it doesnt look like it's under alot of pressure, but where does it go/how easy will replacing it be? Do I just need an length of PVC hose?

 

 

I had a look at some of the service history

 

 

and checked the cambelt, which is still present and correct (will this fail the MOT with the cover removed? Should I find and fit a cover?)

 

Whilst she was on high, I laid on the floor and poked my head underneath to look at stuff

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, they probably need changing soon! The ride is a bit bouncy over bumps, but it absorbs undulating surfaces fine

 

I couldnt see the accumulator sphere without it up on ramps, but I'm going to presume it needs changing too.

 

One thing mentioned by most of the previous owners by now is the height adjusters. They both look like this

 

 

Which is the rear one, but I found and eyed up the front and it's minging too. I've read the guide to removing and cleaning them a few times now, and reckon it's something I want to have a crack at, so I'll wait until payday, buy a set of proper flared pipe spanners, and give it a go

 

http://www.eastment.net/hcrefurb/index.htm

 

But not before having the front wheels off and looking at the squealy brakes. I'm hoping the pads are ok (there's a receipt dated last year for them) and it just needs a clean up and re-grease. I need to remember how to remove LHM'd calipers, do the pistons wind back or push back? Need to remember how to jack a bloody hydro car up as well! Up on high, wheels off, stands under, then down to low isnt it?

 

That won't happen this weekend though, Amy's working!

 

I put another £22 in tonight as well to get 20 litres, 247 miles done to the last £20, so that's not too bad. I'm getting the hang of driving her now. Where the ZX was happy changing up at 1.75k revs and plodding along, the Xant needs 2/2.5k revs to nicely slot up a gear, and progress seems to be more economical blatting up the rev range to a higher gear quickly.

 

I took mum out in it quickly at lunchtime. "Oooh, this is comfy" as I pottered up the road. "Doesnt feel as fast as your old car though"... 

down to 2nd

up to 4.5k

Black cloud out the back

gone like fuck!

into 3rd

even more going like fuck on the bypass now

 

"Ooooh, that's a bit WOOOAAAHHH thats a bit fast sam, SAM, SAM!

 

Into 5th at 95, back to wafting! Mother approved. That's possibly why the fuel light came on as I pulled into our street this evening...

[dollywobbler]

Ha! I got told off by Mrs DW for hooning in the Nippa earlier. I've done a LOT of mileage without Mrs DW in the car and as such, I think my common sense may be in need of recalibration...

 

The calipers wind back, or should do. I had to sack off a caliper on the XM because it just wouldn't wind back in. Sliders VERY often seize, so check the boots.

 

Up on high, jack up, leave on high to be honest, unless you need the system depressurised for something. If left on high, it won't trap the jack when you lower it back down (probably).

[DodgyBastard]

I took it as far north as Peterhead.

 

Citroen Xantia Peterhead by srblythe, on Flickr

[beko1987]

Does the system allow the caliper to wind back? I'm thinking of lesser cars, where removing  the brake fluid reseviour cap is needed... I did it on the XM, but bloody cant remember how!

 

I'm trying not to think of your caliper woes Ian, but basking in the hopeful ignorance that everything will come off nicely, it can all be cleaned up a treat with some wire wool and rags and brake cleaner, then all go nicely back together with the tube of special brake caliepr grease I bought years ago and have hardly used...

[beko1987]

If left on high, it won't trap the jack when you lower it back down (probably).

I went to get part worns put on the XM once, and put it on high, got out and shut the door so the hydractive would kick in, but the guy started jacking it up before it got started. The whole side of the car went up with the jack under the front jacking point, both front and rear wheel. He looked at me in a VERY scared way, I just shrugged my shoulders and he changed the tyre. 

 

When he let the jack down it swallowed it and went down to low, I just opened the door, fired her up, up to high and after about 2 minutes it rose. Don't think it liked that much!

 

Doing some citrobatics earlier in the Xant, the first 3 were really jerky at the front end, the other 5 were fine. I reckon the system just needs some minor attention, new spheres and the height adjusters cleaning more than anything, will probably look at the LHM next year now, and chuck some flushing fluid through, that made a surprising difference on the XM

[vulgalour]

You should be in luck with the brakes.  The receipt is probably from when Chompy did them and he unstuck them, swore at them and made them work properly.  Bub replaced the front pads again in his ownership I believe due to moon mileage.  I left well alone because they worked fine for me and went through the MoT okay.  One thing I would advise is once a month or so stick loads of crap in it and drive around and use the brakes, it makes a big difference.  One of the main reasons I moved the car on aside from the seating position not suiting me was that I wasn't load lugging enough with it and that was having the knock on effect of the brakes not getting a decent work out.  I was amazed how much better the brakes worked after lugging a cooker in the back of it.

 

I did help Chompy a bit with the brakes and I think we did the high-stands-low rather than leaving it on high and the pistons were an ARSE to wind back in, pretty sure they were wind rather than push.  Nice and easy to bleed though, so that was something.

[bub2006]

The front calipers where wind in. I used a knock through square screwdriver lay across the piston as a t bar

[beko1987]

Thanks for the info Chompy, I'll be sure to hope the rear brakes don't need attention for a long time!

 

It brakes fine tbh, it was just the squealing from the front when coming to a stop that was annoying me, so up she went once I found the handle for my jack and I had the drivers side wheel off

 

 

The wheel arch liner was loose, so I forced it onto its lower bolt a d its holding much sturdier now!

 

 

The pads are fine

 

 

Caliper up and off, the hose is of nice length to sit it on the wheel

 

 

The handbrake cable looks a bit iffy though

 

 

I gave the pad sliders a clean off, and a smear of coppaslip, and wound the caliper in

 

 

Nice smear of coppaslip on the back of the pads and the whole lot went back together, and I moved to the passenger side, which was much of a muchness

 

 

Apart from the seal is a little torn on the main piston

 

 

This side was sticking a bit, as the wheel was harder to turn when jacked up, and you can see where the pads been sticking to the disc a bit

 

 

 

Job jobber! Remains to be seen if it still squeals, but it feels satisfying to have had it all apart and looked at!

 

The handbrake cables are a bit suspect though, its not ace on the handbrake, and the lever pulls up near vertical in the car before it can't pull away with it on... I checked the haynes manual, it looks an easy* job. Will see how it is in the week after bedding the brakes back in...

[Richard]

The handbrake cables are pretty easy to do.

[beko1987]

Thats reassuring! Haynes says step 2 is 'remove the front part of the exhaust' which means drop the whole thing on this one!

 

Do you reckon I'll need to renew the 2 cables to the wheels and the one from the thingy to the handbrake lever, or just the outside 2?

[bub2006]

I had a squeal at the front. I fitted new pads and grease. Squeal went but must have come back

[beko1987]

Yea it came back, but now I'm sure the pads are fine, if it comes back I wont have it all apart again.

 

I went to the pez station to check the tyre pressures too, and de caravanned the rears from 37 to 30, and took the front drivers side down from 36 to 33. Front pass was spot on. I also took all the wheel trims off so I don't loose any more!

[Richard]

Thats reassuring! Haynes says step 2 is 'remove the front part of the exhaust' which means drop the whole thing on this one!

 

Do you reckon I'll need to renew the 2 cables to the wheels and the one from the thingy to the handbrake lever, or just the outside 2?

 

I can't remember too many details but I do remember it was a lot easier than I had been expecting (IIRC the hardest bit was getting the outer cable ferrule out of its hole in the calliper, and even that wasn't bad) and I'm pretty sure I didn't touch the exhaust. I hate farting around with exhausts so I'm sure I'd have remembered that. I only changed the two cables.

[beko1987]

Dean, I have gone found more service history for the zx

 

 

Do you want me to post it up to you?

[dean36014]

No its fine, still debating what to do with it!

[beko1987]

Drive it until the mot expires then turn it into a garden planter?

[beko1987]

It did a citroen tonight!

 

Popped out to get a pack of baccy, and driving up the road thought mmmm, the seats broken, im leant back alot... Turns out the rear had sunk, and not come back up. I flicked the lever into intermediate, and it went high at the back...

 

I bounce like fuck down the road at 15mph with the front up high (brakes and steering were fine, no stop light) and pull over. A fair session of citrobatics has everything level, and all was fine.

 

Is this the rear height corrector being a dick? I have flare spanners now to get the lhm pipes off without rounding them off, but no special pipe seals, do I have to get new ones or would the old ones be reusable? The front was fine, so I'm inclined to do the easier rear first.

 

Will see how she is for the rest of the week, cant do much else really!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I really want to 'like' the above post, purely for the vision of a Citroen dicking around like some kind of messed up buckaroo. You should have embraced the nose up, arse down stance, stuck your arm out of the window and donned the shades.

That aside, I really hope that the problem is a cheap/easy/quick fix.

[beko1987]

Lol, an opportunity missed!

 

If it happens again, I'll try and work something out! Maybe a load of citrobatics tomorrow lunchtime!

[beko1987]

Well today hasnt gone well!

 

On 'Normal' setting, it puts the rear up high. No amount of citribatics will cause it to be normal. I blagged the morning off work, had the rear up on ramps, depressurised it and the plastic control rod had popped off.

 

Put that back on, and attempted to get the height corrector off, but my 8mm flare nut spanner started to round the hydraulic line off, so stopped. In conversation with people on the xantia facebook group, it's either the 2 wheel spheres have died, or the mechanism itself.

 

Any ideas?

[Richard]

Can't you just cable tie the connecting rod on? That's what I did on mine and it lasted the life of the car.

[M'coli]

Please remember not to be underneath it when it's "high", then mess with the height corrector unless it's supported by axle stands or is up on ramps - several people have suddenly found it detrimental to their health when half-a-tonne of Citroen back end sinks onto their chest.

[Supernaut]

I think I found you on the Xantia facebook group. Mwuhaha.

[beko1987]

Yes that was me!

 

Part success, I think the height corrector had seized. Much brake cleaner, plusgas, WD40 and spray grease has it working fine now

 

However, I have altered the ride height a bit, I removed the bracket that holds the height control rod to the height adjuster. A bit of redneck height adjustment (up on ramps, lying underneath, loosen the clamp, move a mm, wait for height to change, nip up, out from under car, check height, back under etc) had it sitting nearly right, but it's a bit too low, will look at that at the weekend.

 

I also attempted to remove the height corrector fully, but even my new funky flare spanners started to round the bastard unions off, so I imagine it'll be a fun day of swearing with molegrips to get those off...

 

Either way, the rear doesn't shoot up to high on normal now, so  I could drive to work eventually! There's also a water leak, water is dripping slowly off the sump, not sure where it's coming from, and it's deffo water cos I tasted it. Not leaking too fast though, so will just top it up if it needs it for now. The quick look I had did not reveal anything blatent.

[beko1987]

Stop using those gash toolzone spanners.

 

Not a great deal of help now I know, but when I saw the pic of them you posted up I expected trouble

But they are a snug fit... I'll splash out on an expensive 8mm one then and see if that's any better!