Xantia of Desires - Farewell xantia!

[beko1987]

Well soon the Kia can feel more yours! I've put normal bulbs in for now, we had a few.

 

I've just got out of the shower, and Amy and the kids have already left, so I'll have a crunchie bar and a pint of squash to take the taste of veg and diesel out of my mouth, and show what I did on the Meriva.

 

Ever since we've had it the battery securing clamp has been broken

 

So the other day I spent £12 on a new one FROM A MERIVA A ACCORDING TO THE LISTING...

 

 

However, it's totally fucking different

 

 

I'll try and work out if it's from a meriva B or another car entirely and complain, if there is more than one type of Meriva A battery tray then I've lost £12 and if anyone wants a battery tray shout up! So I had the old one out anyway to see what could be done

 

 

Immediatly apparent was the lack of thread in the captive nut thing

 

 

The bolt is fine though

 

 

So I wrapped some tape around it to see if that packed it out enough, and it didn't... so I cleaned the tray and underneath it up, and cabletied the battery to the bastard (MOT People, is this sufficient to not be a fail? shaking the battery shakes the car now...)

 

 

Moving on from that, a major annoyance for the past few years has been that the bonnet stay clip has been broken (by me...)

 

 

which means that when the bonnet is dropped the stay jumps out and lands here

 

 

Which sounds innocent enough, but it gives the car a proper death rattle! We were driving in it once (I was driving actually), and when holding it on the clutch there was a horrible metallic rattle that got me worrying the whole way home... it was this. Amy phoned me the other week saying that every time she went over a smal lbump there was a horrible loud knocking coming from somewhere, it was this...

 

So I also boughted a new clip

 

 

and hopefulyl no more death rattle

 

 

And lastly, to the rear of the car. About 8 months ago, she backed it into a bollard parking, and redecorated the rear corner

 

 

and knowing that even though it's a dummy lens for LHD models, it would probably be a fail for sharp edges or summat, so the very next week I bought a new one

 

 

and fitted it today!

 

The whole lot unscrews with 3 screws and unplugs

 

 

I washed and waxed under here when we first got it... needs doing again

 

 

Then the fog light bit unscrews from the main part

 

 

and done! No one will ever know

 

 

Sorted! I'm off to town now to find a death burger and maybe sneak into the pub before finding Amy as 'I tidied the tools away before I left love, sorry I took so long'

 

 

 

[beko1987]

Is this spanner any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/151992011724?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=28306099746&rlsatarget=pla-184492175826&adtype=pla&poi=&googleloc=9045996&device=c&campaignid=628859225&crdt=0

 

Its park tools with i used to use all the time for the mountain bike and were good quality when i used them, all be it about 18 years ago.

I shall give them a go I think! thanks for the recommendation

[beko1987]

ace info as always Chompy, I'm glad I cut a new end to the blue pipe then and re pushed it on!

 

nothing today was a problem tbh, infact it was nice to get to know her under the bonnet! tomorrow I have interior stuff to do! I've just had some under the counter Chilli sauce from a seller at the food festival though, crying tears of joy!

[beko1987]

When I sold the ZX, I left the £30 aldi headunit in, as I couldnt be bothered to take it out. Plus, the tape deck in the xantia looks very nice, and I was excited about the steering wheel controls, until I found out they didn't work!

 

So for my birthday, I invested £20 in some high quality* audio kit, to bluetooth enable the tape player. It worked quite well, using the aux input. It's supposed to play media from a micro sd and usb drive too but I havent got that to work yet, the bt audio works very well though. Amy says the microphone is a bit quiet, but hearable, and I don't make many calls in the car, it's mainly to stream radio (and music when I get a bigger microSD for my phone) without having to have my phone tethered with an aux lead.

 

I fitted it properly today, after we went to the emergency services fete thing in town

 

 

The first thing was to strip the radio down to access the aux input from the back. 6 screws and the whole front comes off, revealing all the tech. I'd bought an aux extender lead so I could unplug it to have the radio out for any reason, so I chopped the plug end off, and holding the wires to the terminals revealed what had to go where

 

 

and the white wire for the rh channel

 

 

A hole was made to pass the lead in from the back

 

 

and my best bird shit soldering made the connections permanant

 

 

The boards were put back together, feeding the wires through where they needed to go

 

 

Some of the bulbs don't work on the radio, and I can't do much with them so I melted the solder a bit on their connections incase it made them work again (havent tested it yet, it's not dark enough...)

 

 

radio back together

 

 

To charge the bluetooth thing, I bought a 12v to 5v1a micro usb thing

 

 

 

and dismantled some of the dash, hollowed out the blanking plug next to where I'd positioned the bluetooth module and fed the wires through

 

 

It earths off this bolt I found

 

 

and for now takes its live feed from the dashboard light adjuster, which means it only has power when the lights are on, but that stops it being permantly live, and it seems to run for a week ro so on a charge, so should be ok. I'll change it if it's not

 

 

The only slight issue is the aux will only select if something is plugged into the front aux socket... I'll work out a way to make it work without one day, but the chopped off plug works well at making it work

 

 

but then I tucked another aux lead into the dash to power my mp3 player, which still gets used lots, so as long as their not both on at the same time, both can live in harmony, and I have 2 aux inputs now!

 

 

Dismantling the dash did reveal that alot of it is broke, so if anyone is ever scrapping a xantia, I could do with lots of bits (and a new heater selector unit as I bloody snapped the knob off for the fan speed... it can be moved with care using the broken knob, for now I've put it into auto mode so it wont be so bad...

 

Billy bonus (ish), when I get a vent phone holder, the charge cable reaches perfectly, so I can charge my phone up by unplugging the bt thing, plugging my phone in and turning the lights on. But I don't charge my phone that often in the car, if I start needing to I'll hunt out a fastcharge car kit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eddie Honda]

Too much effort for me. I got lazy, let the postie do the walking and got a couple of these:

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Bluetooth-Car-FM-Transmitter-MP3-Player-Car-Kit-with-LED-Display-Dual-USB-2A/32242120827.html

 

 

Does the job of Bluetoothing via pods to it, even on the crowded FM round here. If you like wires and not BT, there a very short 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack cable to feed in the signal.

 

oh and the burd that does to vocal messages on it on start up, pairing, etc. loves me long time.

[beko1987]

I looked at those, but didn't fancy one in the end, I'd have to have the ashtray out all the time to use it.

[Eddie Honda]

True, I would have the same issue with the Pug as they like to hide the tray and lighter behind the big panel. Mind you, you have it half-open anyway!

[Lord Sterling]

Is this as far south as the xantia has ever been?

Hey Beeks, was checking the plate upon www.ukvehicle.com and apparently the Xantia was originally registered in South East London so it's kind of returned back down south home if ya like, I'd imagine if it lived in that area from new it may well have been as far as Portsmouth probably unless it was moved up north from new and sold through another dealer. Maybe check out some double-chevron dealers down that area and see if where the car might have been sold new and maybe score yourself a keyring and dealer sticker?

 

You still got Merc trims on it or Citroën jobbies?

[beko1987]

Interesting it's from west london, I have all the paperwork somewhere, I'll dig it out and have a look!

 

It's currently running on no wheel trims. One of the white ones fell off on the M40, and after taking the others off they weren't far behind (the trim was separating from the holding ring, and wasn't clipping into place) so I sacked them all off to the side of the shed. Will run without trims for winter, and see what I can find next year!

 

She seems a bit more peppy after removing all the hoses and putting them back on yesterday, it could be a placebo effect. The bluetooth system also works very well indeed, I put a load of music on my phone and streamed away. I also sorted my music out so the songs I have are ones I want to listen to. I have a habit of downloading full albums just for a song or two, so got used to skipping lots, got bored so now I only have what I will (possibly) listen to. Drained 3/4 a tank in 363 miles, and usually get 200 miles to the last segment of the tank (1.2 to 1/4 always goes fast in it) so looking at 550/600 miles to a tank, which isn't too shabby, but will probably go back to £40 every fortnight as a full tank don't half make it feel heavy!

[beko1987]

I shall give them a go I think! thanks for the recommendation

Bought!

[Eddie Honda]

You'll be fine with that if it isn't rounded, else crack out the Mole/Vise grips.

 

I haven't messed with a Cit, but brake pipes always undo, it's just the fittings that turn with the pipe and create a new problem....

[beko1987]

The one I tried has ever so slightly started to round, but the rest haven't, so fingers crossed. Plan B will be to hope the pipe is a short run, and undo it at the other end and slip an 8mm ring spanner down it, or just leave the whole pipe in the height corrector unit.

 

Will need to get a few cans of brake cleaner and some more plusgas/Penetrating fluid first though, and Amys working the next 2 weekends so another 2/3 weeks of it sinking its arse down I fear!

 

Plan C is mole grips, but I want that to be the very last resort! I had to do that when changing the rear calipers on the ZX on the drivers side and it was messy, although did the job in the end after one final do or die nip up to cure a slow weep.

[beko1987]

Right, let me show you what I've been doing today! First, I jumped in the Meriva and popped into town to get some bits

 

 

Aux belt, cam belt, can of brake cleaner, m8 rod, cut up to make locking pins and the french car forum cambelt change wiki guide!

 

I started stripping it down, and quickly got to the crank pulley bolt. The gearbox was in 5th, handbrake hard on but it kept rotating. Took me a few minutes to work out that my front discs are missing the retaining bolt, so the driveshaft and hub were rotating behind the disc. Soon sorted that

 

 

and off it cracked, quite easily, but this is the third belt change this has had. Immediatly issues become apparent

 

 

Moving on, I failed to get both intercooler pipes off, but luckily* the top cambelt cover is missing, and the main cover is broken, so with the pipes half off the cover was withdrawn (I re-read the how to and did find the mounting bolts to the intercooler pipe that isnt held in with a jubilee clip, so might remove it to refit). I then alarmingly saw a bit of plastic wedged under the cam crank

 

 

Some more bits were undone, then it came to the engien mount, and I haven't got a big enough spanner, adjustable or socker (32mm is my biggest), but luckily my oil filter wrench came to the rescue and cracked it off!

 

 

 

Next, I rotated the engine and locked the fuel pump crank. But then the cam crank wouldnt line up.... So, I took the starter motor off because I couldnt find the locking hole, and locked the flywheel and cam. Then, off came the belt, and I rotated the fuel pump and locked that (the fuel pump rotation was sprung, is this right?)

 

 

Used a 6mm drill bit to lock the flywheel, my m8 rod was too thick

 

 

Amazingly, with everything locked up the bottom cog was at TDC, so I think the fuel pump was thrown out of time, causing the poor running and excessive white smoke

 

I pulled the cog off the bottom bit and fished bits of melted aux belt out from behind it

 

 

The full extent of how lucky I hope I've been is here... I swore alot... lots of teeth are peeling away on one edge too, but I don't know if thats where it's been battered by the aux belt, or it's just a poor belt. Meh, all changed now!

 

 

Naughty words were said.

 

Fighting with the tensioner, I eventually got the cambelt on, and the tensioner done up. And that brings us to now. The locking pins are being pushed against now, so aren't un-doing easily, now everything is under tension. My initial thought is to slacken the tensioner off again, remove the pins and re-tension. Or just find something bigger to grip the pins with to remove them. Everything then needs a good few rotations to seat the cambelt properly, as it's not sitting right on a few teeth on the bottom cog.

 

Then (and this is mainly so I don't forget!), I need to:

 

cambelt cover on

intercooler pipes on

crank pulley on with locktite

aux belt pulleys cleaned off (veg oil and diesel got on them due to a leak off pipe split, I think this is what started all this off a few weeks ago)

fit new aux belt (and hope euro car parts sold me the right one, it's ever so slightly smaller, I'm hoping because the old one is streched)

refit starter motor

re-run the lhm pipes and cables

refit ait box and battery tray

refit battery tray

pucker up and turn the key...

arch liner

sort out a weeping screenwash tube join

wheel on

go for a scary first drive!

 

Will update tomorrow!

[Rusty_Rocket]

Crumbs! Keeping my fingers crossed you got away with it!! Those missing teeth aren't good 

Might be best to sniff out some covers!

[vulgalour]

Close call indeed!  I wonder what's caused it to omnom the belt?

[Rusty_Rocket]

Ps- don't slacken the tensioner again, just wiggle the locking pins out by moving the crank a bit, back and forwards. Do a couple of complete turns by hand and then re-check. Good luck!

[beko1987]

Close call indeed! I wonder what's caused it to omnom the belt?

The engine side of the aux belt is very worn and split, which caught the cam belt. Ever since I had the leak off pipe leak, I think veg got on the belt, causing it to slip around and squeal. I'm putting it down to that, either that or the belt just fell to bits and I didn't know the signs to catch it.

 

It should be ok, it's a trial run for a cambelt change in 20k with a waterpump! And I now know how to replace the starter if that dies! And thr engine mount etc

[beko1987]

Right. Everything's timed up, new belt is on, all timing pins removed. When I go to turn the engine over by the fuel pump sprocket, I'm met after a turn or two with a complete stop. Is this normal, or should I be able to rotate the engine by hand?

[Eddie Honda]

You want to start again. Pin crank. Pin fuel. Pin cam. Check all slack is on the same section of belt as tensioner.

 

You should be able to rotate it at least twice without hitting anything, but 4,6 or 8 turns and the bolts/pin should slide straight in.

 

Eta might be a but stiffer on compression...

[dieselnutjob]

it should turn over, something isn't right.  why are you turning it by the fuel pump sprocket?  just put it in top gear and spin a wheel

[Eddie Honda]

A complete stop is prob a tooth out as a couple of turns would cause enough drift. Recheck your work as above.

[beko1987]

I've not got both wheels off the ground, I could do though.

 

Ive got the crank back to TDC now, and the flywheel locked, but the cam is 180 degrees out now. And it won't budge...

 

It wasn't compression I felt, it was metallic...

[Rusty_Rocket]

Yes, turn it by the crank, Bek.  To do this, I usually find a big nut that loosely fits over the thread of the crank pulley bolt.  This spaces the bolt away from the crank (taking up the space the pulley would normally do) so the bolt doesn't bottom out in the thread.  Turning the crank this way is easiest.

the cam is 180deg out because you need to do another complete turn of the crank.  If this isn't possible, you'll have to go backwards and re-check the timing pins will go in (or be close enough at this point). 

[Eddie Honda]

"If you go from Crank to pump to cam when fitting the belt then it'll end up a tooth out on the cam when you release the tensioner and pins. You need to go cam-pump-crank."

 

http://306oc.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=5791&pid=121071#pid121071

 

[beko1987]

That must be where I'm going wrong. I've got it all timed up and pinned again, crank at TDC, belt off and I'm having a rolly and a cuppa. I'll fit the belt as above.

 

I could see the cam jam and the belt slack jump, so I've got the slack all wrong I think

[Eddie Honda]

The only other thing that annoyed me with the XUD, was the tensioner. Automatic, good. Lock bolt through slotted plate (9) , bad - because thread is in ally head made of brie.

[beko1987]

Nope, all re done and I still hit a metallic wall when trying to turn more than half a rotation. It's not in gear, all pins are removed. Wtf do I do? I don't want to just fire it up incase I've gone horribly wrong

[Rusty_Rocket]

How quick is cam cover removal on these?  If you really are hitting a metallic clonk with it all timed up, check to see if you have any big (big) clearances between the top of the valve stem and the cam lobe..

[Richard]

Do you have feeler gauges? Checking the valve clearances is a good way to identify bent valves- wide clearance means bent valve.

 

Edit- beaten to it.

[beko1987]

Oh this doesn't sound fun!