Xsara - £200, worn P bush OX9 3 MOT Sept 25 - Please save it from scrap 😱

[beko1987]

So in a very unsurprising sideways step, today is the day I collect my Nu car! A Citroen ZX MK2, better known as a Xsara! 

Sit rep: sat drinking tea waiting for @Six-cylinder to arrive who is very kindly coming along for the ride, and to drive the xsara home as he popped it on his insurance for the day!

Mr @Talbot reports that the xsara drove perfectly into his work this morning after a few weeks sat in a garage, and that's about all you really want from an car! 

[loserone]

Are we going to get pictures?

Also, are you really going up to @Tickman's? Dundee is a long way.

[beko1987]

Ffs @Talbot even! Once you @ someone you can't remove it it seems... Doomed from the start! 

[beko1987]

If she comes with the car that's even better... 

[Talbot]

12 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Ffs @Talbot even! Once you @ someone you can't remove it it seems... Doomed from the start! 

You can delete an @, you just have to press delete/backspace several times and it finally goes.

[beko1987]

11 minutes ago, loserone said:

Are we going to get pictures?

Also, are you really going up to @Tickman's? Dundee is a long way.

 

Ah there we go, I can edit it on the computer!

Sorry @Tickman, love you lots x

[Talbot]

20 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

the xsara drove perfectly into his work this morning after a few weeks sat in a garage, and that's about all you really want from an car! 

It did.  I added screenwash and that's about it.

Things I did not do:

1. dip the oil
2. check the tyres
3. check the coolant
4. clean any of the glass
5. or any of the car for that matter
6. stick to the speed limit.

Things I will have to do later:

1. get the train home

[loserone]

Is Ionannis' girlfriend from ten years ago included @Talbot?

[Talbot]

Aaaahhhhh,, so that's why the boot doesn't open...

[maxxo]

Oh very nice!

these are getting quite rare these days....can't remember the last time i saw one

[loserone]

[beko1987]

Ooooh excite! 

[beko1987]

Wee stop! 

[GeordieInExile]

That Xsara looks class in poverty spec white.

[Talbot]

27 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Wee stop! 

 

 

Where Are You?!!?

[beko1987]

We r here! Chris is just texting you

[Talbot]

Aaaaaaaand it's gone.

Although the tail-lamp warranty may need to be claimed on, as it's got a tail lamp out.  Another item to add to the list of "things I didn't check before driving it"

[rmjbn1]

Congratulations on your new acquisition!!!

Or maybe not.

Is it a good development? It's not a bad development. It's a development.

[Talbot]

Well, it's been over an hour, and I've not had a phone call or message telling me I'm an absolute arsehole for selling a complete piece of shit, so I can only assume that progress is still being made.

Reeeeeally want to know how the journey is going!

[beko1987]

Well we got home at about 2.45! Had a cup of tea, then fixed the non working brake light and front passenger headlight

 Chris then departed for home so he could arrive whilst it was still light. I then assessed the magnificence of what I now own... 

Its got 3 alright Michelin tyres on it! I've never had a car with Michelin tyres before

Inside is fucking plush compared to the zx. Also fucking filthy compared to the zx too... 

I gave the seatbelts a wipe down, and the gear stick surround for now, bringing my mum home tomorrow to have the kids on Thursday... 

We found the genuine rear load tie down thing too! And genuine floor mats throughout! @Lord Sterlingwill be happy! (there's even 2 types, the ones fitted are a different style)

Had an attempt at fitting my headunit, which sort of works but I need to buy another cheap wiring adapter, not to get the steering controls working, but to make the bloody thing turn off, same issue the 406 had, the bsi doesn't play nicely. It's cheaper without the stalk harness too, I gave the 406 one away though annoyingly 

The fascia surround needs shaving back a bit too. Oooh and I jimmied open the glovebox and found stuff! 

So there we go! I've driven it 10 metres to park it in my space, I'm not insured on it until midnight so it's a proper trial by fire tomorrow morning at 7am! 

Oh and the oil was off the bottom of the dipstick, and the dash showed as empty... So chucked 2l in and it's happier now, will do an oil change fairly soon! I see what talbot means about the high clutch, but it's a bit weirder as its almost like the brake and clutch are level, and the throttle is right far back. Meh, the zx bites fairly high, I'm sure I'll get used to it in time! Chris said it drove utterly fine, and once we got to the familiarity of the m40 shenanigans were had and he floored it off and it was fine at 69mph and no more... (I forgot how hilarious an xm kicking down at 70 is!) 

Big thanks to @Talbot for selling me a bloody good 'an car', and @Six-cylinder for letting me drive us up there in his xm and then driving the xsara back on his trade policy. Was bloody nice to do 200 miles in an xm again!

ZX is parked on the road, someone from here came to look at it briefly and took it for a spin and said yes, so hopefully that'll get picked up soon. 

Next job, we'll I'll probably next see it in daylight Saturday morning where it will get a bloody fucking good hoover out, then driven to my dad's and left for 3 days... 

I've just remembered I've not eaten anything all day so the oven is on, and I'm about to go through the history and see if I need to budget for a cambelt. 

[Ghosty]

6 hours ago, beko1987 said:

Ooooh excite! 

no, XM! 

[beko1987]

Fuck me there's alot of paperwork! There's whole invoices from citroen for bulbs! 

And I found the only cambelt receipt, and going by the date rather than milage it's due... Not sure wether to roulette it, change it myself or tap @Andyrew up for a job...

Not had this much service history with a car since the silver laguna! 

[Talbot]

10 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

I found the only cambelt receipt, and going by the date rather than milage it's due... Not sure wether to roulette it, change it myself or tap @Andyrew up for a job

Were it me, I would take the top cover off and visually inspect.  No, it can't tell you everything about the belt, and even a belt that looks OK can still fail without warning, but you'll get an idea for whether it looks alright or it's cracked and on the verge of failure.

Doing a belt on one of these is straightfowardish.  Certainly easier than an XUD, as you don't need to worry about timing the pump.

[Talbot]

38 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

And genuine floor mats throughout! @Lord Sterlingwill be happy! (there's even 2 types, the ones fitted are a different style)

In the passenger front door pocket you'll find a genuine Citroen plastic bag with genuine Citroen clips in it to affix your genuine Citroen floor mats into your genuine Citroen.

[beko1987]

7 minutes ago, Talbot said:

Were it me, I would take the top cover off and visually inspect.  No, it can't tell you everything about the belt, and even a belt that looks OK can still fail without warning, but you'll get an idea for whether it looks alright or it's cracked and on the verge of failure.

Doing a belt on one of these is straightfowardish.  Certainly easier than an XUD, as you don't need to worry about timing the pump.

Don't you? That sounds easier than the xud I did then! Access worries me a bit, changing the headlight bulb I laughed as deep deep down below many things were the same chassis legs the zx has! Plus I suppose in April when I'll be doing the job, it won't be so fucking cold and shit outside and I'll have more motivation Doubt it's going to blow up in the next few months though. 

I've splashed out already! £6 on the iso adapter kit for my headunit, don't want it making the bsi any more annoyed and they come with the perm live cable already fitted which will save me 10 minutes bodging something up. Then dremel time on the fascia

[AnthonyG]

I just know you are going to spend many a happy hour (or rather three weeks) cleaning that up!!

[beko1987]

7 minutes ago, AnthonyG said:

I just know you are going to spend many a happy hour (or rather three weeks) cleaning that up!!

Oh yes! Starting Saturday with a bloody good vacuum! The exterior can wait for better weather though, sod that! 

[hairnet]

if you plan on keeping it change the belt if theres nothing wrong else with it and itll def pass an mot

otherwise service and as i said about zx fix safety only items and run till bang

ps frog bumder and you only went to bognor - amateur

[beko1987]

37 minutes ago, Talbot said:

In the passenger front door pocket you'll find a genuine Citroen plastic bag with genuine Citroen clips in it to affix your genuine Citroen floor mats into your genuine Citroen.

I had to go outside right now and yes, there it is! Fancy! 

Not sure which mats I want to use now, the ones with xsara embroidered in or the ones with it printed. I could have a summer and winter set! Best clean them all up first and see what's what, but not in this weather 

[Talbot]

27 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Don't you? That sounds easier than the xud I did then!

Nope, it's a high pressure pump only, the timing is entirely taken care of by the injectors and the electronics.  Having done both XUD cambelts (absolutely bloody loads of them on many different cars they came in) and a DW10 cambelt, the DW10 is definitely a bit easier.  Very similar in many ways as the DW10 engine is an evolution of the XUD block.  You still use an 8mm dowel behind the starter to lock the flywheel (and hence the crank) you still put a bolt into the camshaft sprocket, and the routing of the belt is absolutely identical.

The only bit that I thought was a bit shit on the DW10 engine is that the tensioner is no longer built into the engine mounting, you have to tension the belt manually.  Other than that, it's the same procedure as the XUD with only detail differences.

Even the water pump on the DW10 engine is the same as the later XUD series.