XM Fettling - Bubble Trouble

[wesacosa]

Well it turns out the answer was in fact 

D) Car will make it to the MOT station with minimal smoke but a puddle of oil, thankfully not enough to warrant a fail. The MOT man noticed a weep from the cam cover gasket so I think I must have caught the back of the gasket under the cover when putting it back together

Thankfully he also didn't find any other problems so we now have 12 months ticket. Yippeee.   Car drove pretty nicely on the 40 mile round trip, the suspension is usually quite floatly but does sometimes feel not so floaty on pot holes and those kind of imperfections.  Not sure what a Hydropneumatic Citroen is supposed to feel like but one to keep an eye on.  It had only done 200 miles since 2013 so perhaps just needs a bit of use to free off some of the linkage etc.  Thankfully with the MOT pass I can now do stuff like that

[beko1987]

Fantastic news! Cam cover gasket would be an easy swerve too! 

As you say, it needs driving! Lots of citrobatics, lots of braking and steering and fast driving should loosen her up 👍

I always found my xm and xantia couldn't soften fucked road surfaces or potholes etc. But road undulations, fast flat cornering etc are where it shines. 

I raced an ambulance to the hospital with my daughter and the ex in it in mine and won, even trying that trip at roughly similar speeds in the Xsara would have me sitting in the passenger seat/off the road 😂

[Shite Ron]

Brilliant news, well done! I look forward to seeing more pictures of the car in use as you work through the issues.

[Zelandeth]

Small sharp undulations are the things which trip Citroen suspension up the most.  There's one bit of road just down the road here where a poorly laid service duct crosses the road which always caused an almighty this/clatter in both my Xantias.  

Use will be the best thing for it though, these aren't cars which take well to disuse as I think you've seen. 

Bit of perseverance and patience while you work the next few inevitable bugs out and you'll have a lovely way to waft around in your hands.

[rob88h]

Congratulations @wesacosa! I know this thing has been fighting you all the way so I bet it’s really satisfying to be MOT’d. 
I look forward to seeing it in the metal and maybe watching some Citroen party tricks in the carpark. Well done

[jamescarruthers]

Wow, well done. I’ve been following this very closely over on Club XM and has been great to see so much work going in to it. 
 

I’m a big hydropneumatic fan but would agree that it is a fabulous system, except when it’s not— as you’ve discovered that pot holes catch it out and wait until you do a hump back bridge at speed. Still, it is such a great ride in most situations. 
 

The XM is lovely and rides so nicely. I have a C6 but my XM before it was more comfy for sure. 
 

Hope you get to enjoy it. Once you trust it properly, it’ll be a great long distance cruiser. I did about 1000 miles in a rather exceptional two weddings in mine in one long weekend and I doubt there’s anything better than your XM for the job. 
 

Congrats on the MOT and all the hard work. 

[wesacosa]

cheers.  Have to say the guys on Club XM have been amazing, and very patient with my barrage of questions. really would have chucked in the towel if not for the help and encouragement on there, and on here too

[High Jetter]

Oh, THAT's what club XM is about

[wesacosa]

not sure whats happening with the new gasket but its just not being compressed when I torque up 🤔

[rob88h]

It made my day to see your XM in the wild 👍

[wesacosa]

haha cheers.  200 or so miles in.  few niggles but nothing too bad so far.  Seems to fog up windscreen a bit and the fresh/recirc lever broke off in my hand

Also not sure if its sitting a bit high at the front compared to usual 

[Fumbler]

6 hours ago, wesacosa said:

haha cheers.  200 or so miles in.  few niggles but nothing too bad so far.  Seems to fog up windscreen a bit and the fresh/recirc lever broke off in my hand

Also not sure if its sitting a bit high at the front compared to usual 

Try cycling it through the heights a bit and see if the front is sticking on intermediate height. Glad it's otherwise going well for you!

[wesacosa]

it moves up and down through the correct heights when you cycle it, just sometimes seems a bit off after driving. Will give it few more hundred miles and see where we are at

[Turbowomble]

Have just read through this entire thread with a couple of Friday night Midoris and I have to say, fair play to you for persevering with this one - from being on the brink of death to getting back on the road again, despite its best efforts to stop being dragged out of retirement, credit where credit’s due to you mate. Hope there’s no more nasty surprises for you down the line!

[wesacosa]

thanks mate. Yeah it was a bit more hassle than I had hoped to be fair.  Only posted the edited highlights on here too (all four windows dead amongst other things I not mentioned).   To be honest if not for a combination of the shitty weather last summer, lots of waiting on parts and my Fiat Panda project it should have not dragged on as long as it did but fingers crossed its a rolling restoration from now on rather than taking up my drive

[wesacosa]

I decided to get rid of the crappy early 2000s JCV tape deck which came with the XM.  I was hoping to get hold of a correct OEM Phillips cassette deck but nothing seemed to be doing, so I went for the Blaupunkt Madrid after a few recommendations on here.  just the basic one, no CD or DAB.  Plugged straight in with no adaptor.   Reasonably happy with it but maybe not enough buttons and knobs for a mid 90s executive saloon 🤣

Upgraded the speakers whilst I was at it too as it still had the crappy OEM paper cone ones

Car has rewarded me with non working glow plugs and a MILF light, both of which were not there last time I drove it a week ago 

 

[grogee]

9 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

I decided to get rid of the crappy early 2000s JCV tape deck which came with the XM.  I was hoping to get hold of a correct OEM Phillips cassette deck but nothing seemed to be doing, so I went for the Blaupunkt Madrid after a few recommendations on here.  just the basic one, no CD or DAB.  Plugged straight in with no adaptor.   Reasonably happy with it but maybe not enough buttons and knobs for a mid 90s executive saloon 🤣

Upgraded the speakers whilst I was at it too as it still had the crappy OEM paper cone ones

Car has rewarded me with non working glow plugs and a MILF light, both of which were not there last time I drove it a week ago 

 

Does it maintain radio stations and presets after an ignition cycle? Sometimes you have to swap battery and ignition leads to maintain the feed to radio memory while ignition is off. 

Sorry about the non-hot plugs and MILF. Resistance check on the plugs?

[maxxo]

lucas EPIC or bosch pump?

[wesacosa]

5 minutes ago, grogee said:

Does it maintain radio stations and presets after an ignition cycle? Sometimes you have to swap battery and ignition leads to maintain the feed to radio memory while ignition is off. 

Sorry about the non-hot plugs and MILF. Resistance check on the plugs?

I haven't got that far yet. The permie 12v and switched 12v in the car loom match the pin out diagram in the stereo instructions so I am hopeful all is well

I will check the plug resistance but I would assume duff plug(s) wouldn't put the light out

Also seems to be an issue with the seals in the fuel pump (known issue apparently) which cause it occasionally to take a second or two to shut the engine off after key is turned. Not sure if this is causing the MILF or not

[wesacosa]

2 minutes ago, maxxo said:

lucas EPIC or bosch pump?

Lucas (Boo, Hiss)

[maxxo]

6 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

Lucas (Boo, Hiss)

i'm unable to help i'm afraid

but it's being an XM, and i imagine it'll fix itself shortly

[wesacosa]

Annoying noises update time. One old favourite, one new noise and some news about a third

 

Old favourite:

Managed to get a decent video capture of the growling/resonance noise which has been bugging me since I got the car back on the road. Think it might be getting worse

 

 

New noise:

Not heard this one before but there is a pop/twanging/clunk noise from somewhere at the back of the car when you turn ignition on and then off.

https://youtube.com/shorts/zSPyPqcXcEo?feature=share

I think it's suspension related as I think I also heard it a few seconds after I parked the car and turned engine off but it does it do it reliably with ignition on and off

 

Last week's noise:

The electronic buzzing/interference noise I mentioned before is coming from the control panel where the courtesy light/sunroof buttons are. However as previously mentioned its only with the engine running. Not ignition but engine running. I can't capture that too well in a video

Suggestions on a postcard please 

 

 

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

Annoying noises update time. One old favourite, one new noise and some news about a third

 

Old favourite:

Managed to get a decent video capture of the growling/resonance noise which has been bugging me since I got the car back on the road. Think it might be getting worse

 

 

New noise:

Not heard this one before but there is a pop/twanging/clunk noise from somewhere at the back of the car when you turn ignition on and then off.

https://youtube.com/shorts/zSPyPqcXcEo?feature=share

I think it's suspension related as I think I also heard it a few seconds after I parked the car and turned engine off but it does it do it reliably with ignition on and off

 

Last week's noise:

The electronic buzzing/interference noise I mentioned before is coming from the control panel where the courtesy light/sunroof buttons are. However as previously mentioned its only with the engine running. Not ignition but engine running. I can't capture that too well in a video

Suggestions on a postcard please 

 

 

I believe that noise is the suspension electro valves 

should also clunk when a door is open and it switches to hard mode to stop it sinking down so much when you get in

i wonder if yours is having issues and stuck in hard mode etc? How’s the ride quality?

[wesacosa]

2 minutes ago, maxxo said:

I believe that noise is the suspension electro valves 

should also clunk when a door is open and it switches to hard mode to stop it sinking down so much when you get in

i wonder if yours is having issues and stuck in hard mode etc? How’s the ride quality?

its seems to be a different noise to the door opening and a new one which I only noticed today.. could be the valves I guess though that would make sense.  Ride is ok though.  I have ordered the diodes anyway so that might help

[maxxo]

20 hours ago, wesacosa said:

its seems to be a different noise to the door opening and a new one which I only noticed today.. could be the valves I guess though that would make sense.  Ride is ok though.  I have ordered the diodes anyway so that might help

yes i've heard the diode repair sorts all kind of issues

i need to do it on mine

[grogee]

21 hours ago, maxxo said:

I believe that noise is the suspension electro valves 

 

[wesacosa]

hopefully all set for its longest journey in a long while, up to the Citroen National Rally in Milton Keynes. Fingers crossed 

[Three Speed]

Glad you made it and it was good to meet you and chat @wesacosa

Crossing your fingers must have worked.

I hope you made it back ok and were not caught up in the Dartford Crossing bridge being closed. I hope you weren’t the cause!

[wesacosa]

2 hours ago, Three Speed said:

Glad you made it and it was good to meet you and chat @wesacosa

Crossing your fingers must have worked.

I hope you made it back ok and were not caught up in the Dartford Crossing bridge being closed. I hope you weren’t the cause!

good to catch up with you too. Was a great day and some lovely cars there including a good few XMs.   Drive home was very uneventful and Dartford crossing nothing to do with me!  Hope it didn't delay your drive home

[wesacosa]

got the new plates on. very pleased . bought from Prestige plates on @rob88h's recommendation