XM Fettling - New Pastures New

[wesacosa]

2 hours ago, beko1987 said:

It's not too bad... Put the front up on ramps (then down low, depressurise etc) , then lie underneath and once your directly under the centre sphere it's not too bad... a borrow of a sphere removal tool would make it loads easier though. 

Tightened up the release/pressure screw? 

will have a proper look but it didn't seem like there was much room to get s swing at it with a filter wrench.  Yeah bleed screw definitely closed

[Ian_Fearn]

@wesacosa this is a Plaiedes sphere wrench. It’s in Derby if you want to borrow it.

[Frogchod]

This is my sphere tool

I got it from French ebay.

Accumulator  sphere change on a 2.5td takes about 10 minutes with this. 

[beko1987]

It's why the tool is so important, as you need the reach. Once their cracked off they (should) spin off by hand, if its knackered I was warned of a geyser of lhm out of it but mine didn't do that luckily

[wesacosa]

4 hours ago, Ian_Fearn said:

@wesacosa this is a Plaiedes sphere wrench. It’s in Derby if you want to borrow it.

cheers, I am in SE London so a bit far but cheers for the offer, although with the front accumulator sphere I am not sure if there is room for one with a big handle like that

[Ian_Fearn]

It’s been a while but I’m 99% sure I did the accumulator sphere on my V6 XM. Assuming I remember rightly, I will have used this tool.

[Three Speed]

I have one of those wrenches in Sussex if you want to borrow it.

[wesacosa]

26 minutes ago, Three Speed said:

I have one of those wrenches in Sussex if you want to borrow it.

thanks mate. I will have a look at access and see if my filter wrench works but good to know there one available to borrow it not. cheers 

[wesacosa]

I decided to invest in a sphere wrench as I figured I would need it for other, I thought it would give me just enough swing room to get at the accumulator sphere  despite it being very tight. Sadly it's on too tight to break loose with the leverage I can get on it. I thought about using a jack handle as a lever but there is nothing solid to push against. So back to the drawing board. I really don't want to have to take the accumulator of the car but it may come to that.    

[Ian_Fearn]

In my experience, you often need to shock these things off by belting the sphere tool with a big hammer.

The rear strut spheres on the BX were always hard to remove, in that instance I used to put the suspension on high, get somebody to sit in the boot and then get a big lump hammer to get the seal broken before depressurising it.

[wesacosa]

yeah I did wonder about that, but just can't get a swing at it with a hammer its so tight. I might have to try a chain wrench with socket on top so I can get an extension bar, ratchet and breaker on it

[wesacosa]

got the little fecker off.  was thinking about what you said @Ian_Fearn and thought even if I do get a chain wrench might still need shocking loose. I managed to get an old jack handle in through all the pipes and hoses to make contact at the right angle.  gave it a few hits with a hefty hammer and it cracked loose (mms from impaling the wrench handle into the radiator fins 😬)

[Ian_Fearn]

Glad you got it sorted!

[wesacosa]

hmm still doesn't seem happy. knocking noise (not the chip) when you move the car up or down. Back to the drawing board 

https://youtube.com/shorts/TQAQD4A7SXg?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/PjFQBGelpG4?feature=share

[wesacosa]

I finally decided to make a start on the job I was dreading,  the cambelt.  I figured before I can fully diagnose the knocking noise mentioned in the previous post I would try and shut up the aux belt noise and whilst I was at it the cambelt too. I was right to be weary of it, the access to everything is really tight. Every single nut and bolt you need seems to have something stopping you accessing it easily.

I have everything off now apart from the crank pulley which I am dreading as they stick apparently.

I have seen better condition auxiliary belts if I am honest

Cambelt doesn't look too horrific but its not in the rudest health

Noticed a few other things which need attention

- Pipe from fuel priming pump is split

- Some hissing from one of the overflow pipes or the cap on coolant tank randomly when I was reaching to get the top cover off

- Alternator pretty noisy when I turn it, could be the source of the nasty chirping noise (although I think it only noisy when I turn it backwards 🤔)

Finished for the day now as I have had enough.  I have to say its really not a fun car to work on so far everything is so awkward to get at.  lets keep everything crossed that the pulley comes off tomorrow 🤞

[wesacosa]

jeez it really is a bit of a pig to work on this car. Every nut bolt clip fixing you need to access has a pipe hose or bit of structure in the way so you cant get your tool on it or if you can you have half a click of movement. Cambelt off and showing some signs of cracking in the teeth so glad I doing it. Some horrible sludge behind the lower cover too. Assume its leaky water pump but I can't see a path to the gasket from where its gathering so I wonder if its leaking past the shaft

I have a new water pump so fingers crossed

The coolant seems to have a pink tinge when I think it should have had blue. some chalky residue in the header tank too ,😬

There seems to be some debate as to if you change the cambelt tensioner and idlers as the OEM parts are metal and supposed good quality. I have INA replacements in the kit, but the idler is plastic and the current one spins freely with no play. However the tensioner does have a bit of play. Unfortunately that means taking off the engine mount bracket which is (of course) a monumental pain to get at.  

[wesacosa]

uh oh . Appears to be no thermostat. I have a horrible feeling I may have bought a dud, which is hiding some horrible secret 😨

EDIT - This is an empty Thermostat housing used to attach top hose to block.  See below for the ludicrous placing of the actual thermostat housing 🤣

[wesacosa]

well I thought I had seen it all after 25 years messing around with cars, and 20 years working in the car industry.. Every stupid numbskull packaging with no regard for repairs down the line, but no I had not . ladies and gentlemen I give you the thermostat housing on the Citroen XM ( yes that is the front strut and driveshaft you can see in the picture)

[Ian_Fearn]

Is this your first proper Citroen? If so, 100% respect….. I think I would have recommended a BX 14 or 16 petrol to cut your green teeth on 😂 either way, XMs are fabulous things when properly sorted. 

[Heidel_Kakao]

Just now, Ian_Fearn said:

Is this your first proper Citroen? If so, 100% respect….. I think I would have recommended a BX 14 or 16 petrol to cut your green teeth on 😂 either way, XMs are fabulous things when properly sorted. 

I had a pair of XM estates as my first Citroën. I did end up giving both of them away for free so maybe your point has some merit!

[wesacosa]

Its both my first Citroen and my first diesel so a lot of learning to do. Plus the Haynes manual on this is particularly useless.  Today's latest drama is what looks like a chunk out of the sealing flange  on the block where the water pump goes 

[Ian_Fearn]

 

Do you have the Haynes XUD specific manual? 

[wesacosa]

ooh no I didn't know there was one.  Good tip, thanks. wonder if it covers the later XUD 11 with Lucas (as I think 95 or 96 was the changeover on the XM )

[wesacosa]

Finally got the stat housing off. what an absolute stupid idiotic design. I now have to try and clean off the crap on the sealing face with zero room to move my arm. not surprisingly it was the original thermostat

I have to say my patience and enthusiasm for this car is waning a bit, its just an absolute pig to work on and a lot of parts are almost impossible to get hold of. I hope its better to drive than is to fettle

[Three Speed]

But you do get a tremendous feeling of satisfaction when you finally win. 

[wesacosa]

4 minutes ago, Three Speed said:

But you do get a tremendous feeling of satisfaction when you finally win. 

that's what I am hoping for.   would be nice to have my maiden drive in it before the MOT in August

[wesacosa]

I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this car, spent two hours so far trying to get the cambelt tensioner off and all I have managed to do is destroy the threads on the stud ( it need a double nut method to get the stud out but with virtually no hand or too access).  I can't get a stud extractor on it and the threads look too far gone to get the two nuts to lock together to try and get the stud out.  

I am really at a loss as to what to do now. Its starting to look like it could be engine out or weigh in. I think I have ran out of talent and patience with it now 

[MJK 24]

Walk away today and come back another day armed with more info, any necessary tools and a clearer frame of mind!

[beko1987]

Can you undo the engine mount and drop/lift the engine enough to get better access? 

[wesacosa]

I definitely need to walk away for today, but I don't think tomorrow will bring anything different. If you add in the absolute faff it was talking the mount bracket off to get to the tensioner fixings in first place I am getting on for 6 hours trying to get this blasted tensioner off and I am no closer.  

The engine mount is disconnected but its not helping.  The problem with the double nut was trying to get a spanner on the inner most nut inside the confines of the lip of the roller wheel.  It clearly wasn't done tight enough or the bolt is seized in the block but either way the threads are now mangled

I managed to get a small stud extractor on there but that isn't shifting it either, it just winds off the stud.  

Without having the engine out I just cannot see a way out of it, and taking the engine out is way beyond my capabilities/tools/facilities