I've done a silly......CITROEN XM

[maxxo]

XM stuff today

oh yes

very easy to do actually, undo 3x 10mm bolts on the underside of the transmission and lever the plate out and you then get yourself absolutely soaked

want to see what came out?

it didn't smell burned at least! but it was very very dirty

filled it up with fresh reddish/pink stuff, around 3L i put in and that got me to the top mark on the dipstick

how does it drive?

well it seems to shift a lot smoother now! which is nice

going to do another change in a week or so

i dread to think when this was last done, a very long time ago i'd say

[maxxo]

hopefully in changing that it will allow the transmission to last a little bit longer!

i can't see the old fluid doing it much good

this car seems to have had a complete lack of maintenance in the past from what i've found

[maxxo]

that's quite the oil slick!

i wonder who's it is?

can't be mine, as hydraulic citroens never leak!

most of it is LHM, and for some reason i'm quite proud of it

[Dyslexic Viking]

It's just marking its territory so nothing to worry about.

[maxxo]

oh yes! she likes to do that

[maxxo]

oh dear

no battery light illumating when ignition is turned on, glows dimly when engine is running

turned around and headed back home, got the volt meter out

oh dear oh dear

it appears to be running out of electricity 

had to take the C5 for my 20 mile trip

i presume this will be absolutely great fun to sort out

[maxxo]

alternator it is i'd say

wiring is fine, battery is quite new and tested fine

buggery!

[maxxo]

As you can see, access to the alternator is simply superb*

[richardmorris]

Could it be just the contact brushes? If they are removable of course? 

[maxxo]

I’ve been given a new in box alternator for free….I don’t see the point in trying to repair this one really

[richardmorris]

15 minutes ago, maxxo said:

I’ve been given a new in box alternator for free….I don’t see the point in trying to repair this one really

Just thought that it may be easy to remove the brushes ( like the 2cv) rather than the whole alternator.

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

Just thought that it may be easy to remove the brushes ( like the 2cv) rather than the whole alternator.

I’m planning on keeping the old one anyway and maybe getting it refurbished 

but yeah that could well be easier, just absolutely dreading doing it

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, maxxo said:

I’ve been given a new in box alternator for free….I don’t see the point in trying to repair this one really

Jammy!

[grogee]

Looks like access* is achieved from underneath and possibly OSF wheel removed. Is there an access panel in the OSF wheelarch? 

Good luck @maxxo, we're all rooting for you.

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

Looks like access* is achieved from underneath and possibly OSF wheel removed. Is there an access panel in the OSF wheelarch? 

Good luck @maxxo, we're all rooting for you.

There’s another aux belt in the way and the ecu box…..

engine is slanted at too sharp of an angle to remove it from underneath

so that’s hydraulic pump has to come off, can’t wait for that!

this isn’t going to be an easy job 

[grogee]

32 minutes ago, maxxo said:

There’s another aux belt in the way and the ecu box…..

engine is slanted at too sharp of an angle to remove it from underneath

so that’s hydraulic pump has to come off, can’t wait for that!

this isn’t going to be an easy job 

Aw baws. Is that hydro for the PAS or is it for Citroen wizardry? I believe most PAS pumps are self-bleeding (just turn the wheel a few times with engine running) so although messy it's not too technical 

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

Aw baws. Is that hydro for the PAS or is it for Citroen wizardry? I believe most PAS pumps are self-bleeding (just turn the wheel a few times with engine running) so although messy it's not too technical 

Citroen wizardry, the entire hydropneumatic system

so I’ve got to mostly drain the system too for maximum joy

[RichardK]

Was going to say "radiator out' but then I remember it's an auto so that's not as much fun. But that's how I got access on my old ones when this sort of job came up, the radiator is relatively easy to remove.

[Lacquer Peel]

2 hours ago, maxxo said:

There’s another aux belt in the way and the ecu box…..

engine is slanted at too sharp of an angle to remove it from underneath

so that’s hydraulic pump has to come off, can’t wait for that!

this isn’t going to be an easy job 

ECU box? It's a mechanical diesel, no ECUs here.

Good luck, don't overthink the job, there are a few steps but there are worse alternators to do. 

 

[RichardK]

2 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

ECU box? It's a mechanical diesel, no ECUs here.

Good luck, don't overthink the job, there are a few steps but there are worse alternators to do. 

 

Doesn't that box contain the Hydractive ECU and gubbins, though?

[maxxo]

Yep, hydractive and ABS ECUs live in there

[Lacquer Peel]

4 hours ago, RichardK said:

Doesn't that box contain the Hydractive ECU and gubbins, though?

Oh I jumped straight to engine management. Of course. 

[maxxo]

Many XM bits to make it better collected from Glasgow today

[richardmorris]

22 minutes ago, maxxo said:

Many XM bits to make it better collected from Glasgow today

You  can get a lot in a c5 with the seats down.

[maxxo]

28 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

You  can get a lot in a c5 with the seats down.

You sure can!

Still did the 420 odd miles on 3/4 tank, including traffic and hills

[maxxo]

Fucking bastard car the XM is

well, more like whoever’s owned it in the past is

completely the wrong alternator fitted, so a massively too big belt fitted

i discovered this when I was attaching the belt to the new alternator 

it’s a bastard job too

started at 10, got fed up 20 minutes ago and have left it until tuesday

i need to get a mystery length belt now

[High Jetter]

Had you not ordered a correct new belt to fit at the same time? I'd have thought that worthwhile.

[maxxo]

belts are almost new that's why i didn't......

still, i'll have a 778mm and a 736mm belt 5 rib available both nearly new and in excellent condition free of charge if anyone wants them

 

[richardmorris]

16 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Had you not ordered a correct new belt to fit at the same time? I'd have thought that worthwhile.

Ah capt. hindsight  

[maxxo]

funnily enough

halfords is much cheaper for a belt than euro car parts, going to pop over to a motor factors first thing tomorrow and see if they have one

start work at 10am tomorrow so i should be have time