1993 Citroen XM

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, Bren said:

I'd be checking the pulleys before putting a new belt on - sometimes age destroys a belt - sometimes a pulley going bad. I had the damper on a mitsubishi crank pulley fail and throw the belt off.

the only pulley on the alternator drive belt is the crankshaft pulley, i'm presuming this is fine as it also drives the hydrualic pump belt and that all still works fine

alternator spins fine, actually really nicely

so i think it may well have just been one of those things

[maxxo]

the grandparents picasso full of tools to the rescue today

firstly the alternator drive belt was wrong

great way too long

then tried those scabby looking belts both too long and too short

Anyway cracked on removing all the old bits of belt 

i considered saving time and keeping the current hydraulic V belt on

yeah…..no

this is what it looked like when I took it off

I’m not taking chances with a fraying belt

once I’d got the right belt (I can thoroughly recommend KNS automotive in Peterlee, very helpful) 

it was time to put it all back together, quite a doddle really I must admit

here it is with 2 brand spanking new belts on it, lovely jubbly

charging at 14,6v too

this is the belt I ended up putting on

some more pics including the wrong belts

but it’s done

road test conducted all is well, perhaps a slight tension adjustment will be required but that’s it

bonus 306 spotted on the test drive

im glad it’s all sorted

i got very lucky it didn’t end up mashing the cam belt to bits too

[maxxo]

Glad I decided to replace the other belt

Christ knows how old it was

[maxxo]

Christ must have done 100 miles today

all seems absolutely fine so I can say job sorted 

I dare say it actually sounds quieter too

im glad it’s running well as per

[maxxo]

Oh yeah

i may have spent a good 20 minutes checking fuses and falling on working out why the switchgear lighting wasn’t working tonight

i found the issue

i didn’t have my headlights on

[paulplom]

You should have gave me a shout. I would've popped down to help/interfere.

[beko1987]

Nice repair! 

When the aux belt on my xantia went it got under the cam belt and threw it all off balance (my 2nd ever ride in the big yellow taxi 😂) 

The car was running without the cambelt cover though, that didn't help. 

If I've still got the Xsara next year (and get the airbag light more reliably off) it'll be due a new cambelt and associated. Never had a car long enough to hit the 5 year belt change time

[maxxo]

XM has certainly had a very very very busy day moving house

around 10 return trips of 2 miles each way

loaded up to the brim, shrugged it off and did a great job

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 30/10/2024 at 22:42, maxxo said:

Oh yeah

i may have spent a good 20 minutes checking fuses and falling on working out why the switchgear lighting wasn’t working tonight

i found the issue

i didn’t have my headlights on

 

[grogee]

Good luck in your new home, @maxxo. Citroen Removals Inc! 

[HillmanImp]

I had it in my head that these were saloons that just looked like hatchbacks, like the CX and C6. It wasn't until today when I was looking at the ones on the lazy spotters thread that I realised these actually had a proper boot, then I see this photo on here confirming it. 

I reckon its that glass bit you get underneath the rear window on the parcel shelf thats confused me. 

In fact, thinking about it now, I think someone on here explained it to me years ago and I immediately forgot and went back to thinking they were saloons again.

[chodweaver]

I had it in my head that these were saloons that just looked like hatchbacks, like the CX and C6. It wasn't until today when I was looking at the ones on the lazy spotters thread that I realised these actually had a proper boot, then I see this photo on here confirming it. 
I reckon its that glass bit you get underneath the rear window on the parcel shelf thats confused me. 
In fact, thinking about it now, I think someone on here explained it to me years ago and I immediately forgot and went back to thinking they were saloons again.

That's the '13th window', designed to give the best of both worlds - draught free accommodation for rear seat passengers (i.e President Mitterand) while their luggage is loaded in to the boot, but all the versatility of a hatchback.
Citroen (of course) managed to further confuse things by making the replacement Xantia look even more like a saloon with a boot

[AnnoyingPentium]

5 minutes ago, chodweaver said:

Citroen (of course) managed to further confuse things by making the replacement Xantia look even more like a saloon with a boot

Bloody hell, my life has been changed. Always thought these were saloons.

[maxxo]

The “13th window” is actually quite fantastic and I’m surprised it never took off with anyone else

its basically like a saloon with a hatch on it, seals really nicely and keeps the car temperature even when opening the boot in cold weather and stops rain etc entering the passenger compartment 

lots of aspects of the XM are quite ahead of their time I must admit

in a lot of ways, it’s like a concept car that made it into production 

for what is a late 80s design it’s actually really advanced and clever 

I love them

[maxxo]

One other XM thing that always surprises me still and I keep forgetting it’s got it

despite not having air con it’s actually got technically automatic climate control just with knobs instead of buttons

so if you say set the knob to 22 you can feel it modulate the temperature, one moment it’s warm the next cool etc

it works quite well too!

it’s certainly a damn better car than a C5

 

[somewhatfoolish]

XM and C6 Exclusives have a glass partition so the back seat drivers don't get a cold neck when the hatch is opened and closed. This is peak frenchness.

[Six-cylinder]

15 hours ago, HillmanImp said:

I had it in my head that these were saloons that just looked like hatchbacks, like the CX and C6. It wasn't until today when I was looking at the ones on the lazy spotters thread that I realised these actually had a proper boot, then I see this photo on here confirming it. 

I reckon its that glass bit you get underneath the rear window on the parcel shelf thats confused me. 

In fact, thinking about it now, I think someone on here explained it to me years ago and I immediately forgot and went back to thinking they were saloons again.

Unless you are the poor relation like me and only have an SX trim. Then you do without the extra glass and suffer the cold winds!

[beko1987]

15 hours ago, maxxo said:

One other XM thing that always surprises me still and I keep forgetting it’s got it

despite not having air con it’s actually got technically automatic climate control just with knobs instead of buttons

so if you say set the knob to 22 you can feel it modulate the temperature, one moment it’s warm the next cool etc

it works quite well too!

it’s certainly a damn better car than a C5

 

Doesn't work well when you've got rhe window cracked to have a smoke though 😂 I never used mine in the xm or xantia as I drive with the window cracked if I'm smoking or not... 

I did pop both out and pop the sensor board from the housing and brake clean the dusty shite off the sensor though. That at least made it less jerky in its ramping up and down of things when I did accidentally switch it onto it

[maxxo]

XM to the rescue tonight 

grandparents Xsara Picasso had quite significant clutch failure and had FTP’d at the side of the road

i drove down to Teesside to rescue them

unfortunately didn’t get a pic but had to tow them a mile or so with the XM, I must admit pulling over a ton it did really well! You could feel the weight power wise but it really did beautifully

of course, despite reminding my grandad that he’d have no servo assistance with the brakes he seemingly took no notice

First set of traffic lights say 100m from where we started, I stopped, moments later BANG 

further up the road had to stop for oncoming traffic

slowed down as slowly as possible

if course 

a really hard BANG

seconds later another BANG as he’s taken his foot off the brake

so yes rear ended me three times

can’t see much, few marks on the bumper and towbar

theyve got an obliterated number plate, cracked and deformed bumper

i told him not to sit there with the hazards on and the engine off as the battery isn’t the best

thats exactly what he did and it was flat enough to be unable to start

[grogee]

58 minutes ago, maxxo said:

XM to the rescue tonight 

grandparents Xsara Picasso had quite significant clutch failure and had FTP’d at the side of the road

i drove down to Teesside to rescue them

unfortunately didn’t get a pic but had to tow them a mile or so with the XM, I must admit pulling over a ton it did really well! You could feel the weight power wise but it really did beautifully

of course, despite reminding my grandad that he’d have no servo assistance with the brakes he seemingly took no notice

First set of traffic lights say 100m from where we started, I stopped, moments later BANG 

further up the road had to stop for oncoming traffic

slowed down as slowly as possible

if course 

a really hard BANG

seconds later another BANG as he’s taken his foot off the brake

so yes rear ended me three times

can’t see much, few marks on the bumper and towbar

theyve got an obliterated number plate, cracked and deformed bumper

i told him not to sit there with the hazards on and the engine off as the battery isn’t the best

thats exactly what he did and it was flat enough to be unable to start

Being towed is shit scary and difficult too, but I'm not sure I'd make the 'not hraking' mistake more than once. I hope they weren't fond of their Picasso's front bumper. 

I once got towed from Bath to Tavistock in my Mini behind my Dad, but luckily he borrowed a rigid tow pole from the garage where I worked. With a rigid pole (theoretically) as the towee you don't have to brake. 

[maxxo]

4 minutes ago, grogee said:

Being towed is shit scary and difficult too, but I'm not sure I'd make the 'not hraking' mistake more than once. I hope they weren't fond of their Picasso's front bumper. 

I once got towed from Bath to Tavistock in my Mini behind my Dad, but luckily he borrowed a rigid tow pole from the garage where I worked. With a rigid pole (theoretically) as the towee you don't have to brake. 

I’m not bothered about it, more of the letting go of the brake pedal when it doesn’t perform how you expect which he did 

still, barely any damage to me and they’re not bothered so doesn’t really matter 

the rear bumper has horrible paint anyway and I painted it myself last time

[High Jetter]

32 minutes ago, grogee said:

Being towed is shit scary and difficult too, but I'm not sure I'd make the 'not hraking' mistake more than once. I hope they weren't fond of their Picasso's front bumper. 

I once got towed from Bath to Tavistock in my Mini behind my Dad, but luckily he borrowed a rigid tow pole from the garage where I worked. With a rigid pole (theoretically) as the towee you don't have to brake. 

Maybe, but a rigid 3' pole behind an RAC tranny (so you can see nowt in front) is way scarier to me than a 6' tow rope.

[maxxo]

they've really made quite a mess of the front of their car, managed to bend the number plate at almost a 90 degree angle without it snapping so that's impressive

now bear in mind i live about 15 miles from them and about 17 from where they broke down and it was the start of rush hour it took a good half an hour to get there

that car only really does short trips so i said if you're sat there with the hazards on make sure the engine is running as the battery isn't the best (i've told them about that too)

so guess what, completely dead, only one turn from the engine when trying to start so that was great

i did mention several times about the lack of servo assistance and the fact he'll have to really stand on the brakes

i did offer him to drive the XM and me in the picasso but he didn't want to as the XM is an automatic and he doesn't know how to drive one apparently

oh well, rear ended 3 times and albeit it was dark i can't really see much damage, i'll have a proper look tomorrow

they're talking about fixing it, they're now in their mid 80s, the car needs a clutch, timing belt, service, sills welding and a new exhaust

as much as i hate scrapping cars, i just can't see how it's worth them fixing it

[maxxo]

i think in the coming weeks i'll be giving this a service, it's certainly earned one with how bloody fantastic it's been in the past few weeks

fuel filter, air filter, oil+filter and ATF i think

this car always goes above and beyond to excel itself as a fantastic bit of kit

best car i have ever owned

[somewhatfoolish]

4 hours ago, grogee said:

Being towed is shit scary and difficult too, but I'm not sure I'd make the 'not hraking' mistake more than once. I hope they weren't fond of their Picasso's front bumper. 

I once got towed from Bath to Tavistock in my Mini behind my Dad, but luckily he borrowed a rigid tow pole from the garage where I worked. With a rigid pole (theoretically) as the towee you don't have to brake. 

You really are supposed to brake, otherwise the tow car is trying to brake for a gross overload.

[maxxo]

Been out test driving a couple of potential cars for my grandparents 

the problem with the XM 

it’s ruined me

nothing else feels anywhere near as good as an XM 

everything rides like crap, everything feels like it has crap brakes, everything is uncomfortable 

The XM, a misunderstood piece of perfection

[maxxo]

9 minutes ago, CGSB said:

What did you test drive out of interest?

The trade off is the practicality/easy to live with/dealer support when you're in your 70's+ vs your 20's I guess. Would still be interested to know what they were looking at though.

2016 Citroen c4 picasso

2014 Citroen c3 picasso

2012 Citroen c3

2015 Citroen c4

2012 Peugeot 3008

2011 Citroen c5 estate

yes they’ve also got the French bug

basically they’ve said if they get another car it has to be a Citroen 

[maxxo]

8 minutes ago, CGSB said:

WOT NO CACTUS?

I actually did. suggest a cactus but no “too low down” apparently 

I’ve just said buy another xsara picasso so keep things simple

[Noel Tidybeard]

hunda jizz is the correct answer

[maxxo]

driving to lidl say an hour ago

stopped at some lights behind a BMW estate with female driver

who then proceeded to slowly reverse into me whilst i was repeatedly sounding the horn

no reaction at all

i got out and had a look, no reaction from her

she has some damage to her bumper, i seemingly have a tiny little mark

it wasn't high speed at all just really annoying

i wonder what Citroen made these bumpers from as they're extremely strong