1993 Citroen XM

[dean36014]

The return hoses will be rubber anyway in places. My xm that Mr 6cyl now has went in the same place.  On bx's at the back of the subframe there are back to back connectors to join various pipe runs together.  They make excellent pipe repairs for a small rusted section,  you do need to borrow a proper flare tool though.

[maxxo]

I’ll clip it up tomorrow or whenever lol

just happy to have a functional car again

i might pop another jubilee clip on it in places before I do that for some extra security

kept a fair bit of the rubber hose too for other emergency repairs

[maxxo]

Suspension repair is

adequate

its getting sorted properly in the new year

the car is absolutely filthy so will be getting a good wash soon

just been out and taken the battery off to charge, why not, don’t plan on driving until Tuesday at the earliest so won’t do any harm

interestingly I’ve used the car a fair bit lately but the smart charger I’ve got said it was only half charged

oh well

it’s a heavy bugger!

ive set the charger to car and winter mode for maximum charge and I’ll just leave it a few days and see where we’re at

[maxxo]

Got sick and tired today of the Bosch wiper blades on the car

juddery

smeary

noisy

they were new upon buying the car and they’ve always been crap 

the new rear blade I fitted in march also Bosch has done this

so the ones I bought were these

and they cost me this much for all 3

which turns out to cheaper than I could get them online

anyway the results?

fantastic

absolutely silent 

no smearing

im very pleased with that especially for the money

[beko1987]

I gave up buying expensive wipers a few years ago and chuck cheap ones on now. They go smear and shitty within a year regardless of cost 🤷

Mine aren't too bad atm, soldering on

[maxxo]

44 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

I gave up buying expensive wipers a few years ago and chuck cheap ones on now. They go smear and shitty within a year regardless of cost 🤷

Mine aren't too bad atm, soldering on

i was a proper bosch wiper wanker in the past

i'm sick and tired of them, i rememeber spaffing £40 on wiper blades for the picasso

sod that

i buy the cheapest of the cheap wipers, they all last the same amount of time anyway i've found

 

[maxxo]

the old ones were absolutely horrendous really, really juddery and smeary

to the point using the washers would make it worse half the time

[beko1987]

I used to really like the aero blades, but then on my 406 they didn't sit flat across the screen so got binned. A year or so on the car before's screen must have bent them to that shape... 

But then after that I had a zx and from running a single aero blade on the zx prior it did create a ton more drag on the motor, so chucked a normal blade on. 

My current set is an @Andyrewspecial and doing OK for now, although I've got some long winter trips coming up so I might change my mind 😂 The set I took off prior was still fine but smeared, they now live on @Six-cylinders Royale. Might save the current set for something on the next FoD trip too

[maxxo]

25 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

I used to really like the aero blades, but then on my 406 they didn't sit flat across the screen so got binned. A year or so on the car before's screen must have bent them to that shape... 

But then after that I had a zx and from running a single aero blade on the zx prior it did create a ton more drag on the motor, so chucked a normal blade on. 

My current set is an @Andyrewspecial and doing OK for now, although I've got some long winter trips coming up so I might change my mind 😂 The set I took off prior was still fine but smeared, they now live on @Six-cylinders Royale. Might save the current set for something on the next FoD trip too

i've never liked the way aero blades look on cars which they're not intended for

for example, it would be terrible to fit them to the XM, completely not period correct and it would annoy me quite significantly

[myglaren]

I just bought a pair of Bosch blades for the Mazda at a local car shop, £22.  Couldn't e arsed doing anything more.

I did buy a pair for the C5, 5 years ago, only fitted one as the old one was shredded.  The other is still here.

I once went to a car shop that I have been using since 1983, now closed.  Wanted a pair of wipers for the C5 then.

Jim refused to sell me them, they were listed at £72.

He reached under the counter and said "Here's what you need, Glasgae Brandy".  Meths.

He cleaned the screen with it and it was fine and was around five more years before the one on shredded.

He was Scots but with a perfect English home counties accent, had left university with a chemistry degree and gone into the airforce and did electronics, mainly surveillance (spying).  Great bloke.

[maxxo]

8 hours ago, myglaren said:

I just bought a pair of Bosch blades for the Mazda at a local car shop, £22.  Couldn't e arsed doing anything more.

I did buy a pair for the C5, 5 years ago, only fitted one as the old one was shredded.  The other is still here.

I once went to a car shop that I have been using since 1983, now closed.  Wanted a pair of wipers for the C5 then.

Jim refused to sell me them, they were listed at £72.

He reached under the counter and said "Here's what you need, Glasgae Brandy".  Meths.

He cleaned the screen with it and it was fine and was around five more years before the one on shredded.

He was Scots but with a perfect English home counties accent, had left university with a chemistry degree and gone into the airforce and did electronics, mainly surveillance (spying).  Great bloke.

I’d already tried cleaning the screen and blades multiple times with no success annoyingly, I wound up just getting sick of it

£13.50 for 3 blades is the absolute lowest I think I’ve ever paid for them

i do have concerns that motor factors under charges me, they’re ridiculously cheap

£5 a litre for LHM

£13 for 5L of 10w40 etc

[dean36014]

I use the cheap drivetec ones from gsf. I think they costs less than 2 quid each. They work perfectly and cheap enough to replace every six months. I bought about half a dozen and chucked them on the shelf.

[myglaren]

3 hours ago, maxxo said:

i do have concerns that motor factors under charges me, they’re ridiculously cheap

£5 a litre for LHM

£13 for 5L of 10w40 etc

That is extremely cheap.  The last 5L oil I bought was for my Civic, never used as it was written off a couple of weeks later, was about £40.

[maxxo]

well as the year draws to a close i can quite frankly say by a mile this is the best car i've ever owned

the most reliable car i've ever owned

the cheapest to own

the best to drive

i love it

[maxxo]

Had a very enjoyable day today comparing the XM to its rival, the beautiful Renault Safrane

theyre both utterly brilliant cars

[jon.k]

You just need a 605 to complete that picture.

 

[maxxo]

1 minute ago, jon.k said:

You just need a 605 to complete that picture.

 

The question is, where to find one

albeit more common than an XM and Safrane but none of them are popular or common

[RustyNuts]

19 hours ago, maxxo said:

Had a very enjoyable day today comparing the XM to its rival, the beautiful Renault Safrane

theyre both utterly brilliant cars

I did get a ride in a XM once years ago, it was very impressive however for me without doubt the safrane easily wins hands down.

We've had our current safrane 16 years and I refuse to be parted with it. Many have tried to drive a wed edge between us, they have been met with incredibly hostile and unbreakable resistance. Even the misssus - the most powerful influence in the RustyVerse has failed to get it out of my life and it's technically her car and in her name!

[RustyNuts]

On 23/12/2024 at 18:54, maxxo said:

i was a proper bosch wiper wanker in the past

i'm sick and tired of them, i rememeber spaffing £40 on wiper blades for the picasso

sod that

i buy the cheapest of the cheap wipers, they all last the same amount of time anyway i've found

 

Have you found  source of replacement for your safranes under-hook wiper? - i've struggled with this for years..

[Noel Tidybeard]

do you not just use the clip up-side down?

[maxxo]

Made a decision 

i won’t be selling the XM for a safrane

never has a car completely and utter satisfied me in every single way like an XM does 

I just can’t sell it, I can see this being my last ever car

driving will be crap in the coming years, so I’ll be saving the XMs while I can before you’re not allowed to drive them

[maxxo]

Nothing to report

perfectly reliable 

perhaps the only complaint is really cold start where you have to hold around 1,200 rpm for a few seconds for it to smooth out

but otherwise

nothing

perfectly reliable

sorry an XM thread isn’t being as exciting as an XM thread should be

done 17k now

best car I’ve ever owned

£50 a month for tax and insurance and sod all fuel

piece of piss to own

fuck all to run etc etc

good solid car

might service it in march

[maxxo]

Here have some photos

my next intention is to fit a full leather interior, cos why not?

the problem as I always say with the XM 

it’s too good for it’s own good

first time you drive it you’ll hate it

then you get used to it, the brakes, the phenomenal steering, the ride which is utter perfection

and that’s this cars issue

its too bloody good as a daily

what the fuck would possible replace it and be better if it’s time?

it’s too easy to do hundreds upon hundreds of miles in it without thinking

 

[RustyNuts]

On 30/12/2024 at 21:42, Noel Tidybeard said:

do you not just use the clip up-side down?

No it lifts the lower half of the wiper blade of the glass as it travels up the windscreen.

[maxxo]

i drove it a mile up the road and back to Asda, successful journey 

[maxxo]

Right today it’s been a right awkward finicky little bastard hasn’t it

hydraulic pump has seemingly lost its tension on the belt so makes a delightful screech on a cold start, or if it gets slightly damp

but most excitingly 

the central locking goes ballistic the moment the ignition is turned off, right faff to make it stop too

anyway, didn’t bother locking it tonight as it’ll probably go nuts though the night and flatten the battery

no idea where the issue is, I’m tempted to just disconnect the central locking relay and sort it come the better weather 

[maxxo]

Nevermind it’s somehow fixed itself today it seems

excellent 

[grogee]

21 hours ago, maxxo said:

Nevermind it’s somehow fixed itself today it seems

excellent 

It's just reminding you how it could behave if you were to stop posting positive comments about it 

[RichardK]

From memory, the boot release handle can be sticky in cold/salty road weather and it makes the central locking sulk if you lock it. I could be mistaking it for a different car as SLK and HR-V have the same sticky flap issue, but the XM's frantic central locking/misbehaving boot lock rings a bell.

[maxxo]

5 hours ago, grogee said:

It's just reminding you how it could behave if you were to stop posting positive comments about it 

Yes I agree, running and driving beautiful today

So that means tomorrow I’ll have excitement