1993 Citroen XM

[grogee]

On 11/09/2024 at 09:52, Stinkwheel said:

I'd so nearly agree with you, until i think of CX's

I would happily apply all the above points you make to a CX and say there is something more 'involving' than with the XM. I am not putting the XM down at all, wonderful cars and I'd happily have another one. But get a good long drive in a decent CX if you can, that is what big Citroen motoring is all about for me (others can and will say different and thats their call)

I'm still a Citroen virgin (although I've driven a few) but the key point to both @maxxo and @Stinkwheel's views is finding a decent/sorted version of either. 

As a total guess I think the ratio of good to shonky cars is 20%, ie 80% of the XMs or CXs you're likely to see advertised are in need of serious rework to get them into the 'decent' state. 

I think this is what puts me off really, the worry that I'd be landed with a lemon and face a Sysiphean task of forever trying to bring it back to life. 

But also - dibs if you sell. 

[Datsuncog]

Mine was absolutely not cossetted either, but did do remarkably well in all manner of adverse conditions:

A house move and the dreadful winter of 2010 were just two events it took in its stride.

Sadly it had been terminally bodged by a previous owner, but it never gave me any bother at all until the MOT tester disembowelled it to reveal that the sills were artfully constructed from Isopon, lengths of electrical conduit and plastic bags...

[Stinkwheel]

Just now, Datsuncog said:

Mine was absolutely not cossetted either, but did do remarkably well in all manner of adverse conditions:

In my experience, not cosseted is the way to run a big Citroen of any flavour, if its in use and getting (appropriate) maintenance (not isopon to the sills etc) they tend to last well and keep working as intended. As @Rust Collector unfortunately found, they sit, they get problems

[maxxo]

Some pennies are being spent

i must admit that’s a bloody good deal

[maxxo]

i must admit i am so excited to get those new tyres

i absolutely despise the Pirelli's on there at the moment, they're dated 21 yet are cracking between the tread and are rock hard oh and let's not forget almost zero wet grip now, albeit they are under 3mm

they were never very good, i was a bit dissapointed to see them fitted on the car when i bought it

the cheap £15 chinese part worn i had fitted to the n/s front actually somehow has more grip

will be nice to have a matching set again

[maxxo]

day started well, drove over Durham to drop the XM off at ATS and was asked about suspension which is always a good sign

Now bear in mind those Pirelli’s on the car had started tramlining and feeling horrible

As well as an horrific wheel wobble

ah yes much waiting

an hour and a half later I was complimented on the car by the staff and given the keys back

if that date code is to be believed they’re 2 weeks old, fantastic

the drive back, which I took a long route was quite simply phenomenal 

the steering feels so much nicer, it’s much much quieter, no wheel wobble and feels so much more planted

in fact I’d say it feels better than a C5 with Michelin crossclimates

these are my favourite tyres for an XM 

I am so extremely happy with these 

I cannot express just how much it’s transformed the car

and best of all no more wobble

[richardmorris]

I rate the efficient grip performances to - used them on my C5, then w124 and will put them on the tipo later.

[maxxo]

3 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I rate the efficient grip performances to - used them on my C5, then w124 and will put them on the tipo later.

I had them on the front of my last XM and was quite happy with them

i was disappointed to see this one had Pirelli cinturato P1’s when I bought it and sure enough they were absolute crap, I really don’t like them

so I’m really happy with the Goodyears, it’s transformed the car completely even with the short drive home it felt completely different and so much nicer

im looking forward to putting some more miles on them

[grogee]

I've got Efficient Grip on my 'Yota, I can't think of anything to say about them except black and round. I mean, no complaints, but if somebody swapped them overnight for Rotella I'm not sure I'd even notice. 

It probably doesn't help that I drive seeking max MPG, rather than max MPH. 

[maxxo]

i had honestly thought there was a strut top issue due to the weird feeling steering, sort of wolly and rubbery and just felt weird in general

but the wheel wobble, now that was bad!

i can honestly say all that has gone now, steering feels direct and albeit as numb as any hydro citroen but confidence inspiring

plus at speed so much quieter

[maxxo]

taking the grandparents xsara picasso to ATS tomorrow, yes i might as well rent a room in ATS this week for 4 new tyres

now i had ordered the cheapest westlake tyres they have, due to them doing low mileage

but they rang me and said they can't get them but do i want a free "upgrade" to triangle tyres so why not

it was £160 for 4 tyres fitted, which is a bargain in itself these days so will be interesting to see what they're like

they've got a mismatch of winter tyres, 1 remould and the rest are dated between 04 and 09, which is interesting on a 58 plate car!

absolutely horrendous to drive, you can get tyre squeal on a dry roundabout at 10 mph and if you brake anything harder than a feather on the pedal the ABS kicks in when dry and in the wet it's difficult to brake without causing the ABS to activate

it's at the point where i refused to drive it 10 miles up the A19 the other week

you should see the cracking on the tyres too, very impressing, the tread is seperating

so yes, i get to experience some brand new budget rubber tomorrow, i have a slight hunch it will be an improvement

[maxxo]

*shrugs shoulders*
nothing to report

erm I cleaned it today, I’ll get some pics tomorrow

nearly 14,000 mile since I purchased it and it’s been extremely reliable

yes, extremely reliable and Citroen XM normally don’t go together in the same sentence but there we are

if I had to be picky I’d say perhaps the blower fan can be a bit squeaky oh and a slightly rattly heat shield on the exhaust

[Marshall2810]

On 03/10/2024 at 10:47, grogee said:

I'm still a Citroen virgin (although I've driven a few) but the key point to both @maxxo and @Stinkwheel's views is finding a decent/sorted version of either. 

As a total guess I think the ratio of good to shonky cars is 20%, ie 80% of the XMs or CXs you're likely to see advertised are in need of serious rework to get them into the 'decent' state. 

I think this is what puts me off really, the worry that I'd be landed with a lemon and face a Sysiphean task of forever trying to bring it back to life. 

But also - dibs if you sell. 

Just seen this @grogee and I'd say just go for it. They're wierd cars but once you get into them they're alright really. Just need time, space and a small amount of patience. I'd highly recommend any green blooded cit 

[wesacosa]

5 minutes ago, Marshall2810 said:

Just seen this @grogee and I'd say just go for it. They're wierd cars but once you get into them they're alright really. Just need time, space and a small amount of patience. I'd highly recommend any green blooded cit 

I'd definitely recommend a mk2 2.1 TD manual needing a bit of TLC but going cheap 🤔😂

[maxxo]

10 hours ago, Marshall2810 said:

Just seen this @grogee and I'd say just go for it. They're wierd cars but once you get into them they're alright really. Just need time, space and a small amount of patience. I'd highly recommend any green blooded cit 

The green blooded ones are seeming a lot easier to own than the orange blooded ones

theyre really weird, nothing else like them but bloody hell they’re nice to drive

[maxxo]

Le shiny XM 

[maxxo]

It’s only after driving other cars, including other hydropneumatic Citroens you realise just how much of a solid all rounder the XM is

CX for example, utterly brilliant yet nowhere near as sharp as an XM, a lot more body roll and weirdly steering that doesn’t feel as good as the one in the XM 

the steering is one of my favourite aspects of the XM, very nicely weighted, power assisted just enough to make it a doddle to park yet feels really good at higher speeds, solid

take the C5, very assisted in its steering and just feels heavy even with hydractive 3+ it doesn’t handle anything like an XM 

the XMs ability to just handle speed during cornering is staggering very little roll when really pushing on  and really does feel planted, in fact it feels a lot more stable than my green C5 did

Xantia activa obviously will out handle it but it doesn’t have the float, in all honestly the xantia doesn’t ride as nicely as the XM, BX is softer but doesn’t have the handling

another aspect is the brakes, very little travel on the pedal but really strong, imagine a modern with over assisted brakes and no pedal travel and you’re about there

it doesn’t dive during braking at all, perhaps if you really stand on it you get maybe an inch of downward movement 

it manages to be spacious without being a massive car by modern standards, very light and airy and I dare say a larger boot than a C5 hatchback with a lot more rear legroom 

now I must admit I recently drove a 23 plate Mercedes S class and yes that does ride better than an XM of course it does but it was horrifically expensive and you look like a twat driving it

citroen XM, my favourite car of all time? Yes I’d say so

i can’t think of anything I’d rather be driving, every journey is a joy and the amount of positive reactions I get while driving is staggering

this by a mile is the best car I’ve ever owned, here’s to many more years of happy motoring

[maxxo]

Yes I would consider another C5

But only a 2.2 HDi 173 facelift 

i don’t Like the prefacelift anymore, I’ve had 2 and if you remember my threads on them you’ll know why, both were ungrateful turds especially the red estate which I threw £4,000 at and it rewarded me by shitting it’s autobox, killing an injector and developing suspension incontinence, the green one shit it’s ABS pump, died electrically while driving at random and was a bugger to start when hot, thankfully I didn’t spend much on it before I got rid for the XM 

[IronStar]

How do the brakes fare compared to BX’s nothing-ANCHORS LOCKUP affair? It’s really ruining the experience of driving for me.

[wesacosa]

Just now, IronStar said:

How do the brakes fare compared to BX’s nothing-ANCHORS LOCKUP affair? It’s really ruining the experience of driving for me.

they added a rubber block in the pedal mechanism to add some compliance  and feel on the XM as the feedback on the BX brakes was as per your comments

[Missy Charm]

On 27/09/2024 at 22:00, richardmorris said:

I didn’t get on with the trapezoid front window on my drives really, but that’s just me. It always seemed to be a design compromise. 

The Xantia had issues with blind spots, too.  I always used to be a bit wary of changing lanes, particularly moving to the left, as a result when driving mine.  It was possible for a car to one's nearside to disappear completely, i.e. not be visible in either the nearside mirror or through any of the windows, if it was in precisely the wrong place relative to the Xantia.  Styling was good though, so probably worth it.  

[IronStar]

4 hours ago, wesacosa said:

they added a rubber block in the pedal mechanism to add some compliance  and feel on the XM as the feedback on the BX brakes was as per your comments

Retrofittable?

[wesacosa]

3 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Retrofittable?

I don't know much about the BX to be honest but I'd be surprised if they were compatible as I assume the mechanism is different but worth asking on Citroen forums 

[maxxo]

4 hours ago, IronStar said:

How do the brakes fare compared to BX’s nothing-ANCHORS LOCKUP affair? It’s really ruining the experience of driving for me.

Depends how used to them you are tbh

ive noted it’s a lot more difficult to cause a lockup with the new Goodyear tyres compared to the Pirelli’s I had previously as those it was very easy to

I haven’t managed to lock the wheels with these tyres and I had to do a very hard 70-0 stop on the A19 the other day due to rapidly stopping traffic

it’s hard to tell really as my last XM had ABS (I must admit I do wish this one did as well) whereas this one doesn’t 

I imagine someone not overly used to LHM brakes and shitty tyres would be very easy to lockup an XMs wheels

[maxxo]

3 hours ago, Missy Charm said:

The Xantia had issues with blind spots, too.  I always used to be a bit wary of changing lanes, particularly moving to the left, as a result when driving mine.  It was possible for a car to one's nearside to disappear completely, i.e. not be visible in either the nearside mirror or through any of the windows, if it was in precisely the wrong place relative to the Xantia.  Styling was good though, so probably worth it.  

I’ve not really found that in the XM however I’ll have a proper check tomorrow

the only moan I’ve got regarding visibility is the passenger side door mirror on the series 1 cars like mine is half obscured by the A pillar, which was sorted on series 2 cars with different door mirrors

[maxxo]

Happily driving along the A19, heard a weird flapping noise for a moment which stopped so thought nothing of it

happened to glance at the dash 

ahhhhhhhhhhh 

that’s undesirable 

thankfully I was just at Sunderland so only had 8 or so miles to do

when returning home I opened the bonnet and was immediately greeted by this

aye that’ll do it

so now time to walk to the local motor factors and try and get 2 new belts

i am incredibly lucky it didn’t end up in the timing belt which these are known for

oh yeah my tools are at my grandparents house in Teesside so got to get the bus down there, bring their car up with the tools, fix the XM, take their car back and then get the bus back

fun old day

[maxxo]

They can get me 2 new belts tomorrow, the alternator one definitely but the v belt for the hydraulic pump is a strong maybe

if not I’ll go over to KNS in the industrial estate 

anyway I’ve found these two unknown age belts for an XM 

however admittedly I feel I’ll be much better keeping these as spares and to fit a brand new one as i don’t know the age of those two

[wesacosa]

9 minutes ago, maxxo said:

They can get me 2 new belts tomorrow, the alternator one definitely but the v belt for the hydraulic pump is a strong maybe

if not I’ll go over to KNS in the industrial estate 

anyway I’ve found these two unknown age belts for an XM 

however admittedly I feel I’ll be much better keeping these as spares and to fit a brand new one as i don’t know the age of those two

given your good luck with it not pulling the cambelt off I'd definitely not be chancing it again with some unknown belt for the sake of £20 or whatever a new one is

[maxxo]

Just now, wesacosa said:

given your good luck with it not pulling the cambelt off I'd definitely not be chancing it again with some unknown belt for the sake of £20 or whatever a new one is

I realise now just how bloody lucky I was, especially the fact I drove it a few miles home with it snapped too

I can’t really find the rest of the belt, it must have all fallen out and fell into tbh road

i won’t be restarting the engine until I’ve triple checked nothing is on the bottom pulley, mind you if there was it would have knackered the cam belt now

ive been quoted £7 for a new belt from the local factors, the other belt seems a tad bit harder but somewhere will have one

[Bren]

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.