coolant changes on the xantia 1.9td how often?

Barbarian · Post by **Barbarian** » 17 Apr 2006, 04:06

I have read that on the xud 9 engines if the coolant isnt changed often the engine can blow its head gasket. Iv ran serveral petrol cars in the past for years and years with only ever topping up the coolant level without any problems at all. So how many miles is often on this car?

iv also read that the xantia has to be serviced at a specialist to keep it on the road but i dont think there are any citroen specailists near me, and what to they mean buy this anyway? All iv done with previouse cars is change the oil and filter twice a year and change the other filters and belts as needed and done enough to get them through their MOT's, How is the xantia any different?

Richard Gallagher · Post by **Richard Gallagher** » 17 Apr 2006, 07:12

Anti-freeze has a limited lifespan of anything between 2 - 10 years depending upon type. Whilst the 'anti-freeze' proprties will basically last forever, the anti-corrosion element does not.

The anti-corrosion element is crucial on XUD engines as they are made from a combination of aluminium (strange stuff that turns to white dust) and iron, then in the middle is the headgasket. You also have aluminium, plastic and rubber used in the radiator, heater matrix and hoses.

As the coolant passes over these different materials it causes reactions which can then cause chemical reactions on other materials, normally either the head gasket or heater matrix on Citroens.

Personally I use a coolant which is premixed with distilled water and has a four year lifespan (changed within this period) in my Xantia and as yet I have had no problems whatsoever.

Bear in mind that there are now many different types of anti-freeze which are designed for particular types of engines and are not in any way compatable with others, either anti-freeze or engine, so make sure you buy the correct one. Citroen's own anti-freeze is said to include a "Gel" which apparently helps it turn the corners in the coolong system more smoothly or something (sounds very strange to me) which reduces the wear internally on items such as the heater matrix.

As far a Citroen's requiring specialist servicing, that really refers to the hydraulic system which many "Professional" mechanics have absolutely no knowledge of whatsoever. As such it does not take a Mastermind to see that someone who is not faniliar with the hydraulics will either view them as troublesome and a Dark Science so stay well clear and ignore them or interfere and do the wrong thing.

Specialist knowledge is very valuable these days as cars have become so sophisticated, particularly in electronics where working regularly on a particular model builds a picture of common faults and what the cause is etc.

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 17 Apr 2006, 08:54

i only ever use citroen anti gel and always change it every 3 years along with distilled water and have never had a head gasket or heat matrix problem, nearly all head gasket problems arise from people not looking after the coolant side of things

Post by **Peter.N.** » 17 Apr 2006, 09:50

As Richard and Dave have said, keeping up the anti-corrsion properties is essential. I bought a relativly low mileage XM 2.1 td which had no anti freeze in it when I bought it, for how long I don't know, but about 10k after I bought it the head gasket failed. And thats a job you wont want to do, especially on an XM. I was quoted about £1,000 for it, but did it myself and found out why! The gasket was literally falling apart, I have never seen anything like it. I fitted a genuine Citroen laminated steel gasket and fillled the cooling system with 50% anti freeze and also fitted a new radiator - I wasn't going to take any chances after all that work! So far I have had 20k trouble free miles.

As far as manintenance is concerned, if you change the engine oil and filter every 5k, the engine will last almost indefinitly. You dont need very expensive oil, as long as it meets the makers spec, CF4 I believe for the XUD, buy as cheap as you can. I use comma oil at about £6.00 per 5 litres and the last XM I sold had covered 292k miles!

Regarding the hydraulics, they are not all that complicated or difficult to work on, in fact I think in some respects they are easier to maintain than your conventional spring system, it just that as only Citroen (and Rolls Royce) use them, very few mechanics have had experience of them, so its really 'fear of the unknown' and fear comes expensive in garages!

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 17 Apr 2006, 16:35

Couldnt agree more with Peter's first two statements

Post by **Peter.N.** » 17 Apr 2006, 18:15

mezuk - On the third point I suppose it depends what goes wrong, but nothing has beaten me so far! They are a lot easier to work on than the CX.

Barbarian · Post by **Barbarian** » 18 Apr 2006, 04:00

how much is this anti-gel? Ill probably change it in the not too distant future since you have told me this.

How often should i get the suspension looked at?

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 18 Apr 2006, 08:00

Meant to say in agreement to all of the statement

Sometimes typing too fast isnt the way to go 8)

Post by **Peter.N.** » 18 Apr 2006, 09:28

mezuk - Well I think the third one is subjective anyway, depends how good you were in physics at school, which is a very long time ago for me!

Barbarian - Dont know about the gel, but as long as the suspension works allright theres not much maintenance you can do, apart from changing the LHM fluid at the appropriate intervals. You can an get estimate of the condition of the spheres by bouncing each corner of the car with the engine running, you should be able to get 3-6" of movement on each wheel, nearer 6" would be better. The back will allways be softer.

Barbarian · Post by **Barbarian** » 18 Apr 2006, 18:42

how do you actually check your coolant level, the bottle is black on my car and all i see is a little groove inside when i take the lid off?

Post by **Peter.N.** » 18 Apr 2006, 18:54

If you fill it to the top it will blow out any surplus, but as long as you can see water in there it should be OK.

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 19 Apr 2006, 12:58

Easiest is as per Peter’s post. ^^^
The grooved piece pulls out, and has max and min levels on it.
Maximum level is the top of the groove, and minimum level is the bottom of the groove.
If you keep adding coolant, the expansion when hot will expel it through the overflow.
There has to be room for at least ½ a litre of air in the tank to allow for expansion of the coolant when hot.