Xantia Estate 1996 SX TD 232K-Lower Door Hinge

budgie75 · Post by **budgie75** » 16 Nov 2006, 08:41

My drivers door lower hinge is breaking away from the panel. There is a crack in the panel spreading round the hinge plate where it is welded on and some misalignment has already taken place. Getting in on the other side gets tedious! I think the only remedy is to gain access to the space behind the hinge and weld a patch over to reinforce the panel, then clean-up and reweld from the front.
Has anybody done this and have tips or other ideas to offer?

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 16 Nov 2006, 10:22

This is a common problem on Estates which were built in a different factory from saloons.

As its a common problems there are a number of bodyshops who know all about it and do a good job at a reasonable price.

There are a number of posts on here - including some recommendations. Whereabouts are you?

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 16 Nov 2006, 13:37

BX-Basis (Germany)

Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 93
Location: Aurich (Germany)
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:50 am Post subject:

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Unfortunately, this is a very common problem of the Xantia Estates. The reason is, that the Estates were not built by Citroën in Rennes but by Heuliez (just like the BX, CX and XM Estates). The cars made by Heuliez are obviously not as good as those built by Citroën. The Xantia Estate also has much more corrosion problems than the hatchback.
_________________
BX-Basis

budgie75 · Post by **budgie75** » 16 Nov 2006, 18:30

Thanks Jeremy and clogzz. First time Ive ever had complaints with German engineers....maybe they prefer their own designs.

Jeremy, I am in Hampshire too, Winchester, so your recommendations could be very useful. although I was hoping to do it myself and had looked for postings before asking the question so I will look again. But as itcould be very awkward, getting someone else to do it is a attractive idea.
Cheers
John

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 16 Nov 2006, 18:39

Think the only way to get at the hinge is to remove the front wing!

I know it sounds drastic but the whole hinge is on show then and can be
tackled from outside the car with the door shut (thus holding itself in the
correct position on the catch). Removal is easy enough once the wheel arch
liner and the one single stupid length, hard to get at and hold bolt (the one
which holds the wing and the bumper together) is undone - the rest are
easy to get at and will undo OK.

Let's face it, you'll only have to finish the job Heuliez didn't once in your
ownership of the estate if it's done properly...

Andrew

john alexander · Post by **john alexander** » 16 Nov 2006, 23:25

hi I recently had to do the drivers door on my wifes estate , with the door closed its weight pulls it out of position , with the door fully open its weight pushes it back into position. when welding always weld upwards to achieve penetration of the weld into the thicker panel below . Thats why the welds give in the first place, the robot welds downwards and too fast for the weld to penetrate through, it's fine for single thickness panels but not double. . regards john.

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 17 Nov 2006, 12:41

the robot welds … too fast

Like that !

This topic lists repairers in the South of England:

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... php?t=5131

mrjohnson · Post by **mrjohnson** » 17 Nov 2006, 12:57

I've also put this post on another thread, so apologies if you find the duplication annoying.

Just bought a '99 Xantia HDi estate. There's a little play in the door, so I'm guessing the failure process is starting.

First can someone confirm the metal bits involved for me? From what I can gather:

Outside:

Hinge
Pillar steel skin

Inside:

Steel Reinforcing plate
Air gap
Further metal skin(s)

How thick is the reinforcing plate? Is it thick enough to tap a thread into?

If so, as an alternative to welding or putting a big bolts through multiple skins with a big washer on the inside, could I just :

Drill holes through the hinge, skin and plate
Tap the lot to put in threads
Slightly increase the hole size in the hinge to allow for thread width
Bung in bolts and tighten up.

What do you experts think?

Thanks,

Martyn

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 17 Nov 2006, 16:30

Clogzz wrote:BX-Basis (Germany)

Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 93
Location: Aurich (Germany)
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:50 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, this is a very common problem of the Xantia Estates. The reason is, that the Estates were not built by Citroën in Rennes but by Heuliez (just like the BX, CX and XM Estates). The cars made by Heuliez are obviously not as good as those built by Citroën. The Xantia Estate also has much more corrosion problems than the hatchback.
_________________
BX-Basis

I think we should remember that cars are rarely 'built' at these plants, they are assembled! Most of the welding is done at component manufacturers and almost certainly the door hinges for all variants were welded at the same component manufacture... the problem will almost certainly be down to design...

Ian

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 17 Nov 2006, 17:17

I'm sure the door pillars and front doors are the same for saloons and estates which would suggest an assembly problem.

Didn't any of these things fall off when the cars were relatively new? If they did you'd have thought someone would have investigated and sorted the problem.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 17 Nov 2006, 18:29

The hinge pillar didn't get the required 'zap' of the spot welder on the
bodyframe when Heuliez assembled the common Xantia components
onto their converted body pressings for the bespoke estate. The strain
on the weaker hinge would only manifest itself over a longish peiod of
time as Xantia estate owners are now finding out.

The Xantia estate is the only known estate with isssues, though the Xm
and Cx estate were also seperate assembly cars too - the last Cx's weren't
actually made by Citroen at all - and they don't seem to last as well as the
post '83 upgraded models Citroen made.

I think the C5 should be Ok though...

Andrew

KSY · Post by **KSY** » 17 Nov 2006, 18:31

Thanks Andrew!

john alexander · Post by **john alexander** » 17 Nov 2006, 20:25

Hi . modern welding robots can "see" where to weld but years ago they were set up by hand, ie a welder would weld the hinge by actually holding the MAG torch , the movements were recorded in the robots memory so each weld replicated the first one . Now I dont know how many lines citroen had for the xantia so all the robots could have been set by the one welder. At heuliez it would have been a different welder so the robot replicates that welder. With regard to the last models of the CX , take a look at the web site of MAGDA STEYER , it explains something called production shaving , where one company does the start up or tail off production for another as well as peaks. Have a look at which cars they currently build. regards John.

john alexander · Post by **john alexander** » 17 Nov 2006, 21:02

oops meant MAGNA STEYER

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Xantia Estate 1996 SX TD 232K-Lower Door Hinge

Xantia Estate 1996 SX TD 232K-Lower Door Hinge

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