Activa - what wheels? And speedo problem

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 05 May 2007, 22:32

Activa alloys be they MK1 or MK2 cars are all the same, Lee DJC and Clogzz pics show the same wheel i.e. with a removeable centre cap.

LeeDJC · Post by **LeeDJC** » 05 May 2007, 23:04

LeeDJC wrote:

Are you sure they're the same? They both look different to me....

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 05 May 2007, 23:26

You have to be careful, there are alloys which are very similar to Activa wheels but the holes are slightly smaller.
My 2.1TD estate has Activa alloys the same as Citrojim's, while TehAgent has alloys that are similar but smaller holes.

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 06 May 2007, 06:37

DickieG wrote:Activa alloys be they MK1 or MK2 cars are all the same, Lee DJC and Clogzz pics show the same wheel i.e. with a removeable centre cap.

LeeDJC wrote:Are you sure they're the same? They both look different to me....

I was referring to the picture from your earlier post which included the photo of the Activa shown above and Clogzz picture of a MK2 Activa.

The top photo above is of the VSX for sale on eBay posted by THELABMAN.

LeeDJC · Post by **LeeDJC** » 06 May 2007, 08:21

DickieG wrote:
DickieG wrote:Activa alloys be they MK1 or MK2 cars are all the same, Lee DJC and Clogzz pics show the same wheel i.e. with a removeable centre cap.
LeeDJC wrote:Are you sure they're the same? They both look different to me....
I was referring to the picture from your earlier post which included the photo of the Activa shown above and Clogzz picture of a MK2 Activa.

The top photo above is of the VSX for sale on eBay posted by THELABMAN.

Aaah, apologies!

Post by **CitroJim** » 06 May 2007, 09:36

The acid test is if you can get to the rear bleed nipples or not

On Activa wheels you can, on others you cannot.

LeeDJC · Post by **LeeDJC** » 06 May 2007, 10:02

citrojim wrote:The acid test is if you can get to the rear bleed nipples or not

On Activa wheels you can, on others you cannot.

That's handy to know. That should make it easier bleeding rear brakes, as the suspension should be under load to bleed properly shouldn't it? (or is the Activa different from the rest)

Post by **CitroJim** » 06 May 2007, 10:25

LeeDJC wrote:
citrojim wrote:The acid test is if you can get to the rear bleed nipples or not

On Activa wheels you can, on others you cannot.
That's handy to know. That should make it easier bleeding rear brakes, as the suspension should be under load to bleed properly shouldn't it? (or is the Activa different from the rest)

No, in this one (and perhaps only

) respect the Activa is the same as any other Xantia in that the rear has to be under load to bleed. Going in through the wheels makes this job dead simple.

Have you decided to keep your Activa Lee?

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 06 May 2007, 11:03

Well. I've got that ebayed blue Xantia back and it's actually not a bad
looking car though the engine issue appears to be the HG from grilling
the owner for the exact how's, why's and wherefores.

Everything seems to work including the electric leather seats and windows
etc though there's no sunroof. It's had a recent clutch and spheres ALL
ROUND!! Yes all of them, and there's sheaf's of paperwork SH.

The tyres are tready but the brands are nothing special so I don't really
fancy using them on an Activa in anger at least. Sadly, the wheels are
the grottiest alloys I've EVER seen on any Xantia with blistering on the
large face areas on every one - the actual edges of the rims aren't bad
and they're not buckled etc - they really need re-powder coating.

Now, my question: is the turbo engine architecturally the same as the
standard 8v as per HG and bolts as I cannot see a different listing on
the parts in any online catalogues. It wasn't simply a case of a different
manifold for the turbo was it?

I'm inclined to give the HG a go once I've had a further poke and prod
about the oil/water on the engine and anyone who's been here before
on this particular type of engine is very welcome to pitch in with
comments and suggestions! I have changed a couple of normal 8v
HG's before so know what to expect!

Andrew

Post by **CitroJim** » 06 May 2007, 11:31

Hi Andrew,

Excellent, You have a bargain there. The new spheres are worth at least £250

And everything works. You are very fortunate!!! Having had the clutch done is a bonus. It looks quite a task on the ML5 'box.

Wheels: Yes, I know, for some reason these really seem to suffer. Three of mine are OK but one has had a scratch in the lacquer at some point and corrosion has started. Some I have seen look as if they have been living under the sea for 200 years

Engine: It's just a normal XU10 8V engine, nothing unusual at all, as you say, just a different set of manifolds and a low compression head. If you have done XU and XUD heads in the past it holds no surprises whatsoever. Just take care tensioning the cambelt. It is on that horrible eccentric adjuster and you must not tension too tightly with the engine cold. The engine "grows" a lot when hot. Correct tension cold is an easy 90 degree twist on the front (long) run of the belt.

All the best with it and keep us posted!

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 06 May 2007, 11:57

Thanks Jim. Useful mention about the tensioner!

I may be brave and fill the lot with the correct fluids and run it briefly for
a few minutes later on - I'd like to nail the definition of the seller's phrase
"It 'dropped' the oil and water after the water temperature went right up..."

No outward signs of actual leakage and the water and oil fillers are
healthy/clean with no tell tale traces of mayo. There isn't an oil/water
heat interchanger here that could actually have split open due to corroded
aluminium is there - seen this happen on an XM V6 12v manual that did
a fantastic impression of a blown head gasket but there was no
pressurisation in the water jacket so a softly softly approach nailed the
real problem!

Anyhow, other things to do first though! I'll update the developing saga!

Andrew

Post by **CitroJim** » 06 May 2007, 12:42

andmcit wrote: There isn't an oil/water
heat interchanger here that could actually have spli open due to corroded
aluminium is there -

Yes, Andrew, there is

Identical visually to the one seen fitted to the Turbo Diesels. It is hard to see though, amongst all the pipework.

It's certainly worth spinning it up to see percisely what the problem is. Head gaskets on the XU10 are normally very reliable and it could well be something less difficult. Like you, I'm confused about dropping oil though unless the oil cooler has let go. The oil dropping and water temperature going up may not be related!

Activas do run hot and it is easy to be initially confused, chasing an overheating problem. They also use an 82 Degree thermostat. If it has an 88 degree one in it will run hot. In fact, the thermostat has got to be a good initial suspect.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 06 May 2007, 17:36

I'll have to check out the new Activa's issues tomorrow now. Things of
a Citroen nature took another 'interesting' turn this afternoon when the
throttle cable on my 95 TD Xantia estate snapped as I was accelerating
down the slip road onto the M4 with the back fully laden with parts to
take to my lockup...

I've been wondering why the damned Xantia seemed to be getting
slower recently too; thought it was the intercooling piping that I'd
somehow managed to disturb doing it's glowplugs the other day or
even a duff turbo.

On the hardshoulder I quickly managed to stitch the remains of the inner
cable out of the main bowden where it had snapped about a foot from the
throttle linkage and bound around the main accelerator lever/support at
about 2k revs and coaxed the car off the motorway to where I limped it
to my sister who's located nearby fortunately!!

And Simon's silver Activa will have to await it's turn when the other
demanding Xantiae have stopped being so demanding!!

Andrew

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 06 May 2007, 17:53

Just to add my two penneysworth to the alloy wheel discussion.
You'll know the right type as the two types of Xantia wheel design
are opposite ways to one another!

The hole/cutout triangles are thin to thick in a clockwise direction
on the VSX pattern design

OR

thick end wedge to thin on the Activa, and the front face is more
sculpted too!

Well, I know what I'm talking about anyway!!

Andrew

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 06 May 2007, 19:17

CITROEN XANTIA EXCLUSIVE 15" ALLOY WHEELS Item number: 150118030857

Mind, don't all fight at once for these - you'll only end up pushing the price up...

Andrew