Who's got an Activa??

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andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

It'd be worth mentioning here that whilst I've been charging around
the place buying them, due to other projects and pressures, it's taken
until very recently to get to grips with any of them and actually drive
one on a daily basis and get it 100% to fully appreciate just how good
they really are.

This I wouldn't have done were it not for the advice/help I've had here
and that's given me the confidence and a fuller understanding of
something totally new to my previous Citroen 'spannering'!!

Cx's have been my 'thing' for the last 20 years!

Andrew
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

I totally agree with what you are saying with regards to colour. Its what makes everyonescar unique. For me I love how clean you can make the blue look with minimal workrequired.

I also love how the blue looks like any other xantia until you get to the corners!

Regards

David
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Post by CitroJim »

My Activa is in Storm Grey (very dark metallic, getting on for a dark Anthracite sort of colour) and although I've grown to accept it, I still don't really like it :(

Activas in dark blue look really great, as do sliver ones but my favourite Activa colour is...


You've guessed it...


yes....


Dantes' Red 8)

Having said that...
andmcit wrote:...that the blue, green and black are too sober and sophisticated ie NORMAL, and the car simply blends into anonymity which may be great for a real Q car but an Activa is anything but normal being such a special beast that it really deserves to stand out!
The fact that a Storm Grey Activa looks so bland it really does become a Q car and that appeals to me. I like how the Activa keeps very quiet about what is hiding beneath its utterly ordinary appearance. Even an Activa in Dantes' Red pulls off this trick extremely well. Understated and unassuming.

I'm a huge fan of the Q car concept and dislike "blingy" cars intensely. If they have to shout about it, there is something missing :wink:

The shame is that whilst we know an Activa is a special beast, it is so low-key about it that it has been (and is) a victim of its own shyness. The Activa deserves much more attention then it currently gets and hopefully time will do the necessary, as is just starting to happen to the BX 16V "Valver"

Some can fall into the trap of thinking and assuming that the Activa is a sporty car. In fact it is not, It is what I'd call more of a GT (Grand Tourer); a car that can cover great distances at good speed in an effortless sort of way. It is my first choice of vehicle when a long journey has to be undertaken.

What would have been interesting is for Citroen to have made a true GTi version of the Activa with all the attendant "bling" and a sporty engine, like the Mi16. Just imagine a supurbly handling chassis with a keen, eager engine to match :lol:

If thay had, I'll wager the Activa would have both been more popular and more appreciated generally.
Jim

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Post by DickieG »

Colour is a personal thing, my Activa is in Dante' red which I think really suits the car, my V6 is Mauritius blue (a pain to keep clean), my estate is hearse black (even worse) and my VSX is Zephyr :? (gold in English) which I like because its unusual and suits the more subtle nature of the car, whereas an Activa in that colour would look odd to say the least.

Following on from Jim's previous post, I'm quite taken with the idea of doing an engine transplant on mine and putting in a V6 with a manual gearbox from a Pug 406 coupe' and having an Activa with real grunt :twisted: .
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andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

Does anyone actually know why the UK Market only got the 2.0CT Turbo
engine when the continent saw a 16v'er, v6 and HDi?

I'd love a v6 and can't imagine the consumption to get any worse than the
2.0i! Wonder if it was something to do with the RHD steering column needing
to occupy the same space needed by the engine as this was Citroen's reason
with DIRAVI on the Xm v6!

What exactly is physically different in the turbo'd 2.0i 8v engine over the
one found in a VSX? Nobody seems to list Activa specific engine parts...

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Post by handyman »

I seem to remember Andy on Activanet had started to do a conversion with a V6 into an Activa, but I think he ran out of funds to complete the project. I seem to remember he got as far as getting the lump in the chassis. This was a couple of years ago.

I am also contemplating this conversion, as I have the donor car here in the UK and a possible lump, gearbox and sub-frame sitting in a garage in France, waiting for me. I will be going to have a look-see at the end of June and will have a chance to see my friends V6 Activa and do a comparison with mine, if it is fit for the journey.

If it is not possible due to the steering location, I am contemplating another engine transplant with a different donkey with twin turbos and about 250bhp.

I suppose the ultimate is a 24V, V6 twin turbo with a manual box?

Petrol, what petrol crisis?

DickieG, contact me if you are serious about the project.

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Post by CitroJim »

superloopy1 wrote:Anyone able to tell me what the service interval is for cambelt change on an Activa?
For peace of mind, change the cambelt and waterpump as soon as you get one and then every two years from then on for safety. Rumour has it the 8V turbo is a "non-interference" engine and can survive a cambelt breakage but I'd not like to put it to the test!

The cambelt and waterpump on the Activa is surprisingly easy :D No need even to remove the engine mount. There are two very important points to bear in mind; one is that the crank pulley timing hole rarely corresponds to the right point. The hole is on the outside ring of the two-part pulley and the timing hole often moves reletive to the keyway due to slippage on the rubber between the two halves. Go to a scrappy and get a solid pulley from a dead 205GTi or similar XU engined car and use that just for settiing cambelt timing.

The other point is that the tension is set by a manually adjusted eccentric tensioner. Strictly you need the special tool but it is perfectly satisfactory to set the tension so that the belt can easily be turned through 90 degrees on its longer run on a COLD engine. Don't set it too tightly as the engine expands somewhat as it gets hot and tightens the belt. If it whines and wails when hot it is too tight.

To do the job, generally follow the procedures for any 8V XU engine. A Pug 205, 405, Citroen BX or XM Haynes BoL covers the engine reasonably but the Xantia BoL does not. Remember it is just an 8V XU at it's heart with a turbo stuck on.

Good luck in fining a good Activa SuperLoopy!
Jim

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Post by andmcit »

You'll bend all the exhaust valves if the timing belt does let go...

guess how I know! :roll:

yep, I found out the hard way when a tensioner collapsed on an Xm 8v.
No other damage apart from my knuckles and my bank balance though.
Like I said earlier, is the Activa/turbo engine simply the normal 8v with
a different manifold and turbo installed? IIRC, with the Cx there was a
different compression ratio and internal strengthening of the block when
the 2.5 petrol got turbo'd.

Andrew
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Post by CitroJim »

andmcit wrote:You'll bend all the exhaust valves if the timing belt does let go...
That's that rumour well and truely squashed then Andrew....
Jim

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Post by DickieG »

I've got the head off a S2 CT Turbo engine at the moment and yes the valves will collide, not by much, but enough :( .

The best seats to get are S1 Activa leather electric as they are adjustable for width, essential equipment for an Activa :twisted: .
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andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

Hi Richard,

have you found any Activa specific engine parts required with the head
off job you're doing or is it not going back together? Curious to know
should I need to rebuild my engine as there seems to a blind spot with
the 8v turbo engine on all the parts listings I've seen?

Andrew
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Post by DickieG »

andmcit wrote:have you found any Activa specific engine parts required with the head
off job you're doing or is it not going back together? Curious to know
should I need to rebuild my engine as there seems to a blind spot with
the 8v turbo engine on all the parts listings I've seen?
Andrew
The job I've been doing is dismantling a S2 CT Turbo Exclusive estate with Jim. Whilst the car had a few 'issues' (drivers door hanging off etc etc) the mileage is only 77,000, Jim wanted the interior, ECU, injectors, coil etc, I've removed the head to keep as a spare for my Activa. Interestingly the cylinder bores still clearly show honing marks so very little wear is evident. I feel little guilty about dismantling a good engine but its parts are being put to a good use to potentially save two Activa's.

Just for you Andrew, yes I have removed the strut top's which are in good condition :D .

Here's a good one, when we drained the LHM tank, the fluid was red :? yes some Muppet had used automatic transmission fluid :evil: effectively writing off all of the hydraulic components. What is the matter with these morons?

Out of interest for anyone buying an Activa I also managed (and I mean 'managed') to remove the hydraulic clutch assembly (£440 new from Citroën), crickey what a task :shock: even with the LHM tank, the turbo ducting, cylinder head and ABS block removed I still needed to cut/remove numerous metal brake pipes and LHM hoses as the assembly is routed through these (and the A/C pipes). I can't help thinking that in reality replacing the hydraulic clutch assembly would be an engine out job if I was carrying out a repair. No wonder that tidy looking Activa was for sale recently on Ebay.
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Post by andmcit »

Out of interest, a few queries!!

What colour is the bodywork in as I'm after a dark green S2 nearside
rear estate door!?

Did you keep the engine's bottom end?

would you have one good Activa alloy for sale?

I've had a very nasty, very thorough theft from my locked but seemingly
insecure barn storage where £1'000's worth of parts have been stolen
including MANY sets of alloys including 3x sets of newly shod TRX Cx Gti
Turbo rims, Alfa 16" and 17" with new tyres for my Cx's etc etc. They
even took one Activa rim with it's new Michelin out of the boot of the
car before I had a chance to fit it the evil scumbags.

Weighed in for £20 a set no doubt even though some sets cost me £400+,
if I could even find them now - never going to run on TRX's ever again! :evil: :evil:

And they thieved the unusual radiators, ECU's, ABS blocks, a rebuilt Xantia
Autobox plus a good working spare, BRAND NEW sets of exhaust systems...

in fact, things that've taken me years to get...

my blood is still boiling a week later! :cry: :cry: :( :(

Dammit, I still cannot work out how they got in through good solid secure
doors/walls and general building envelope.

Certainly deflated me somewhat, wonder why I'm bothering with the
collection of 'maturing' Cits. Taken me a week just to even think about
it and mention it on the forum!


Certainly, www.nolongergreatbritain.con is starting to eat
away at me badly. :x :x :x

Andrew
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Post by andmcit »

Just remembered too, seeing as this is an Activa thread that a very nice
low mileage front anti-roll ram I bought for a sizeable sum went too.

Now, I AM REALLY p!ssed off. :( :(

Andrew
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Post by DickieG »

andmcit wrote:Out of interest, a few queries!!

What colour is the bodywork in as I'm after a dark green S2 nearside
rear estate door!?

Did you keep the engine's bottom end?

would you have one good Activa alloy for sale?
The colour is silver but every panel is dented anyway, it was parked in an alleyway behind shops for 18 months with bin and delivery lorries passing daily,,,,,,

I've left the bottom end in the car due to a lack of storage space, I still have the engine to remove from my other spares Activa. The shell is due to be picked up @ 10 in the morning.

I don't have any spare Activa alloys (by the way did you know there are two versions? One has a removable centre cap) but I do have a spare sets of VSX and Exclusive ones.

That's bad news about your buglary :evil:
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