Bought a Xantia LX TD 130K in Novemeber ran fine until a week ago when on the M40 temp through the roof all of a sudden, stop light on. I limped off to a garage keeping temp down to 90 let it cool down and filled it with water, bubbles in the tank. Managed to get the car the 80 mile back home keeping speed down. Its running on 3 so fairly obvious the head gaskets gone. I have consulted two independant dealers who have said that the head will probably be porous and it is not worth repairing, it would be cheaper to buy another Xantia.
Is it likely the head will be warped or porous? How easy is the head gasket to change? Any advice from people who really know?
The car was running fine until the boil up not using any water etc. There were track marks down the expansion tank when I bought the car but the guy came up with a reasonable explanation and I like a fool believed him!
Xantia Head Gasket
Moderator: RichardW
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tomsheppard
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OK, so it was broken when you bought it. This sort of thing happens only to unutterable fools... like me.
The good news is that garages will tell you all sorts of tall tales in order to avoid working on Citroens. Some Xantias, it is true have had porous heads. That doesn't mean that yours is one of them. If you are minded to have a crack at it yourself, then the cost of fixing it is likely to be under £70 but it may cost you a weekend. There are plenty of good threads about changing head gaskets on this forum and you will find that it is the most common major problem with diesels.
It isn't the end of the world, though. Mine has been ok since I changed the gasket. There is nothing in your posting to suggest that you won't be equally lucky.
The good news is that garages will tell you all sorts of tall tales in order to avoid working on Citroens. Some Xantias, it is true have had porous heads. That doesn't mean that yours is one of them. If you are minded to have a crack at it yourself, then the cost of fixing it is likely to be under £70 but it may cost you a weekend. There are plenty of good threads about changing head gaskets on this forum and you will find that it is the most common major problem with diesels.
It isn't the end of the world, though. Mine has been ok since I changed the gasket. There is nothing in your posting to suggest that you won't be equally lucky.
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RichardW
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Hmm, I changed the head gasket on a BX TD this time last year. Yuk - horrible job.
Now, I reckon a Xantia might be a bit easier as there is more room to work round the engine, but on the other hand there is more pipework etc in the way. Biggest problem I can see with the Xantia is that when I looked at mine, I am pretty sure the inlet manifold will have to come off to get to the head bolts. On the BX I had a hard enough job getting the manifolds off with the head on the bench - I would never have managed it with the head on the engine in the car. If the Xantia is simialr I don't fancy your chances. Somebody with experience may prove me wrong here though.
You may have got away with not cracking the head, but it it will almost certainly be warped, and need skimming and pressure testing. If you entrust the whole job to a garage, don't expect much change out of £500. IF they find the head is knackered (50/50?) a used replacement will set you back another £200 maybe.
I paid less than £1500 for my Xantia TD (95N) with 75k miles last November, so unless you're going to take the head off yourself, the garage is probably right in that it's not worth it.
Richard
Now, I reckon a Xantia might be a bit easier as there is more room to work round the engine, but on the other hand there is more pipework etc in the way. Biggest problem I can see with the Xantia is that when I looked at mine, I am pretty sure the inlet manifold will have to come off to get to the head bolts. On the BX I had a hard enough job getting the manifolds off with the head on the bench - I would never have managed it with the head on the engine in the car. If the Xantia is simialr I don't fancy your chances. Somebody with experience may prove me wrong here though.
You may have got away with not cracking the head, but it it will almost certainly be warped, and need skimming and pressure testing. If you entrust the whole job to a garage, don't expect much change out of £500. IF they find the head is knackered (50/50?) a used replacement will set you back another £200 maybe.
I paid less than £1500 for my Xantia TD (95N) with 75k miles last November, so unless you're going to take the head off yourself, the garage is probably right in that it's not worth it.
Richard