1993 Xantia money pit, help!

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colski
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1993 Xantia money pit, help!

Post by colski »

Hi i'm new to the forum, I own a 1999 citroen xantia hdi 110 which has done 114k.
My question is for a friend of mine who owns a very early 1.9td xantia (aug '93, it's a sinker!) which has done 172k.
He bought the car in march this year for £300 and in the last six months has spent around £1500 on various things to keep the old girl on the road. Sounds a bit crazy I know, but just when something is fixed something else goes bang!
The latest problem is the brake control valve is leaking and the garage has quoted £350 to get the job done!! Has anybody had this problem before and is it really that expensive?
I really don't want my friend to scrap the car as early xantia's are now rare and the engine still runs beautifully.
Thanks
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Post by RichardW »

Where's the brake valve leaking? Into the car? If so it can be fixed for <<<£350!
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Post by Xaccers »

I'd imagine the £1500 paid so far has mostly been going on labour charges.
The great thing about Xantias, especially 1.9TDs is that there is so much that the DIY mechanic can do rather than handing it over to a garage to clean out your wallet.
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1.9TD SX Xantia Hatchback (Jenny) running on 100% veg for sale
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colski
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Post by colski »

Yes it's leaking under the carpet I believe. My friend can only do the basics when it comes to working on cars and I don't think he'd be confident with something like this. Is it an easy job?
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Post by addo »

It's a knuckle scraper, and very cramped.

I suspect (but am yet to verify) that you might be able to remove one internal nut and just back the other right off, in order to pick out the seal enforcer ring then seal proper.

Doing it this way would save a lot of effort in terms of what needs to be done in the engine bay for valve removal (incidentally a current job I'm partway through).
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Post by RichardW »

I'm pretty sure Malcom (citronut) has done it by releasing the two securing bolts, then easing the valve back into the engine bay and rotating it on the 'spring' in the pipes in order to replace the seal. A new seal and ring is not dear, should be less that a couple of hours labour at a sorted independent. Of course if you are taking it to the dealer, then they will want to fit a new valve and about 5 hours labour - hence the £350 price tag! I doubt it's a job for a beginner really - wheraboute are you - someone may know of a good independent nearby that might be able to do the job.
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Post by CitroJim »

I'll agree it's not an easy job Richard. I've not done it but I have a spare dosuer in my stash and how Malcolm does them in-situ I don't know. He must be a magician or Houdini!

On a 1.9TD, the job is doubly hard as access to the valve in the engine bay is very poor unless you remove the turbo hoses and that in itself is not easy.

Conversely, any non-turbo Xantia is dead-easy in this respect as access to the dosuer is very good indeed, even in a V6!
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colski
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Post by colski »

Thank you all for your replies, my friend lives in south wales and the garage he takes it to is a citroen specialist, and to be fair they do an excellent job. It does sound like its quite involved and probably best left to the professionals.
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