xantia advice

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
411514
(Donor 2017)
Posts: 421
Joined: 14 Dec 2010, 15:26
Location: Sheffield, Uk
My Cars: Citroen C5 2.0 Hdi 2003
x 39

xantia advice

Post by 411514 »

Due to a lack of money i will be selling my c5 and hoping to pick up a bargain xantia either on ebay or in the classifieds.
I have been looking at an x-reg 90bhp hdi, im a little unaccustomed to these, are they a reliable car, i'm assuming that they dont have the dual mass flywheel or particle filter, are there any particular nasty's i should be looking out for when inspecting. Iv heard of the phrase 'accumulator tick rate' being thrown around on here but iv never bothered to listen being spoilt on the c5, what is this and how do i gauge that it is all healthy, should i be looking for a td or an hdi, in terms of reliability and cheap running, cheers sam (p.s if anyone has a cheap diesel xant for sale please pm me)
User avatar
Old-Guy
Posts: 1798
Joined: 11 Sep 2008, 12:08
Location: Gloucestershire
My Cars: 2011 Grand C4 Picasso VTR+ 1.6HDi in Kyanos Blue
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - now owned by XanTom
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
x 17

Post by Old-Guy »

Sam

A key questions are whether you are intending to do your own maintenance/repairs and how many miles you'll be doing.

There are sound TDIs to be found - engine simpler and easier to work on. Pre-96 (build) TDI have no engine ECU and no EGR. It was not uncommon for some Xantias to sit around for many months before being registered.

HDIs are more economical on fuel (at the risk of starting a furious debate) by 10-15%. Search the forum for other people's figures.

If your answers to my questions are 'Yes' and 'less than 6,000 a year' then I'd suggest you go for a tidy, low-mileage TDI over a younger high mileage HDI. Either way, be prepared to have to spend some money bringing it up to scratch (there's a good reason why any Xantia is for sale).

If you don't fancy Dommo's 2.1TD S2 for £800 (it shouldn't need anything spending on it for a while) it would be worth putting a post on the Wanted section giving an idea of what you can afford.

Best of luck.
2011 Grand C4 Picasso VTR+ 1.6HDi in Kyanos Blue
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - after 11 years now owned by XanTom
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 49518
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
Location: Paggers
My Cars: Bluebell the AX, Polly the C3 Picasso, Pix the Nissan Pixo, Propel the duathlon bike, TCR Pro the road bike and Fuji the TT bike...
x 6156
Contact:

Post by CitroJim »

Old-Guy wrote: There are sound TDIs to be found - engine simpler and easier to work on. Pre-96 (build) TDI have no engine ECU and no EGR.
Indeed and they are still good, as I found driving a certain 1.9TD called Cassy today...

As Guy says, they are an absolute doddle to look after and repair...

And very easy to live with too...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
falling-out-with-my-car
Posts: 1928
Joined: 06 Apr 2008, 15:26
Location: Northamptonshire
My Cars: Citroen C5 Aircross 8 speed Automatic, Flair Model with far to many toys and nice comfy armchair like leather seats. ha ha Ive just had a conversation with the car. setting everything up verbally
x 24

Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

if you find one registered before 1998 which is a 1.9TD and it has a Bosch fuel pump you could try running it on waste veg oil at around 50 p a litre filtered yourself a lot cheaper than running it on diesel unfortunately HDi's cannot tolerate veg oil though. always best to run some diesel through about every third tankful.
Ive had my 1998 estate for six years now and wouldn't part with her for all the tea in china. brilliant car and I would go as far to say the best car I have ever owned and I have had a fair few motors over the years.

regards Nigel.
Citroen Xantia S2 1.9 TD estate 189K soon to be broken for parts Jan 2017 headlamps & radiator fan assembly already spoken for & A 1987 Citroen 2CV6 special just for fun.
New addition Citroen C5 2.0 HDi Exclusive Hatch purchased 09/12/2016 with 83K on the clock.
User avatar
DickieG
Monaco's youngest playboy
Posts: 4877
Joined: 25 Nov 2006, 09:15
Location: Buckinghamshire
My Cars:
x 38

Post by DickieG »

If you do go for an HDi try to find a 110bhp one as the performance is noticeably better at no cost to fuel consumption and if you use 'A' roads very much where you might want to overtake the odd lorry or caravan those extra 20 horses make quite a difference as well as the car having longer gearing giving more relaxed cruising.
13 Ram 1500 Hemi
14 BMW 535D Tourer
19 BMW i3s
06 C3 Desire 1.4
72 DS 21 EFi Pallas BVH
rmunns
Posts: 611
Joined: 09 Jul 2009, 22:09
Location: Southern Dordogne, France
My Cars: 2019 C5 Aircross 2litre diesel, auto.
2018 C4 Pic2 Spacetourer auto. Seems nice so far.
2019 C4 Cactus manual. Didn't like it, lots of niggling points. sold.
2011 C4 Picasso excl. - shaping up to be a disaster, bought June 2019. P/X'd
2009 Citroen C5 X7 exclusive, auto, LHD, 207500km (129000miles) now sold
Citroen Xsara Picasso excl. 2004 2.0 Hdi, RHD, 64000miles. (sold)
Citroen C3 Picasso excl. 2016. sold.
Two Xantias, one petrol, one diesel. sold.

In the past: Renault 16 (in about 1977, for a year). With front pass. seat out transported full bathroom suite from Cambridge to Derby!)
Renault 4TL (in 2011, for a year)
x 9

Post by rmunns »

I disagree with dickie. I have a 90Hdi saloon, fabulous 50mpg, decent performance, no complicated DMF, nothing complicated.
User avatar
Xaccers
Posts: 7654
Joined: 07 Feb 2007, 23:46
Location: Milling around Milton Keynes
My Cars:
x 184

Post by Xaccers »

Didn't think any Xantias got dmf's?
1.9TD+ SX Xantia Estate (Cassy) running on 100% veg
1.9TD SX Xantia Hatchback (Jenny) running on 100% veg for sale
Laguna II 2.0dCi Privilege (Monty)

DIY sphere tool
User avatar
Chris570
(Donor 2020)
Posts: 1461
Joined: 12 Dec 2009, 14:10
Location:
My Cars:
x 29

Post by Chris570 »

They didn't.

Dickie wasnt saying anything was wrong with the 90bhp HDi's, he was just saying that the 110bhp ones are better. After the best part of 40k I have to say the power is just right and the gearing does make for a fantastic cruiser.
2006 C5 HDi 170
1998 Xantia Activa S1
1971 D Special
2006 C3 1.6 HDi SX,
CitroJim wrote: I'm a pink fairy
A 1/3 of Team WFA 'Clarkson'
User avatar
DickieG
Monaco's youngest playboy
Posts: 4877
Joined: 25 Nov 2006, 09:15
Location: Buckinghamshire
My Cars:
x 38

Post by DickieG »

As the guys above have said, the only added complication with a 110 HDi is that it has an intercooler over a 90 HDi so nothing to worry about as its very rare for one of those to require replacement, both have turbos and direct injection controlled by an ECU, it really is a free extra 20 BHP as the official consumption figures are exactly the same @ 50.4, if I ever get less than 50 mpg (which is very rare) I feel really hard done by.

If the choice was between a 90 HDi or a 90 TD I'd have the TD as it is simpler in that you can always put a mechanical pump in it to do away with all electrics other than starter and alternator, you can also remove the catalyser and replace it with a much cheaper off the shelf non cat TD exhaust and gain a couple of horses plus you can run it on veg oil if you wish to do so.
13 Ram 1500 Hemi
14 BMW 535D Tourer
19 BMW i3s
06 C3 Desire 1.4
72 DS 21 EFi Pallas BVH
User avatar
falling-out-with-my-car
Posts: 1928
Joined: 06 Apr 2008, 15:26
Location: Northamptonshire
My Cars: Citroen C5 Aircross 8 speed Automatic, Flair Model with far to many toys and nice comfy armchair like leather seats. ha ha Ive just had a conversation with the car. setting everything up verbally
x 24

Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

won't the extra BHP although nice to have ramp up the insurance group?
I seem to remember the initial post mentioning something about a lack of funds. we need a lot of claim free years to get a good price on a group 11 car like the xantia 1.9td.

DickieG

I have a feeling we both might come unstuck with removing the catalytic converter on the exhaust system, there was something recently about a new testing rule that if the car was built with a cat it has to be on the car at MOT time, apparently its just a visual check so you could buy a cheap cat cut it open remove all the ceramic bits and weld it back together again keeping the slightly improved performance. whether this relates to older diesels I have no idea, it may just be a rule for petrol vehicles because the boy racers like to take off the cat between tests to raise acceleration slightly.


regard, Nigel.
Citroen Xantia S2 1.9 TD estate 189K soon to be broken for parts Jan 2017 headlamps & radiator fan assembly already spoken for & A 1987 Citroen 2CV6 special just for fun.
New addition Citroen C5 2.0 HDi Exclusive Hatch purchased 09/12/2016 with 83K on the clock.
User avatar
DickieG
Monaco's youngest playboy
Posts: 4877
Joined: 25 Nov 2006, 09:15
Location: Buckinghamshire
My Cars:
x 38

Post by DickieG »

falling-out-with-my-car wrote:DickieG

I have a feeling we both might come unstuck with removing the catalytic converter on the exhaust system, there was something recently about a new testing rule that if the car was built with a cat it has to be on the car at MOT time, apparently its just a visual check so you could buy a cheap cat cut it open remove all the ceramic bits and weld it back together again keeping the slightly improved performance. whether this relates to older diesels I have no idea, it may just be a rule for petrol vehicles because the boy racers like to take off the cat between tests to raise acceleration slightly.


regard, Nigel.
As far as I can see that legislation applies to cars from 2001 onwards so not applicable to Xantia's, my TD and my previous HDi had cats removed donkey years ago and have never had a problem come MOT time. As for removing the innards of a cat I'm not so sure that's a good idea as it will disturb the gas flow so may be counter productive power and economy wise.
13 Ram 1500 Hemi
14 BMW 535D Tourer
19 BMW i3s
06 C3 Desire 1.4
72 DS 21 EFi Pallas BVH
Post Reply