Xantia Flood damage

[lurchy666]

the thing in the lid is meant to be a breather so as the fluid comes up the air goes out, but on mine its basically pushing lhm out when the suspension is down as some idiot filled it all the way to the top hence why i got a bottle catching it to stop it going everywhere in the engine bay

really must get some lhm out of it (when i get time)

[falling-out-with-my-car]

after recently having my front pads and disks replaced the fluid level in mine was to high and it really seems to effect the ride badly until; some lhm is removed, some citroen aerobics an its all sorted again.

Is not affecting the ride on yours?

[lurchy666]

Ride seems fine on mine. Bit harder than my hatches but I have been told the estate does ride harder. Its still a lot more comfertable than my metro I had before this xantia. Lol mine gets plenty of arobics. Ive found high suspension is perfect for mcdonalds drive through windows.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Keep eating Mc Donalds and the ride will only get better I find if I keep a little extra weight in the boot of my estate the suspension is a lot better, in the old days when diesel was cheaper a full tank made a lot of difference to the ride & braking as well.

[CitroJim]

Keep eating Mc Donalds and the ride will only get better

That's the most bizarre piece advice I've ever seen on a forum for improving ride Nigel Tell me, does KFC and Burger King work as well or has it got to be MaccyDs? Id have thought Burger King might have been good as their burgers always seem that little bit more rubbery than MaccyD ones...

Sorry Nigel for the levity but thanks for the giggle it brought me

[flying clutchman]

The only place that the water should get in is the breather, which is normally on the top of the gearbox. The same seals that keep oil in should keep water out. The two things vulnerable are the gearchange cables and the clutch assembly. The input shaft which the clutch plate should slide on can easily become rusted up and stop the clutch disengaging.

[lurchy666]

Well I keep 2 tool boxes in the boot at all times as well as my box of (really usefull) stuff such as tow ropes and jump leads. My missus says the rear of the car is fine but I find it stiffer than the 2 hatches ive had also it is worse when the engine is cold for some reason. Maybe my lhm is cold (to thick/to thin) to work it properly. Brakes are terrable as well untill its warmed up as well.

[Hell Razor5543]

I wonder if a hydraflush cycle would help with that.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

lurchy666,

I have towed several hired twin wheelbase trailers this year and last when aquiring our little family collections of various old Citroens and the towing with an Xantia estate is atrocious the rear passengers get shaken violently even though the spheres and suspension is fairly well looked after, it is a terrible tow car with a twin wheelbase trailer single wheelbase is much better
even my old BX didnt under perform towing like this, something has changed in the build of the Xantia making for a very bad towing experience, perhaps it is to lite on the rear end or maybe the suspension is to stiff, there is plenty of power and pull for hills just not the ride quality anymore. I think you need to be wary of softer tyres available and put them on the rear of the Xantia to give a slightly better ride, tyre pressures also help by keeping them at their lowest pressures when the boot is not loaded. some regular weekly Citro-aerobics seem to help a little bit raising a lifting the car about fives times.

[andy5]

lurchy666,

I have towed several hired twin wheelbase trailers this year and last when aquiring our little family collections of various old Citroëns and the towing with an Xantia estate is atrocious the rear passengers get shaken violently even though the spheres and suspension is fairly well looked after, it is a terrible tow car with a twin wheelbase trailer single wheelbase is much better
even my old BX didnt under perform towing like this, something has changed in the build of the Xantia making for a very bad towing experience, perhaps it is to lite on the rear end or maybe the suspension is to stiff, there is plenty of power and pull for hills just not the ride quality anymore. I think you need to be wary of softer tyres available and put them on the rear of the Xantia to give a slightly better ride, tyre pressures also help by keeping them at their lowest pressures when the boot is not loaded. some regular weekly Citro-aerobics seem to help a little bit raising a lifting the car about fives times.

I think you've nailed the real reason there - twin axle trailer.

They can be a lot worse to tow with any type of car, as you get pitching from the wheel pairs' reaction to uneven surfaces, and that can create a fast hammering up and down at the towbar. I watched it in the mirror down the M6 once, through my neck shaking, and the front of the trailer was going up and down about an inch and a half in the view over the rear spoiler, which means something was bending. The changing load at the back can also be awkward on bendy roads.

The only advantage of twin axles is if you have a puncture you can continue to a nice place to stop, like a decent layby or the next motorway services.

Get a single axle trailer next time. The Xantia is very good indeed at towing.

And I would add a couple of psi if anything, rather than deflate, though I don't usually bother. The suspension should be doing the job, not the tyre sidewall, which again might cause problems on corners

[Old-Guy]

lurchy666,

I have towed several hired twin wheelbase trailers this year and last when aquiring our little family collections of various old Citroëns and the towing with an Xantia estate is atrocious the rear passengers get shaken violently even though the spheres and suspension is fairly well looked after, it is a terrible tow car with a twin wheelbase trailer single wheelbase is much better
even my old BX didnt under perform towing like this, something has changed in the build of the Xantia making for a very bad towing experience, perhaps it is to lite on the rear end or maybe the suspension is to stiff, there is plenty of power and pull for hills just not the ride quality anymore. I think you need to be wary of softer tyres available and put them on the rear of the Xantia to give a slightly better ride, tyre pressures also help by keeping them at their lowest pressures when the boot is not loaded. some regular weekly Citro-aerobics seem to help a little bit raising a lifting the car about fives times.

andy5 is absolutely right; twin axle trailers with a car on board are horrible to tow - with anything! I've used cars (but not my Xantia), LandRover Defender, Shogun, Transit. It's just a fact of life that the close-coupled axles multiply the effect of every pothole and cross-ridge. A big heavy 4x4 helps to damp things a bit but your still very aware that there's a big trailer behind.

As an aside, when collecting my 'spares' Xantia with a twin axle low-loader, some German muppet in a lowered Beetle tried to pull out into lane 2 of the M4 between me and the trailer as I was overtaking - I really do hope he gave himself a bigger fright than he gave me.

On the other hand, the Xantia is the dog's whatsits for towing my half-ton single axle trailer - even when it's filled with rubble (trailer not car) - up hill and down dale. Inevitably, some noise and vibration is transmitted through the tow-hitch from the trailer which has relatively crude (Indespension) suspension, but none of the axial snatching and jerking that you get with a twin axle.

[bigraymaster]

Thanks for all the advice, thought i,d give a quick update. Like i said before i changed the gear oil and found no evidence of water in there. The problem was still present but after a week of driving and as c.morewood found it has gradually got better by itself. Touch wood something has dried out and that will be the end of it. I don,t like not knowing what was wrong but after fearing i needed a clutch or box i am very relieved. I suspect as suggested it was water on the cables somewhere with maybe the most likely area being the plastic housing the gear stick goes into and the cables come out.

[Hell Razor5543]

Yeah, that is known to happen. It is possible it was just grot on the gear linkages, but changing the oil won't have hurt the 'box (provided you used the right oil), and you eliminated a possible problem. I don't know what the interval between oil changes is, but now that is one less thing to worry about for some time.

[c.morewood]

I don't like not knowing what was wrong but after fearing i needed a clutch or box i am very relieved. .

It is quite a relief when, a couple of weeks down the line , you realize that she hasn't popped out of gear for a couple of days.. but I'd still like to know what the cause is.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

I guess these cables must be fairly inaccessable being as they run right up under the gearstick?
have you thought about obtainning a can of spray grease with a long nozzel and spraying it up around the ends of the cables?

good to hear it has dried out, I dont see many of the late Xantias on the scrap yards these days mainly Mk1's and the occassional S2 but it is very rare to see one to have a look at this mechanism of yours, I have been grabbing the front LHM flexi pipes recently as they are either expensive or unavailable for some models.

Personally I think the application of wax-oil diluted by 10% and then heated before spraying through an electric spray gun coating the bottom of the car about every 3 years helps to protect the componants from water ingress /damage. it makes your suspension pipes look nice to for Mr MOT man.

Here is the gear oil we use http://www.commaoil.com/productsguide/view/6/188" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and this is the addative we use to smooth out the gear changes esspecially in very cold weather

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... e=shopping" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But I think our boxes are slightly different to yours.

regards Nigel.