The answer to the rusty Xantia Jamb...

[citroenxm]

I have the last shell on the trailer to go.. so I decided today to remove the off side door jamb, as its in good order..



Starting here.. anyway.. as I cut round I noticed a Foam behind the metal..



Yes that IS a form of expanding foam UP in the arch space to help deaden noise! How canny!

As you can see...



The part itself is in good order, has a slight bit of surface rust, but will clean up well...

Anyway, a little further back where the end is curved around the leading edge of the wheel arch, the two parts are doubled layers.. upon removing the end of the "Jamb", I discovered a GAP in the rear face...



Firstly, the square hole is the Citroen produced hole, NOT one I have made.. you can see theres a layer of seal that comes so far down then stops... below this where the two faces meet, theres a gap! This IS where the water gets through...

Removing a wheel, and peering behind the arch edge would reveal this behind any crap that may be sitting there..

Looking at the removed part, plus the "Foam" on the car you can then see where the water seeps across and sits..





So there we have it! The water gets in from behind the wheel arch leading edge!

Happy sealing and repairing!

[CitroJim]

Paul, an excellent piece of detective work

Now we can set about preventing it

[citroenxm]

Can we or you, stick it up top??

Chris should prehaps do a Citronian article on it???

Chris?? Feel free!

[CitroJim]

Good idea o wise one. on both counts..

I shall 'sticky' it and Chris, over to you!

[Diabolical]

Great stuff mines already gone on O/S so I know what to do now for N/S.
I feel I've done a good repair O/S as I go to it before rust had really set in, I chopped most out and replaced but no foam in there as in Pauls.

[citroenxm]

I just need to add.. the foam appears to be early cars only! my 1997 P reg V6 has no foam, nor has series two cars got foam in them either..

I think it could be a sunroof only thing..

[modxl]

thanks for this,explains a lot,got to do my os and ns before long lucky got a spare donar car here to cut out arch repair panels
steve

[addo]

Paul, I strongly suggest next time cutting a much greater patch section. It'll enable you to reuse the original seam at base, and blend well away from the water ingress.

[citroenxm]

Im not planning a next time Adam.. this is the last good shell i got. ive a series two to go next year some time but that one is already bad in this area...

[Citroenmad]

That is very good information and key if we are to protect our Xantias in this area.

... and Chris, over to you!

Of course, that's a very good idea. For the February Citroenian I think

Paul, I'll be in touch via pm later (just off to take a look at the front brakes on our eldest C5) to ask a question or two

[bigblackfalco]

Bit late for mine mate .... there's nothing left but lots of holes now

[jk19TD]

So is this foam encouraging paint bubble formation in the longer term?
When I open these bubbles, initially there is no rust underneath, just bare metal with a slight discoloration.

The only location where rust does appear, at least on my Xantia Break (see below), is at the panel edge on top of the sill, inside the door.
In my opinion this particular rust is caused by spray water and road salt (remember this edge is outside the rubber door seal).

The above applies to the LH side of my car.
In Holland this side is the offside because we of course drive on the RH side of the road.
It would be interesting to see whether this handing has an effect on the side of the car the corrosion occurs on first.
Most Xantias Break on the Continent appear to develop rear wing "corrosion" on the LH side first.

(Note: I successfully treated stone chip rust spots on my car with rust converter Fertan which should be applied on a moist surface and proves to last for well over a year without a top coat, as various panels on my car show).

For comparison, a few links to postings about the subject of rust bubble formation and its results, from other countries in Europe:

http://forum.andre-citroen-club.de/show ... rlich-quot

http://forum.andre-citroen-club.de/show ... ostproblem

http://forum.andre-citroen-club.de/show ... DER-Appell!

http://www.rostschutz-forum.de/

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p58/ ... stx202.jpg

[modxl]

well done one of my door jambs today,what a job loads of rot under neath cut all out replaced with new steel then sprayed with weld thru primer think im gonna inject with wax oil at some point,this is the interesting bit,cut old jamb out of spares car went to line it up and wheel arch profile was different,now weather this is because estate arch is different to hacth i dont now but looks like ive had a new rear qauter at some point as no sealer between inner and outer wheel arch a lot of cutting and grafting in and managed to make it fit just needs a thin skim other and prime then ready for top coat when weather warms a bit.Just somthink to watch out for if anyone fitting a hatch jam to an estate
steve

[citroenxm]

Modxl, Most likely, Citroen didn't make the estates, they were farmed out to Helieuz Coach builders, which is possibly why they rust more in gerneral then Hatch's..

That square "Gap" I found is the real thing that needs closing up...

[modxl]

i didnt reliase that that would explain a lot doesent look like they sealed very well so gonna sort that,drivers side is not as bad so shoulnt be a problem he says famous last words
steve