1.9TD - Cambelt & Head gasket change

[Old-Guy]

The Xantia (Jan 1996, 113,000 miles) is due for a 2nd cambelt change and the head gasket has had a slight oil leak into the cooling system for some time.

I've just discovered that I'm welcome to use the workshop (commercial vehicles) for a couple of days next week (provided I answer the phone when there's nobody else around), and as I don't have a lot of work on, it's too good an opportunity to miss.

I haven't done a HG on an XUD before, nor had time to do any research on it yet, (I seem to remember a while ago someone (Jim?) posted a comprehensive guide?) and I need to get the parts ordered tomorrow or Monday first thing. So, is there anything missing from my list below: -

PARTS
Cambelt (I made a note of the number last time)
Crankshaft bolt (ditto)
Water pump (didn't last time so probably wise this time) - idler and tensioner changed last time (2007, at 68,000).

Head Gasket set - I don't intend ever doing it again so I'm open to suggestions for a known good make.
Head-bolts - I assume they're the usual stretch type?
Thermostat? - can't remember if it's a rubber seal or a 'proper' gasket. If the former then I'll whip out the thermostat and test it.

The heater matrix still has a faint weep, so maybe I should dose the cooling system with Forte StopLeak - where might I get some.

Thanx in advance

[Johnny Cogs]

Tea and Glow PLugs..... Might as well change them whilst you can get at the b*ggers!!!

[spider]

Genuine gasket if you can stretch to it. Mine was OK after about 80K with said gasket still after I sold it. Some of the factory ones did not survive that long.

Thermostat, probably o-ring around it and gasket for the mounting to the head, depends on type really.

I used genuine gasket and timing belt but 'pattern' (from factors) head set for the bolts etc when I last did one. I think the belt number is 81658 although I might be wrong, working from memory.

Tensioner / Idler. Expensive in a kit for an XUD although they are made of real metal on these so are quite long lived. Mine started to make a slight noise about 150K ish but you said done last time so OK.

Yes change water pump, a good idea.

Crank bolt may be OK, I cannot recall changing one on an XUD. I'll let others decide.

Do oil / filter change as well while you're there even if its reasonably new as you're bound to get a tiny bit of coolant contamination into it.

[evilally]

There's a thread kicking about from 2 or 3 years ago when I did it on my 405. All told from the point of view of the clueless and with pictures. I'm about to start the same job on my 406 this weekend. I picked up a set of genuine head bolts on ebay for £20 and a genuine timing belt for £13, kits also available on ebay. Dayco is a good substitute as I believe they make the OE timing gear.

The exhaust and inlet gaskets are buttons from the dealer, don't bother with pattern parts. Once I've determined what head gasket I need I'll search ebay for the part number and hopefully turn up an OE one.

[spider]

Will it not come out on a Xantia with the exhaust manifold / turbo still attached ?

On the 205TD I just unbolted the upper manifold (after cursing at rounded and inaccessible hex bolts, the offside front corner especially) , oil pipe out and with a bit of effort pulled it out.

I realise they have a shared inlet / exhaust gasket ( don't ask if I changed it )

[evilally]

Possibly! On the 405 I think access was pretty limited, and it also had a shared gasket so to replace I had to take the exhaust manifold off. The 406 has seperate gaskets, I would assume the Xantia is the same? At any rate, it's only about £6 total for the gaskets required for both.

[Old-Guy]

Tea and Glow PLugs..... Might as well change them whilst you can get at the b*ggers!!!

Kettle (& microwave) in the tea-room. Glow-plugs - good thinking.

From my notes made last time:

• Cam Belt
  • Citroen: 0816.58/96204099
    Quinton-Hazell: QTB134
  Tensioner Kit
  • Q-H: QBK127
  Belt/Tensioner Kit
  • Gates: K025049XS

The crank bolt is only a couple of quid, but if it goes (as has been reported) after being re-used, then its probably the end of the engine.

I had a long chat while giving a lift to an ex-Citroen mechanic: "Two ways of doing it: leave the turbo on and have a fight with the exhaust; or take off the manifolds - more work, but not if you have to do any work on the head.' As far as I'm concerned, cleaning up the head and block faces thoroughly and carefully is an absolute essential - as is un-torquing the head bolts in an exact reverse of torquing them up - that way you don't warp the head.

[Xantidote]

I used genuine head gasket set from Citroen. Stretch bolts came from GSF.

On a slightly different note, which I've not seen noted elsewhere, I had a slight issue when I did the HG on my BX turbo years ago. Assembled the head, all shimmed up nicely, only to find after torqueing the head down, that all the clearances had closed up 2-3 thou. I attributed this to the alluminium head compressing slightly as the head was torqued down. So when I did the HG on my Xantia 8 years & 70k ago, I made due allowance. I can imagine some mechanics may not bother with a final check of the gaps, and are oblivious to the fact that the gaps may have closed up.

Hope it's not too cold in the workshop

[CitroJim]

The only way I've done a 1.9TD head is by removing the manifolds. It's not easy as you need to extract the studs but apart from one or two which are a bit hard to reach all can be easily 'double-nutted' out. The inlet manifold is a devil as there's one central bolt which is hard to get to. Stud extraction also takes some athletics and might involve laying across the engine!

On balance though, it's better than trying to have the head off complete with manifolds and turbo.

Also, if the engine has EGR that makes life a tad awkwarder than it needs to be.

I'd have the head lightly skimmed in any case as it's a great way of cleaning up the mating face.

[Old-Guy]

Thanks Martin

It's been a long time since I had to do a head gasket and the memory ain't what it used to be; I'd forgotten that the valve clearances need to be checked - I'll have a read of the BoL over the week-end and THEN any relevant forum threads.

Many years ago I had a TVR with a Ford 1600 GT (Kent X-flow) engine in it. One day, I missed a gear and over-revved it. Stuttered home on two and a half cylinders. Needed new camshaft (two damaged exhaust cams), followers (one smashed, several damaged), timing chain and sprockets. A colleague with a Cortina lent me his 'service and repair manual' (not Haynes) so I could make sense of the timing marks. This wonderful manual suggested that anything more serious than a quick de-coke was best left to a professional - so no info at all on replacing the timing chain. For a simple push-rod engine!

Hopefully the BoL will be somewhat better even though it's not a Workshop manual.

There is a heater in the workshop but it points away from the bay I'll be using.

Jim - Thanks for confirming my inclination to leave the manifolds and turbo behind and for the vital info that the studs DO have to come out.
No engine ECU and no EGR.
The problem with having the head skimmed is the nearest firm is about 15 miles away, they usually take a couple of days to turn around a head and I don't want to wear out my welcome: I get enough of the "You're not fixing your old car again?" as it is.

[CitroJim]

If you don't remove the studs you can't push the exhaust manifold back far enough to clear the studs.

I've not seen tools mentioned but two essentials are a good torque wrench and an angle gauge for the final tensioning of the bolts.

For the final tensioning a big breaker bar is needed. They go down seriously tight!

Although some say the studs can be re-used I consider it false economy and they are best replaced even if they measure up as being re-usable.

[Old-Guy]

Thank you everyone for data and advice.

Jim; a 3' breaker bar is on the shopping list: last time the crank bolt could only be shifted by using the starter. An effective solution but too brutal for my liking.

I agree with your thoughts on stretch bolts. Years ago, the first stretch bolt head I ever did was on daughter's Mk1 Golf (her 1st car); after she'd had it for a few weeks, the head gasket went and it then emerged that the head gasket had been replaced several times by successive owners. Cleaning layers of varnish and sealer off the joint faces, a new VW gasket and bolts progressively tightened down in the correct sequence fixed it permanently - not rocket science nor a lot of extra expense or work, just a matter of doing the job properly using quality parts.

[spider]

Perhaps I've been lucky but I've never had an XUD crank pulley bolt I've been unable to shift (the pulley itself a different matter)

[CitroJim]

There's nothing wrong in using the starter to shift the bolt Guy... I've done it plenty of times...

If the pulley is reluctant thnn best to use a two-legged puller on it. You'll see there’s a couple of M7 (I think) tapped holes on the face and these are ideal for the puller legs to get a purchase after screwing in some bolts. Replace the crank bolt so the puller has something to work against, give it a tap and she3'll come off like a good 'un

Undo the old head bolts with care as they've been there a while and will be tight. Use the breaker bar and apply pressure and if you feel the stretch bolt stretching radially stop and allow the bolt to 'follow round' as it unwinds itself. Failure to do this might exceed the elastic limit of the bolt and cause it to shear. You'll find the old bolts really do feel as if they're made of rubber!

Clean out the head stud holes with a tap before reassembly. If you don't have a tap use an old head bolt after grinding three straight flutes in it to make it look like a tap and you'll find it very effective... Blow the stud holes out with an airline afterwards and oil the new studs before assembly otherwise the initial torque readings will be inaccurate.

[evilally]

I was in at the stealership today ordering up manifold gaskets and the head gasket. The list price on them was £67 I think, I politely asked if he could do me a better deal. He went away and came back and said he could do one for £48, so definitely worth asking!

I've started working on mine this afternoon......EGR bolts