Citroen XM 2.5 diesel. any good?

[lankytim]

Hi all,

I have been offered one of the above for a bargain price but are they any good? What are the engines like, any weak points? Also, will they run on veg?

Many thanks.

[lankytim]

No opinions on the above barge?

[Hell Razor5543]

There will be an XM aficionado along who can offer advice. I'm not, having no experience of them.

[Deanxm]

I know very little but i dont think they like veg, watch the coolant system with two rads, i believe the smaller of the two doesnt last long, versions with A/C have tensioners that dont last long and are nearly impossible to find bits for now, other than that i dont think there is an issue really, bear in mind they are getting old now though and the engine is specific to the XM only.
If its cheap enough then go for it, it will be an experience.

D

[oscar]

Hi was that the same 2.5 that went into transit and granada's etc they had the 2.3 that went into sierra/cortina's which led to believe was a peugeot sourced lump.

[RichardW]

Plenty of go, but not much economy AFAIK. Many engine specific parts that are £££££. Questionably reliability, and if it needs a clutch think 3 days in the workshop

[lankytim]

Is the engine really unique to this model then? I was hoping it was related to the lovely HDi unit.

[CitroenCrazy]

I had a 2.5TD XM estate for almost 100,000 miles, until some idiot shunted me.
Definitely not HDi; more the final flowering of a "conventional" diesel.

In my view...
Pros -
Torque. I've never known anything like it, absolutely like a train. You'll never have to change down a gear to get some urge with one of these.
Smoothness - thanks to the contra-rotating balance shaft, it doesn't feel like a big 4 pot
It's "fly by wire", so I retro-fitted cruise control, no problem.

Cons
I got 40 mpg if I drove it gently. Switching to a Xantial HDi (110) resulted in a 25% improvement in economy
A cam belt swap is quite a performance. I think it's over £100 for the 2 belts alone
As already mentioned, radiators, both large and small were consumables.

Again, IMHO, the only XM to have........
I didn't try, but I think veg oil is a big no-no on these.
Mine didn't have AC, so I can't comment on that aspect

[Chlorate]

Is the engine really unique to this model then? I was hoping it was related to the lovely HDi unit.

Completely different animal entirely I'm afraid.

It may share a common oil filter but that's about it

[citroenxm]

The 2.5 XM is 130bhp, a 12v head, but the unit is virtually Uniqe to the XM... Its NOT The same as fiats 2.5 engine and NO its never EVER touched the Frauds Tranny..

The Strut tops are unique to the 2.5 as they use the larger diamiter pistons.. The car chassis in the engine bay is highly modified to take the engine, its complex to work on, balancer shafts are used. The starter is hidden by the Water to air heat exchanger (intercooler) and is completely buired, the clutch job is around 500 quid, and is quite a big job. Its normally an engine out job, but its recently turned up that it can be done in situ.

The front rads have a habit of disintigrating, and its not reckomended to bypass it long term.. theres little room to do anything in the engine bay, YES is as full as a V6 engine bay..

Even I, and Im a big XM fan wouldn;t have a 2.5.

They are drive by wire, simmilar to the EPIC system on later 2.1's, but they use a Bosch System...

[Peter.N.]

Nice cars to drive but not so good to service, parts are getting scarce and expensive, the 2.1 is a better bet, easier to work on and good on fuel. There are very few of any type about now so if its cheap enough to throw away if it goes wrong give it a go, they are lovely cars, I have been running them for over 15 years and still would if there were any decent ones left.

Peter

[addo]

I've just bought nearly everything for an overhaul of the externals. About AUD $1750 with carriage for timing bits, motor mounts, tensioners, seals, etc. Much was still available ex-France.

[lankytim]

Humm, as much add I'd love an XM maybe I should give a 2.5 a miss, especially a it's been stood for a year with a phantom hydraulic problem. It is cheap though!

[steelcityuk]

Hi,

Just to chip in, 2.5s are fine on veg or bio because the injection pump is uprated version of the Bosch used on the 1.9/2.1 but with fly by wire/ecu control. Parts are rare and/or expensive. It's a complete pig to work on - for example, if you want to remove the inlet chamber you need to release the EGR pipe which means raising the car up and getting your arm up between the transmission tunnel and the subframe....

They are borderline cooling wise and so if not looked after will damage the head - mine had a crack in every head chamber. They are smooth (twin balancer shafts) but that's offset with too many drawbacks. A modern common rail is more economical, powerful and torquey.

If you'd like to see what it's like working on one take a look here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/7328220@N0 ... 599817022/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Steve.

[lankytim]

Apparently this example has been very well maintained over the years, there's just an issue with the suspension/steering/brakes failing all at the same time which may or may not be simple to fix.

I've always wanted an XM, so i'm inclined to take the risk with this one. If it turns out to be scrap then I won't have lost much.