Snakes and ladders with the HDI Xantia

[citroenxm]

288 is correct, as firstly the car is an estate and ALL estates used 288mm discs from the start, and yes, they are hefty, and yes expensive too...

[Hell Razor5543]

My previous Xantia was a 110 HDi, so I did a part search at Car Parts 4 less on her reg. Pagid discs are £26:34 (for the pair), while a full set of Pagid front pads are £34:74. At the moment the parts are the same price as from Euro Car Parts. I found the fitting kit on e-bay;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Front-Brake-P ... 484501d1a4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[electronmirror]

James, That price of £26.34 for Pagid discs is for 1 disc NOT a pair

[Hell Razor5543]

Nope, the website shows, under Part Details, "Fitted Quantity" 2. When I bought disks for Gracie (who has, admittedly, smaller discs) from ECP the box had a pair of disks. When I have bought brake discs and pads from ECP they provide enough for the axle.

Ignore the reg, it is for my previous Xantia, but it did use these sized discs;

http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/brake-discs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT; Oops, that didn't work as expected. I hoped it would retain the vehicle details, but it doesn't. Still, it gets you into the right area.

[citroenxm]

I wouldnt touch a pair of 288 mm disks for that small price.. yes if they were 26 each but if that is for a pair then how bloody soft are they and how long wont they last.

Brakes are rather important and too cheap could be too dangerous.

Isnt your gracie a hdi 90 james.. then it will have 283mm discs.. which are cheaper.

Or am i missing a point again..

[electronmirror]

Yes it does state 'fitted quantity 2' cos you would need a pair BUT then under the 'view product tab' clearly states £26.34 (priced per disc).

Bought a pair for my Xant a couple of weeks ago.....still a good price for Pagid though.

[Mandrake]

still a good price for Pagid though.

Hopefully their discs are better than their Xantia handbrake cables, which I sent back because they were completely the wrong cables which didn't have a chance in **** of fitting...

[Hell Razor5543]

Paul, Gracie does use the smaller discs, but my previous Xantia was a 110 HDi (which is why I used its reg to look up the prices). It is just that when the clutch went south I took her to Mr Clutch to sort it out, and she then started to have a lot of niggles that destroyed my trust in her (and put me off Mr Clutch for life!).

Gracie uses 266mm discs, and I got them from ECP, who currently have a sale on (until Monday). Those discs I posted to are about £11 cheaper at this moment (normal price £37:14).

[citroenxm]

I meant 266mm not 283... getting bloody sizes mixed up. Its early..

[isisalar]

Enjoyed the first good drive with the new bushes yesterday, sorted out getting the height corrector, had a good evening's fishing and was really feeling content, looking forward to a quiet week before starting a job next Monday. Stopped at a shop about a mile from home and on re starting, the battery light stayed on, went off a few times, and then stayed on for the mile home. Car started this morning, bit of flickering, then light went out, I left it ticking over for about 15 mins to get some charge back in and after another start light came on again.
New alternator needed it would seem. I need to get this sorted ASAP as I depend on the car.
I've got a good specialist about 6 miles away through traffic, but how far could I run the car on no charge? Last thing I need is to come to a stop on the North circular or mess up the electrics.
The specialist said it's a 2.5 hr job so it would probably take me about 2.5 days! They said it might be possible to just change the regulator, is this wise?
I don't think this car is cursed, and I'm not cursing it yet, but any more of this behaviour and I might start.
Cheers
Paul

[Hell Razor5543]

It is also possible the brushes are failing. I had this happen on my BX, with about 140,000m on the clock. Replacement brushes cost me (about 10 years ago) £15. Didn't take too long to swap the brushes, and the problem was sorted. I don't know how long/difficult it is to do on a Xantia though.

[isisalar]

Thanks for that Hellrazor, but being as I depend on the car for work and without workshop facilities I had to get it sorted ASAP. Fortunately I knew through past experience the best place to go locally, where they do a while you wait, remove, exchange, and re fit job for alternators and starters. The best price I could find quickly for the part alone was £120 +vat, exchange, with all the hassle that involves, and these guys http://www.sahibs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; did the whole job for £168 +vat which I thought was fair. They're online only prices seem very good too, recon units from Holland I think they said. Online price for mine was £104, not sure about the vat.
As suspected the small amount of LHM which had been leaking out of the pump before I replaced the o rings, about one drop a week when I discovered it, had contaminated the alternator and ruled out replacing the regulator only. Well worth checking this on an HDI, this slight leak means air is being sucked in and making the LHM frothy, as well as contaminating the alternator. The o ring job is a doddle, and they only cost a few pounds
I once had a Golf and the alternator on that had been getting a liberal dosing of oil, from a leak, for a couple of years and when the light came on I decided to clean it up before removal, as it was so oily. Being out of gunk I made up a water and washing powder mix, worked it in with a brush and gave it a rinse off. Started the car, no light on, stayed that way until it was sold a few years later.
Didn't want to risk this with the exclusive though.
Been doing a bit of research on the discs and pads and it would seem that £85 is about what they're going to cost, for decent ones. Any recommendations for best brands to go for from a performance in service point of view? Or any well respected names that shouldn't be?
Can't believe the ride since having the p bushes and droplinks done, amazing how a little bit of rubber, or the lack of it, can make such a massive difference.
Cheers
Paul