2001 Citroën xsara 1.4 LX (petrol) Totally stumped!

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nick1982
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2001 Citroën xsara 1.4 LX (petrol) Totally stumped!

Post by nick1982 »

Hi all,I'm having a complete nightmare of a time diagnosing a fault on my parents 1400 LX (petrol). I brought this car for them as a run around as their previous Xsara was written off when a council truck backed into it at speed! Their previous model was a 1.9D on a 98 R reg,and I might add that it was the most reliable and rott free car they have ever owned! Hence why we went down the Xsara route again although this time being a 1400 petrol and the phase 2 model. Anyway,after about 2 weeks of ownership the timing belt snapped so I sourced a new engine with only 55k on it for £120,changed the timing belt and tensioner,water pump,oil and air filter and spark plugs before putting the engine in,I also used the old inlet manifold and all the sensors off the old engine because I knew they all worked,anyway,we started the car after fitting the new engine and it seemed ok,only problem is when you open the throttle it hesitates really badly like it's choking up and trying to suck to much air in,it's almost impossible to drive how it is because it's just choking up! If you keep your foot down it will rev eventually but not until it's coughed and spluttered a bit! There are no fault codes coming up on the diagnostic machine,no vacuum leaks or anything like that,we've changed the coil pack as well as other various sensors,inspected the inlet manifold for cracks too but can't find anything wrong! No engine light on or abnormal temperature readings either,when sitting there on idle the engine will be idling rough one minute then will just change and be sweet as a nut! When it does eventually rev hard it doesn't smoke at all,we've also replaced the cat as we thought it may be blocked! We really are stumped on this one! Anyone had a similar experience or know of any other reason why it would run like this? Any help would be massively appreciated!
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Re: 2001 Citroën xsara 1.4 LX (petrol) Totally stumped!

Post by lexi »

Have you went round carefully with easy start spray to check for suction or air leak when idling rough? Then maybe something is shorting or breaking down on an earth or feed. Is there a coolant sensor? Check that.

You never know. A sensor could have broken down in time of swap over too.
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nick1982
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Re: 2001 Citroën xsara 1.4 LX (petrol) Totally stumped!

Post by nick1982 »

Hi mate,yeh we've tried that,I have tried the sensors from the new and the old engine too,the fact that isn't bringing up any fault codes is just totally baffling! We've swapped coil packs,engine coolant temperature sensor,catalytic converter,inlet manifold was also swapped. I'm literally tearing my hair out at the moment! It's probably something so simple but I just can't find out what!
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Re: 2001 Citroën xsara 1.4 LX (petrol) Totally stumped!

Post by BX »

Does the rough running occur straight from a cold start. When started from cold does the engine run at a fast idle? What happens if you disconnect the lambda sensor. I take it that this engine has an EGR valve. Which one did you use?
Have you access to a scan tool. Can you get live data from the engine. Does it show the fuel system mode ie, is it operating on open loop or closed loop wnen it is running badly and when it is running well. On a 2001 you should be able to get this information from any eobd or OBDii scan tool. Also check they engine coolant temperature on the live data.
P.S. sensors can be a long way out of tolerance before they bring up a fault code. That is why reading live data is important.
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Re: 2001 Citroën xsara 1.4 LX (petrol) Totally stumped!

Post by taffy »

ive had simular wiv a lambda sensor running lean
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