Xantia Niggles

[Stepto1]

Ok guys, time to sort out a few ongoing problems on the Xantia. Any advice would be great.

Dashboard bulbs. A few of them are blown. Ordered a bunch on Ebay. Does the steering wheel and air bag need removing? It adjusts for reach.

Front brakes. It seems to be eating front pads. Is this normal?

Rear wash wipe. Gets just a drip from the washer jet. Checked all the pipework I can get to and looks ok. Pump runs. Any ideas?

Sunroof. Doesn't always retract first time. Makes a loud crack sound.

New tyres soon. Any ideas? Always liked Toyos and Uniroyal rainexpert.

Kind regards,
Stepto

[rmunns]

No advice about bulbs, sorry.

Front pads:
two months ago I changed front pads on my year 2000 Hdi90 at 54000miles. From the service history this is the first change.

Tyres:
About 5 months ago I changed all the original Michelins to Kleber Dynaxer HP2. I'm really pleased, over 8000 miles and still like new. Nice sidewall markings. Really impressive water removal (two wide channels) and excellent grip all times. Hard to make them sqeal. Made by Michelin, I reckon they're just as good. They cost about 2/3 Michelin. I did a lot of research before choosing these. At the time I bought it seemed that they were about to be replaced by HP3, so maybe that's what you would now buy.

[RichardW]

>>Dashboard bulbs. A few of them are blown. Ordered a bunch on Ebay. Does the steering wheel and air bag need removing? It adjusts for reach.

If it's a Mk1 yes, if it's a Mk 2 no (as the upper shroud can be removed without removing the wheel on a MK2)

>front brakes. It seems to be eating front pads. Is this normal?

What engine? 1.9TDs tend to only do 20-25k on a set of front pads. If it's wearing one pad very quickly, then possibly the handbrake cable is knackered where it bends round the strut, or the caliper slides are a bit sticky.

>Rear wash wipe. Gets just a drip from the washer jet. Checked all the >pipework I can get to and looks ok. Pump runs. Any ideas?

Not really - is the jet clear?

>Sunroof. Doesn't always retract first time. Makes a loud crack sound.

Possibly one of the cables is seizing - probably not that easy to get to!

>New tyres soon. Any ideas? Always liked Toyos and Uniroyal rainexpert.

I've got Toyo Proxes CF1 on mine at the moment, which seems pretty good, at the price.

[vince]

The haynes manual explains quite well how to remove the dash clocks. I need to do mine aswell but havent got round to it yet. One thing i did learn though is that there are different typs of bulbs dependant on what make of clocks you have fitted. Mine are Jaeger...its written on the front face.

Front pad wear i havent had any problems with and ive got a 95 TD. Mine have been on around 30K miles and still have plenty of life in them. I only fit OE quality pads though....Bendix in my case. If you are getting premature pad wear then perhaps your calipers are part seized. This is quite common on MK1's and can be noticed by hotter than normal front wheels after a trip, or excessive brake dust on more or more wheels.

I had a second hand caliper fitted at an independant specialist for £25 at the beginning of last year and its been spot on since.

The reason they fail is the handbrake cable rubs on the bend and splits its shroud that lets in water which travels down into the caliper and rots it inside.

With the rear wash wipe. Pull off the supply hose at the wiper arm and operate the motor. If you get a good squirt, the jet is blocked (Mine isnt great TBH) If not then either the pipe is kinked somewhere, or the motor isnt working 100%

With the sunroof, open it fully backwards clean out any muck, remove any surface corrosion on any part of the mechanism and grease the runners. Operate it forward and back a few times to lube it up and take it from there. Also look for any screws that may have worked loose which are catching the mechanism?

Tyres....Ive run Kuhmo's for a while now and they have been spot on

Good luck with the problems

[addo]

Xantia II estate tyre experiences/opinions to date:

Kumho Ecsta>Yokohama C-Drive>Toyo Transas>Michelin XM1>Uniroyal Something

205/60/15 and 185/65/15 sizings. Kumhos seem to grip like the Yokis but wear slightly less.

[Stepto1]

Thanks guys. Think you might be right about the handbrake rubbing, the cable outers do look pretty shoddy. Big job to replace?

I do have Jager gauges, hope I've ordered the right lamps!

I tried pulling the pipe off the wiper and I still only get a dribble. Might have to give up on that one, I'm not digging out the supply pipe.

My Xantia is a 16v 1.8 if that helps at all.

Fully cleaned the sunroof and greased it all. Better but still not right.

Oh, one more thing. Is it possible to connect a stereo so that the steering wheel controls work on an aftermarket radio?

Ta, Stepto.

[jgra1]

stepto

stereo yes.. mine has a sony MP40 in, it was cheap on ebay and plays MP3 cds and works from the remote.. also a CDX40 I think by sony will do likewise.. I can't now remember what extra linking cables I had to buy, but it was painless really..

there will be other stereos that are compatible I am sure..
John

[Stepto1]

Cheers John. I hate having buttons that don't do anything!!

Stepto.

[dnsey]

For the washer, it's worth getting something like a Bowden cable inner, and pushing it down through the tube as far as possible. A lot of crud can collect in the tube, depending on the screenwaash liquid used, and I've found that this procedure is enough to get things moving again. Once you have a flow of water, let it pump for a few seconds without the jet, or the muck will just block the jet when you replace it.

[CitroJim]

On the washer jet, I find the best is to get an airline on the actual jet and give it a good blow.

Odd on the brakes. I seem to have everlasting pads on all of mine but then again I am a quite gentle sort of driver...

[Citroenmad]

New tyres soon. Any ideas? Always liked Toyos and Uniroyal rainexpert.

Ive got Toyo T1-Rs on the front of my C5 at the moment, they are virtually worn out now and could do with replacing, the the shoulder of the NSF is smooth. They have been fantastic tyres, one of the best ive used, grip is excellent. Though wear is quite heavy, mine have done 10K miles, only 6K miles of that 10K has been on the front and they are almost down to the wear marks. Tracking is fine and i keep a close eye on pressures.

Wear rate is not too high on my tyre wish list, id rather go for a softer tyre which grips like glue than a harder one which underperforms in the wet. Though getting more than 10K from a pair would be nice.

So as these have been wearing fast i got a pair of Michelins when my other pari needed changing, these are fine, not quite what i was expecting. Ride is no better than the Toyos but the sidewalls are squidgy, the little Michelin men on the edge of the tread were gone within two weeks of them being fitted to the front. So i swapped them to the rear. Despite that they still look like new and dont show signs of any wear yet.

Im looking at getting Uniroyal Rainsport2s to replace the Toyos, these get excellent reviews and are a bit cheaper than the Michelins too. So its either those or another pair of Michies to pair up with the rears.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

stepto,

I always fit bendix front pads to my mk2 xantia(avialable from all good auto-factors) but religeously change them every year at the end of summer that way I know I'll have good brakes for winter, the vented front discs I go through about every six to seven years, the last set went on when I got the car six years ago and are nearly ready for a change by next spring/summer 2011.
I cant really comment on tyres as I dont often buy brand new ones most of my part worns are michelins. I put new tyres on the front last year and it hasnt paid off they were midd range and they are slippy as hell in the rain, I'm going back to my part worn michelins next time £15 each fitted and balenced.

I usually buy them from the place everyone else sends their tyres to to be repaired/shredded up for kids playground surfaces.

i always maticulously scrutinise the tyres before they go on the wheels, it also pays to check out the manufacturers date on the wall of the tyres to, if they are over three years old forget it, companies like kwik fit dump perfectly good tyres that have gone out of date on their shelves they cant sell them because the EU says they cant so they scrap them and I buy them cheap, if they are available. they are bound to go out of date whilst fitted to your vechicle anyway.

regards Nigel.

[rmunns]

Strange that you're paranoid about brakes but then fit second-hand tyres that have an unknown history. The time you find out that one of them was kerbed at 40mph is when you emergency brake.

[Stepto1]

Fair point!

My front pads were from Halfrauds. I've got a Trade card and it gets me loads off service items. That might be where I'm going wrong!

Thought I might try an air line on the rear wash.

Thanks for all the thoughts on tyres. Surprised that everyone has different views. I'm used to Land Rovers and kit cars where it's very cut and dry. This is good, this is naff etc. May go for Toyos or Yokos just to be different!

Thanks for all the posts. Enjoyed reading them.

Kind regards,

Stepto.

[MTND]

Rear wash wipe. Gets just a drip from the washer jet. Checked all the pipework I can get to and looks ok. Pump runs. Any ideas?

Hi Stepto1

If its the same as mine its because the hole through the attual wiper motor is rusty! The way to make sure is to take it off from the inside rubber feed pipe and see if the supply is getting that far. If it is then the only answer is a new motor!!

Mark