Pauls XM SED 2.1 Manual Blog.

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 10 May 2011, 22:29

Hi All..

We'll heres a taster of the next project I shall be getting done...

The car has been seen in other places, I think mainly on Club-xm..

However, theres no specific Blog Section on there... and most on here seem to be Xantias.. so I have taken the choice to do it on here.. them prehaps do a copy on Club-xm

Heres some of the best bits:

Work to do:

Replace both strut tops.. the drivers one Has already popped.
Replace bonnet
Replace Drivers wing
Replace rear subframe
Replace exhaust
Wheels and tyres.
Welding... and more welding!

BOTH cills are rather a mess... luckilly the inner cills look ok, and sound ok when tapped with a screw driver head.

I did the head gasket last year while I was using the car, so theres no need to do that again just yet.

Heres the Not so good:

The passenger side is EVEN worse, and is along more of the cill length..

Need to get my welder put back together again now, If I can remember how!

So this girl is to do next.

Other things I want to do:

Upgrade the Air Con from R12 to R134a
Fit Cruise control

For the cruise control, though, Ill have to upgrade the Indicator stalk to S1.5 type, as being a S1 the Lights On main switch is were the cruise stalk will be.. Not sure yet, how much of a Mod will be needed..

So there we are - not to start till I have largly finished the Xantia V6.

Cheers
Paul

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 10 May 2011, 23:33

I'm shocked at the amount of rust/lack of metal on that cill

Is that down to poor rust proofing, accident damage or just general wear and tear?

Its good to see another XM blog, mine's on hold at the moment and in dry storage as its being used an an incentive to keep certain balls rolling.

robert_e_smart · Post by **robert_e_smart** » 10 May 2011, 23:39

Hi Paul,

Good to see this one moving up the list.

You have a fair old whack of welding to do there. You'll be a pro welder when this is all done.

Robert

Post by **CitroJim** » 11 May 2011, 05:59

I do like those early MK1s

Very worth doing, that's for sure...

My goodness, as said, the rust

Having aid that, the new metal should not be hard to fabricate.

There must be some very corrosive air up on Anglesey

You'll be a MIG-god after all that though

Are you planning to use Lithuanian strut tops Paul?

KP · Post by KP » 11 May 2011, 08:23

Paul once your done welding that my dad might need your services on his birthday present!!

Here is a linky of what it kinda looks like...

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C50765

His is a 79 and is a lot rougher, rot in rear quarter, front wings, paintwork flat as pancakes so full resrpay needed, floor is shot, hood is ill fitting...

xmexclusive · Post by **xmexclusive** » 11 May 2011, 08:57

In my view this post contains a warning about body rust in shells with galvanised protection. An XM is on average 4 years older that the average Xantia. The number of XM's with serious rust problems has been growing over the last few years. With the cills abuse of the jacking points is one feature but many XM's have severe internal corrosion of the cills caused by a combination of galvanising system failure and ever present condensation in an enclosed space. Where the galvanising fails you get accelerated local corrosion. All this hidden internally behind a veneer of good steel and untouched paint finish. When it finally breaks through the car can need a lot of work if it is economic to save it.

John

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 11 May 2011, 09:05

Well after discovering over on club-xm that this is the oldest DERV xm on uk soil and the second oldest DERV of the british isles thenci find her a must to save.. Call me mad but thats what i think....

I know shes not the oldest as there are G plated petrols.... No doubt mr andmcit will have an older DERV in his stash some where!

Paul

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 11 May 2011, 12:56

CitroJim wrote:I do like those early MK1s Very worth doing, that's for sure...

My goodness, as said, the rust Having aid that, the new metal should not be hard to fabricate.

There must be some very corrosive air up on Anglesey

You'll be a MIG-god after all that though

Are you planning to use Lithuanian strut tops Paul?

I HAVE done Cill welding on my other two XMs before... My 24v S1 needed cills welding, also my S1.5 SEi V6 needed dooing..

Heres the cill on my V6 SEi I did two years ago:

And after:

And my S1 24v started like this:

And finished

As for strut tops Jim, YES.. I have a Pair of refurbs. all of which shall be fully shown when I come to making a start.

I can say though, just now, they DO look VERY good indeed!

Paul

lexi · Post by **lexi** » 15 May 2011, 10:46

Clean the metal to bright a bit more Paul?

Might have been easier cutting right up higher into the profile and welding it in there. Would have given you a straight line and a better guide for the shroud to sit in as you can pulse weld it a bit in stages. What machine and gas you got Paul?

Having done my share with the rust thing it is a total battle. Chasing a car with a welder I call it.

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 15 May 2011, 10:57

I used a conventual mig with co2 gas.. I think its only a 130amp or so..

Its only rot due to trapped water from an over zelous application of underseal that trapped water in...

Paul

Deanxm · Post by **Deanxm** » 15 May 2011, 11:09

to affect a long lastng rapair its often better to cut the sill off, treat all the rust and weld a new panel in, patching is ok in the short tem but you cant treat the rust in the the rest of the box sections and will indeed end up chasing the car with a welder.

the petrols have a weak spot where the petrol tank breather comes up in the drivers front wheel arch, citroen in their wisdom fitted a retaining clip for said pipe before underbody treatment was laid on, the clip flexes and cracks the treatment while rubbing away at the galv coating, there is a hole big enough to get four fingers into after cutting back and all that was visable was a tiny 5mm long rust streak on the underseal behind the wheel arch liner.

I have also taken a wire brush to the underseal on the sills, rust colour metal is evident everywhere as it seams the underseal has failed.

All XM owners should really be thinking about stripping the protection off of the arches and high wear areas and re treating from scratch, I understand what John means when he talks of underseal failure

I dont believe just painting over will do anything, so i am glad i have cought it in time tbh.

Good luck with the repair Paul, oldest Derv XM in the country eh.........got to be worth saving.

D

robert_e_smart · Post by **robert_e_smart** » 15 May 2011, 11:45

Rust, rust, and more rust Arghhh!!! A future Citroenian Article.

The plan of attack on my keeper G plater is to remove all the peeling under seal from the car, and brush back, and liberally wax oil as soon as I get it MOTd this week. Then do a PeterN and pour some engine oil into the sills.

I have seen too much rust on Xms to be lax about it. When I first got my Xm, I thought, fine its galvanised, it won't do a CX on me!

Having to weld a 2000 XM was a shock for me, and seeing a '98 car that needed a good bit of welding was an unpleasant surprise. All owners of very late Xms need to be very vigilant, the under seal protection isn't as good as on earlier cars, and they are very vulnerable.

Paul, don't forget to add removing that sunroof deflector to your to do list

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 15 May 2011, 11:49

Ooooooo yes of course Robert good point.. but iirc its buttered and doesn't work... I could take the glass out and weld the roof up!

.

Seriously.. I've got a couple of fully working roofs so I can get one in...

Paul

robert_e_smart · Post by **robert_e_smart** » 15 May 2011, 11:53

I've got a couple of fully working roofs so I can get one in...

I'd better get one of those off you if you can spare it.

I'm also going to look into trying to get replacement cables made if possible. But more on that later when I have time.