set of spheres? Xantia

[scr8pdo]

Whats the cheapest way of sorting my bouncy suspension out, if I was to buy 4 spheres of Ebay, do I neede a certain type, serial number etc for my 2.1 TD or are they all universal, I dont want to go spending a fortune on brand new ones, I only want the car to settle down for a few months, I have sen them for about 15 quid a piece, if I whack 4 of these on, should it get a bit less bouncy??
Any help would be great

[Peter.N.]

You should be able to get new ones form GSF for about £20.00 - at least you could last time I tried.

Peter

[scr8pdo]

Thanks mate, I will give them a try

[AussieAl]

GSF are fine , bought mine from them and they are excellent .

[Timmo]

was looking on aep direct after reading on them here, they seem very resonable for the balls too!

[scr8pdo]

Iam really in two minds about what iam gonna do with this car, the tax runs out end of march, got quite a bit of MOT on it mind, it could do with a couple of tyres soon and the spheres need sorting, other than that it is a great car, it has been well looked after, but when I tot up what i need to put it back on the road, its gonna be about the same as I paid for it, plus about the same I can get for it scrap but it seems such a shame to scrap a half decent 2.1 TD

Any ideas would be welcome, all i want is a cheap TD Xantia I could run on WVO, but as the 2.1 has the Lucas pump I havent dared use it, I may look for a 1.9 TD to replace the 2.1, I have all the service kit sitting here, filters and oil ready to freshen it up but iam at the cross roads now whether to scrap, or repair it and carry on, either way I will go out and look for another cheapie either a Xantia 1.9 TD or a 406 1.9 TD

[Xaccers]

You could get it back on the road, and Bosch it, that way you'd get the extra oomph of the 2.1 with the ability to run on veg.
You'd need a 1.9TD pump, injectors and pipes. Throttle cable too.

[scr8pdo]

Thats a possibility, but a lot of (-expletive removed-) about with new pedals (throttle) injectors, pump etc, it would be prob easier to get an old 1.9 TD and wind the pump up a bit, I know it wont have the torque of the 2.1 but I aint after speed, just economy really, or I could just run it in, get some dosh and repair my V70 TDi (needs a couple of rear bushes and a MOT) I like the old Xantias though, it just seems like its gonna cost a fair bit ton put right, ie spheres @ 20 a piece, 6 months tax @ 118, 2 x tyres at 30 a piece, an MOT in a bit 40 quid, thats more than I paid for it and whats it really worth, when I could scrap the car or break it and go and buy a 1.9 TD with nice suspension on I can run on chip fat, but every time I look under the bonnet, you can see someone has really loved this car and kept it so well maintained it seem sacrilage to scrap it

I always buy a cheap French car just before Christmas to bomb about over the festive period all over the country visiting family, had a few Xantias, Pug 405, 406s, Laguna 2.2 RT DT, and in the new year I normally run them in or knock them out cheap, this old Xantia has served its purpose very well this year but I think its time top dust of my Volvo and get back in the saddle of that

[AussieAl]

The spheres are the only item you can count as an extra cost . The rest of the spend would be to keep any car on the road and can`t really be counted . The Xantia is more fuel efficient than the Volvo so would recoup the spheres cost in no time . If you are looking at money then the V70 could cost you just as much to put back on the road . I love Volvo myself but even the diesels are not so hot on fuel in daily running around town .

[scr8pdo]

TBH the Volvo is just as good on fuel if not better, plus a better car and loads more power, but now I have another scenario, I have the chance to buy a Xantia almost identical to mine, same colour, same year, but its a 1.9td, just had a timing belt, new spheres all round, my car has the few bits I mention wrong and it could do with a couple of doors on the nearside, Iam probably going to get this 1.9td whatever as I cant lose, I am hopefully going to make a real nice car out of the two, to look at them they look absolutely identical, same trim etc, but do I build the good car out of the 1.9 or the 2.1?

The issues I have is the 2.1 has the Lucas pump which iam wary of as Iam hoping to start running WVO again and the Lucas pump is a weak point, so I could use all the best bits of the 2.1 and transfer them to the 1.9, both have about the same ammount of Tax/test left, the 1.9 has the new spheres all round, iam not so bothered about the extra power of the 2.1 as I would prefer to be able to run the WVO, that was the whole point of buying a TD Xantia (for economy).

Others have said about putting the Bosch pump onto the 2.1 but is it really worth all the messing about for a bit of extra poke? Iam also currently waiting for a double hip replacement, iam a mechanic by trade so the work isnt beyond me at all but where iam in so much pain at the moment it would be hard, so to put the 2.1 right, I will need to chop all the spheres over, and mess about converting the pump.

Descisions descisions

[Dommo]

I always found my 2.1 was better on fuel than the 1.9, I put it down to the pump being more efficient and the torque of the engine so you dont have to rev the balls off it to get anywhere, even if you say you won't do it in the 1.9 xantia I promise you that you will do it occasionally.

How much is the 1.9 Xantia you found? Surely it's cheaper to get the parts you need for the 2.1 and sort it yourself?

[jgra1]

what does the 1.9 need? sounds like its good to go mechanically? just buy and drive it, sell the 2.1 as is, on here maybe?

John

[Dommo]

That reminds me, I think I have a spare pair of front spheres for a 2.1td... They are used but they were about 18 months old when removed so they should still provide some good bounceless suspension for a while. where are you based scr8?

[Old-Guy]

Before deciding whether to buy the 1.9 (or any s/h car), I'd be persistent with the questions? "What has prompted the present owner to sell the car? Why now?" and even if I was satisfied with the answers, I'd still assume I might have to spend a(nother) couple of hundred quid on parts to fix things I hadn't spotted. "Better the devil you know."

It would be a shame for yet another basically sound 2.1 to go for scrap....

[scr8pdo]

Right basically the 1.9 is going because it has a short test left, and he has bought a new car, Iam based in Wigan, what I will have to pay for the 2.1 to be sorted will cost more than the cost of the 1.9, the 1.9 like I say has new spheres all round, new timing belt, our 2.1 needs a few tyres, spheres, brake pads, and it has a slight scuff down one side, it runs extremely well, but as I said earlier I want to use WVO and Ive heard that the Lucas pump as on the 2.1 wont like the WVO, what I was thinking was getting them side by side and making a goodun out the 2, or nick the few bits the 1.9 needs (laquer peeling on bonnet and boot) swap them over, pull a load of spares off the 2.1 and run it in, ok the 2.1 may be more economical as its more efficient but it wont be cheaper to run if Iam using WVO, if the 1.9 doesnt come off, ie I dont buy it, I may break the 2.1 etc and put my V70 back on the road.

I know that the 2.1 is worth more in bits than selling as a whole car without a test so I will just have to see if I end up with the 1.9, either way I cant lose any money, basically the other thought was doing the 2.1 up with the spares off the 1.9, but if that pump fails in a bit I will kick myself for not choosing to use the 1.9

You are right, It would be a shame to scrap the 2.1 as it looks to have been so well cared for, but in my game i cant afford to get attached to cars emotionally or I would be out of a job