Citrojim's AX, Pixo, C3, Running and Cycling Tales

[DickieG]

That looks like Monaco harbour?......

Yes it is Vince, beautiful place.

I see one of the mods has given me a new name tag

[CitroJim]

I see one of the mods has given me a new name tag

Wasn't me although I must admit I rather like it

Great to see you the other day Richard and that proves your comment above is wrong... You are still quite happy to mix with us commoners! And they don't get much commoner than me

Little to report on the car front. I've been taking it very easy these past couple of weeks and it seems to be helping

I ran down to Somerset in the V6 today to see Dad and had a great day out I had occasion to park in a small car park in Langport and saw to my astonishment two other Xantias and one BX also parked there. Only one Xantia spot on the road though. A Blue S2 came flying past me doing about 90 on the A303...

Been thoroughly enjoying the Activa this past week and the new Michelin Energy Savers seem a great tyre for both the car and the way I drive

[CitroJim]

Not a lot to report unfortunately. All the fleet is going well, new V6 is doing a fine job as my daily although this amounts to few miles at the moment and Activa is a fantastic weekend fun car. I've not seen Rattiva for a couple of weeks as she's on loan to Paul, the owner of Old V6 which is still in the hands of the specialists trying to determine the cause of her high emissions. The latest suspect is the cat as this was replaced along with the rest of the exhaust a while back and it's a pathetically tiny little thing that looks barely up to the job. We should know next week when they refit her original cat.

Meanwhile Paul is loving Rattiva and has been somewhat taken aback by just how good the 110 HDi is; even a ratty one like Rattiva.

Very slowly over the past couple of weeks I have had both heads off Chris570s blown-up V6 engine. All I can say is what a lovely piece of engineering the ES9J4 V6 is. It is truly a work of engineering art and comes apart beautifully. In short it really is a beautiful engine

The head gaskets are laminated steel jobs and both seem to have failed very gently indeed. Both heads are very slightly warped and just out of tolerance. A light skim will be needed if the engine is to run again. Apart from that the engine at 172,000 miles is in fine condition. There's still honing marks visible in the bores and all four cams show not a trace of wear. So, the conclusion is that even at 200,000 miles an ES9J4 still has plenty of life left in it if it has been cared for, especially in the cooling department.

As to why the head gaskets failed I cannot be certain but when I drained the blocks I found a load of debris in them and I suspect from looking at steel components in contact with the coolant that it spent a while without good anti-freeze, suggesting the cooling system had been neglected at some point. I know for certain the radiator was in very poor condition and leaking. I'm wondering if before the gearbox failed the car had suffered a spell of overheating and possibly low coolant levels from the leaking rad. I know that the ES9J4 needs a reason to pop head gaskets and the only ones I'm aware of that have failed are as a result of coolant loss and they appear to go very quickly under such conditions. The moral is that if you have a V6 do take great care of the cooling system.

I found plenty of evidence of K-Seal in the blocks and this is never a good idea in a V6. Cooling problems could also have hastened the failure of the gearbox as they don't like running hot at all and a cooling system additive like K-Seal and all the other assorted debris found in the blocks may well have partially choked the transmission cooler as happened on Old V6. Next time I see Chris I'll do a flow test on his transmission cooler.

I've not taken pictures of the V6 engine in bits but will try to do that tomorrow and post them up.

[CitroJim]

Rattiva II has today returned to her former owner Activa Mike and a text message just received suggests he's happy with her

I enjoyed a very good rapport with this car and I hope Mike will be as happy. The 110 HDi Exclusive is a brilliant car and no doubt about it.

She's gone to pastures new to make room for my latest arrival. A well-known MK1 Xantia V6 formerly owned by Mike (xantia_v6). It's a car I've known for a very long time and have had not a little involvement with over the past few years.

She's now got 194,000 miles under her and needs just a tad of TLC. She needs a new back box as a priority and then a good service and spruce up. Very little else needs doing bar trace the cause of an intermittent ABS sensor and airbag light. She also needs a new expansion tank as the present one is split.

I have a new back box all ready to fit. Interestingly, Mike fitted an identical new back box to his new V6 and found it a tad noisy. I'd noted in the past that the new back box fitted to my Old V6, now Paul's (pavlosv6) was similarly a bit louder. Investigation shows all three back boxes have a manufacturing fault whereby one tailpipe is open directly to the inlet and is not baffled, only wrapped in rockwool around a perforated pipe. The standard (quiet) back box is much more heavily baffled on both tailpipes.

The resultant sound is a bit 'sporty' and sounds good although it could get a bit wearing on a long trip perhaps. I now know a V6 with a missing back box is very loud indeed but pleasantly loud...

More updates on the new arrival (still awaiting a name - suggestions?) as it happens...

Once quietened down and serviced she'll be my new daily driver...

[bxzx16v]

I look forward to pics of the V6 Jim

Mark

[CitroJim]

I look forward to pics of the V6 Jim

Mark

When I've washed her Mark She'll scrub up well I reckon...

[Citroenmad]

That has worked out very well for you Jim

The new arrival sounds interesting, Im rubbish with names, especially for cars. However, what avout 'Saved V6'? As I remember you saying you were not sure what might happen with it.

The exhaust backbox sounds similar to the one on my XM, its fairly new, its not blowing but it is loud and does take the edge off the car on a long run. Its on my list of things to get done.

[Northern_Mike]

Rattiva II has today returned to her former owner Activa Mike and a text message just received suggests he's happy with her

I enjoyed a very good rapport with this car and I hope Mike will be as happy. The 110 HDi Exclusive is a brilliant car and no doubt about it.

Great to see you again yesterday Jim, meet the cat and have a good natter. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon was had by all. Pete managed to get RUNN back to my house without crashing it, and I had a great journey back down the M1, round the M25 and up the M40 in Rattiva.

I simply *cannot* believe the difference 9 months of Jim's ownership has made to the car. It's simply amazing. I've even worked out the reverse heater Quiet, smooth, and now there's no boost leak, it has a surprising turn of speed. I drove 200 miles in her yesterday with various running around later on in the evening. It took me a while to work out that there was something else different (as well as everything actually working). This particular thing was that the dash is now correctly lit.

Chuffed? You bet I am! You can change my forum username to Rattiva_Mike now Jim....

[CitroJim]

Excellent Mike You're happy with Rattiva I take it?

Chuffed? You bet I am! You can change my forum username to Rattiva_Mike now Jim....

Will be done in a tic... You'll need to log in again after the change...

Off to lay spanners on the new old V6 in a bit...

[Xaccers]

For naming, go for a long relaxing drive, clear your mind, become one with the car, and it will tell you its name.

[xantia_v6]

She also needs a new expansion tank as the present one is split.

I have one in hand now (ex a 2.1) for a nominal price.

I have a new back box all ready to fit. Interestingly, Mike fitted an identical new back box to his new V6 and found it a tad noisy. I'd noted in the past that the new back box fitted to my Old V6, now Paul's (pavlosv6) was similarly a bit louder. Investigation shows all three back boxes have a manufacturing fault whereby one tailpipe is open directly to the inlet and is not baffled, only wrapped in rockwool around a perforated pipe. The standard (quiet) back box is much more heavily baffled on both tailpipes.

I have now refitted the slightly rusted genuine Citroen silencer, and it is much quieter. On the genuine box, the inlet baffle tube goes most of the length of the box, but is angled down so that it does not meet the outlet baffle pipes (which seem a bit shorter). I can't see what else is in there.

As an aside, the cheap Xantia V6 exhaust center sections currently on ebay are a very good fit.

(still awaiting a name - suggestions?)

Ratsclusive

Once quietened down and serviced she'll be my new daily driver...

I am sure she has many more miles in her, I just couldn't pass up the switch to an identical car with half the miles, particularly for the long drives on the autoroute.

When I've washed her Mark She'll scrub up well I reckon...

I must apologise again for delivering her in such an appalling state, but I just forgot to stop at the car wash on the way to yours.

I have a spare nesrside rear door (without crease) if you can be bothered fitting it.

[CitroJim]

The new back box is on and it fitted a treat. It's noisier than standard but to my ears (I'm a bit deaf anyway!) it sounds a treat

Oil and filters changed and taken for a reasonable run yesterday. She drives a real treat I'm very happy....

And does she go - like a scalded cat Of all the V6s I have driven I'm now sure there is something different about the MK1. They go better than any MK2 I've driven. More urgent and more edgy. Basically, a really lovely drive.

Mike, first, no need to apologise for her cleanliness at all Rattiva_Mike received Rattiva before I could wash her too...

I think I have a spare expansion tank but if not, I may well be interested...

I like Ratsclusive as a name although in reality she's not really ratty at all. And yes, loads of life left in her

No, I won't swap doors - that crease is part of her patina

Just ABS and airbag (both intermittent) to sort and then she's fully good

Here's a couple of pictures of her. The colour is growing on me...

[Citroenmad]

I have always liked Xantias in that dark grey colour, the S1 looks very smart in it. Ive only seen two S1 Activas in that colour.

Its looking good Jim, will this be your new daily driver from now on?

Im still itching for a drive in a V6 Xantia, I might well have to own one at some point

[CitroJim]

The colour grows on me more each day Chris. It is not a common one but I have a feeling Xac's Jenny is the same colour. Xac, see if she has the paint code ETW...

Yes, she's now installed as my daily driver. New V6 is back to her special occasion only role.

Took a run in new old V6 to near St. Neots yesterday to visit a certain XM V6 owner and see how progress is coming along on a certain major job. I'm not permitted to reveal all I know on the progress front but I will say my little girly hands and arms came in useful on a certain job involving an exhaust flange where the cat joins.

I must say I'm delighted with new old V6 Given her mileage she drives beautifully, is very taut (no doubt due to recent new wishbone bushes), rides beautifully, is very pokey and is very quiet except for that bloody exhaust. Mike you're right. Although it sounds nice for short periods on a run it gets a bit wearing. Mine, at certain speeds, booms a bit and resonates.

Maybe when it has a bit of carbon in it it'll be quieter...

ABS and airbag still to do. I'm laid low at the moment following a very busy weekend which included a night out for my birthday and ending with replacing a foglamp on a Poxhall Corset yesterday evening. The job ws complicated by finding a CV boot hanging off which I did at the same time. As a result today has been effectively a complete write-off. It was expected. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be livelier.

Plenty of time though as I have this week off as leave. What a week to choose

[Xaccers]

Yup Jenny is ETW too.
Glad you're enjoying it Jim