2001 Citroen Relay 1.9D question :)

[Lorn]

Good afternoon, I found your excellent Forum while searching google for information on my 2001 Citroen Relay 1.9D Van.

I registered and have searched for any similar questions but with no success, so if you do not mind my diving in at the deep end, can any of you knowledgeable people help?.

My question - my van (known as Van Diesel) is often very reluctant to start...at some point in it's past it has had an independent push button fitted which one has to press and hold while counting to 10 before cranking the engine.
I assumed this was to cause the glow plugs to heat before starting the van...so assumed that new glow plugs might be required...then I read somewhere that it may not have glow plugs but rather some form of heating unit...it is very difficult to find information relating to the exact year of Van Diesel...which is why I came to this Forum in the hope that someone can tell me whether he has glow plugs or not and if so how difficult is it to replace them?.

I also need a manual but it seems Haynes do not do one for this vehicle...any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Thank you
Lorn

[myglaren]

If you can post the last eight digits of your VIN and also you RPO then one of our more astute members will tell you what your Relay left the factory equipped with and also the day/month/year of production.

Welcome to the FCF

[Old-Guy]

The engine (XUD9), in 1.7 and 1.9 capacities, turbo-charged and normally-aspirated, was fitted in a host of different Peugeot, Citroen, Renault and even Rover models. There were all sorts of changes over the years, but the basic engine remained the same and there are Haynes manuals for many of these.

I'd look in charity shops or boot sales for a Haynes Manual covering any PSA or Rover car of the late 1990s that includes a 1.9 Diesel engine. The nearest is likely to be the Xantia manual (to 1998). As far as I can see from a quick look at service.citroen all Relays with a 1.9D had glow-plugs which is exactly what I'd expect - but without the last 8 digits of the VIN...

For future reference search the forum for similar problems with 1.9 Xantias. With this engine, the first and cheapest thing to eliminate is air leaking back into the fuel system so a lot of cranking is required to prime/bleed the injection pump.

[Hell Razor5543]

This might help;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-DIESE ... 23396e7f4f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RichardW]

Generally on engines of this vintage....
1 - Long cranking time, suddenly bursting into life and running cleanly with no smoke = air leak
2- Long cranking time, and staggering into life, then running lumpily accompanied by grey smoke = glow plug fault

There are other causes, but these are the main 2. Has it done lots of miles? In which case it might be the valve clearances, which confusingly gives very similar symptoms to 2, although if the plugs are good it will tend to start quickly, but then cough and misfire for a while till it warms up a bit.

[Lorn]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply and offering such a friendly welcome

The last 8 digits of the VIN are 16101414
I'm sorry I don't know what RPO means

I would say - Long cranking time, suddenly bursting into life, a brief puff of diesel smoke and we are good to go, no lumpiness or other issues, once Van Diesel is running, although we do have a severe judder when braking, but new discs and pads on order, (am hoping that is all it is), another reason for a manual to be purchased
He's just had syncro surgery and is now crunch free, now I have to try to remember I don't need to double clutch anymore

Hope the VIN numbers are helpful.
Many thanks to you all
Lorn

[Hell Razor5543]

The RPO number is usually on a label on the driver door pillar, normally 4 or 5 numbers followed by a couple of letters.

[RichardW]

OK, so service.citroen reports that it is a 1.9 XUD rather than the later 1.8 DW8 unit. It will definitely have glow plugs. Starting symptoms pointing more towards air leak than glow plugs - try pumping the primer before starting it, and see if that helps, which will narrow down an air leak - you've just got to find it then!!

RPO is effectively the build date. Yours is 8914, which means it was built on 5th April 2001. Sent you a PM with all the other info on it

[Lorn]

The RPO number is usually on a label on the driver door pillar, normally 4 or 5 numbers followed by a couple of letters.

Thank you I will have a look in the morning.

Oh and to answer the mileage question...it has just over 40,000 on the clock, with 3 or 4 past MOT's which show very little use between them, seems really low miles for it's age but I have no way of telling if it is genuine or not.

[citronut]

hi and welcome

pm. sent with the full characteristics list with everything Van Diesel left the factory wearing,

here is a snipit

Vehicle family RELAY
AS RPO No 8914
Warranty Start Date 25/06/2001
OPB 506P
General information
PRODUCT TYPE UTILITY VEHICLE
COMMERCIAL MARQUE/COMPONENT TYPE CITROEN
VEHICLE FAMILY RELAY
SILHOUETTE PANELLED VAN - SHORT STD SIDE STD ROOF TYPE 10
TRIM LEVEL CONFORT
ENGINE DIESEL XUD9
TRANSMISSION BVM5 4X2
INTERIOR TRIM TYPE "DN" PABLO CLOTH
UPHOLSTERY COLOUR "FT"
GEARBOX (CHARACTERISTICS) BVM ML5T
ENGINE (TYPE) XU/XUD
BADGE 1000 SHORT WHEELBASE

[Lorn]

hi and welcome

pm. sent with the full characteristics list with everything Van Diesel left the factory wearing,

here is a snipit

Vehicle family RELAY
AS RPO No 8914
Warranty Start Date 25/06/2001
OPB 506P
General information
PRODUCT TYPE UTILITY VEHICLE
COMMERCIAL MARQUE/COMPONENT TYPE CITROEN
VEHICLE FAMILY RELAY
SILHOUETTE PANELLED VAN - SHORT STD SIDE STD ROOF TYPE 10
TRIM LEVEL CONFORT
ENGINE DIESEL XUD9
TRANSMISSION BVM5 4X2
INTERIOR TRIM TYPE "DN" PABLO CLOTH
UPHOLSTERY COLOUR "FT"
GEARBOX (CHARACTERISTICS) BVM ML5T
ENGINE (TYPE) XU/XUD
BADGE 1000 SHORT WHEELBASE

Thank you...very much appreciated
Lorn

[Lorn]

Thank you all so much for your help and suggestions re the problem we were having starting Van Diesel.

Just to let you know it wasn't an air leak or the glow plugs...it was the wiring to the heater button.

Sometime in his past Van D. has had a separate push button for heating the glow plugs fitted to the dash...we assume a previous owner has had some sort of problem with the heater via the ignition switch and fitted a dedicated heater switch instead.
We took the switch off the dash and one of the wires slid out...nothing holding it...it was a real cowboy job...heavy duty wire with several strands taped back out of the way because the connectors were the wrong ones and they could only fit 2 strands in to them...we stripped it all and rewired it using the correct sized connectors...then we decided to check under the bonnet on the assumption the cowboys had been there too...and we were correct...it was even worse than in the cab...so we stripped it down and started again.
Then time to test our handiwork...a quick heat and he fired up without a cough or splutter...and has done so ever since...starts 1st time without any issues and ticks over perfectly.
Think we will replace the glow plugs before winter though just to give him a better boost in the cold weather.

Just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Thank you.

[Hell Razor5543]

Well done for fixing it. There are some right cowboys out there, and it looks like Van Diesel had the misfortune to fall into the hands of one. At least he then fell into the hands of somebody who cared and was prepared to make a go of it.

Talking of cowboys, I once saw a van with the following sign on the sides; "Patel & Singh, Plumbers. You have tried the Cowboys, Now give the Indians a go".

[Lorn]

Well done for fixing it. There are some right cowboys out there, and it looks like Van Diesel had the misfortune to fall into the hands of one. At least he then fell into the hands of somebody who cared and was prepared to make a go of it.

Talking of cowboys, I once saw a van with the following sign on the sides; "Patel & Singh, Plumbers. You have tried the Cowboys, Now give the Indians a go".

I like that...excellent play on words.

As for Van D. he is a work in progress...still a few niggles but nothing that can't be fixed with time and a bit of effort...he's not fast or furious, but I like him and he drives well.