Are Xantia Estates Inferior Build Quality?

[rory_perrett]

Well I've done the evil deed! I have parked up my Xantia Hdi Exclusive Hatch for the last time and got my recently purchased Xantia Estate on the road. Not that there was anything major wrong with the hatch I just can't justify running both, although I think the old girl knew what was coming as the list of things that have packed up over last 3 weeks or so is quite long. Anyway after nearly 325,000 miles (over 200,000 in my ownership) I can't complain.

So now the task of getting the estate fettled to my taste commences, all the better bits will be getting transfered from the hatch. Done the work to get it usable so now it will become a running restoration but at 192,000 in my world the car is nearly new .

Anyway, working on the car, it just doesn't seem to be built as well as the hatch. The hatch is a 2000 car, the estate a 1999, were they made in different factories? Its already had the front door hinge welded and then this weekend I had to do my first bit of welding on a Xantia in 12 years (and 3 previous cars) of ownership.

All looked ok until, while I was fitting new brake back plates to replace the ones that appear to have rotted away, I decided to clear out the mud that had collected where the nearside sill ends forming the bottom of the wheel arch in front of the rear wheel. When the mud had gone, shock horror I had a hole about 10mm dia!!

No worries, quick patch and its sorted - I thought.

10 mins tapping with a hammer and cutting back with an abrasive disk looking for good metal and I've got a massive hole.







Not pretty!

Knocked up a couple of repair pieces



All welded in



A quick tidy up and a bit of stone chip guard/ underseal



And its ready for spraying, when I get to do the rest.

Lots of paint bubbling round both rear wheel arches so I'm expecting to have respray both rear panels once the arches have been repaired so will spray the sill at the same time.

So far

Replacement headlight
Replacement upper off side engine mount
Replacement front drivers seat
Replace heater control panel
Replace after market CD player with an original unit
Fit CD changer in boot
Fit replacement rear wiper
Fix non locking rear door
Fix heated rear window
Replace rear brake plates
Weld sill
Suspension diode mod (whether its needed or not)
Replace coolant tank pressure cap
Fit towbar & electrics
New pollen filter
New exhaust back box

To do

Replace front spheres (all 4)
Replace rear spheres (all 4)
Replace damaged switch blank on dash
Replace rear disks and pads
Body work
Replace off side front wheel bearing (I think, or it could be drive shaft centre bearing, I just hope the whining noise is not coming from the gearbox)
Cam belt (Just in case and it is due around 200,000 miles)
Fit reversing sensors.

So that should keep me busy for a bit.

[Northern_Mike]

The estates were made by Heuliez, the French coachbuilders. The quality is occasionally dubious.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[rory_perrett]

The estates were made by Heuliez, the French coachbuilders. The quality is occasionally dubious.

Was that just the shell/body work or the complete car?

[citroenxm]

Also helieuz also skimped on cable wire lengths as the harness that goes from the car roof to the hatch lids are also tooooooooo short and they break in the grommet quite easilly...

[Xantidote]

nearly 325,000 miles (over 200,000 in my ownership

That's a good mileage Rory. You must have maintained it well. Hope the the estate does as well for you.

[Estately]

Hi Rory,

You did not mention whether you had done the delightful job up inside the rear wheel arch where you get to be showered with fine dust as you clean and inspect where the outer edge of the inner arch meets the rear wing.

I think it is dealt with on these pages but a brief summary would be that the inner wheel arch has a thin rubber seal which presses against the inside of the rear wing in an attempt to prevent moisture ingress, ..... badly. You are now a witness to this long and drawn out failing.

I used Evo Stik Liquid Metal (other products available) to try and effect a seal from the uppermost point inside the wing and between the two.
Time will tell if it was a successful repair.

Andy.

[rory_perrett]

Hi Estately

I have the joys of that to come, don't really like body work so I'm focusing on the mech stuff at the moment, looking at paint bubbles on the rear wing and around the wheel arch I just know that when I attack it with a flap wheel I'm going to end up with a lot less metal than I should. just hope the tin worm hasn't got into the inner arch. I'm hoping to get another 150,000 miles / 10 years out of this one.

Rory

[rory_perrett]

nearly 325,000 miles (over 200,000 in my ownership

That's a good mileage Rory. You must have maintained it well. Hope the the estate does as well for you.

Looking at it it has had £2,632.67 in maintenance which includes consumables such as tyres bulbs and brakes.

The big ones have been a lift pump, 2 rear brake pipes, and 2 sets of spheres nothing else other than tyres has been over £100.

Oil changes and cam belts get changed religiously, everything else gets attended to when it needs it or I spot it - although I am Captain Slow I just treat it with as much sympathy as possible which is may be why its averaged 53.4 mpg which isn't bad for such a big car.

[bxzx16v]

I've heard of doors dropping off estates at a year or two old back in the day.



Mark

[bill hughes]

I've just acquired a 2000 2.0 hdi having had a 1994 1.9 tdi for 5 years, it had 4 new spheres 15,000 miles ago but it seems to have a lot of noisy bumping on bad road surfaces and pot holes, it seems to be much worse than the 1.9 tdi. I am now wondering if this is due to the estate bodywork not being made by Citroen, has anyone else had this problem, many thanks.

[Estately]

Hi Bill,

You will find the noisy and bumpy suspension problems covered within these pages.

I think it is worthwhile first to ensure that the spare wheel with the jack is held securely in it’s cradle, that the folding rear seats are held firmly (you could fold them flat to see if the noise stops). That the left and right hand bump stops are both still there and that ride height and correctors are OK.

Having said that, air getting into the LHM and lodging in the suspension could cause the problems that you have mentioned.
You will see that people have made modifications to the way that the LHM circulates in the reservoir to reduce the probability of picking up air laden fluid – with reported success.

It is also worthwhile cleaning the LHM filters regularly, (I got an extra set to speed up the change procedure). I think that the pump will somehow manage to pull in air if the filters are not clean.

Together with extra ‘Citerobics’ from time to time you could leave the suspension on low overnight having released by half to three quarters of a turn and retightened the pressure release, that is if you don’t need a quick get away in the morning.
If there is too much air in the LHM you will see it fizz like pop in the reservoir when lowering the suspension and releasing the pressure.

Lastly too much wear in the rear arm bearings, caused by the lubricant drying out will also cause a variety of noises.

Good luck.

Andy.

[bill hughes]

Many thanks for your reply Andy, it all sounds daunting, are the bump stops on the rear only as that seems to be where the noise comes from, also can they drop out as there are some wicked " humps " where I live and my wife doesn't seem to know what "slow down" for humps means, its just occurred to me that on a service done in December by the previous owner that the garage advised that the front suspension bushes were worn, I rang the garage and they said this would not show up as noise, is this an expensive job? thanks again
Bill

[wurlycorner]

The estates were made by Heuliez, the French coachbuilders. The quality is occasionally dubious.

Same was true of CX Safari's (built by Heuliez).
I've always found that the Safari I have sat on the drive seems much better built than the 5 saloons I have knocking about the barns, though

All of these pictures of rotten rear sills and arches on Xantia's make me more determined to get inside and protect them on my Activa when I get it back on the road!

[Estately]

Hi Bill,

There are only bump stops on the back and taking the usual care when going under a Citroen, they should be seen fitted to the sub frame above the rear arms. To fit (suspension on high) they are only twist and push into a hole in the sub frame about the same diameter as a decent biro and the body of the stop widens out and would be about 3 inches in diameter. (All made of yellow squashy stuff.)

The front rubber bushes when worn appear to be breaking up at the ends especially when the suspension is set to high or the vehicle is on a jack. Again the job is covered on these pages but I think I would let the MOT man decide, it is a little subjective and he may not notice. Submit it for the MOT as early as you can to give time to arrange a convenient date for repair if required.

The symptom of worn front bushes, in my experience, is a tendency to twitch on white lines or seams in the tarmac particularly under breaking. In theory the front tyres would wear more quickly but that depends on yours or SWMBO’s driving (how long is the vehicle airborne during the average journey?).
It is important to get Citroen quality replacements and to ensure that the repairer knows the correct angle or ride height of the suspension when they are fitted and tightened. (Described clearly on these pages.)

If not done correctly they will only last a few thousand miles. (Mine have been done once in 230k miles at 137k). I would guess at £250 to £275 total for both sides, someone may have had the job done recently and be able to give a more qualified price.

Hope that helps.

Andy.

[bill hughes]

Thanks a lot for your reply Andy, I've had a look underneath and cant see anything that resembles a bump stop, if they go where I think they go what holds them in, good luck or what, looking on older threads it looks as if these are main dealer only unless you know different, I'll get some and give it a go,

cheers mate Bill