Bought a MK1, and just noticed that the engine probably is blown (links included)

[Kiiva]

Bought a "new" Xantia yesterday from an older man. Its been well taken care of. took it for a short test drive, MOT and all is OK.
Looks great and it doesnt have rust at the typical Xantia place(!)

When driving on the highway, its very quiet. But when driving in the city at low speeds, and on idle, OMG!
I really wasnt sure if i wanted to post and ask, because even if i dont know about engines, i can tell that this does NOT sound good at all.

I recorded the noise, then i parked it since im afraid of blowing the engine up. It drives great but well... i guess i need to scrap it since i cant fix or afford to have it fixed.
Its a 1.8 SX (sounds like a broken diesel engine, but its petrol) from 1995

[GiveMeABreak]

It's really hard to make out, it it sounds like a 2CV!
In some parts it sounds like the accumulator and at other times like it's going to stall

[Kiiva]

Really weird for sure yes.. and the car runs and starts like a dream.
A guy offered me almost nothing for the car since "its dangerous to drive it"
I know that the engine noise sounds horrible when you drive slow, but i want to be sure that its serious before i give it away.

I have watched otherMK1 8v Xantias on Youtube and they do sound different from the MK2 16v.

[Stickyfinger]

Can you not ask a garage to tell you what is wrong.....so you can decide what to do based on their diagnosis ?

It is very hard to tell on phone movie sound what the problem may be.

[Kiiva]

Can you not ask a garage to tell you what is wrong.....so you can decide what to do based on their diagnosis ?

It is very hard to tell on phone movie sound what the problem may be.

You are right. Its just me, i try to avoid the garages here since most of them dont bother look at an old Citroen, while knowing they wont make any money from that.

But i will give it a try. Its my first mk1 and my only Xantia without rust inside the rear backdoor. No bubbles there either, and no past repairs. Low milage too.
It would be a shame to scrap it without asking a garage.

[xantia_v6]

It could be the catalytic converter has broken up and you are hearing the pieces being blown around by the exhaust gas and rattling against the case.
Also could be a loose crankshaft pulley.

[ekjdm14]

Even if the engine is dead, and I don't think it is, surely a car that's as clean as this deserves another engine? Might cost a bit but if the rest of the car is good... I did the same with our car, a 97k/mile 1.9D auto with a properly blown engine, also built 1995, & I'm so glad I did. The car is great to drive & I really prefer the S1 to the S2.

As said, it's hard to tell from those videos/sound quality but maybe a look round under the bonnet with the engine running would help pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from? (do you know the tip about using a long screwdriver (or similar) as a stethoscope? you put the tip on where you want to listen to & rest your ear on the handle. can tell you a lot more about where a noise is coming from, just be careful to keep clothes/hair etc out of the way of pulleys or cooling fan while you're there!)

Having said that, it could easily be the crank pulley as Xantia V6 says. Quite a simple check for this if you don't mind lying on the floor, look at the pulley & see if there's any shiny/polished metal on the part where the outer piece joins to the rubber & then inner. (if you can get a good photo of the pulley & post it that may help) Also you could (engine off, of course) grab the pulley and try to turn/wobble it. Might be a really easy fix if it's that.

[Kiiva]

I will try to see if there is anything i can do.
Driving a bit faster will make it really quiet. So this could be a serious thing as well as a minor thing?

[Kiiva]

Driving normally:



Stopped, and turning the steering wheel:

[Eddie Nuff]

When driving on the highway, its very quiet. But when driving in the city at low speeds, and on idle, OMG!

Then it's not the engine but an external part that is affected by the speed of the engine. My first thought is the bottom pulley.

If when driving slow, the noise is there, does it disappear when you first apply the power to accelerate or only when you reach cruising speed?

[ekjdm14]

The more I listen to it, the more I think it's something relatively minor like an exhaust issue. Really without having it looked over by someone who knows what to look for we're clutching at straws, if you could take it to a garage and perhaps ask them to look at the condition/secure mounting of the exhaust & if that's all fine then get them to check the crank pulley for damage or being loose, and any other loose parts around the engine bay.

That last video in particular sounds like a loose/cracked exhaust vibrating or, again as suggested by Xantia V6, possibly the Catalyst rattling. I really don't think there's any serious mechanical fault with the engine.

[Old-Guy]

Difficult to hear the offending noise, but I think I can hear something 'snatching'.
If the noise is made worse when you turn the steering at rest, then I'd also look at the auxiliary drive (aka 'fan') belt tensioner. This belt also drives the hydraulic pump, and turning the steering puts a big load on the pump and thus on the belt.
I agree that it's unlikely to be anything serious as the car drives well at speed.
Any other Xantia owners in your area?

[Kiiva]

Thank you so much for your input, i do not have anyone to ask and i understand that its hard to diagnose this from my videos.
But, you did help me a lot more than anyone i can think of in RL. So now i will go ahead and have a look again, and also i will enjoy my car even more when it might be something minor.

[Stickyfinger]

Are there any Citroen Web sites/Clubs in Israel ?....try and contact any members, world wide we normally like to help each other save good cars.

[Kiiva]

Well no. People here working as mechanics, are pretty rude. Not everyone, but thats the atmosphere "wtf do you want? old citroen?!" (they dont say that but you know what i mean)

Anyway as you know i suck at this. But i think this could be something here:




Even though there is documents of that belt has been changed not too long ago. In other words, its not time for the timing belt yet.

I really hope this, whatever it is, might change the situation from minor to major(?)