Another Xantia survives

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peter306
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Another Xantia survives

Post by peter306 »

After a new Cat, new passenger side rear bearings and a bit of welding my 20 year old bog standard Xantia is good for another year. Replaced the Hub on the rear as Eurocarparts had a good deal, £15 for a brand new hub with bearings. =D> :lol:
Happy Chappy Pete
Citroen GSA flat4 engine written off
Citroen BX 1.4 gone
Citroen BX 1.6 gone
Citroen Xantia 1.8 gone
Citroen Xantia 1.8 still living now 148 k
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Stickyfinger
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by Stickyfinger »

Saving them seems to be habit forming :)
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by zs&tas »

Excellent, I've had my xantia 3.5 years now , flies through MOT's , love it , great car to drive , I just did an oil change but had to sort a massive breather pipe issue, and trans fluid on mine , cambelts next , I fitted this one two years ago so it's time again. 😁
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white exec
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and lots of Rovers before that: 1935 Ten, 1947 Sixteen, 1960 P5 3-litre, 1966 P6 2000, 1972 P6 2000TC, and 1975 P6B 3500S
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by white exec »

They are great cars, and have the advantage of being relatively non-complex, not plagued with absurdly twitchy electrical systems, and are generally mechanically dependable. They also have the benefit of being well understood and documented, and with a suspension nicely positioned between their simple 5-sphere predecessors, or (again well-understood) Hydractive 2, shared with XM.

Of conventional 'family' size, and riding on the heels of the runaway success of BX, many folk likely bought them as an attractive first step into Citroen, so conventional did they appear at first glance. But, on a budget, or with an eye on costs, my guess is that many owners never imagined that the hydraulic system did need looking after (and by someone knowledgeable), and so just carried on running these reliable and comfortable cars until they dropped . . . . which they did, literally.

The ride could simply deteriorate, and, if left, could get in such a state that the front end of the car would get close to destroying itself, courtesy of sheared strut tops and a speared bonnet.

Many Xantias here in Spain - and they were here in large numbers - were abandoned and scrapped as the service reality struck home. No end of examples of buckled bonnets, with breakers' yards simply crushing the cars immediately on arrival, such was the low level of interest in reclaimed spares, in contrast to many other models.

In some ways, Xantia and XM were the end of an era (I know that is something often claimed by afficionados), but there is some truth in this. It was the end of an era when mechanical quality and engineering excellence still held sway, and corners were not routinely cut in order to save production costs. There was no precise cut-off point for out-and-out component quality, but it is (I think) interesting to compare S2 XM with C5-X7. OK, the latter is infinitely more complex in both systems and component count - but actually better?

So, I rate a good Xantia as something definitely worth saving (if you're that way inclined), and a car that, given a bit of understanding and support, is capable of providing swift and comfortable transport, while also being a distinctive and subtle eyeful.
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by admiral51 »

Congrats Peter on keeping another Xantia on the road =D> =D>
I have to say they are an absolute joy to drive but then i am biased i have had quite a few of them.
I cannot compare the XM to the C5 X7 but i do have a Xantia S2 ( Bog Standard ) and a steel sprung C5 X7 , both with a 2.0 HDI engine and not estates, one is 20 years old, the other is 10 years old. Xantia has done 94k, C5 63k
The C5 has more modern toys, and it is a really nice car to drive but as a daily hack i use the Xantia, done close to 13k in 18 months.

But i agree with Chris, yes the XM and BX and Xantia are great cars, as are the CX DS etc and yes they have Quirky suspension but it is not overly complicated, Citroen never explained it so the average person could maintain them, now we know how it works its pennies per week taken over a 3 year maintenance cycle
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by zs&tas »

Well said white exec.
I find it really annoying when people slag off stuff they don't care to understand, or it scares them . Fluid moves down a tube . The end . It's really not that bad . I must admit the fluid prob doesn't move very well through my pipes but 40k miles I haven't bled any of it so it's my fault 😬. Lol
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white exec
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and lots of Rovers before that: 1935 Ten, 1947 Sixteen, 1960 P5 3-litre, 1966 P6 2000, 1972 P6 2000TC, and 1975 P6B 3500S
x 1752

Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by white exec »

If the LHM in the Xantia reservoir is at all dirty, and not clear bright green, it would be a good to run the system on Total Hydraurinçage for 1500-5000km (3000miles). This is the official method for throughly cleaning the system, and removing deposits.

Easy enough to do:

- 1 x 5L Total Hydraurinçage needed, Cit part number 1135001. Get them to order it for you, if not on the shelf.
- With suspension on Lowest, syphon out as much of the contents of the LHM reservoir as you can, and refill (to correct level, checked on Highest) with H'cage.

- Bleed the system to get the H'cage to all parts, including the brake calipers (which are 'dead legs')...
... Put suspension on Highest
... Lift rear wheels off the ground, and remove the wheels
... With engine running, apply continuous light pressure to the brake pedal (a length of wood between seat front and pedal will do)
... Throw in an extra litre of H'cage into the reservoir
... Bleed off fluid at the rear right (RR) brake bleed screw - length of small plastic pipe and a jar - until cleanish H'cage emerges; close the bleed screw. Expect to bleed off about 1L of fluid at this one, because it will be bleeding most of the system.
... Repeat the bleeding at the other three wheels, in this order: RL, FR, FL. Expect much less fluid to need to come out at these three.
... Check fluid level again, and top up with H'cage as necessary. Your 5L will be sufficient for all this.
... Replace wheels, return to ground, and Normal height. Job done.

Run car as normal for up to 5000km/3000mi, doing a few Citrobics every week or so. Then replace the fluid with standard LHM, and bleed through as before. Good idea to remove and clean (in petrol) the two nylon filters in the reservoir, or replace them with new ones if damaged or split. Make sure they are located properly when replacing.

While the car is running on Hydraurinçage, you should feel it progressively loosen up, and be quicker to rise and alter height, assuming all other bits of the system are ok. After 10 years of use (let alone 20+!) these systems deserve the TLC of a system clean.
Chris
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by Stickyfinger »

Whenever a mechanic or such like heathen looks frighted and says through gritted teeth "ohhh....complicated things Citroens'" I just shrug and say "not really, Archimedes discovered hydraulics in 250BC" and shrug whilst giving a -knowing look-

:) I get all defensive :)
Alasdair
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white exec
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and lots of Rovers before that: 1935 Ten, 1947 Sixteen, 1960 P5 3-litre, 1966 P6 2000, 1972 P6 2000TC, and 1975 P6B 3500S
x 1752

Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by white exec »

This has to be one for Neil, Alasdair. Hydraulics wasn't the only thing Archimedes came up with !!!!! :shock:
Chris
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Stickyfinger
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by Stickyfinger »

He did do a rather good catapult the Romans took a dislike too :)
Alasdair
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white exec
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My Cars: 1996 XM 2.5TD Exclusive hatch RHD
1992 BX19D Millesime hatch LHD
previously 1989 BX19RD, 1998 ZX 1.9D auto, 2001 Xantia 1.8i auto
and lots of Rovers before that: 1935 Ten, 1947 Sixteen, 1960 P5 3-litre, 1966 P6 2000, 1972 P6 2000TC, and 1975 P6B 3500S
x 1752

Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by white exec »

And....and....more than that....
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by ksanturion10 »

I think you will need a separate forum for the "more than that"...
Only himself the stupid makes wrong, many are being confused by the clever :P
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Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

white exec wrote: 05 Mar 2020, 16:03 This has to be one for Neil, Alasdair. Hydraulics wasn't the only thing Archimedes came up with !!!!! :shock:
Didn't he also have something to do with a screw?
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white exec
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My Cars: 1996 XM 2.5TD Exclusive hatch RHD
1992 BX19D Millesime hatch LHD
previously 1989 BX19RD, 1998 ZX 1.9D auto, 2001 Xantia 1.8i auto
and lots of Rovers before that: 1935 Ten, 1947 Sixteen, 1960 P5 3-litre, 1966 P6 2000, 1972 P6 2000TC, and 1975 P6B 3500S
x 1752

Re: Another Xantia survives

Post by white exec »

Got it! An Archimedian Screw can shift fluid through a pipe. Fortunately, Citroen never included one anywhere on the system.
As Archimedes might have said, "You can't beat a good scr....." \:D/
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Another Xantia Survives

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

peter306 wrote: 04 Mar 2020, 13:38 After a new Cat, new passenger side rear bearings and a bit of welding my 20 year old bog standard Xantia is good for another year. Replaced the Hub on the rear as Eurocarparts had a good deal, £15 for a brand new hub with bearings. =D> :lol:
Happy Chappy Pete
Well done Pete. My two Xantias got taken away by Elvis some years ago now (not the bloke from down the chip shpo but our local scrapman!). This remnant did turn up just the other day when I was planting a rose :-D
Nf own work
Nf own work
and on the archimedes screw bit local lad William Armstrong liked a bit of hydro-electricity, and with a few light bulbs from his pal Joseph Swann he lit his Country House with a bit of off-grid leccy!

The National trust have emulated this with the installation of an archimedes screw. With Led bulbs at the house it doesnt have to generate much to light it up again.



Regards Neil
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