xantia rescue

[admiral51]

Sometimes what can be character building is knowing when to ask for help. A fresh perspective on a problem can sometimes find something that has been missed.

I agree a fresh set of eyes can and usually does look at the problem totally different, hence the character building saying is quite often a case of "why the heck did i not see that"

Colin

[xantia_v6]

hey Jim I'm just getting annoyed with this car, I've been trying for the last two days to to re attach the hydraulic pipes into the doseur but only one will go in. I've tried placing the seals on the ends on the pipes, putting the seals in the holes where the pipe goes in, and I've got the union literally touching the doseure but it just wont screw in no matter how hard i try, i was wondering if i had to re thread the threads. But i just dont know, and i thought it best to ask you to see if you had any tips
thanks Scott

Put the seals in the hole first, they should go in far enough that they are flush or just slightly below that so that the first thread is visible. Then push the pipe in through the seal until the end of the pipe has slid into the narrow part of the hole beyond the threaded section (if the pipe is not at the correct angle this will be tricky). Then the nut should easily engage with the thread with only moderate difficulty, but again it requires the pipe to be straight and on the correct angle. If the pipe has been bent during removal, it can be very frustrating trying to get it to go back in, have a practice without the seal, to check that the pipe is going in far enough metal-to -metal.

[Scottculli]

hey Jim I'm just getting annoyed with this car, I've been trying for the last two days to to re attach the hydraulic pipes into the doseur but only one will go in. I've tried placing the seals on the ends on the pipes, putting the seals in the holes where the pipe goes in, and I've got the union literally touching the doseure but it just wont screw in no matter how hard i try, i was wondering if i had to re thread the threads. But i just dont know, and i thought it best to ask you to see if you had any tips
thanks Scott

Put the seals in the hole first, they should go in far enough that they are flush or just slightly below that so that the first thread is visible. Then push the pipe in through the seal until the end of the pipe has slid into the narrow part of the hole beyond the threaded section (if the pipe is not at the correct angle this will be tricky). Then the nut should easily engage with the thread with only moderate difficulty, but again it requires the pipe to be straight and on the correct angle. If the pipe has been bent during removal, it can be very frustrating trying to get it to go back in, have a practice without the seal, to check that the pipe is going in far enough metal-to -metal.

I think this is the answer, i tried playing around with the angle of the pipe and i just started to get it grip, so ill keep trying to” persuade“ the pipes until i get the thread to bite. only problem is i did manage to get one of the pipes to just begin to bite with my fingers, but i then tried to get the spanner in to do the rest but it could hardly get there with a enough room to move it and get my hand in. But ill have another crack at it again tomorrow, thanks guys for the help.

[CitroJim]

Sometimes what can be character building is knowing when to ask for help. A fresh perspective on a problem can sometimes find something that has been missed.

A lot of jobs on a V6 Xantia can be considered character building But yes, you are bang-on James

[xantia_v6]

I think on one occasion where access was bad, and my fingers were damaged after struggling with a hydraulic fitting, I cut 2mm off the length of the seal to make it easier to get the thread started.

[Scottculli]

Hey everyone, I didn’t do any work on the car today as i went on a roadtrip to ashbourn today, but yesterday i had another go at trying to get the unions connected. I tried the two hydraulic lines nearest to the engine as it would give me the most space to practice with them. I didn’t put the seals on, i put the pipes in the doseur and got the unions to touch the doseur and turned them both clock wise and anti clockwise. And got nothing. They would spin somtimes.bite and then later as I continued spining would become loose again or id get it to bite with my thingers but after i got the spanner on it, it became really hard to move and felt like i was cross freding it i do agree that its more character building to know when to ask for help. So with the new information i was wondering if it geve you any ideas Thanks Scott

[xantia_v6]

If the thread won't start with the seal absent, then the pipe probably got bent during removal, and the threads are not aligned.

[Scottculli]

Hey guys ive just got one last question, are the unions meant to be tight when screwing on, its just I manage to get the tread to bite but it would become very tight and impossible by hand. and when moving to the wrench it was still tight, just wondering if it was normal and to be expected, or was cross threading it

[CitroJim]

Hey guys ive just got one last question, are the unions meant to be tight when screwing on, its just I manage to get the tread to bite but it would become very tight and impossible by hand. and when moving to the wrench it was still tight, just wondering if it was normal and to be expected, or was cross threading it

Scott, yes, they do feel quite tight once the thread has 'bitten' due to the action of compressing the seal as you screw in the union... Having said that, they should not be so tight that you really have to lean on the spanner...

Be very cautious not to cross-thread... If you fear you have then remove the pipe again and reassemble as a test with no seal on the end... The union should then screw in very freely...

[Scottculli]

Hey everyone i don’t have much progress to report because im still stuck with the union problem. But i was wondering does anyone have any tips on the straightening the pipes to get them to actually go into the doseur im just not sure how im meant to do it. I can get the pipes in and the unions just touching the doseur but because of the alignment they just wont screw in. Thanks Scott.

[Scottculli]

hey everyone, iv'e not been able to make much progress with the brake pipes so iv'e decided that i should move on and come back to it later, and maybe with a fresh set of eyes till sort its self out .while i'm working on the breaks the pistons on the calipers have seized up, so i was planing on refurbishing them.i was wondering if they still sold a kit with all the seals, and if it had a parts number, ive seen something on eBay, but i didn't want my caliper to explode when im doing 50, so i wasn't sure if they where safe. thanks everyone
scott.

[Scottculli]

hey everyone hows it going,i hope your doing well, its been a busy few week as ive just started my apprenticeship at a garage, but i wanted to continue on with a side project on the xantia. and im tackling the calipers on the front as they are looking rough, although they aren't seized they could definitely do with a little looking after as they look like they have been salvaged from the ocean.

ive been looking for a repair kit on the internet and am having a little trouble finding out which caliper kit i need. i believe the was a 54mm and a 57mm caliper and maybe another one for something else. ive concluded that the 57mm was used on the 2.1 td and the v6 and im going to order this one but tough it usfull to check with everyone if it was the right one.
much thanks
Scott.

[Hell Razor5543]

Might I suggest you also take a good look at the rear callipers. There is a known issue with weird corrosion forming between the trailing arm and the calliper, pushing the calliper off angle over time. It can be resolved, but you may need to replace the rear callipers, as their contact face will have taken damage. This link explains the issue;

https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... hp?t=38467

[Skull]

Scottculli The caliper looks OK, if it's not leaking, but the suspension strut gaiter looks in poor condition

[Scottculli]

Might I suggest you also take a good look at the rear callipers. There is a known issue with weird corrosion forming between the trailing arm and the calliper, pushing the calliper off angle over time. It can be resolved, but you may need to replace the rear callipers, as their contact face will have taken damage. This link explains the issue;

https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... hp?t=38467

ah ive just been reading the thread, it seems to be a common problem on lots of citroens, i hope i dont have to replace it but once ive done the fronts ill get onto the rears, thanks for the heads up