Simon's new Xantia V6 and Leaf blog

[Stickyfinger]

Activa Club.fr sell fully refurbished linkages for height correctors

[Mandrake]

Activa Club.fr sell fully refurbished linkages for height correctors

Thanks I'll keep them in mind, but I'll have a look at the spare one I have first to see if I can repair it. From memory it's in nearly perfect condition apart from needing a new pin.

[Mandrake]

Forgot to check in and let everyone know the trip went well (or at least the driving part did! ) with no problems on the car at all. The ride quality was very good throughout the trip, apart from a little knocking from the front lower right suspension arm on tight corners.

It used 33.52 litres, so a little over half the tank to do the 216.5 miles down plus the driving around the area prior to topping up for the return journey. Thats around 29 MPG and an extrapolated range of 420 miles from a 65 litre tank. I have to say that sounds very optimistic, if you allow 40 miles for the low petrol warning light that's still 380 miles - I don't think I've ever seen over 300 miles from the car but maybe I just haven't done one long enough continuous trip...

The only thing that spoiled the trip a little was the wheel imbalance which seems to be worst on one of the rear wheels - at 70mph indicated there is no vibration but it's pretty bad at an indicated 85. I gave up trying to get the wheels balanced at least 5 years ago as nobody seems to be able to get the centreless wheels balanced properly - almost nobody will do them at all now and those I've tried who will don't get it right so I'm just throwign my money away! Shame. I don't know what I'm going to do when it's time to change the tyres...

Jobs still to be done before the next MOT - replace the front right lower suspension arm which has been knocking literally since I've had the car, albeit it has gone from very minor and intermittent to more obvious over many years. I've had a new arm sitting in a box ready to install for about 3 years now but every summer I haven't been able to find the time and pluck up the courage to try to fit it! But this time I really ought to....

Then the sump needs to be removed from the engine and have new RTV applied to fix the weeping it has had for quite a while, which then means I'd be silly not to do an engine oil and filter change as well, which is probably due now on age, although not on miles.

Before I do any more work on the Xantia though I need to replace both lower front suspension arms on the Leaf - the left one that I replaced a year ago is definitely knocking on the balljoint just as Nissan said - could I have done something wrong during fitting to damage the ball joint ? As far as I know the rubber boot is fine so I don't understand why it failed so quickly, especially when it's a Delphi arm.

The right hand one which is original factory fit at almost 60k miles has failed bushes which are making a right old commotion now, squeaking, grunting, creaking and groaning - that really needs to get done pretty soon. Both sides are very likely an MOT fail at the moment. (Left side definitely is according to Nissan)

I'm going to order two new arms shortly and get those done as soon as possible while I'm still able to drive the Xantia into Glasgow!!! (Won't be allowed to after June 1st 2023 due to in force LEZ's )

[xantia_v6]

Your Xantia fuel consumption seems about correct. The tank from empty will take 71 litres (I managed that a couple of times). When we regularly travelled to France, we would refuel about 450 miles from home. In the XM with a slightly larger tank, we could do the 500 mile trip on one tankfull.

[Armidillo]

Just for comparison, have just filled my 406 SV (ES9J4S motor) at 910 km. Trip meter thought I should get another 40 km. Could only squeeze 70 litres in (I have managed 72 previously). Trip meter indicated 7.6l/100 km.

Converting, that's 565 miles, and 15.4 gallons, so 36.7 mpg. Certainly quite a bit of motorway (with 100km'h speed limit), but also significant 'B' road travel. Very little stop-start traffic.

[Mandrake]

I’m assuming the 406 is a manual though while the Xantia is an automatic.

[Armidillo]

True - had forgotten that you are afflicted with the 4HP20. I've got one in the XM, which has a good range, but can't match the economy of the 406, and it thumps changing back into 1st when hot.

I have recently fitted new Oxygen sensors to the 406 (ES9J4S has 4 of the wretched things!!), which I think has improved the economy, but hasn't stopped the computer storing "catalytic converter ageing" messages.

[Mandrake]

Out in the sun today replacing both lower front suspension arms on the Leaf.

Some of you will remember I already replaced the left hand arm a little over a year ago with a Delphi one, only for Nissan to point out back in February the ball joint has failed - well they were right...

The rubber boot for the ball joint has completely torn away around the top and the joint was full of water... seen on the left hand side here:

How would that have happened ? Is it possible I tore it slightly when fitting it, or is the rubber boot just of poor quality ? I notice it is a lot "flatter" boot than the original factory type (right hand in the picture) with not much ability to stretch.

Meanwhile the right hand arm - which was the original factory arm has something wrong with the rubber boot as well - it seems like there is a bit missing as there is no wire clip at the top or groove for one to sit in ? There is a gap between the boot and the pin that you can easily poke a small screw driver down so clearly not water tight either.

The rubber bushes (which Nissan said were failing) weren't as bad as I expected, although it is true they have somewhat delaminated, but the real cause of the creaking noises will have been a water damaged ball joint.

This time I bought slightly more expensive TRW arms and I have to say the ball joint boots fitted are of better quality and design than either the Nissan original ones or the Delphi one. The boot is a decent size allowing it to move quite a bit without risk of tearing, the rubber is thicker than the Delphi one, and it's a good clamped seal at the top unlike the Nissan one. The rubber bushes also look to be a bit sturdier on the TRW arms.

I was also extremely careful with the boots and did not remove the protective plastic covers until I was doing the final insertion of the pins into the hub and made sure the hub couldn't catch the boots - just in case I did damage the last one. Fingers crossed that this is a long lasting fix this time!

I ran out of time and energy to check the wheel alignment today - that will have to wait for next weekend, however I did notice an interesting change. Previously I had to hold the wheel a couple of degrees to the right to go straight ahead and I had assumed that was the track rod ends that needed adjusting...

However after replacing both arms the car now goes straight with the wheel held perfectly straight. And it feels "tighter" and more stable at speed - not surprising when I just replaced two faulty ball joints that had quite a bit of slack, I suppose.

In fact the feel of driving the car is quite markedly better with the two new arms, it's surprising what an effect it has.

[mickthemaverick]

Well done Simon, it's always good when you can feel a difference after doing a job. Many non mechanically minded drivers tolerate ball joint wear over a period without even noticing until an MOT or service points them out. Once replaced they still don't feel any difference which really helps to justfy the need for the MOT!!

[Mandrake]

After a slight weep for years that is getting worse now I've decided it's finally time to re-seal the engine sump on the Xantia before its MOT next month.

I believe it's just RTV sealant and no physical gasket ?

Not a job I've ever done before - are there any guides on here of how to do it ? Recommendations for RTV and how to apply it ?

Is it just the small 10 mm bolts all the way around the sump and maybe a sharp knife to cut through the old sealant to remove it ?

Scrape the surfaces clean with a plastic scraper, apply a bead (how thick ?) of sealant and bolt the sump back on immediately, or wait for a bit ?

Sorry, I've never used RTV before so no idea whether it is supposed to firm a bit before you bolt it back together or whether you do it immediately while it's still very soft.

[Armidillo]

I'll be interested to read answers to your questions. I've done the 406 SV (ES9J4S) and the XM (ES9J4) sumps in the last 12 months or so - I don't claim any real expertise, but they are certainly better than before I started!

The ES9J4S actually has a silicon "gasket" which I reused - the ES9J4 did not. Both are held in place by 20 x 10mm bolts only.

I can't remember needing a sharp knife - the sumps both came off without too much trouble, and I expect I used petrol to soften the old silicon sealant before rubbing it off. Of course the ease or difficulty of this stage will depend on the sealant used last time it was resealed ...

I am pretty sure that what I used was Form A Gasket rather than RTV - both are silicon and I've no idea of the difference. I ordered a new sump gasket for the 406 from one of our parts suppliers (European Auto Imports), and they explained that there was no such thing, and sent a couple of tubes of Form A Gasket, so I used it.

Don't use much - some excess will squeeze outwards, but some will squeeze into the sump, and over time will break away into the oil, from where it will try and block your oil strainer! Obviously you want an even thin layer all the way around. From memory the sump has a raised ridge which, given the lack of a gasket, presses directly on the bottom of the block.

My technique was to apply the silicon to the sump sealing surface, then gently position it and start all twenty bolts. I just screw them in finger tight (evenly), then leave overnight before tightening to the appropriate torque (which I have forgotten, but which is very low). The aim obviously is to let the silicon set into something like a gasket before tightening. Getting enthusiastic and over tightening will distort the sump sealing surface, and pretty much guarantee leaks!

I have an associated problem that I haven't resolved - one of the 20 tapped holes in the XM's block has stripped, so the torque attainable on this bolt is even lower than the others! Goes in for annual registration check (equivalent to MOT, but generally not as stringent) tomorrow, so guess I'll find out how well it's holding!

Re. our state rego check being less stringent than your MOT - my 406 failed a couple of weeks ago. I had been enjoying driving it, blissfully unaware of the following list:
* cam box oil leaks (actually I did know, but thought it would only fail if it was dripping, which it is not)
* front lower control arm bushes stuffed (esp. rear bush)
* hand brake adjustment, plus "rubber" grip on hand brake lever has come loose (OK I knew about both of those as well)
* sidewall bulge in one front tyre, too much edge wear on the other (flogged out LCAs might have contributed to this)

Sigh...

[CitroJim]

No gasket on the ES9J4 Simon and that stuff I've used in the past - and on camboxes - is Loctite 5910... It's a sort of RTV made especially for the job..

[Armidillo]

Jim would the Loctite 5910 be the right stuff for cam boxes as well?

[xantia_v6]

Yes, the 5910 is correct for ES9 cam boxes and sump.

[Mandrake]

No gasket on the ES9J4 Simon and that stuff I've used in the past - and on camboxes - is Loctite 5910... It's a sort of RTV made especially for the job..

Brilliant, that's what I was looking for.

Does anyone know roughly how much is required for the job ? Larger tubes of the stuff seem to be somewhat expensive.