XANTIA HDi RUNNING ROUGH

[Skull]

Yes ekjdm14 hydraulic on 2.0 HDi - contemplating testing for leakage, positioning car ready for the strip down but I haven’t got too far yet, tried to pin the timing holes and they are out again, by a similar tooth …tooth and a half

I only get a couple of hours in the sun so it will be a slow process….

If I had a nice warm garage I would obviously do it in there I’m not a sadomasochistic…but I don’t…so it will be outside….

[ekjdm14]

Oh I feel your pain there. Been garage-less for nearly 3 years now and as dark and damp as the garage we had was I do miss it very much this time of year, especially having just replaced a turbo & clutch on the 406 on the driveway over the last cold snap!

Strange the timing seems to have moved again, have to wonder if there's something lodged in the lower cover that's causing it to occasionally skip. Doesn't tie in with only losing one cylinder though, that's a strange one. Even being hydraulic lifters I'd maybe see if anything on #4 looks obviously different, pending the issue being pinned down to valves of course.

[Rhothgar]

I'd still do one last thing to rule valve issues out. Bang one of the other injectors in from 1, 2, or 3 and retest to see if you are still getting the low compression just in case injector is seized open on No. 4.

What a cruel nightmare if something has gone coincidentally.

You didn't try and take the old core plug out using a sledgehammer and a cold chisel, did you? You may have gone through the cylinder wall.

Only joking. I'm sure you wouldn't be that daft!

[mickthemaverick]

Keep up Roger!! We did that when we were there, swapped 3 and 4 and the trouble stayed on 4, hence my prediction of valve trouble on 4!!

[Skull]

Only joking. I'm sure you wouldn't be that daft!

You never know though

[Rhothgar]

Keep up Roger!! We did that when we were there, swapped 3 and 4 and the trouble stayed on 4, hence my prediction of valve trouble on 4!!

But that wasn’t that simply to test injectors and whether there was an improvement in the running?

I’m slightly confused. When you say the trouble stayed on 4, what do you mean exactly. I should probably go back through the post and see if I can make sense of it. Problem is I h r a lot on and am extremely time poor and my short term memory is suffering.

[Rhothgar]

At least a strip down would involve a new head gasket on rebuilding , plus the fact you do get to have a proper look at the whole thing when its being worked on . It's to nice a car to end its life. I wish you all the best and sincerely would love to read one day its all back up and running ( ive seen a few of these fetching 5k on certain car selling sites) so the end result could be well worth that nest egg .

FIVE GRAND!

Who wants WarHorse for TWO GRAND?

[Rhothgar]

Only joking. I'm sure you wouldn't be that daft!

You never know though

If you do end up stripping the head off then I would suggest using one of these new fangled multi-layer gaskets. They are the dog’s do-dars!

I was unsure about them at first because they are not a genuine part but they are allegedly so good that they even fix the infamous Rover K-series issues ad infinitum (or at least until a head gasket is required - so decades if the cooling system is kept in rip-top order).

Quite strange little affairs. I used one on my Series 1.

And while you’re at it, you can do your Heater Matrix at the same time like I did.

[ekjdm14]

Only joking. I'm sure you wouldn't be that daft!

You never know though

These Frenchies do tempt one sometimes, but a chewy problem like this could be all the more rewarding if it does turn out to be something daft/relatively small and coincidental (like my theory of a lifter or cam issue)

I know cam/lifter problems are not really much of a "feature" of the HDi engines but I did nonetheless find 4 or 5 "iffy" lifters (by iffy, I mean most had a little "give" to them whereas the ones I called "bad" felt utterly solid) and a badly pitted cam lobe that would've gone through the hardening & not lasted on a 1.4 one time, so nothing should be left "off the table" pending leak down results/prior to lifting the head.

I believe the HDi already makes use of the MLS gasket by the way Rhothgar, they're good stuff but very intolerant of surface imperfections that'd seal up fine on a composite type hence would recommend having the head skimmed rather than just cleaning/checking for warpage as I do fitting composite ones. They really do need to be just-so.

[Huskyxantia]

This came to my email last week

[CitroJim]

This came to my email last week

Gosh And it's not even a 110!

[Rhothgar]

WOWSERS! Do you recall how many miles? Got to be well below 100k surely?

[ekjdm14]

Phew, would expect VERY far under 100k miles for that price!

By that logic our old Black, on just under 120k sat in storage needing fairly substantial welding to the sills along with a windscreen (not to mention probably requires 5 spheres 4 tyres, battery & discs/pads maybe calipers by this point, and still then being a ratty base D-auto with dead sunroof, degrading tailgate, replacement engine, weak 2nd gear and S2 leathers) is probably worth what, £895 as she sits?

Any takers? lol just kidding. She'll either live again or donate organs to help another one day, but she's my baby still no matter how neglected at present.

How are folks asking that much though? Have to wonder, what's the top dollar anyone's paid for a Xantia (any config barring Activa) in the last 10 years? My "best" is £200...

[Rhothgar]

Gary.

This is bothering me.

I cannot find where I sent you the diagnostics sheets.

You mention this hard stall. Look at Fault Code 2 page 45.

That is the condition you have described.

You also clearly have an issue with compression.

You also described the car getting home and still running because you could see the core plug leaking.

Without trawling through all the pages again, I guess that car still starts but with difficulty and running rough as noted by Jim and Mick on their visit. I assume it still takes now with difficulty.

Once you have investigated your compression issue whenever that is I’d like to be in a position to advise you where to look next if, forbid, it fails to start still.

[Skull]

Gary.

This is bothering me.

I cannot find where I sent you the diagnostics sheets.

Rothgar you PM'd them to me Roger Thanks

BUT I don't have page 45