CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[Citroening]

I still want an XM or Xantia, despite having the brilliant Subaru! There's just something about them..

There really is, im pining for an XM at the moment

I spotted one on eBay earlier...

[addo]

They're all well and good until you poke at something and it crumbles in your hand...

I have this idea that a big car, needs a larger motor as part of it's philosophical "core".

[red_dwarfers]

They're all well and good until you poke at something and it crumbles in your hand...

You sure you're not talking about the GS/A Adam?

[addo]

There are none here (well, one or two only) so I can't reasonably compare.

[hattershaun]

Hi Jim,

Just seen that you've acquired the XM V6, congratulations, I know a fair bit about this car's history, having bought it from it's original owner a few years ago when he bought a C6. I'll tell the story in a field sometime soon.
Glad you're enjoying it.

[CitroJim]

Shaun, I shall look forward to meeting you in a field later in the year and learning of some past history

[CitroJim]

One thing on the XM is fixed Liberal amounts of WD-40 has freed off the tailgate lock and that's now working OK from the central locking..

I'm hoping this weekend will be good for applying some more TLC and start bringing the XM up to my standard...

[citronut]

One thing on the XM is fixed Liberal amounts of WD-40 has freed off the tailgate lock and that's now working OK from the central locking..

what you mean that W stuff actually fixed something Jim

[CitroJim]

One thing on the XM is fixed Liberal amounts of WD-40 has freed off the tailgate lock and that's now working OK from the central locking..

what you mean that W stuff actually fixed something Jim

I know! I was amazed and even more amazed it fixed something on an XM

[CitroJim]

A good day of spanners today...

But first a shot of the engine bay showing the bundle of fun under the bonnet Doesn't it look tiny!



And the interior. All very black and as cool as a cool thing:



I gave her an oil and filter change this morning. I don't believe the old oil was bad but I always like to do it for my own peace of mind. Whoever did it last had clearly had four Weetabix for breakfast as both the sump plug and oil filter were very tight indeed

Happily there's no leaks underneath from any component and I was happy to note that during her 300 mile run to Somerset and back not a spot of coolant was used. Unusual as it's my experience that the ES9 always seems to use a bit.

I also bled the rear brakes as I felt there was, compared to the Xantia, just a tad of brake delay. Just a little air came out and I was delighted to see the LHM is very fresh and very green

I tried again to get into the gearbox ECU with both the ELIT and Lexia but no joy. That is an odd one and I reckon there must be a wiring fault between the diagnostic plug and the ECU. Whatever is making the gear display flash is not at all problematic as the gearbox works perfectly...

The climate ECU looks a bit unhappy and I've asked in the sales and wants area for a spare if anyone has one. Lexia reports a load of unclearable faults relating to the blower and flaps so to rule out the ECU as the cause a swap of ECU is needed.

Again, it's not a showstopper as the heater works well enough to keep the car toasty warm on a day like today and it regulates temperature - it just can't make the blower run at anything other than half-speed...

I did intend to have the spheres off this afternoon and test them but the weather has intervened and I've decided that perhaps on a personal level I've done quite enough for one day. Maybe tomorrow.

I know the accumulator is good as I can hear the regulator ticking infrequently. Interestingly, the accumulator is a grey one. Also hydractive works a treat too but I do have my doubts on the total happiness of all the spheres and on the ride height which I'll make a separate post.

All in all, I remain very happy with the car and although not perfect is not at all bad. Just enough to do to keep me amused without struggling...

A gearbox oil change will be carried out soon as I've just entered into a deal to split a bulk buy of 20l of LT71141 with a fellow V6 owner The present oil looks and smells OK but knowing the box has been overhauled I'd like to change it for as bit of peace of mind really.

[DHallworth]

Jim, your XM looks lovely!

It's the exact same colour scheme as my Series 2. I'm having problems with my fan again on the S2. Every winter since I've had the car I've had to replace the Darlington Transistors on that fan board. It only seems to go during the winter too.

This time though I'm not sure it's running at full speed, I think it might only be half speed too but I'm not sure. I'll try another fan I've got in it first and see what's going on.

Enjoy your car, it looks lovely!

David.

[CitroJim]

Thanks David It was inevitable I'd end up with another V6 XM eventually... All your fault After driving the one I had from you and the ride I had in your silver one I was smitten I must say I'm very pleased with it. They are a bit of a well kept secret.

Odd that the transistors should fail regularly. Are you using MJ11015 with identical batch numbers on them? I've found that it's necessary to have the two well matched transistors else they don't current-share properly and one runs a lot hotter than the other and thus prematurely fails... Having ones from the same batch has proved good enough in my experience. Of all the ones I've fixed over the years only one has subsequently failed and that was in the summer!

[Citroening]

Excellent Jim.

Glad that you are enjoying the XM and I am sure that with a bit of your spannering skills it'll be near perfect in no time at all...

[bxzx16v]

I can't wait to see this beauty at a show soon Jim .

Mark

[hattershaun]

You noticed that the accumulator sphere is grey in colour.

The grey spheres are Citroen genuine ones.

When C5 was introduced in 2001 it had grey spheres and over time green balls have been phased out to be replaced by grey ones, I guess it's easier to have one tin of paint in the stores than two!