1997 Xantia 1.9TD Estate - 05/07

[vulgalour]

In celebration of getting the Xantia insured for a mere £450 I was very excited to head to the unit today... got delayed but that turned out to be a good thing as my Mk1 grille arrived and it was in tip-top condition, though obviously the wrong colour.

Up until now I've had no problems with the alarm in the car, so imagine my annoyance that every time I opened or closed any door the alarm went off. It couldn't be turned off with the key in ignition and push button method, and indeed the alarm won't disarm at all. I thought I'd try and reset the alarm as per the manual which means removing the scuttle, a job I thought would be easy. I thought wrong and quickly gave up, it's something I'll do another day, like when the windscreen gets replaced which it will likely need in another couple of years given the stone chips it's collected.

Instead, I cheated and did what everyone else does and just pulled a fuse. That has also meant the radio won't turn on, I thought they were on separate fuses going by the list in the manual, but maybe not. I also went a bit OCD and put all the fuses in the boxes so the numbers all sit the same way around. I think the problem is the remote plipper which has completely given up any notion of working since the car was taken off the road, I'll have to see about getting a new plipper and reinstating the fuse as I don't like not having a fully functional alarm even though the immobiliser does the trick.

NEVER MIND.

So instead I made some effort with that unfinished rear arch. Some tiny rust spots had come through but thankfully it was just where the hastily applied Hammerite hadn't covered the bare metal fully so was easy to clean back. I got as far as a coat of primer, discovered there's still a bit more filling work to do and then it rained a lot. No space in the unit at present so I had to call it quits... it was getting dark anyway.




Certainly a much better line. While I was waiting for bits to dry on the arch I'd done some rough and ready prep on the grille and given it a splash of primer, white and lacquer.


I was going to get the grille fitted tonight, but it looks like I have to take the entire front of the car apart to do it so I'll do it tomorrow instead. The car is also filthy inside and out from being stood for so long so I need to get on with giving it a decent clean.

Shall be back on the road on the 1st of October, I want to make use of the Direct Debit payment method rather than sticking 6 months on it now, in part because it'll offer me quite a decent cash saving which is very much needed.


EDIT: I got the road tax thing wrong, I thought that the direct debit and tax disc abolition came in simultaneously. Of course DVLA wouldn't be doing this, that's the sensible way to do things. :END EDIT

[vulgalour]

Got some options for the alarm problem that I shall try another day. For now, here's an update on the old bus.

Did a bit more work on that rear wing. It's still not right, I need to ideally flat the entire wing back and repaint it but I seriously CBA with that. Also did a bit more filling on the arch this side to eliminate the last of the old scrape damage. Again, it needs a bit more work to make perfect but it looks about a gajillion times better than it did.


Other side had a bit more filling work today, again still not perfect but better than it was. I almost had enough paint to finish things off... almost.




Made a template for the new rear oversized number plate I'm going to order if I can find someone to make it for me. The existing plate might get highlighted as an issue at MoT in November so I want to deal with this before then.


But the best bit was getting the newly repainted grille on. Turned out to be a fairly simple job to fit in the end and looks superb, I'm really happy with this.




Once it turns midnight I can get tax on and then drive the Xantia home so I can unload washing machine #4 and all the Princess spares currently living in the back.

[Hell Razor5543]

She is looking GOOD!

[vulgalour]

Thank you She'll be getting a wash for the first time in... a long time. Absolutely covered in tree pollen and grime from being stood idle for a while. Drove home just as reliably as ever, even loaded up with 5 tyres with wheels on, several chrome bumpers, a couple of boot lids, a Princess rear panel and a washing machine in the back, and went around corners just as stupidly well too.

Might not be the most exciting car in the world to drive, but it's certainly one of the most satisfyingly competent.

[vulgalour]

Some new niggles to report, the first being a blown bulb in the dash and the second being a fuel gauge that can't decide whether I have quarter of a tank or reserve only. I'll deal with it later. In the meantime I've decided to sort out the front number plate so I stay legal, I had this idea of using Velcro screwed to the front bumper like so.



Then apply to the number plate, couldn't remove the sticky tape as it was too well stuck.


et voila! Best of all it stays on and I can remove it to clean behind it. Yes, I am that sad.


Hunt for a custom oversized rear plate was fruitless as the plate needs to be very large. It's not the height but the width that's the issue, it's bigger than a Range Rover Sport rear plate! It did give me a superb accidental photo opportunity when looking for a parking space near Motorcool though.


Got back to the unit and gave her a much needed wash after applying my new Fido Dido stickers. The roof was grey with dirt.




The big annoyance is that I have tree pollen stuck to the paint again so I'm going to have to spend a while with the polishing compounds again to get this sorted. Most of it came off, but where the paint had only been polished a little bit the pollen has stuck like the proverbial to a bed covering.


Happy times otherwise though. Really pleased with how the car is looking and driving, you wouldn't know it had been laid up any more than overnight.

[myglaren]

Coming along nicely Mr. Lour

[vulgalour]

Today, gave the Xantia it's first proper clean since moving up here. After being sat around getting covered in workshop dust, tree pollen and other detritus it was looking pretty rubbish. The quick wash it had made it look cleaner, but not clean enough so I spent 2 hours getting as much of the ingrained muck as I could off, it's now everyday-clean, but needs more work to be as clean as I want it.

I've got to get some touch up paint and rectify a lot of the minor paint issues on the car. A full respray is pointless because the paint is overall in very good condition, just needs some careful touching in. things like the stonechips on the leading edge of the bonnet.


This scratch on the front wing has been touched in before, but not as well as I'd like. Pretty glaring this one, and one that people point out to me more often than I'd like.


Fido Dido! Properly 90s wagon now.


You can just make out the wibble in this rear quarter. This is one of those bits of damage that keeps needing going over a few more times, the white makes it difficult to see the damage until the light hits it just so and then it jumps out very badly.


There's some dents on this front door too, but everytime I try and find them they disappear. I always seem to see them just as I walk past the car and they jump out badly. There's a similar dent on the rear door on the same side. Nuisance to repair, I may see if one of those dent-be-gone places can do it so I don't have to worry about the painting side of things. You can't even see the dents in this picture anyway, but you can see how well the paint comes up.


The roof panel is finally uniformly shiny. Needs more work yet to be as good as it ought to be, you can feel it's not quite as glossy as it could be, but at least bugs and dust just slide off now so it shouldn't attract tree pollen.


Lovely and clean, two hours later. Glass is one of the things that really makes or breaks a clean car, I like it so clean you can't see it or the sun shines off it blindingly. This glass is perfect now.




Rear number plate looks horrible, I absolutely must sort that out.

[bxzx16v]

Good work, a claybar with plenty of lube will get the paintwork silky smooth.

Mark

[vulgalour]

I did consider getting the claybar out, but to be honest there wasn't enough engrained dirt to warrant it. This time I used some Autoglym shampoo to get the worst of everything off, T-Cut on the tree pollen areas (only thing that would shift it), a rinse off and then Autoglym Super Resin polish to seal and shine. More Autoglym products in the form of Vinyl & Rubber Care for the black plastics, regular household window cleaner followed by Autoglym Glass Polish to finish off. I do like Autoglym products a lot, they're good stuff.

Once I've rectified the minor paint damage I'll get a machine polisher on the car to really shine it up properly and then some hard wax - loads to choose from - to finish off properly for the winter time.

[vulgalour]

Typical, I've been keeping an eye out for another Xantia of any sort since I've moved up here and it's when the other half borrows the car to runs some errands that he finds not only another Xantia but another estate! That's two he's seen now, the other was a dark green estate. Clearly they're not as rare as I thought they were.





This one had metallic paint, alloys and leather interior so I'm guessing it's going to be a top of the range model while mine is more humble with the steel wheels and cloth seats.

[vulgalour]

Today the Xantia made an unpleasant grabby manoeuvre in the clutch department, this is a job I've been putting off for the better part of 2000 miles so I've done well to last as long as I have. Rather than chance it further I forked out as much as I could on a replacement kit and when it arrives I have the joy* of performing what I'm told is a six hour job that involves a lot of swearing. I'll do the LHM at the same time, six litres of that arrived recently so I could clean the system through and hopefully resolve the brakes and occasional suspension hardness.

The MoT is due near the end of November so it'll be nice to get these jobs done ahead of that and it should drive even nicer than it does now. Amazingly, I've never done a clutch change before either, so I might as well get in at the deep end.

[vulgalour]

The Xantia hasn't been used for a few days while I've been waiting for garage space to get the clutch done. So for the past few days it's been sat outside the house getting rained on a lot. This isn't normally a problem but when I checked under the rear seat again to see how well the previous dampness - presumed to be from the washing machine we transported - had dried out I was met with the sight of a small 1" or so deep puddle.



This is actually quite strange. The car had a damp issue when I got it which I cured with new outer light clusters, cleaning the inner light clusters and resealing the tailgate moisture membrane, this also means the boot has been bone dry ever since. I'm getting no water in the front or rear footwells, no dampness in the carpets or headlining, no visible water ingress and no water staining. It's like the water is collecting under the rear seat purely of its own will.

I have washed the car several times, it's been left in the rain before, driven through the rain, had a power wash blasted all over it and it's never let this much water in before. I have no sunroof either, so it's not related to that. My best theory so far is that the minor spidering under the paint on the roof has lifted the edge of the rubber seal for the gutter trims and that's allowing just enough water to trickle in over a few days and pool under the seat by running along various trim items unseen.

Anyone got any ideas on how this is happening?

[Xantia97]

Hi,
I've had the same problem with the black rubber gutters above the doors on Snoopy, she was leaking behind the gutter where the rear door curves down from the roof - if that makes sense - but the water was dripping onto the carpet, under the rear seats was dry, she's a hatch, not an estate though so perhaps that's why the water collects in a different place. I cured the problem by cleaning behind the rubber gutter with a toothbrush then sealing with clear sealant right at the base of the gutter, attacking from the top and behind, the whole length on each side. I used CT1 since it will seal underwater, but obviously there are plenty of other sealants on the market. It took me two attempts to get it water-tight, you have to make sure to push the nozzle right down behind the gutter and pump enough sealant in then smooth it to make a seal (not easy in parts), it was quite a large gap where the leak was. She also had a leak through the aerial, so she's got a new aerial with the base pumped full of sealant so when tightened it squidged (spelling?) out all round (put masking tape around the base of the old aerial before removal), and the scuttle panel got the same treatment CT1. Hope this helps.

Your Xantia is looking very good, I've been following this thread with great interest.
Juliet

[vulgalour]

That sounds like a promising point to investigate. When I got the car the door seals were all full of moss and slime hiding in the deeper recesses, there's still some hiding but now and then a new little clump of old dead stuff will come out so I wonder if the recent bit has caused a new leak that was previously plugged? It's exactly the right location for the water to collect.

My brother also mentioned that the car always smelled damp when he was using it, especially the rear seats, so we might be getting along the right track.

Hadn't heard of CT1 before, looks like a fairly good product so I'll see if I can get hold of some if we're out of sealant, I suspect the last bit we had was used up recently.

[vulgalour]

Speaking of lovely Xantias - thank you for the compliment on mine - I spotted another estate today that looked very swish indeed. I begin to question the rarity of the Xantia estate, this is the second one I've seen locally and they both looked in very good order. Sadly I wasn't in my Xantia, I was in a Jaaaaaag.