Major bother with a V6 XM

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DHallworth
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Major bother with a V6 XM

Post by DHallworth »

I bought a V6 SEi Manual, and unfortunately had a mishap on the M6 on the way home, where there was an accident and i managed to clip debris on the road, cracking the sump, ripping a fuel tank bracket and bending the rear height corrector, rendering the car not driveable. Therefore we had to tow it home ourselves because the AA classed it as accident damage not a breakdown and wouldn't touch it.

However when we got the car home we sent the car in for repair and it came back with a bill for a stonking £1300!! £400 of which was to have the gearbox reconditioned, and there was supposidly 13 hours labour to remove the gearbox!!

However after paying all that money, the gearbox is not much better, it is still noisey when the clutch is out, it still grinds in first and second gear, and it generally feels lumpy.

Also the noise of the V6 is very loud inside the car, it almost sounds like he has removed some of the sound proofing as it was not this noisey when i drove it part of the way home.

The speedo now goes up in blocks of about 3mph at a time, almost like the cable is kinked somewhere,

The engine also feels lumpy around 2000rpm, sending a judder through the car, almost like he has damaged an engine mount when he dropped the gearbox off.

It's also leaving a bloody puddle of oil on the drive where its parked over night, its driving the parents mad!! Its leaking from around the sump which he is meant to have replaced, looking at the sump, its painted black, the spare one i gave him was rusty to put on it!!

I dont think he's done the work to anywhere near satisfactory conditions.

I took it back today, and he is going to re-seal the gasket on the sump, apparently there isn't an actual gasket, it just uses silicon on the sump.

He is going to remove the gearbox and check the clutch assembly, but i think its his man that put it back togethor and bent the lay shaft.

My main worry at the moment is the shaking that is coming through the car when it is about 2000rpm, you can feel and hear the car juddering. Is this likely to be engine mounts? According to Citroen-Pr its about £200 worth of mounts, so i thought i'd as the advice of you guys before spending any more cash.

Thanks.
David.
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Post by Peter.N. »

Hi David

It sounds as though either the engine or gearbox are in contact with the chassis somewhere, or maybe the exhaust system is. Sorry to read about your tale of woe on the other forum. Unfortunatly, owning an XM can be very expensive if you are not a DIY enthusiast, they are not all that unreliable but they are pigs to work on. I was quoted nearly £1k to fit a head gasket to mine, so I did it myself and found out why! I hope you get it sorted out satisfactoraly.

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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

i do a lot of work myself, do everything to my 306, and am in the process of rebuilding a land rover, but my problem with the xm is that i dont have any space inside at the moment as its taken by the land rover, and its the wrong time of year to do it on my driveway :cry:

David
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Post by Peter.N. »

Especially tonight! I think your available space would save you a lot more money if it had the XM in it.

Peter.
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

i think it might do, i am hoping to have the land rover finished in the summer.

Also build a new shed and extend my existing one so hopefully i'll have some space!!

As soon as that happens then hopefully i will start to undertake some of the work on it myself.

David.
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Post by AndersDK »

Hi David -

Me too sorry to read about the mishap with a very nice car indeed.
Have you tried the gearbox oil level ?
Another point worth checking is the clutch pedal free travel. Must be a hydraulic link on a V6 ? Then there is some means of adjusting the slave cylinder rod at clutch end.
At least you could steel some time on a decent gas station to have a dry area for checking it out.

Here in DK XM's are a no-no at dealers for the same reasons Peter mentions. Rare as a hen's teeth - cheap as a BX - if you dare to buy it.
Anders (DK) - '90 BX16Image
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Post by andmcit »

David, is this the same or a different manual gearbox V6 to the one you've mentioned here before!? If it's another one it seems you're not destined to have a working manual V6... :wink:

I'd have thought as well as previously mentioned engine mountings the noisy clutch sounds like the thrust bearing isn't up to much - did this get changed for a new set when the box was out being reconditioned or was the original clutch left as-is?

If it's the original it all may not be exactly back in alignment to it's previous position although the clutch plate and pressure plate should'nt move IF the nose of the gearbox actually ligned up again and didn't disturb the clutch.

When it's all out being refettled now's your chance to check this...

Andrew
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Post by jeremy »

Have you taken it back to those that have charged for doing the work? They are under a duty in law to do the work properly.


Nice bit of litigation should keep you busy for years and consume all your savings - if it comes to that its cheaper to throw it all away!
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

yup, took it back this morning, he's going to fix the oil leak for me today and fix the power steering,

but the guy who overhauled the gearbox doesn't open again till new year, so he's going to strip out the box, send it in to get checked over whilst its out again, and check all the bearings on the clutch.

The guy is far from happy as it was 14 or 15 hours labour to get the box out.

I get it back tomorrow till the new year, i just want it to run properly as it is a very nice car!

It is the same one as mentioned before as i was looking for a gearbox for it then, but we decided to get the box on it re-conditioned and ended up with this!!

David.
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