Xantia TD Heater & Ride Height!

sseed · Post by **sseed** » 30 Dec 2005, 17:18

Hi,

Before I take the plunge and remove the dash and replace the matrix I just want to make sure that my diagnosis is OK.

I bought the Xantia, 97 1.9TD, from the auctions last thursday. I bought it to replace my 94 Xantia that has died. It seems in good condition apart from a couple of things.

1) The Heater doesnt work.

I drove 300 miles in it yesterday, now that was fun without a heater.

The fans blow etc but no heat is given out.

The engine seems to run cool at about 65 degrees, it does get hotter in traffic up to about 80. However the pipes leading into the matrix in the engine bay do not get hot. There is some dampness in the passenger footwell but Im not sure if that is some antifreeze that leaked from a bottle or not. The footwell was dry when I got the car.

2) The rear ride height seems a little high, the ride is also harder than on my old Xantia.

How can I check the ride height out?

Thanks

Stuart

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 30 Dec 2005, 17:52

not sure if its the same 'car' so to speak as mine but i would guess so.

The ride height on mine was to high by approx 20mm.....
Got under the car (refer to the correct safety procedures as usual) and basically undid the bolt a little for the height corrector which is a clamp round the anti roll bar (not 100% on my terms) and basically rotated it with the engine running, the car went up and down depending on the angle of rotation and tightened it just to eye.....certainly better than what it was

Post by **zxTd** » 30 Dec 2005, 18:01

heating could be a stuck valve/broken cable/air lock/thermostat or its been taken out?, heater matrix is a last resort.

suspension is complicated so a work shop manual is best.

Stewart(oily) · Post by **Stewart(oily)** » 30 Dec 2005, 18:03

Try changing the thermostat first, its supposed to get hotter than 65 degrees and its far easier to change too! Then a clean and lubricate of the ride height linkages will probably help, I use a mixture of gear oil, chainsaw oil and grease applied using an old paintbrush gets into the rusty parts a treat

Stewart

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 30 Dec 2005, 18:03

Its complicated to a certain extent.
You would get much more accurate information on this site compared to a workshop manual and if i remember correctly when we looked it up in the Haynes manual it said basically take it to a citroen garage

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 30 Dec 2005, 18:21

sseed wrote:Hi,

Before I take the plunge and remove the dash and replace the matrix I just want to make sure that my diagnosis is OK.

I bought the Xantia, 97 1.9TD, from the auctions last thursday. I bought it to replace my 94 Xantia that has died. It seems in good condition apart from a couple of things.

1) The Heater doesnt work.

I drove 300 miles in it yesterday, now that was fun without a heater.

The fans blow etc but no heat is given out.

The engine seems to run cool at about 65 degrees, it does get hotter in traffic up to about 80. However the pipes leading into the matrix in the engine bay do not get hot. There is some dampness in the passenger footwell but Im not sure if that is some antifreeze that leaked from a bottle or not. The footwell was dry when I got the car.

Stuart

The likelihood due to sod's law iis there's more than one problem!

The low running temperature is probably a thermostat problem - it'll not be the first time a car has been nobbled to run at a lower temperature to last long enough to get through an auction before overheating!!

That said 300 miles later and it's still running so it's not in the habit of overheating. The thermostat sounds as though it's either not even there or it's opening early so the hot water is being cooled faster keeping the overall running temperature lower than it's designed to - this ruse is great for petrol engined cars where extra cold running fuel is actually being pumped into the engine all the time giving it a real performance boost...

The other aspect to think about is the flaps in the ventilation system may actually be jammed shut. Fortunately on a Xantia I've not had the dubious pleasure yet but know from experience with GS's/Xm's and Cx's they WILL seize or become disconnected thus adjustment at the dash end wont have ANY effect whatsoever.

Andrew

Post by **zxTd** » 30 Dec 2005, 18:27

mezuk04 wrote:Its complicated to a certain extent.
You would get much more accurate information on this site compared to a workshop manual and if i remember correctly when we looked it up in the Haynes manual it said basically take it to a citroen garage

this is an area I would rather not explain to a novice "nothing personal" but experience of this system is required

davehughes · Post by **davehughes** » 31 Dec 2005, 09:42

The system might of been refilled recently and has an air lock did you check the matrix pipes. or the matrix might want a flush

sseed · Post by **sseed** » 31 Dec 2005, 13:48

Thanks for the replies.

I tried to remove any airlocks, dont know how well I did it though.

How do I:-

check the matrix pipes

Flush the Matrix.

Thanks

Stuart

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 31 Dec 2005, 14:31

first thing to do is bleed the coolant system properly,with heater fan off and heater full on hot,header tank cap off,plug removed from top of rad at battery end,top up coolant untill it comes out of plug point on top of rad and stops sinking,replace plug,now remove any other bleed valve you can find,and keep topping up coolant untill it comes out of these points,if it dosent then start the engine and runn it untill you get coolant out of the bleed valves,as soon as a good flow of coolant is coming out replace the valve caps and header tank cap,and continue to run engine till rad fans cut in,when they cut back out gently remove header tank cap and if there is only slight presure and coolant is calm all is well,at this point you could check heater hoses behind the engine,i dont think xantias have any valve in the heater system like the BX dose,is there also a lake of blow from heater vents as this could mean you pollen filter needs replacing
regards malcolm

sseed · Post by **sseed** » 02 Jan 2006, 16:16

Ive just replaced the thermostat, flushed the coolant system and checked for air locks.

The good news is that the car now runs at the correct temperature but still no heat from the heater.

One of the pipes seems very slightly warmer going into the matrix than the other so I have tried to remove the pipes into the matrix so that I can try flushing it out.

Is there a trick to getting this off? It is the connector with the spring clip retainer. I have tried pushing it either way and pulling but it does not seem to budge at all.

Any ideas?

Stuart

sseed · Post by **sseed** » 03 Jan 2006, 18:14

Anyone got any ideas about how to get this off?

Stuart

Post by **zxTd** » 03 Jan 2006, 21:39

they can be a pig to crack the seal caused by the clip, you could heat the pipe with a hair drier or grip it with pliers or both

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Xantia TD Heater & Ride Height!

Xantia TD Heater & Ride Height!

Re: Xantia TD Heater & Ride Height!