Xantia HDi - if it ain't broke DO mend it

mrjohnson · Post by **mrjohnson** » 11 Nov 2006, 13:42

Having sold my '93 Xantia TD, I've just bought a '99 Xantia HDi SX estate with 97k on the clock.

Aside from what's in the service schedule, what preventative maintenance should I do to avoid known design problems in the future?

Having browsed the forum, and based on my own knowledge, the ones I've come up with so far are:

Cambelt & auxiliary belt at 100k. What about the tensioner pulley?

Change oil and filter in between 12.5k services.

Look after the front strut tops (waxoyl etc).

Keep the climate control on 'auto' to exercise the aircon regularly (apparently it's used for demisting when it's cold).

Make sure the coolant is changed every 2 years and is of the correct concentration to avoid the dreaded heater matrix leaks.

Watch for distortion on the rear calipers due to corrosion at the mounting face.

Lubricate the rear height lever.

It seems like I don't have to worry about the blower switching through the ignition - the Haynes manual shows a relay in the circuit on Xantia IIs.

Thanks in advance,
Martyn

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 11 Nov 2006, 14:11

I wouldn't be happy at leaving the cambelt for 100K.

mrjohnson · Post by **mrjohnson** » 11 Nov 2006, 16:12

100k for the cambelt is what the service book says for the HDi (I realise it was 75k for the TD).

My local Citroen Indy said that they hadn't seen one snap before 100k.

Regards

Martyn

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 11 Nov 2006, 16:17

mrjohnson wrote:... My local Citroen Indy said that they hadn't seen one snap before 100k ...

... yet.

mrjohnson · Post by **mrjohnson** » 11 Nov 2006, 17:01

It's already booked in for a new cambelt.

I figured that I am unlikely to need to change it again in the 5 year or so I plan to keep the car so I might as well have it done now.

Cheers

Martyn

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 11 Nov 2006, 17:14

It's not such a big deal as a snapped cambelt on a TD anyway.. changing belts at 50K (some do!!) sure increases the running costs of a car.. especially if you rely on a garage to do the work

Post by **Peter.N.** » 11 Nov 2006, 17:35

I think 12.5k for an oil change is to long, I'm sure that's at least partly responsible for the decline in engine life on modern cars. I have always changed mine at 5k and had engine life well in excess of 200k, in fact I sold my last XM at 292k. I know that the synthetic oil is better but it still gets dirty!

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 11 Nov 2006, 18:21

[quote="Peter.N."]I think 12.5k for an oil change is to long,quote]

So do I!!! But look at the recommendation for my C5. 20000!!

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 11 Nov 2006, 22:12

Peter - what is the evidence for the decline in engine life? - I'm curious as I've not seen any suggestion anywhere.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 11 Nov 2006, 22:52

John - I think the reccomendations are for the benifit of fleet managers who can reduce the cost of servicing but who are not particularly interested in anything above 100k as the vehicles will no longer be their responsibility.

Jeremy - I base my conclusions mainly on the mileage of of vehicles for sale. I bought my last XM at 240k at about 6 years old, I sold it two years later at 292k as previously mentioned. You still see IDI engined vehicles with in excess of 200k for sale but I have never seen a common rail with that much, the best I have seen are BMW with 150k+ but if you look on their forums many apparently suffer turbo problems which are blamed on the long oil change intervals. Certainly the fuel injction systems are much less reliable than the old ones, understandably to a degree due to the much higher pressures involved. Pump failures were quite common, I don't know if they have improved any, but could they be due to oil quality? I dont know, but all round they seem to be much more expensive to maintain than IDIs.

This is only an opinion, if anyone can show me evidence to the contrary I would be pleased to see it.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 11 Nov 2006, 23:03

I think you'll find the Range Rover fraternity think the BMW engines are prone to gasket failure and head cracking and are really rather weak and best avoided when not new.

I don't think the common rail systems have any parts that come into contact with lubricating oil - as all the pumps are electric aren't they?

Turbo's would be affected but there again they are also prone to damage through misuse - mainly turning the engine off when the turbo is red hot which cooks the oil nicely in them.

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 12 Nov 2006, 07:06

I think you'll find the Range Rover fraternity think the BMW engines are prone to gasket failure and head cracking and are really rather weak and best avoided when not new.

This was certainly true of the BMW engines... of course now that Landrover belongs to Ford the engines are of course 'Ford' with the exception of their 'homemade' storm engine (TD5) which is virtually unburstable if maintained properly..

mrjohnson · Post by **mrjohnson** » 12 Nov 2006, 08:46

f00lzz - out of interest, why is a cambelt failure less of an issue with the HDi?

Thanks,

Martyn

Post by **Peter.N.** » 12 Nov 2006, 09:02

Because as they are multivalve they have rockers, like the 2.1 idi, so they break in preference to the camhaft and valves which means you can repair it without taking the head off. ...Unless someone else knows different...

Post by **Peter.N.** » 12 Nov 2006, 09:08

Jeremy - Most of the information I have collected from the various forums and mileages of vehicles for sale. I have done quite a lot of research as I am looking for something 'reliable' to replace my ageing XM when the time comes - another XM would be nice but late ones are like hens teeth!
I had in mind a Rover 75 estate as this seems to be one with the least engine problems, as confirmed by my local diesel specialist, and uses the BMW engine. I wouldn't think its the same one as the Land rover uses, I think that was a TDS which I know were unreliable as I tried out two Omega's with the engine and both had faults when they were for sale!