Strange overheating problem Xantia 1.9td

robthespaniard · Post by **robthespaniard** » 06 Sep 2007, 01:33

This is my first post on this board and I will confess to not being very clued up on Citroens, I just like driving mine. I live in the south of Spain and last year i bought a xantia 1.9 td 1999/2000 model. After 3 weeks a hose split and it overheated , the local citroen dealer charged me €1000 for a new cylinder head. After bout a month I noticed that the temperature was a little inconsistant , I removed the thermostat to combat this but that has not cured it.when I am crusing on the motorway at about 70 the temp is around 85 when i put the aircon on it goes up to over 90 , if I go uphill for any distance the temp can go up to as high as 110.then when I find a downhill stretch the temp levels at around 90. It is worse on hot days.....shame that as it is quite warm down here ...lol..
The coolant level is correct and there are no cold spots on the radiator. The fan is functional and I would asume the water pump is not damaged as there is no noise or leaks and the temp stays constant round town at about 50 degrees ( without the thermostat). I am sorry if this is a bit of an epic post but I have tried to give as much info as I can . Any clues as to what the problem might be would be greatfully received

Thanks

Rob

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 06 Sep 2007, 08:25

firstly you should not run with no thermostat, as its there to stop the coolant circulatting whilst the rad cools it down, so maybe there was somting wrong with the old one like stuck open, so if you runn without a stat the faster you drive the hoter the coolant will become, even more so in your climate
regards malcolm

Post by **Peter.N.** » 06 Sep 2007, 10:54

I would suggest that you need a new radiator. Flushing it doesn't usually help a lot as the inside becomes coated with limescale and other crud which prevents the efficient transfer of heat from the water to the air.

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 06 Sep 2007, 11:17

I couldn't help noticing you state the fan is working. Is that a typo or have you only got one? There are two and they both should operate together, either half speed or full speed.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 06 Sep 2007, 12:01

The fan has little or no effect over about 30 mph, the cooling being due to the 'ram' effect of the moving air. In 50 years of motoring I have always found (eventually) that assuming the thermostat is OK and no pipes are blocked (unlikely but possible), the problem has always been remedied by fitting a new radiator. Water pump failure is also a possibility but never one I have experienced.

robthespaniard · Post by **robthespaniard** » 06 Sep 2007, 13:56

Thanks for your advice guys. I will put a new thermostat in and replace the radiator. I will post the results when the job has been done.. I will have to locate one over here first, that should be fun.. lol..

One more thing.. I dont know if I want to admit this one as its kind of embarrasing... No one informed me that you should only use LHM fluid in the hydraulic system and after having a leak fixed by my local garage the system was topped up with normal brake fluid ... as you can guess, the suspension is now rock solid and the front centre sphere is ticking constantly.
Will I now have to replace all the spheres and the fluid or will a change of fluid do the trick..
In my defense I will add that this is the first Citroen that I have ever had and it is quite a learning curve... lol

Rob

Post by **Peter.N.** » 06 Sep 2007, 14:07

Oh dear! That wont have done any of the seals any good. You need to get it out as soon as possible and flush it through thouroughly. Then see what happens.

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 06 Sep 2007, 14:25

Another : OH DEAR ! and a :

LHM is a mineral oil based hydarualic oil. The seals are therefore Viton to withstand mineral oils.
LHM is NOT hygroscopic and will therefore NOT contain water.

DOT brakefluids are vegetable oil based and is highly hygroscopic and therefore contains water. Needs synthetic rubber seals to withstand this oil base.

In short what happens to your hydraulic system : The water contents makes the ultra precise bores in the valves to seize because of the ever so slight corrosion. The weight of the car prevents to a certain degree that the suspension cylinders seizes, instead they will start rub out the seals.
The DOT fluid will ever so slowly over a couple of months eat up the seals. The result is much like what you see on year-old worn out rubberseals, which have gone stiff and brittle.

I'm sorry to say that this will quite fast make your Xantia a complete write-off. It will ruin your budget if you try replace all damaged parts.
- if you can find a garage thet will do it (in view of the repair bill compared to trade value).

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 06 Sep 2007, 19:07

firstly if you now intend to go any further with your cooling problem, do one thing at a time like thermostat then if that dose not work try the rad, now your hydraulic prob it can and will destroy all the seals in the system, i have seen these where they have been in contact with brake fluid, and they turn to jelly, i would get it out of the entire system as quickly as posible then fill the system with hydraflush and bleed the brakes till the hdraflush comes through, now if you can run this for 1,000 miles, or the equivalant kilometers, then drain it all back out and refill with LHM (citro blood) and keep ever thing crossed
regards malcolm

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 07 Sep 2007, 09:09

Would it be worth replacing all the seals as a precaution?

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 07 Sep 2007, 09:40

robthespaniard wrote:after having a leak fixed by my local garage the system was topped up with normal brake fluid ... as you can guess, the suspension is now rock solid and the front centre sphere is ticking constantly.
Will I now have to replace all the spheres and the fluid or will a change of fluid do the trick..
In my defense I will add that this is the first Citroen that I have ever had and it is quite a learning curve... lol

Rob

So who topped it up, yourself or the garage? If it was the garage they should know better and i think you'll be in a good position to get something back, if it was yourself then hard luck!

robthespaniard · Post by **robthespaniard** » 07 Sep 2007, 10:49

Garage first then me.... Dohhh.. If the garage spoke any English I would probably have had a chance, but the Spanish around here are very good at temporary no comprendo..lol.
Guess I will just have to do all the stuff myself I have found an almost complete Xantia in a local scrapyard so I may replace everything from that then keep on top of it with new stuff imported from UK in the future.
I enquired about Spheres yesterday and was quoted €77 each . Thats about 50 odd quid ....

Post by **admiral51** » 07 Sep 2007, 11:11

GSF do the spheres from about £20 each not sure on postage to spain but may be worth a look

www.gsfcarparts.com

email export@gsfcarparts.com

tel (from uk) 020 8917 3801

fax(from uk) 020 8818 0099

colin

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 08 Sep 2007, 11:14

it would be a mammouth task to replace all the seals in the system, it will also be quite an effort to replace all the hydraulic components, might be easier to get the car from the scrapyard fixed up
regards malcolm

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Strange overheating problem Xantia 1.9td

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