my new XM 'problems'

deian · Post by **deian** » 09 Sep 2007, 19:01

hi all,

driving back from picking the car up, the bloody thing breaks down (i guess that is the XM initiation ceremony over and done with)...

anyway... i reckon it was fuelling, so off i went to the petrol station, i filled her up and we got home, thing is the gauge was showing some fuel before it broke down... so i'm wondering if it was picking dirt up from the bottom of the tank and/or fuel filter is blocked?

(moral of the story is to take your AA card and I.D. when driving an XM)

also, the handle for the glovebox is bust, i gotta shove a screwdriver behind the handle to unlock it, is it easy to get a working handle from the scrappies and change over the mechanism without swapping over the locking assembly over too? and as usual... the strut is a weakling on it.

Other than that... only minor problems, the dash bulbs need replacing and a tune up is needed, filters, plugs. leads, etc and it shoud be lovely.

the MOT advisory sheet mentioned tight and rough steering... anyone got any ideas? the steering isn't dead centre either so i'm wondering if the tracking could be out as well.

Thanks

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 09 Sep 2007, 20:36

I've got two Xm's that are optimistic in their fuel reading with one
catching me out on the M4 running out with a 1/4 tank showing...
There doesn't seem to be any consistency as on another day it will
show the fuel warning lamp and the gauge will drop correctly.

Glovebox mechanism is about as strong as a wet paper bag so you're
up against everyone else waiting for one on ebay. I bought a mechanism
last week for the hefty sum of £15, so expect to bid high for one. The
lock is easily detached from one to another though and it's not a horrid
job, though you'll need to remove the complete glove box assembly.

The steering sounds ominous. Tight and rough sounds like something
is seizing up. Are the steering gaiters all complete and in place correctly?

Andrew

deian · Post by **deian** » 09 Sep 2007, 20:47

I will need to check the gaiters, but it has new 12months MOT and the advisory sheet flagged it up, but can't be too serious.

As for the fuelling, it didn't do too bad on the fuel between ipswich and the A55, but it started being silly as we got towards bangor. I then put about £15 of fuel in it since then and drove the 40mins home, and left it, took my mate for a spin in it and i 'think' it started happening again... surely it hasn't sucked all that fuel already has it? I'm hoping it's not the pump on it's way out.

I will clean out the tank and clean the sender/float thing, check the electrical connections. All I need is for it to get me to work and back without costing too much in fuel.

Another thing is... when it sounds really rough, as if it's misfiring. I reckon it could be running on 3 cylinders and that is causing it to use so much fuel (overfuelling when cold so it's flooding 1 cylinder).

Plus it's not half as quick as i thought it would be, it needs to be worked quite hard to get it going, the turbo is definitely working though, you can hear it, i know it's gonna be slower and not as smooth as my xantia V6 but i reckon something is amiss somewhere.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 09 Sep 2007, 20:58

Yep, something isn't right there. In fact I don't hear the turbo on mine
much so there may be an issue with it!! Don't get complacent thinking
it ISN'T the turbo anyway. The emissions would be out of whack in
the MOT if there's oil escaping into the exhaust through the turbo's seals
but you may have the first signs of wearing bearings and possibly
damaged vanes on the turbo impellers etc etc...

That said..

THE WHOLE SET UP IS LOW BOOST CONSTANT TORQUE SO IT WILL
FEEL SLOW COMPARED TO A SMALLER BODYSHELLED V6 XANTIA!!

If there's only 3 cylinders working that'll do it too!! After the obvious
plugs/leads suspect the electronic coil/distributor pack on the end of
the cylinder head.

Andrew

Post by **CitroJim** » 09 Sep 2007, 21:28

andmcit wrote:That said..

THE WHOLE SET UP IS LOW BOOST CONSTANT TORQUE SO IT WILL
FEEL SLOW COMPARED TO A SMALLER BODYSHELLED V6 XANTIA!!

Yes, Dei, Andrew is right, these engines, coupled with tall gearing (I guess the Activa and your XM have the exact same engine and 'box) do feel slow initially and their power characteristic takes a bit of getting used to. One expects a 2.0L turbo to be a lot wilder than it actually is until the finer points emerge. It is designed to power the car for relaxed, refined, long-distance high speed cruising and it is not, by any means, a racer. The low pressure turbo gives bucketfuls of low-down torque up there in 2.1TD territory but not a huge amount of outright BHP.

Give it a good service and chek the boost pressure. 0.7 bar is about the maximum you'll see. If the boost is very low, check for air leaks, a stuck wastegate or a duff boost controller electrovalve. Brcause the fuelling is controlled by a MAP sensor, air leaks will not upset the mixture as it will on a Turbo engine uing a mass airflow meter ahead of the intercooler.

On a run, you should see good fuel consumption (around 35mpg at least) but they can drink for England around town. Long distance fuel economy appears to be a good measure of how healthy the engine is generally.