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admiral51
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Unread post by admiral51 »

congratulations Mike \:D/ \:D/

Glad to hear its up and running again

Colin
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

Mike, that is absolutely brilliant :D Well done, top job and every other accolade there is to give :D :D :D

Make an appointment with me in due course and I'll give you a hand to do the heater matrix...

All we need is a fine, clear, settlled day just like today but with rather more hours of daylight!!!
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
jgra1
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Unread post by jgra1 »

:D :D

great Mike!

now lets get those fans spinning !..

I have the temp sensors if you want me to post them down..

John
admiral51
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Unread post by admiral51 »

Mike dont forget i have a couple of fans sitting in my loft if you find you need some replacements :wink: :wink:

Colin
MikeT
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Unread post by MikeT »

With the Christmas holidays and a painful week of illness etc I've not been near the car until today. I didn't mention this before but I was sceptical I'd repaired the coolant overpressurising, not least because I didn't spend the £50 to have it pressure tested and on first running I let the temp gauge show an unnerving 111 degrees (without fans on) and I could have sworn the top hose got rock solid again :oops:

(I've also got other reservations about the quality of my repairs but I don't want to tempt fate and mention them at this point.)

So today I decided to have a tinker and see if any puddles have accumulated under the car etc.

With no fluid leaks visible I turned the ignition and waited for the glowplug light to extinguish - it seemed to take far longer than I expected but I assume that's down to the freezing cold weather? Rather pleasingly it fired up instantly again - before one crank I reckon - and the battery appeared to have kept it's charge well too unlike my petrol Ford that barely turned over before firing.

It sounds quite loud and "knocky" but I'm hoping this is more down to the flushing oil being thinner than the proper oil it should have. Even when I put the vacuum direct to the fast-idle device the noise didn't reduce as much as my MK1 did.

I removed the coolant cap and revved the engine while watching for bubbles and I'm very pleased to say there were none. That, coupled with the fact the top hose remained soft even when it was up to temperature, indicates I have effected a repair. How long it lasts is another matter and I still need to fix the fan activation failure but it's looking promising so far.

Again, before it got up to temperature, I set the climate control to warm and initially couldn't detect the smell (of curry) which was encouraging but as it heated up that changed and there was yet again a small cloud (of vapour?) emitted from the vents as the blower draughted through. :evil: The curry smell was not so strong though so the jury's still out (and hopeful) on that one.

Previously, we could hear the turbo whistle and as I'd extended the wastegate actuator hoses to accomodate a boost controller, I assumed it was coming from the open ends but that wasn't the case. However, now I've plugged the open ends with the controller, the whistle is now absent so go figure! :?

I haven't bled the brakes and a brief run up and down the car park demonstrated their inefficiency so they'll be done next. The hydraflush may be having an effect, it's hard to tell but I wasn't overly impressed with the ride and steering but nothing to worry about I'm sure.

Once the above mentioned is all sorted I'll be looking to hook up a boost and EGT gauge and do some timed runs to get baseline data before I begin tuning it in earnest. I would like access to the max fuel screw but it's not essential as there's more than one way to increase fuelling when the time comes. It's interesting to note that a Pug owner was reported to have increase the fuelling so much the power increase bent the conrods!

Assuming these blocks are good for what, did someone tell me 250hp? I can't imagine just how much power he was making to bend the 'rods and am really looking forward to following in his footsteps 8)

p.s. The external temp sensor was telling me 11 degrees but it was literally freezing outside.
MikeT
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Unread post by MikeT »

What a mild day it's been down here, not cold at all. Handy too as my assistant came over offering to help so we set about bleeding the brakes. At first I though the rear were going to be fraught with problems - I couldn't find the caliper until I removed the wheel :lol: The nipples were not seized and easily loosened off. The fronts were more tricky particularly the nearside but it's all done now.

Next we investigated the radiator fans problem which I was hoping would be a simple dodgy connection or two, at the worst a failed relay but that's not the case. I've put the details in the CITROEN section so won't repeat them other than to say all the relays and sockets are in good working order.

The turbo is still audible so there must be a leak somewhere. Knowing my luck, it'll be the most difficult to reach joint, the turbo outlet.
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myglaren
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Unread post by myglaren »

Image

Mild?
The Beeb has an article about the sea freezing over there.
Not 1/4/09 already is it?

[/OT]
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

myglaren wrote:Image

Mild?
The Beeb has an article about the sea freezing over there.
Not 1/4/09 already is it?

[/OT]
Love your OT Smilie Steve :D

It has been practically sub-tropical down here :lol: Everyone else, especially my kids say it's cold but to me it's very pleasant...

Mike, excellent :D Have you drivern her yet?
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
MikeT
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Unread post by MikeT »

Weird weather - frozen sea on wednesday, mild yesterday then freezing again last night.

No Jim, other than a shuffle around the car park. The brakes were a little ineffective and it's not taxed or insured yet. Plenty more work to do, not least the cooling fans.
MikeT
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Unread post by MikeT »

Haven't touched the xantia since last post - need a spare pair of hands and possibly more info if I'm to trace this electrical fault.

As a result, I've had to insure my Dad's old Astra and today we were forced to replace the thermostat. When I say we, I had to get my nephew to do some of the work as it isn't a straight forward job. It involves removing the cam covers, aux belt, crank pulley, cambelt, cam sprocket and finally the rear cam cover all just to reveal the 'stat housing :evil:

Some of you might be pleased to know that my nephew (who has helped me rebuild the xantia) told me he much preferred doing the xantia cambelt as he consdiered it was easier than the vauxhall. :lol:
Toby_HDi
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Unread post by Toby_HDi »

An extra pair of hands here if they're needed Mike - all you gotta do is pm or phone me.
Toby


Previous:
2004 Peugeot 407 HDi 138 SE Luxury Pack
2001 S2 Xantia HDi 110 SX
2001 Peugeot 406 V6 Coupé
1998 S2 Xantia Activa
2000 S2 Xantia HDi 110 SX
1999 Peugeot 406 2.0 16v Estate
MikeT
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Unread post by MikeT »

Has it really been that long since I last visited this forum?
They say time flys when you're having fun but it also passes too quickly when you're under pressure, I find.

As for the Xantia, the poor thing has mostly been neglected as I seem to have a phobia of electrical faults and have avoided diagnosing the issue of non-working cooling fans. Without operative cooling fans, I didn't want to risk undoing all my hard work by using the car regularly and due to other domestic issues I eventually decided to tax and insure the Astra for my daily driver, devoting all my spare time trying to sort it into a reliable, comfortable car after a lifetime of minimal servicing under the ownership of my miserly Dad :roll:

As for the Xantia - faulty cooling aside, I took time out to give it it's first run since I repaired the HG - poor thing hasn't actually been driven on the road for nearly a year!

A touch of black/grey smoke on starting and the engine a bit noisier than I expected, she started on the button and everything looked ok under the bonnet. Into first gear and at the end of our road I was reminded how unused brakes need re-bedding in. :oops:

A gentle run to warm it up for about a mile to my nearest dual carriageway where I put my foot down. I was surprised to see a haze of smoke in my mirror but had to divert my attention back onto the road in front as illegal speeds were achieved much quicker than anticipated.

Although the LHM has been replaced with Hydraflush, the ride was not compromised - it handled very well too. I pulled over and checked under the bonnet and under the car for anything unusual/loose but all looked good.

As I rolled onto another fast road I floored it again, not so much smoke this time but still pulling well and pleased to know there's more power to be had yet. 8)

Back home, my nephew was doing his best to pursuade me to tune it more but until I have fitted the all important gauges, I had to resist the tempation. Instead, we set about investigating Citrojim's suggestion of routing from the engine bay to the cabin via the exhaust tunnel and up through the gearshift hole. Thankfully, there's a fair sized cutout in the tunnel and we managed to feed all the necessary wiring and pipework from the engine into the cabin.
jgra1
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Unread post by jgra1 »

would like a go in yours when its cooling properly Mike :)
Mine feels a tiny bit flat these days... be nice to compare...


:D
MikeT
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Unread post by MikeT »

You're more than welcome John - are you planning any trips this way?
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

Mike! Great to see you back on here :D Only the other day I was wondering how you were...

Get those fans sorted sharpish and start enjoying the car!!!
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...