Admiral51 Citroen Adventures

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 25 Apr 2010, 16:11

Very nice looking S2 that, quite a rare spec too and an early S2 at that. Nice

Good luck with the cambelt change

Im getting better with mechanical work but id not like to attempt a belt change yet.

Unread post by **admiral51** » 25 Apr 2010, 16:30

Citroenmad wrote:
Good luck with the cambelt change Im getting better with mechanical work but id not like to attempt a belt change yet.

It feels me with dread hence why im attempting the job at a proper garage where i can use not only some tools but also some tutorage

Colin

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 25 Apr 2010, 16:34

The garage who did our 2.1TD Xm said it wasnt the easiest of jobs. Probably less room around it in a Xantia too. So certainly a good thing that you have someone to give you any help with it.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 26 Apr 2010, 06:50

Good stuff Colin..

I should know which way to rotate the ARB clamps to change height. However, to get it about right, do this..

Set on high on stands with wheels clear of the ground. Loosen the ARB clamp and do it up again. height will likely be about right. Aim for three fingers at the front and one at the back.

Use a good 11mm socket on the ARB clamp bolt. It'll be tight and a bit corroded. Plus Gas helps.

You have a pit! I'm jealous

In that case, tweaking height is so easy!

Just remember there'll be a 20s delay between adjustment and seeing the result. Bounce it and sit on it to ensure it's right.

I say again, a cambelt in a 2.1TD Xantia is EASIER than a 1.9TD. Honest....

There is no real shortage of room...

Just watch you tension the belt correctly. The tensioner is a Walt Disney production (i.e. a bit Mickey Mouse) and it's possible to get it wrong...

Apart from that, a walk in the park...

Unread post by **admiral51** » 26 Apr 2010, 21:31

Thanks Jim more info stored in my matchbox of a brain

The thing that really makes me think its the clamp is that when setting the car to the low position the front wheel arch only just drops over the top of the tyre

Colin

XantiaDaveEire · Unread post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 30 Apr 2010, 11:58

The front bearly reaches the top of the wheel on my car too Colin,i dont think they sink down as far on series 2 Xantias or maybe im wrong and we both need to check the height settings?

Dave

Unread post by **admiral51** » 30 Apr 2010, 20:24

Well what was supposed to be a full day working on the Xantia turned out to be something else entirely

Managed to aquire all relavent parts for the cambelt and aux belt job but on arrival at garage it was a tad full of lorries having engines swapped/gearboxes stripped and the usual arrival of breakdowns so i now know a bit more about how to change a clutch on a Daf 95XF than i did when i woke up

Finally managed to get the car over the pit at about 5pm and have managed to free up and lubricate both HC and also reset the front ride height.Thanks for the tips on that Jim,it really is a doddle when you can stand up underneath the car

All i did was to loosen the clamp bolt then set the car to high and retighten the clamp.Set the car to normal and i have just about 3 fingers of clearance between tyres and arch

Workshop is shut til Monday(They work through all recoveries on Mondays even BH) so i have booked some space for Tuesday.
Looks like being flexible today has given me some one to one tuition on Tuesday

Colin

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 01 May 2010, 08:36

Pleased the height adjustment method worked Colin

Must have been an interesting day watching lorries receiving some TLC. Just be careful you don't accidentally try putting some DAF bits on your Xantia; not sure how they'll fit....

Unread post by **admiral51** » 01 May 2010, 19:48

CitroJim wrote:
Just be careful you don't accidentally try putting some DAF bits on your Xantia; not sure how they'll fit....

Not sure how to fit it in the engine compartment but a 480 BHP lump would be nice

Might be a tad front end heavy and need some bonnet modifications but with Citroen suspension i reckon she would sit at the right height

Colin

Unread post by **admiral51** » 05 May 2010, 22:35

Well overall i think ive had a productive few hours

I had forgotten that tuesday was the day i was due back at work

I did manage to finish early yesterday (3pm) and headed off to the garage.All i managed to do was remove the Aux belt along with tensioner and roller and spring,remove the timing belt covers and put in all the locking pins.The Aux belt tensioners/spring and pulley were replaced ready for refittment of the belt.Unfortunately time had run out (9pm) and the rest of the job was left to thode who knew what they were doing

I now have a 2.1TD that has had all its rollers/tensioners replaced on both cam and aux belt plus the water pump and a replacement fuel pump(Many thanks CitroJim

)

A bit dissapointed i didnt get to do the whole job but half a job is experience gained

I had the car plugged into a Lexia and the only fault found was the fuel pump which has now been cleared.

The big bonus is the car stopped within nano seconds when the key is turned compared to the 3 seconds of juddering that i had before

The news also gets a bit better on the non Xantia front as today my lad got his letter of acceptance onto the car mechanics/engineering course at the colledge

One other question how do i join the 2.1 fan club,what an engine

Colin

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 06 May 2010, 04:45

Colin,

Just one word on all the news..

Brilliant

EDIT: You are a member of the 2.1D fan club. You have passed the entry qualification by singing its praises!

Unread post by **admiral51** » 31 May 2010, 16:32

Not really done much to either of the cars of late except of course to give the VSX a bit of a wash

Finally decided it was time to pay a visit to the Haynes Museum and i can honestly recommend it one and all

Not sure really what i expected it to be like but its well laid out,and with nearly all the information you could want to find about each exhibit.

Also took the opportunity to meet Sir Jim and Robyn,Kev and his dad,and catch up again with Toby and his Coupe

.A very pleasant afternoon in some delightful company.Swmbo decided she really likes Jims Red Activa especailly the way it seems to slightly change colour as it was being driven away

The boy noticed that the Xantias were lined up like the French Flag

and i must say Kevs white TD sure doesnt look like its got the miles on the clock that it has

Whilst cleaning the VSX prior to its little outing i noticed that repair on the n/s/r wheel arch i did last year has been damaged again,looks like a door/trolley has knocked up against it and taken some paints chips out so it now looks like its got bird droppings running down it

Not all bad news i suppose as i wasnt really "happy" with the finish anyway so looks like ill get chance to do it all again

Colin

Unread post by **admiral51** » 05 Jun 2010, 00:31

Just a quick update

It now looks as though circumstances could well transpire as expected and i will be unable to run/need 2 cars. Both the VSX and 2.1TD are due MOT and Tax so both will be T & T when they are due,its just a bugger to try and decide which one to keep or maybe sell both and get a smaller run around

Colin

PS Keep your eyes peeled for a couple of good Xantias soon in the For sale and wanted section

Unread post by **admiral51** » 05 Jul 2010, 19:46

Well nearly a month without an update and both cars had been behaving themselves quite well

Got the news on Wednesday that a move North of the border is now not going to happen so both Xantias are going to be kept as it looks lke they will be in daily use

Due to form,knowing that we were keeping it, the 2.1 decided that coming home from work on Thursday night it would drop the exhaust from the rear box

Had a quick look that night and to my dismay it had broken just in front of the rear box flange so a new middle section was going to be needed,not the back box

Sourced a new Bosal section from Southern Exhaust Systems inc both clamps for £58(think gaffer gets a discount

).

Spent yesterday fitting replacement exhaust and whilst i had the toolbox open she had a new oil filter,oil change,air filter,fuel filter and LHM change for Hydraflush including cleaning the filters and bleeding the brakes.All the above was done with some splendid help and enthusiasm from the boy who never stopped asking questions.I thought SWMBO never shutup but hes much worse

Only thing left to do is replace the o/s/f drop link and i think its sorted for its MOT

An odd thing i have noticed is that now the excess fluid has been removed and changed the front doesnt sink like a stone within 30mins of switching off.In fact 4 hours after getting home tonight its still at normal height.I have not touched anything else on the car so guess it could have been muck stopping the anti sink valve from shutting at the front

Colin

XantiaDaveEire · Unread post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 16 Jul 2010, 21:14

Have you a preferance between the mk1 and the mk2 Colin ?