CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
Sid_the_Squid
Posts: 590
Joined: 21 Apr 2009, 15:35
x 2

Unread post by Sid_the_Squid »

Thanks for all your help with the Green Goblin Jim :) I really appreciate you coming over.

Sadly she's still dead, I really don't know what to do at this point.... :( I may have a large collection of parts & scrap metal :(
Gone to the dark side.

Past Citroens
'99 Xantia HDi Exclusive
'99 Xantia 3.0 V6 Exclusive (Green Goblin)
'02 C5 Hdi 110 LX Estate
'98 Xantia 1.8 sx auto with LPG
'00 Xantia Hdi (110) forte
'97 Xantia 1.9D sx
'93 Xantia 1.9D lx (my first) R.I.P
davetherave
Posts: 880
Joined: 01 Apr 2009, 21:06
x 4

Unread post by davetherave »

Thats rubbish and such a shame.
Thats a really nice car, perhaps if you know anyone who can read french you could peruse the french forums and see if anyone else has had this problem?
(95) XM Silver 2.1td Exclusive.
(87) Cx 2.5 DTR T1 undergoing major cosmetic surgery.
GPZ500s
Deanxm
Posts: 3327
Joined: 18 Dec 2008, 18:57
x 87

Unread post by Deanxm »

Sid_the_Squid wrote:Thanks for all your help with the Green Goblin Jim :) I really appreciate you coming over.

Sadly she's still dead, I really don't know what to do at this point.... :( I may have a large collection of parts & scrap metal :(
Sorry to hear of this, i think Andmcit had the same issue with one of his V6's.
Could this be a power supply issue to the engine ECU? i know my abs ecu has several + feeds not just one and each one powers different things, mine for instance will not comunicate with a lexia, its as if the ecu does not exist, might be worth looking into.
Havee you and Jim tried a spare ecu to rule that out?

D
XM Prestige PRV6 92
Talbot Express Autotrail Chinook 89
Mitsubishi L200 Trojan 14
Xantia Activa 95, sold (missed)

Service Citroen is awesome, it shows me pictures of all the parts i used to be able to buy............
andmcit
Posts: 4299
Joined: 03 Mar 2005, 18:59
x 30

Unread post by andmcit »

Not just any V6 - an identical Xant 24v'er with 60k miles. :(

It's got to an impasse with the specialist where I took it and he's got the spare
ECU that Jim had - seems it's better than the one I had in the car originally.
That eBayed 200 quid duff gearbox v6 seems very tempting now just for the
running engine and electrics - sod the autobox.

BTW, is Jim's thread here a forum record breaker for pages? 8-)

Andrew
andmcit
Posts: 4299
Joined: 03 Mar 2005, 18:59
x 30

Unread post by andmcit »

Hattershaun and BL Autos of v6 Activa conversion fame reckon on the feeds
into the consumer unit power/battery tray box and/or the fuse box. Seems
only Exclusives suffer from this as I haven't seen any lower spec Xants surface
on ebay with the same symptoms.

Andrew
davetherave
Posts: 880
Joined: 01 Apr 2009, 21:06
x 4

Unread post by davetherave »

Jims blog is a bit of a forum within forums....
(95) XM Silver 2.1td Exclusive.
(87) Cx 2.5 DTR T1 undergoing major cosmetic surgery.
GPZ500s
Deanxm
Posts: 3327
Joined: 18 Dec 2008, 18:57
x 87

Unread post by Deanxm »

more like novel really, the transport and tribulations of Jim E................. :lol:

D
XM Prestige PRV6 92
Talbot Express Autotrail Chinook 89
Mitsubishi L200 Trojan 14
Xantia Activa 95, sold (missed)

Service Citroen is awesome, it shows me pictures of all the parts i used to be able to buy............
Sid_the_Squid
Posts: 590
Joined: 21 Apr 2009, 15:35
x 2

Unread post by Sid_the_Squid »

Thats for the sympathy all, :) Its a real frustrating issue as Andrew will no doubt attest to. :evil: :evil:

Slightly good news I've found a local guy with a flatbed car transporter who seems reasonable cost wise, so next month when I should have a bit of spare money I may get her shipped over to B&L as they are fairly confident about where the issue lies
Gone to the dark side.

Past Citroens
'99 Xantia HDi Exclusive
'99 Xantia 3.0 V6 Exclusive (Green Goblin)
'02 C5 Hdi 110 LX Estate
'98 Xantia 1.8 sx auto with LPG
'00 Xantia Hdi (110) forte
'97 Xantia 1.9D sx
'93 Xantia 1.9D lx (my first) R.I.P
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 52073
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
x 6999

Unread post by CitroJim »

I'm really sorry that I couldn't crack it for you Sid but as we both know, the conditions in which it's parked and discharged batteries were not ideal for in-depth diagnosis..

I'd love to have got to the bottom of it but alas, current circumstances will not permit but i shall be interested to hear of the eventual outcome...

This past week has passed in a blur (again) and yesterday I ran new V6 down to Somerset to see the folks. She ran beautifully as always and her gearbox is still nicely oil-tight and is Activa's rear ram.

Today, this afternoon actually, other tasks finally complete, I could escape into the workshop for a tad of spannering.

First job was to give the place a jolly good tidy-up and then a refurbish of the first of two height correctors for Xantiaman's Activa. Poor Gareth has been waiting a long time for me to find an opportunity to get them sorted...

Next week promises to be another blur but I need to take a day off to service Robyn's 206. She's off on a long trip in it at the weekend and wants to be sure it's OK.

This coming weekend I hope to begin some work on my Activa. A new rad, new discs and pads and a new waterpump and cambelt...

I just hope time and weather are on my side...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
XantiaMan
Posts: 1604
Joined: 12 Aug 2007, 18:47
x 17

Unread post by XantiaMan »

CitroJim wrote:
First job was to give the place a jolly good tidy-up and then a refurbish of the first of two height correctors for Xantiaman's Activa. Poor Gareth has been waiting a long time for me to find an opportunity to get them sorted...
.
Jim, as said i was in no rush for these, i've not driven the car all that much recently, i did order a new dipstick and clamp for the exhaust a couple of weeks back and still not fitted them!
2020 Peugeot Partner
2017 Fiesta ST
2001 Ford Puma 1.7 VCT
2006 Ford Fiesta Zetec
http://www.facebook.com/kidmans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 52073
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
x 6999

Unread post by CitroJim »

Fair dos Gareth, they're here when you want them :wink: Let me know and we'll arrange something...

Something i forgot to say in my last entry: New V6, on the run to Somerset and back averaged 31.5MPG and I wasn't exactly hanging around :D :D :D

Not bad for a V6!
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
KevMayer
Posts: 1051
Joined: 12 Sep 2003, 22:01
x 2

Unread post by KevMayer »

The rear height corrector isn't original.

When I got the Activa the original corrector had lost the end rubber cap. The one you see from the rear.

The rear corrector now fitted is from the french ebay site www.ebay.fr and was the only one I could find for sale at the time. It's not new, It's off a french Xantia from a french breakers yard.
Cheers, Kev

02 plate C5 2.2 Hdi Exclusive SE (now 170k miles 03/21).

Used to have:- Xantia 1.9 TurboD SX. 1996 Blue & 1998 Silver Activa. + 1992 BX TZD Turbo.
User avatar
CitroJim
A very naughty boy
Posts: 52073
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
x 6999

Unread post by CitroJim »

Gareth, both height correctors are now overhauled...

But, and this is a big but, unless your hydraulic unions on the existing height correctors are easily undoable then I'm running away, fast...

Why? Read on but be warned the following tale is a harrowing one. Don't read on if you are of an nervous disposition...

My Activa has been suffering an ever-increasingly lazy rear height corrector and yesterday I decided to bit the bullet and sort it. I thought I'd slip the corrector off and give it an overhaul. Easy, hour's work and job's a good 'un...

Err, no...

One union undid Ok but the others were stuck absolutely fast and despite a good flare nut spanner the unions rounded. Small Stillsons would not budge them either. I was stuck..

A call to Pleiades for advice brought forth the best course was to cut the pipes, attack the recalcitrant unions on the bench and make up new pipes. That was finme for the short pipe to the anti-sink valve but one of the pipes disappeared off into the depths of the subframe. The answer was to cut it, flare it and use a barrel connector on it.

I took a run over to Pleiades and borrowed their flaring tool and raced back and did the job. In cutting one pipe I found it had a steel wire inside it which made it interesting. I'm not sure of the function of this wire but it must be some sort of flow restrictor.

Pipes cut and the height corrector finally came free. To undo the unions I had to squash them in a vice and turn the height corrector body to undo them. They were so tight it took all My strength...

Here's one being undone!

Image

After that, I stripped the corrector and found it was moderately dirty inside. Despite very clean LHM and having been flushed in the past, the height correctors seem to be dirt traps and nothing except a strip and clean will remove it. The dirt blocks the graduated hole in the damping chamber which causes the corrector to be slow to respond and unable to respond to small changes in height.

Having cleaned the height corrector I then flared the cut pipe ready for a barrel connector. Here's the tool ready to make a flare:

Image

Finally, with new pipes made up in kunifer, this was the result. You can see the barrel connector...

Image

And the result?

A lovely sensitive and responsive height corrector that has transformed the rear-end of the car and made it ride better. Just a small change in height now makes it correct very rapidly and the "sit in the boot" test now works perfectly whereas it never did before.

It was worth doing but a nightmare of epic proportions. Gareth, I'm sure this is what yours needs but unless your unions will undo, be afraid, very afraid. I've no desire to go there again!

One place I have to go though right now is back to Pleiades to return the flaring tool!

And lastly, in this catalogue of woe, my rear ram is weeping again :twisted: :twisted:

I have a another ram on the bench now with a broken spigot for refurbishment and fitting whilst I plan another word with our main dealer over a ram that's failed in less then a year...

The, when that's done, I have new disks, pads, rad and cambelt/waterpump to fit...

I wonder just want sort of a battle those jobs will result in :twisted:

One of lesser resolve could end up hating an Activa quite easily and it's a good job they redeem themselves by being a wonderful drive..
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
User avatar
Xaccers
Posts: 7654
Joined: 08 Feb 2007, 00:46
x 185

Unread post by Xaccers »

Ooo something I have to look forward to on Cassy and Juliet

Does the intermediate height now work though Jim?
1.9TD+ SX Xantia Estate (Cassy) running on 100% veg
1.9TD SX Xantia Hatchback (Jenny) running on 100% veg for sale
Laguna II 2.0dCi Privilege (Monty)

DIY sphere tool
XantiaMan
Posts: 1604
Joined: 12 Aug 2007, 18:47
x 17

Unread post by XantiaMan »

Jim, good news is that Kev posted the other day and had replaced the rear height corrector, so the unions should be fine, the front should also be ok by virtue of the fact it gets soaked in oil..,
2020 Peugeot Partner
2017 Fiesta ST
2001 Ford Puma 1.7 VCT
2006 Ford Fiesta Zetec
http://www.facebook.com/kidmans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;