Vince's XM...213k and slowing....

[Citroenmad]

Ooh a black XM?

I love cleaning up black cars...they look awesome. Would look good on whitebands too i reckon

No, not an Xm, i dont like Xms in black. Something a little older, an Xms great grand father

Yes black cars do look very nice when clean, i have one at the moment, but a day later it looks horrid. Shows every tiny mark too, id not have another out of choice.

[vince]

Well its been a while

I feel like ive done nothing but work for the last few weeks but today being fathers day i got some time off to have a mess around with the car

Id noticed that old droning bass sound inside the cabin coming back about a week ago and today it got worse and included a rattly vibration sound which went once the engine revs were raised slightly. After having a look around with the car running i noticed the tailpipe moving more than usual. Further inspection underneath showed the weld on the front of the box has split where the pipe feeds into it. It hasnt rusted through as is normal as the box hasnt been on for much more than 2000 miles or so, it seems that the weld is more on the pipe than on the join so i guess it was set to fail at some point. Good thing is i was local to home so no big shakes. The bugger is i havent got the receipt so unless it can be re welded then it will be replaced again.....for the third time since i bought the car

Whilst i was underneath i greased up the rear height corrector which had been sticking for a while and it now moves nice and free again.

I also re attached the strut gaitor on the OSF after putting some grease on the ram and re undersealed the top mount which was recently checked and deemed still in good health

The OSF caliper was also cleaned up and painted in black hammerite and the wheel cleaned inside and out and replaced.

Moving on from there the front height corrector was greased up and then my time turned to painting the cylinder head and temp sender flange infront of the fuel filter housing in black.

Overall the car is still in fine fettle and driving well. The paintwork is in need of going over as the sunny weather takes no prisoners and shows up scratches and chips with ease, but ill get round to that soon.

Looking ahead, we have booked a cottage for a week in Brixham Devon and will be travelling down on the 7th of August The break from work, salt sea air and fresh fish will make the long drive from up here well worth it and if im truthfull i cant wait

Im sure the Xantia will remain faithfull and perform the trip with ease but i will be sorting some roadside assitance out before we go just in case.

Happy trails folks......and beep if you see me on the motorways on the 7th of August

[XantiaDaveEire]

Hi Vince,did you take off the height correctors to grease them up?What grease would you reccomend as mine need doing now for some time

Dave

[red_dwarfers]

Ah Brixham! Lovely place that

Don't forget to sample some proper cottage Devonshire Cream and have a proper Cornish pasty, which contray to popular belief was actually invented in Devon

Have fun on the backroads, some can be quite an experience

[vince]

No doubt Kev i will be sampling the lot

I did the height correctors in situ and used a combination of white spray grease, WD40 and some unknown "wonderstuff" the garage next door to the shop lent me.

That said i think it would be much better to remove them, thoroughly clean them and then re fit once greased up. White grease seems to have worked well as it seems quite resistant to washing off with road spray etc.

Kev is the guy though to ask questions on height corrector cleaning...I am but a mere grasshopper at this game

[red_dwarfers]

Hi Vince,did you take off the height correctors to grease them up?What grease would you reccomend as mine need doing now for some time
Dave

The rear height corrector linkage is easy peasy to take off, don't even have to muck around with the hydraulic side of things. Just 3 torx bolts and a bit of wiggling about. Front one is a little bit more of a puzzle but make sure you loosen the actual height corrector bit from the linkage by undoing the bolts slightly, and take out the hydraulic unions with a decent flare nut spanner. Of course, you only really need to take them off if they are chocka block with muck as its much easier on the bench.
I tend to use white grease in a spray can after freeing up with WD-40.

[xantia_v6]

I find white grease only lasts a few months under the car, so I now use aerosol motorcycle chain lube on things like HCs.

[vince]

Well the rear silencer has again been replaced with a new one See how long this one lasts .....the good thing is though that the tail pipe is again bare steel and original. I painted my last one to keep surface rust off it and although painted in hyper silver it looked a bit naff as it wasnt original anymore....wont make that mistake again.

Ive somewhat neglected the Xantia in the last few days as im going through a tired patch and havent been out in it or washed it (not like me) Catching back up again on here though re stokes the fires

Took a good call at work today from Johnathan Dyane from the XM forum...he was after some XM bits and is the first hydraulic citroen enquiry ive dealt with for what seems like months. I said to the other guys "i bet your all glad i took that one..." As soon as i mentioned a hydractive XM and height correctors they all recoilled not knowing what i was on about

Doesnt look like i will be making the national next month Time and money are both stretched in July so i might have the settle for the Midlands rally So much for attending all the shows this year.

Which dummy invented money.....theyve got a lot to answer for

[Trainman]

Doesnt look like i will be making the national next month Time and money are both stretched in July so i might have the settle for the Midlands rally

Vince, If you manage to find the time and want a lift, I can pick you up, just give me a shout

[vince]

Awesome offer Steve thanks However....youve given me an idea.....perhaps i could do a trade stand and go down in one of our vans?

The new Nemo for instance

[davetherave]

perhaps i could do a trade stand and go down in one of our vans

Think thats a good idea, especially as me and Jim will have our pressure testers there! so may be a couple of people wanting spheres!
Dave

[Trainman]

Awesome offer Steve thanks However....youve given me an idea.....perhaps i could do a trade stand and go down in one of our vans?

The new Nemo for instance

Give me a shout if I can help

[vince]

Thanks again Steve but after just finishing a 6 day week in the shop im kind of moving away from the idea of doing a trade stall...Its just work isnt it but in a different place

[Trainman]

Its just work isnt it but in a different place

It is mate, but pleasure and business are never a bad thing

[vince]

Well the countdown to the national begins.....

The hosepipe ban up here in the NW hasnt done the Xantia any favours and after not being able to stand looking at it so filthy anymore i succumbed to going to the local jet wash to blast the dust and muck off. I darent use the brush thingy as all they tend to do is impart micro-scratches in the paint and ive enough of them already to sort out. So after quick jog down the motorway to the next junction and back the car was dry and ready for its preparation for this weekends show.

I managed to get the front wing, upper sections of the drivers side front and rear doors, rear quarter panel and the rear spoiler done before darkness fell and i retired to a nice brew

Over the course of the week i'll go round all the other bits and bring them back to life.....the engine bay has been partially re done again and will get finished off during this week.

I hope the weather holds out for the weekend, i dont mind it being cloudy as it keeps the flies down but dry would be nice