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

[vince]

Pics Vince pics ! This is torture

Mark

Well here are the pictures i took from this morning....not very exciting per say but Mark you wanted pics

How the bonnet looked in the sun this morning after washing and drying.....


The laquer was surprisingly hard and therefore needed some pretty hard action even with the rotary polisher. After a couple of passes with a hard compound and pad combo i managed a 95% correction which i then refined back with the DA polisher and a finishing combo pad and polish. Topped it off with Collinite wax.....

After rotary polishing



And waxing to seal in the finish until the next machine session to correct the final 5% that needs doing before the CXM


I then flatted and polished the headlamps and nosecone area.....it looked pretty good at the end i thought




I managed to get half of the roof done later on which i didnt take any pictures of, but i did find that the sunroof on close inspection is covered in overspray....and so are some of the rubber trims on the door tops This shows that the bodyshop that did the repairs and paintjob to the wing, nose and drivers side door couldnt be arsed to mask and cover the car properly....so not only did they paint it a slightly wrong shade of silver, they balls'd up the rest of the surrounding area also.....it will take hours to get that right again

Oh well....at least it gives me something to do for the next few months

[Citroenmad]

That is looking excellent Vince Though headlights do look brand new! It'll be like a new XM for CXM

Steve, old spilt milk must be one of the worst smeels to have in a car. Our previous Xantia Activa had it and I never got rid of the smell fully, though it did fade. No doubt why it got scrapped in the end ...

[bxzx16v]

Vince that's great work , the Xm is the Citroen I always wanted but never had , I really look forward to seeing your car in the metal Vince .

Mark

[andmcit]

No doubt why it got scrapped in the end ...

That's a shock Chris - so you searched and found a scrapped marker?
I thought the buyer had plans to pull it apart for the ARCS but he
didn't commit to the deed?

[vince]

Thanks guys, but trust me until some body issues get sorted further down the road, it will look shiny, but will still have a dent in the rear quarter and scuffed wheel trims that need a refurb

Chris, the headlights i sanded very lightly with 2500 wet and dry paper, but with the paper dry! I then compounded them and finished them back up. I wish you could feel pictures.....i couldnt stop touching the glass it is as smooth and clear as a new headlamp

[Citroenmad]

No doubt why it got scrapped in the end ...

That's a shock Chris - so you searched and found a scrapped marker?
I thought the buyer had plans to pull it apart for the ARCS but he
didn't commit to the deed?

No, its me assuming Andrew. Its not been taxed for a good few years now and has not surfaced on here. So my guess its no longer around. In fact, I don't think it spent much, if any, time on the road since we traded it in. Shame as it was tidy and had only 64K miles. The rear ram was leaking, which back then was a replacement only problem.

Someone who drove it from the CCC wanted to pull it apart and try and fit the system to a DS. However we wouldn't sell it for that purpose, guess it didn't matter now though


Vince, I might give mine a ago!
I need to find a good method of putting the shine back into the chrome/plastic coated bumper trims. I have got a good front one now but its dull. Im thinking some fine wet and dry.

[vince]

No need for anything that complicated Chris, jump straight for the autosol and get it rubbed in. I know its plastic but trust me it works. I did a second hand cloudy Xantia one with it as a trial and it came out almost like a new one

[Citroenmad]

Thanks Vince, I knew you would have the answer! Ill give that a go

[citroenxm]

Go easy chris.. dont add to much to the value i cannot afford much more then what we said.!!

[vince]

Well an interesting weekend with the xm somewhat....

Good bits 1
I fixed the r/h brake light which just went off all by itself on friday ...once i delved into the wiring on the multiplug after testing the bulbs and bulb holder finding them to be ok, it seemed someone has been there before ....no rhyme or reason for it...it just seemed to play again once it was reassembled.....

Bad bit 1
In fixing the rh brake light, now the rear tailights on the rh dont work....they did before i started . I presume when i taped the wires back together again one has not made a good contact...im presuming they are wired in series?....wing mounted and tailgate mounted? I tested the earths when doing the brake light problem...seems ok.

Good bit 2
I picked the mother in law up in the xm for the first time today...she loved it "this is a lovely car, very comfortable and you cant feel any bumps either can you" I then told her its 20 years old (she is over 70 years old herself so doesnt know much about reg plates and years)...."get away" was her reply

Bad bit 2
There isnt one......yet

Good bit 3
I got the stereo fitted from the Xantia....problem is i need a PSA connector to adapt it to the newer style headunit

Im getting there slowly, but yes the reputation of xm electrics being terrible seem to apply to my car too Look at it this way...ive never been good at vehicle electrics....now i have the perfect vehicle to learn on and i will have to learn how to fix these things or ill go broke no doubt

Its a big old bus but its worth the attention

Ive also come into a few quid this weekend (nothing major) so the xm is earmarked for some improvements in prep for the CXM. I also need to pay off my staff account so i can get spending again

[vince]

Well guys, its been a busy week as usual and quite a bit done on the xm too

I dropped the xm off at Paris Autos on Wednesday morning for Paul to get rid of the terrible knock and rattle on the front drivers side. After working on it all day and replacing the ball joint and inspecting everything else finding it to be perfect, the knock still existed

I could tell from speaking to him on the phone he'd had enough for that day as the ball joint took everything they had to get it off and they have 30 years plus experience of working on old citroens, so continuation was put off until the next day....

So the next day uncovered a slight movement in the bendix pads fitted to the car. I decided to whack a new set of pads in it and again opted for OE Bendix pads to be put back in. I dropped them off myself and armed with a cup of tea helped Paul try to find the cause.....Whilst fitting the new pads the cause presented itself...

The OSF caliper took the pads however they still had slight movement which was discovered to be caused by the bottom caliper slide pin which was narrower than the one on the NSF. A matching set of second hand ones they had lying around were put in and everything was tight again.....the car was then road tested and every rattle and squeak the car had, HAD GONE A big relief and amazingly the noise was the caliper knocking against the caliper carrier....such a hard thing to trace but Paul really knows his xm's being an owner himself

Expecting a big bill for around a day and half's work put in, Paul offered no charge in return for me getting his xm machined and ready for the ICCCR

Going on holiday next saturday and working tomorrow sees time very short to get this done, so the plan is to collect his car after work wednesday and drive straight to my mates garage where ill start work on it straight away and finish when its done....i reckon it will probably be around 11 o clock or midnight, but i cant let Paul down and he has done me some great work since picking the xm up so its the least i can do....one thing is for sure, ill be half dead at work the next day.

His car is a silver series 2 XM VSX with just 50K on the clock....it other should finish up a treat and i want to blow his socks off as he is also key to many other Citroen owners and potential Pallas customers Ill still some pics up if i remember to take the camera with me.

Well this weekend is a busy one as usual, but hopefully i should be getting an estimate to remove the dent on the rear quarter tomorrow and next week if i have enough money, getting the wheel trims done

Ive managed to get the stereo in and working during the week with a new connector and set of front speakers....it sounds quite good but the tube will be wired up after i get back from holiday as too many plates are spinning at the moment to get everything done.

Not much else to report at the mo.....the xm returned 93 miles on a tenner last weekend....i thought that was great for such a big boat of a car

[Citroenmad]

Another fairly simple fix, I bet that makes all the different. I hate knocks and rattles!

Im looking forward to seeing the pictures of this VSX, almost a shame its a silver one really

I wish the dent on the rear quarter of my XM was as small and simple to get repaired. Ive not got a quote for mine yet but im expecting it to be a little steep.

Pretty good economy that! Mine does around 200 miles on £25-£27 worth of gas. Not bad at all these big boats

[KP]

Good work Vince

have you made contact with that 'contact' i gave you??
I need to get some more drums myself but i've cut back the milage i put on the FF in the last week or two and looks likely to decline a bit more as something else takes up that milage slack..

[citroenxm]

Well guys, its been a busy week as usual and quite a bit done on the xm too

I dropped the xm off at Paris Autos on Wednesday morning for Paul to get rid of the terrible knock and rattle on the front drivers side. After working on it all day and replacing the ball joint and inspecting everything else finding it to be perfect, the knock still existed

I could tell from speaking to him on the phone he'd had enough for that day as the ball joint took everything they had to get it off and they have 30 years plus experience of working on old Citroëns, so continuation was put off until the next day....

So the next day uncovered a slight movement in the bendix pads fitted to the car. I decided to whack a new set of pads in it and again opted for OE Bendix pads to be put back in. I dropped them off myself and armed with a cup of tea helped Paul try to find the cause.....Whilst fitting the new pads the cause presented itself...

The OSF caliper took the pads however they still had slight movement which was discovered to be caused by the bottom caliper slide pin which was narrower than the one on the NSF. A matching set of second hand ones they had lying around were put in and everything was tight again.....the car was then road tested and every rattle and squeak the car had, HAD GONE A big relief and amazingly the noise was the caliper knocking against the caliper carrier....such a hard thing to trace but Paul really knows his xm's being an owner himself

Expecting a big bill for around a day and half's work put in, Paul offered no charge in return for me getting his xm machined and ready for the ICCCR

Going on holiday next saturday and working tomorrow sees time very short to get this done, so the plan is to collect his car after work wednesday and drive straight to my mates garage where ill start work on it straight away and finish when its done....i reckon it will probably be around 11 o clock or midnight, but i cant let Paul down and he has done me some great work since picking the xm up so its the least i can do....one thing is for sure, ill be half dead at work the next day.

His car is a silver series 2 XM VSX with just 50K on the clock....it other should finish up a treat and i want to blow his socks off as he is also key to many other Citroën owners and potential Pallas customers Ill still some pics up if i remember to take the camera with me.

Well this weekend is a busy one as usual, but hopefully i should be getting an estimate to remove the dent on the rear quarter tomorrow and next week if i have enough money, getting the wheel trims done

Ive managed to get the stereo in and working during the week with a new connector and set of front speakers....it sounds quite good but the tube will be wired up after i get back from holiday as too many plates are spinning at the moment to get everything done.

Not much else to report at the mo.....the xm returned 93 miles on a tenner last weekend....i thought that was great for such a big boat of a car

Fan bloody tastic Vince!! Had I of fitted some pads I probably would of found this issue!! Nice One, Im sooo pleased you found it!!!

[vince]

Me too Paul, as Chris says it does make all the difference..nice and quiet now over bumps etc

I had the dent guy take a look at the rear quarter today....not the most reassuring news i was hoping for. He says the panel is quite thin and the metal quite stretched so he reckons he could realistically achieve a 90% removal for around £60. He said there was an outside chance it might come up perfect but it depends on how the panel reacts. I reckon its worth a shot as it can only look better than it does now and its not a bank breaking amount so ill book him in when i get back from down south

Chris it is a shame its a silver one, also the shame is im doing it straight after work...that means i will be knackered when i start it, im also working to a deadline as i dont want to get home later than midnight. i dont like doing cars in that fashion because if you try to rush them you dont get the best result. Ill concentrate on the paintwork first and then everything else...the interior will not be done i can safely say that. I hope its clean when i pick it up.

So, this weekend sees operation taillights.....see how i get on