My first Citroen

Post by **aerodynamica** » 05 Nov 2008, 17:00

An old banger

TBONE · Post by **TBONE** » 05 Nov 2008, 17:19

its a Citroen old dozen come into it

TBONE · Post by **TBONE** » 05 Nov 2008, 17:21

watch your mouth pal

TBONE · Post by **TBONE** » 05 Nov 2008, 17:29

its a deserved classic

reblack68 · Post by **reblack68** » 05 Nov 2008, 18:00

Is bagnole a tub?

TBONE · Post by **TBONE** » 05 Nov 2008, 18:09

when you speak a good language il;lrsd

deian · Post by **deian** » 05 Nov 2008, 20:20

Welsh has genders too. I like to mix them up on purpose for entertainment purposes.

Welcome Napoleon.

As for ur clutch, maybe the clutch job the owner of the car ur buying it from had a cheap one that was low quality.

If ur gonna run it on veggie oil, make sure ur diesel pump is a Bosch one NOT a Lucas one.

Napoleon · Post by **Napoleon** » 05 Nov 2008, 20:26

Ta,

Yes, it has the Bosch pump - I checked that first thing.

Do these Xantias run on waste veg oil as well as new?

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 05 Nov 2008, 20:52

straight veg oil is best (costco sell 20L for £17 at the moment)
WVO can be used, but needs to be processed to remove particles, water and acids.
Jgra runs his on WVO, he's braver than me!
You can refine it fully to biodiesel, but that's not as nice as SVO.

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 06 Nov 2008, 13:46

Bagnole is slang for ‘car’.
It’s pronounced ban-iol.

http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/g/bagnole.htm

deian · Post by **deian** » 06 Nov 2008, 20:49

Glad you took the step to 'experiment' in non desructive way. My zx ran fine with rapeseed oil.

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 07 Nov 2008, 02:11

Xac wrote:Check the colour of the LHM with a torch in the resevoir, if it's not green, replace it with hydroflush for around 1000 miles and then replace with new LHM.

Having been caught out by this myself, unfortunately it is NOT sufficient to simply shine a torch in the reservoir and see that it's green.

If the wrong type of oil has been put in, and that oil is heavier than LHM and sinks, you can end up with a thin film of LHM floating on top of the other stuff.

When I bought mine I looked in the top of the tank and it looked the normal green colour and it wasn't until a few months later when I drained the tank I found out it was about 90% RED and 10% green, and the two were not mixing.

Syphon a decent sample of the oil out into a glass jar and hold it up to the light, this will give a foolproof idea of what is in the tank.

In my case doing the jar test showed a layer of green LHM about 2mm thick floating on top of a large body of red oil.

It's taken me about 5 changes of LHM over the time I've had the car to finally get rid of most of that red oil, whatever it was...(we can't obtain hydraflush here)

Regards,
Simon

TBONE · Post by **TBONE** » 07 Nov 2008, 09:53

TBONE wrote:when you speak a good language il;lrsd

silly me I didnt know it was slang for car

vince · Post by **vince** » 07 Nov 2008, 12:17

Napoleon

Dont sweat too much about the new Xantia thing....ive had a fair whack of experience with Xantia's....Im on my third now but used to work at GSF and sold parts for all cars, Xantia parts went out frequently enough but it was mostly spheres and not many clutches at all or clutch clips for that matter so once replaced it should last you years....

One good thing with Xantia's is that even if they have faults they still remain driveable unless you bust a pipe and lose the LHM or something drastic.

I can vouch for the fact that they are good cars and the amount of car you get for your money, they represent amazing value for money.

I too have a family and its our daily hack. Mine was advertised as mint but it did need front discs and pads and an LHM change. I dont do any work myself but it wasnt dear as those things arent complicated jobs.

Once you get it, give it a check over. Go through a checklist which can be found on here and list any faults you come across. Price the bits up and then plan what needs doing.

The main thing is that parts are on the whole very cheap for the diesels....apart from height correctors but they are one of those jobs that once done and the pain subsides will last you years.

Im sure you will get along fine

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 07 Nov 2008, 16:15

Napoleon

Welcome to the forum and as a new Xantia owner. If it's not the most comfortable car you've ever driven, the suspension needs some attention!

I bought my first Citroen (N plate 95 Xantia 1.9TD Sx estate) a couple of years ago. It too was low mileage with full stealer service history; meaning the filters, oil and coolant were changed on schedule.

You'll find help on most jobs already posted here on the forum. You'll see lots of rude comments about the BoL (Book of Lies) a.k.a. the Haynes manual. It's not so much Lies as Omissions. Nonetheless, it's a a lot better than nothing. Try your local charity shops...

You're lucky, the cam belt has been changed(?) - check the service history shows that it really has been. If in doubt (item not ticked), if you ask nicely, many dealers will supply a copy of a fairly recent invoice for jobs like that.

I suggest that unless you are sure that the job has been done [in the last X years] you should:
Change the coolant [every 2 yrs] - essential to prevent corrosion killing the engine.
Thermostat [6] - they slowly get tired with age and then don't open fully.
Replace the auxiliary (alternator and hydraulic pump) drive belt [4]
Replace all 6 spheres [4-5]
Change the LHM [2] and then bleed the brakes (essential!)
If you change the brake pads, beware that the pistons have to be 'wound' (rotated) back, not forced back.

None of these is difficult or even time-consuming.

Change the oil and filter at 6,000 mile intervals - buy your oil and filter from a local motor factor (half the price of a high street chain).

You'll have noticed a lot of Xantias of all ages still on the road - with a little TLC and regular maintenance they last a lot better than most of their contemporaries. Their 'complexity' (hydraulics) is a myth - they terrify most mechanics simply because they are different.

I've started a guide based on my personal experience.