At first it only needed a rear suspension cylinder, but over the weeks it also needed 4 tyres, two front ABS sensors, TDC sensor (it was missing), speed sensor, all 6 spheres, radiator, front and rear wipers, and some other bits and pieces. It was filthy inside, just like a builder’s car. It took several days of vacuuming and cleaning. The paintwork was dreadful and took a lot of cleaning, polishing and waxing before it started to look reasonable. There are a lot of marks on the paintwork that will not come out. But now it looks respectable.
The next big job was to be the rear brakes, new discs and pads. I have never seen so much rust on a disc, and the calipers were touching the inboard side of the discs. I expect you have already guessed the problem; corrosion between the caliper and the backing plate. It took four hours to get the first disc and caliper off, the second took a little less. My concern was the pressure on the caliper bolts caused by the corrosion that they would sheer. But by gently tightening and loosening them, bit by bit they came off. This was preceded by copious amounts of PlusGas.
The biggest horror was the wear pattern of the pads. You can see from the pics that the tops were hardly worn, and the rest was wedge shaped.
I cannot understand why Citroen has never brought out a mod to prevent this; all it needs is a wax paper gasket. I used some thin but strong plastic sheeting to make a gasket. There are a few companies who will make custom gaskets and I am sure that if enough Citroen enthusiasts clubbed together it would not be too expensive.
For some reason the AC has been bypassed. A smaller auxiliary belt has been fitted to bypass the compressor. I assume it is cream crackered. That needs to be fixed before the summer arrives. It is coming this year isn’t it?
Although it is not in the same class as the Volvo I really enjoy it. A much softer ride compared with the Volvo’s sport suspension and low profile tyres. But around London’s poor roads it is ideal.
There are still jobs to do; front brakes, engine mountings, clutch and AC.
Bob
your Xantia must be wondering what's going on with all that love and attention you're giving it, almost akin to Jeremy Clarkson going on a makeover 
