XantiaDaves Blog

XantiaDaveEire · Post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 11 Apr 2011, 10:34

I cant believe it's been 2 weeks since i was on here last

..The joys of having limited internet access

Me and my missus went over and got the car last saturday

We were very kindly collected from the airport by the owner and had a good aul chat about Citroens on the way back to his house which was nice because apart from the forum im on my own when it comes to talking about Citroens and the joys of owning them

We left his house at 6pm and made our way to the M6 ,It took just under 3 hours to get to Holyhead

I was a little worried about driving in a different country but what a joy it was!

Signs and great directions everywhere...you couldn't get lost if you wanted to

Some nice views when we got into Wales aswell as i drove along the coast

It was surprising to see the differance in the price of small things like a cup of coffee...70p there and €2 here...what a joke !!

Anyway enough rambling

The car has only done only 10,000 miles in the last 5 years

and has a full service history

It turned over to 105,000 just as i got on to the M6

The only things that need doing immediately are the tracking and im goin to change all 6 spheres,everything else is sweet.

At some point down the road i'll change the clutch ,gearbox oil and give it a good seeing to all over...

I'll get some pics up as soon as i get back to my laptop

Dave

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 11 Apr 2011, 19:49

Hydraulic Citroens do seem to be a bit of an unpopular car on the whole

Luckily my dad is into Citroens or id be miles and miles and miles away from someone else who is

My mates dont get my interest in them, though the Activa is starting to make them think!

I was a little worried about driving in a different country but what a joy it was!

that made me laugh, its not hugely different to Ireland surely?

As for signs, you must have been in a well sign posted area ...

Your new Xantia sounds like a good one

WIll this mean your 'old reliable' will have to find new digs?

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 11 Apr 2011, 20:09

Like Chris, I didn't think Ireland was all that different to England anyway

Glad you've got her back safely after all the effort. Will you be coming to any CCC rallies this year? There are a bunch of Citroen people over there, not that its any help as I've no idea who they were only the fact they liked alcohol and playing guitar. They tend to at least come over for the DSM which most of us go to anyway.

Citroening · Post by **Citroening** » 11 Apr 2011, 20:15

red_dwarfers wrote:only the fact they liked alcohol and playing guitar. They tend to at least come over for the DSM which most of us go to anyway.

...that would've been someone called Jim who had a Series 1 CX Prestige in Silver that we used to own. Jim has sold that car now, and it now resides not far from here.

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 11 Apr 2011, 20:17

Citroening wrote:
red_dwarfers wrote:only the fact they liked alcohol and playing guitar. They tend to at least come over for the DSM which most of us go to anyway.
...that would've been someone called Jim who had a Series 1 CX Prestige in Silver that we used to own. Jim has sold that car now, and it now resides not far from here.

Jim, thats it!

XantiaDaveEire · Post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 25 Apr 2011, 10:13

When is the DSM ?

No Chris,il be keeping my old reliable

...I wouldn't dare sell her

You wouldn't believe how different it was to drive over there...Brilliant roads...good signage...good drivers...people actually used the motorway properly

I would feel more confident driving there than i would here....

I still haven't got any pics up yet because im in the process of moving and most of my stuff is packed and in the back of the car which is down at my mothers house

But never the less there is always something that needs doing on the silver car and it feels like the front bushes are going again

...When i accelerate the car swerves a little and i don't feel fully in control..

I only had them changed less than 10,000 miles ago

and it feels like possibly a wheel bearing is about to go aswell..

Maybe it's just a sign for me to get the other beast on the road

I'm off to Amsterdam on the 16th of May so it will be at least the start of June by the time i have enough dosh saved to get it vrt'd and taxed and get a few bits done to her....

Dave

XantiaDaveEire · Post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 24 May 2011, 11:59

Time to get the ball rolling on the green car

I'v made a list of everything that needs doing to get it up to pretty much perfect driving condition

I'm going to replace the clutch as its too heavy for my liking and it's better to get everything done at once i feel.

New brake pads will be needed as they haven't been replaced in 5 years

1st gear feels "notchy" to me so i'll change the oil and see if it's any better.

All the spheres will be changed

The fuel display doesn't work properly

(Tank could be half full but it says it's nearly empty) I'm unsure about this one Maybe a sensor in the tank?

Theres a clamp loose which is causing the exhaust to rattle,if you put your foot on it the rattling stops.

The digital clock display is gammy and finally the tracking needs to be done

That's me "knit picking"

But i want to get the car as close to perfect as i can.

I still haven't got any pics bar this one ...

When i was coming back from the airport on friday i seen my old Hdi

..I normally keep an eye out for Xantias on the road and i couldn't believe it when i looked at the reg and seen it was my old one,it looked very tidy

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 24 May 2011, 21:44

Ah, a UK spec with coloured bumpers

Looks very nice, so your keeping both>?

XantiaDaveEire · Post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 25 May 2011, 09:43

Citroenmad wrote:Ah, a UK spec with coloured bumpers

Looks very nice, so your keeping both>?

Definitely

I wouldn't be able to sell it no matter how bad it ever got to drive or look

Plus the fact i know how hard it is to find a good car , It's a keeper and one day i hope to be able to drive both simultaneously

XantiaDaveEire · Post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 26 May 2011, 09:39

It's been raining a lot lately and it's really showing me how bad the 2 front tyre's on my car are,the cornering is shocking!! the slightest turn of the wheel and the car feels like it's about to slide off the road

It feels like im turning on ice,it's horrible

The tyre's are cheap chinese rubbish with a lot of thread still left on them i'v probably only done about 6000 miles on them ,i would probably be better off running bald good tyres tbh

Lesson learned for the future ...the hard way

I ordered the clutch kit,6 spheres and the digital clock for my other car last night so they should be here within the next week

The only problem i had was there was no Lhm for sale on the website (Aep Direct)

I'v gotten it off them before as it's cheaper to buy 3 bottles off them for the price of 1 in halfords here

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 26 May 2011, 20:19

Yes, cheap tyres really are awful in the rain usually, shocking how little grip they actually give. I dont get on at all with cheapies, I always replace them if they are fitted to a car I buy.

Im favoring Michelins now, they seem very well suited to Citroens. Ive had Goodyears, Firestones, Toyos and a few cheap brands on C5s now and Michelins are by far the best tyre for grip, wear and general feel, they really improve the ride in my opinion.

I have also found this with the XM too, it suits Michelins very nicely.

Your lucky in that your Xantia tyres are a cheap size, so Michelins will be a cheap investment.

I was thinking my C5 might be sliding about in this weather, as its front Michelins are about on the markers now, but no, still plenty of grip. Ill be putting on another pair of Michelins next week though.

I also have Michies on the front of my Activa, im impressed with them actually. I was trying to get something really sticky as whats the point in having a Activa if it hasnt got the grip. But the tyre size limits tyre availability and so Toyo T1-rs etc were not in its size. So I went with my favored Michelins and they are pretty decent. Ill probably get another pair for the rear before long.

You will have a day or so's fiddling to do with the clutch and spheres

I picked some Total LHM up at the weekend, £20 for 5 litres. Also got some Total Hydraflush to go in the XM too.

Post by **myglaren** » 26 May 2011, 22:29

How much was the Total 5w30?
Meant to pick a bucketful up and forgot

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 26 May 2011, 22:34

Not sure how much the 3w30 was Steve, I got the ECS low sulphur Total oil for my C5 while I was there for £22.5, very reasonable!

Post by **myglaren** » 27 May 2011, 06:56

I thought it looked like the Quartz 9000 you were carrying

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 27 May 2011, 08:55

No, not the 9000, it was 5w30 INEO ECS - the low sulphur oil required for the FAP equipped HDIs.

I think the 9000 was similar or cheaper in price.