She's Broken It Already!

Buchan Loon · Unread post by **Buchan Loon** » 27 Aug 2011, 09:47

Got a phone call from my wife yesterday saying her Xantia had broken down in the middle of town and was spewing oil and steam. Crap! I'm thinking head gasket. When I got to her I was slightly relieved to find it was actually LHM that was leaking and the steam was oil mist. Sod's law no towing eye, so spent half the afternnon searching until I managed to borrow my BIL's one from his Xsara. Had to go back to work so didn't have time to check it out when we finally got the car home.

Been for a look this morning and discovered this pipe above and to the rear of the steering rack is leaking at high pressure. What is it (and more importantly) how much of the absolute pig that it looks to be is it to replace?

At the moment I think I'd rather do a head gasket!

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 27 Aug 2011, 17:51

Well, it could be any pipe that carries high pressure. There's a number in that area and the only way to identify its role in life is to trace it from both ends and see where it goes...

Generally it will be a bit porcine (or even Suidae) to repair it as access will not be wonderful. All those pipes went in before the engine did

Best bet is to trace it, work out the length and the end fittings and then get Pleiades to make you a new one. You nmay be able to find an easier route for a replacement too. Generally a replacement does not have to follow strictly the old route...

Just hope it's not the high pressure feed to the steering pinion valve as that pipe and it's special rubber section is now NFP. Your only hope if it is this pipe (and I don't think it is given the location) is to get a copy made up by a hydraulic pipe manufacturer like Pirtek.

DickieG · Unread post by **DickieG** » 27 Aug 2011, 18:02

CitroJim wrote:Just hope it's not the high pressure feed to the steering pinion valve as that pipe and it's special rubber section is now NFP. Your only hope if it is this pipe (and I don't think it is given the location) is to get a copy made up by a hydraulic pipe manufacturer like Pirtek.

Oh my gawd, its tales like this that make me wonder about the wisdom of running old cars as a daily driver,, many more tales like this and I'll be changing cars

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 27 Aug 2011, 18:13

DickieG wrote: Oh my gawd, its tales like this that make me wonder about the wisdom of running old cars as a daily driver,, many more tales like this and I'll be changing cars

It's not as bad as you think Richard, that pipe in particular only normally fails on very rusty cars in an accessible place. Yours is not in that category and even if it does fail it's not the end of the world by a long way...

You worry unnecessarily...

DickieG · Unread post by **DickieG** » 27 Aug 2011, 18:37

I've never ran car's as old as the ones I have ATM and don't do hassle of the kind mentioned where a car may break down to the point of not being repairable at the side of the road. It appears that a number of Xantias are now suffering from hydraulic pipe failure of one kind or another, hence my comment

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 27 Aug 2011, 19:03

DickieG wrote:I've never ran car's as old as the ones I have ATM and don't do hassle of the kind mentioned where a car may break down to the point of not being repairable at the side of the road. It appears that a number of Xantias are now suffering from hydraulic pipe failure of one kind or another, hence my comment

as i'm such a nice guy if you ever get too worried about running xantias let me know and i'll gladly remove the hdi from you

DickieG · Unread post by **DickieG** » 27 Aug 2011, 19:07

Chris570 wrote:as i'm such a nice guy if you ever get too worried about running xantias let me know and i'll gladly remove the hdi from you

Cheers Chris I'll bear that in mind

Unread post by **Dommo** » 27 Aug 2011, 20:26

CitroJim wrote: Just hope it's not the high pressure feed to the steering pinion valve as that pipe and it's special rubber section is now NFP. Your only hope if it is this pipe (and I don't think it is given the location) is to get a copy made up by a hydraulic pipe manufacturer like Pirtek.

Is this the one that comes directly from the HP pump, goes down the front of the engine then round the side of the gearbox to the rack, and the rubber part you mention goes between the engine and chassis?

If so, Pleaides can rebuild that pipe very easily. It's actually much easier than it seems, I'll go into it a bit more if that is the pipe you're on about. Seems to be that on the S2 changeover they reduced the rust protection massively on that particular pipe.

Buchan Loon · Unread post by **Buchan Loon** » 28 Aug 2011, 07:48

Thanks for the replies.

It starts at a junction on the N/S inner wing, crosses behind a few other pipes on the bulkhead, does the loop in the picture, then drops down and along the subframe under the steering rack somewhere. It's a job to see, let alone get access with tools up on ramps with my nose about 6" inches from everything. Maybe it's old age but I'm going to admit defeat and take it to my local indie

Buchan Loon · Unread post by **Buchan Loon** » 31 Aug 2011, 20:13

Not good news. Garage called yesterday before they even started to advise that several of the pipes were corroded and that disturbing them might cause further leaks. Asked them to repair the leaking section and see how it went. Got a call today that they'd managed to replace a section of the pipe but now it was leaking further back towards the rear. Bill is sitting at £130 and car still isnt driveable. They reckon it could take another £350 to do it properly.

So. A bill for £500 for a car that cost £450 a month ago. I really am in two minds. I've a soft spot for Xantias and I hate to scrap a car that otherwise is sound, but it's just not worth getting the garage to do it. My only other option is to take the car back and try and do it myself but I don't have a ramp/pit and the necessary tools for making the pipes. I also need a car asap as my wife needs something to get to work every day

Does anybody have a rough idea how much pipes are from Plaeides?

DickieG · Unread post by **DickieG** » 31 Aug 2011, 20:52

The other option is see if there are any Xantia's being broken locally or even on this forum, good luck with this, a real bummer for you

Buchan Loon · Unread post by **Buchan Loon** » 01 Sep 2011, 09:13

Problem is a breaker could be just as bad

I know the garage isn't trying to rip me off, they have to factor in nipples shearing etc, and no garage is cheap for labour these days

Think I'm going to have a go myself, but it's worrying to think this could be the death knell for some cars as a lot of people won't have the resources to get the work done

john alexander · Unread post by **john alexander** » 08 Sep 2011, 22:54

Hi buy the flaring tool and pipe joiners from plaeides withsome pipe and do it yourself. It's not that hard.

Buchan Loon · Unread post by **Buchan Loon** » 09 Sep 2011, 08:52

Phoned Plaeides last week and unfortunately they don't sell the tools any more

I've invested in a couple of good flare nut spanners and I'm going to have a go this weekend. If it looks like I can make some headway I'll buy the pipes ready-made from Plaeides