My XM V6 ES9

[Citroening]

Excellent choice Chris with the C4 - what model did you go for in the end?

[Chris570]

nothing hugely exciting a 1.6 sx on an 06 plate. It did come at a very good price though

If anyone knows of a cheap supply (lol) of glovebox lids for c4's let me know as this one has a broken one (seems to be a hugely common fault)

[CitroJim]

Chris, any news on the XM?

Eager, as I expect we all are, to know

[Chris570]

Well they say a picture says a thousand words, so have 2000





The gearbox is off the old engine and now i need to strip it and build the new one up.....

The strut heads were total b*stards to say the least, the big nut on the top was easy enough to shift but for the life of me i could not get the piston to seperate from the head. Much WD was used to no avail, big rubber mallet onto wood with ever increasing violence was showing no results. So I VERY carefully (so as not to damage threads) got the lump hammer out and after some substantial force was given they both dropped. I'll be popping an e-mail off to a lovely man in the EU in a minute arranging collection of the strut heads so with any luck they'll be back either just before or just after the engine is back in.

[CitroJim]

Looking good Chris

[Dommo]

The strut heads were total b*stards to say the least, the big nut on the top was easy enough to shift but for the life of me i could not get the piston to seperate from the head. Much WD was used to no avail, big rubber mallet onto wood with ever increasing violence was showing no results. So I VERY carefully (so as not to damage threads) got the lump hammer out and after some substantial force was given they both dropped.

My technique for this is to wind the nut off until the top of the nut is just higher than the top of the strut and to smack it with a lump hammer, this should release the grip on the taper, then wind the nut fully off and light taps should knock the strut down, I use a long 1/2" socket wrench extension to tap the strut all the way down.

Great progress though, certainly more than I could manage!

[Citroenmad]

Wow, I had missed this and was slightly confused at the pictures of the engine coming out again. I bet that was annoying to say the least, I would have reached for the matches long before now!

I hope the rest of its rebuild goes to plan

[Chris570]

The strut heads were total b*stards to say the least, the big nut on the top was easy enough to shift but for the life of me i could not get the piston to seperate from the head. Much WD was used to no avail, big rubber mallet onto wood with ever increasing violence was showing no results. So I VERY carefully (so as not to damage threads) got the lump hammer out and after some substantial force was given they both dropped.

My technique for this is to wind the nut off until the top of the nut is just higher than the top of the strut and to smack it with a lump hammer, this should release the grip on the taper, then wind the nut fully off and light taps should knock the strut down, I use a long 1/2" socket wrench extension to tap the strut all the way down.

Great progress though, certainly more than I could manage!

that's exactly what I did but the force needed to get the strut moving was immense, a LOT more than i've needed on Xantia ones.

Cheers for the support, it's a lot more than i had planned on in all honesty and Chris, annoying doesnt' come close but needs must.

Oh, picked up the C4 for Jess last night, very nice car indeed she's very happy with it, it's also the first sprung car i've looked forward to driving for a long time

[Citroening]

Oh, picked up the C4 for Jess last night, very nice car indeed she's very happy with it, it's also the first sprung car i've looked forward to driving for a long time

I was pleasantly surprised too Chris - mine's running the 17" Alloys and although not up to Hydropneumatic standards, it's still a lovely smooth car. Very quiet too...

[Chris570]

Strut heads boxed and collection arranged.

Aiming still at a JULY (i must be mad) MOT, only really got 3 days to work on the car between now and then though....

So far the service i've had from the Lithuanian Strut guys has been A1 for anyone in a similar boat to myself pondering refurbishment.

I've got pics of the heads before boxing so you can see why they came off (before they had a chance to do it themselves)

[CitroJim]

i must be mad

No doubt about it Chris No madder than me though and by golly you'll be proud of her when all is done and dusted...

Good work and I'm full of admiration for how you've stuck with this project

I'd like to see the pictures of the tops before they go off on their European holiday

[CitroJim]

Chris, been meaning to say...

Change the title of this thread. She is NOT going to soon die. She is going to LIVE!!!

If you don't I will...

[Chris570]

Well an update a lot earlier than i wanted.
I had today off work to get the new engine sorted and hopefully in.
I've got as far as getting the inlet manifold off, wiring loom is off and spark plugs are out (oil drained from the rear bank) but while undoing the plugs i felt a twinge in my back. long story short i'm now in bed and its taken me 30 mins to limp there i can barely walk so car work is off now for at least today, i'm really hoping it doesnt take long to heal.

Bugger

[Chris570]

As promised here's some pics of the strut tops...

If you think you can see a split, you can.....

[DickieG]

Good luck with your back Chris, been there done that not nice at all