Rattiva the Second...

[bxman]

what happened to the propane job Jim?

[CitroJim]

Of course, none of this is a bar to fixing that jet engine under the front wing

Thanks Richard. It was valuable to know your experiences. The difference is that in yours the heater matrix supply comes straight off the engine and the 'immersion heater' on yours is just south of the matrix so all heat it generates goes straight into the matrix. On the Eberspacher the matrix supply runs from the engine in metal pipes under the car to the heater under the wing and then all the way back to the matrix. All this pipery and the Eberspacher itself makes a lovely and effective heatsink

The good news is that due to toothache of biblical proportions (I have an abscess and need RCT ) and the need to do something to take my mind off the pain I set to and fixed the Eberspaher. I was [pleasantly suprised to note all the bumper and mudshield bolts released Ok and bar one rusty nut on the heater cradle itself, the job was OK. The rubber hoses were a trial though, They'd been on the heater spigots a long time. Once inside the unit, requiring two screws to be removed using an impact driver, the glowplug was found to be duff. On reassembling and testing I now have a working Eberspacher

I was not out of the woods though. The Erberspacher only ran for a minute or so and cut out on first test and on feeling the pipes, one was toasty and the other was freezing. An air lock. Despite what is said in some quarters, the matrix part of the cooling system can only be bled properly with a header tank. Once that was done the Eberspacher roared into life and ran until the engine was at normal temperature (80 degrees) and gracefully shut down - job done and it really did it really quickly too..

I now have piping hot water to the matrix but the hot air output is to my mind still a bit below par. Sadly, seeing quite a bit of scale in the cooling system I sadly suspect the matrix may be a little silted up Else that or the flaps aren't opening fully. Still, a lot better that it was...

The pain is back and I can now barely concentrate. I've had emergency treatment today at a cost of £85 and this has done a temporary job until the infection has cleared and I can commence root canal treatment. The hurt is there as bad as ever and I can't take any more pain killers for a couple of hours yet... Bonjela helps a bit though!

what happened to the propane job Jim?

It runs on diesel, not propane!!! As Richard indicated, when it runs it really does sound like a little jet engine roaring away under the wing. It's great fun!

[bxman]

Sorry to hear about the tooth Jim you have our sympathy.there are few thing to beat that.
I was not thinking of the Eberspacher boiler.
Back in the summer , You had a V6 with a LPG conversion I imagined you to be enjoying comfortable economical travel in that by now.
I only wish I had a fraction of your energy!
best wishes Patrick

[CitroJim]

Back in the summer , You had a V6 with a LPG conversion I imagined you to be enjoying comfortable economical travel in that by now.

Ahh, sorry Patrick... You mean the XM V6! For many reasons that one was re-homed to Chris570 who's really getting cracking on it. I presently have the gearbox in my workshop undergoing an overhaul...

The energy is all gone at the moment Patrick

[Chris570]

Back in the summer , You had a V6 with a LPG conversion I imagined you to be enjoying comfortable economical travel in that by now.

Ahh, sorry Patrick... You mean the XM V6! For many reasons that one was re-homed to Chris570 who's really getting cracking on it. I presently have the gearbox in my workshop undergoing an overhaul...

The energy is all gone at the moment Patrick

you guys have to be kidding, it was never going to be a quick job to bring her back to road-worthiness (although i have to confess we're coming on leaps and bounds now, thanks to some excellent help)

[lexi]

You got an Eberspacher? You old Tart...........Landy owners drool over them things and they cost plenty.
Sympathies with the teeth.

[CitroJim]

You got an Eberspacher? You old Tart............

Yep, and I was jolly glad I did this morning Lexi..

First time it's worked in anger and I love it Car covered in frost. Start up, wait a minute or two and the Eberspacher fires up with a low whine followed by a roar..

I pottered around in the kitchen whilst the ice melted on the car and could hear the Eberspacher roaring away quite easily. The description of them sounding like a little jet engine really is spot-on. It's not loud in a loud sense but definitely noticeable...

Having a working Eberspacher certainly makes living with an HDi in the winter a more pleasant experience...

[Chris570]

g!t

minus 3 @5am this morning, was not impressed.

[Dommo]

g!t

minus 3 @5am this morning, was not impressed.

Your HDi should also have either that or a glow plug setup on the heater matrix inlet pipe. The plugs are often knackered though!

[Chris570]

i have the jet engine, it just doesnt work, its not the glowplug as i've changed it, its the fan

[HDI Dave]

Glad you're liking the old HDI Jim

Touch wood I've not had to even touch mine really for what seems like yonks! In fact last time I spent time on her she just got a bit of tit ivation (for mal ) when I chucked some paint on her bumper corners, rear quarterpanel and door shuts/jambs.. Impressed with the mettallic paint straight out of a cheap factor can (CarPlan RED-11 pearl )

Seriously chuffed with mine at the mo,no reason at all to change her, so I've just chucked 200+ hard earned for the pleasure of using our wonderfully maintained off road tracks, sorry, roads

Still got to do me sidelight but to the mrs, a week off = a list of house diy

You got an Eberspacher? You old Tart............

Yep, and I was jolly glad I did this morning Lexi..

First time it's worked in anger and I love it Car covered in frost. Start up, wait a minute or two and the Eberspacher fires up with a low whine followed by a roar..

Having a working Eberspacher certainly makes living with an HDi in the winter a more pleasant experience...

What is all this malarky y'all banging on about? Got a pic?
Not sure what my heater setup is,(Xant 110 HDI S2 '99 T reg), but she's warm within a couple of miles and well toasty inside within 5
Runs around 85 - 90 deg iirc and she seems happy as Larry,so I am too

[CitroJim]

g!t

minus 3 @5am this morning, was not impressed.

Stop it Chris! You know I'm working on a plan to get yours functional

Dave,

Yes I do like the HDi very much

The Eberspacher is an auxiliary diesel fired water heater fitted to late Exclusives with the full winter pack. It sits under the nearside wing and is plumbed into the heater matrix circuit...

Here's a couple of pictures courtesy of DickieG..

Installed under wing...



And the heater itself...



If you imaged an oil-fired central heating boiler in miniature then you're not far off... It delivers 3KW of heat...

Without some form of auxiliary hater the HDi takes an age to warm up...



Yours has most likely got the electric auxiliary heater.. Look for an alloy block in the heater matrix hose with four big glowplugs in it... It does the same job as the Eberspacher and gives getting on for 800W of heat

[HDI Dave]

Ahh,right, I get you now Jim,
Can see how it would sound like a little jet now!

Looks like a serious bit of kit,ok for people in Sve den or summat

Touch wood mine has a nice quick warm setup, even at - degrees on frosty mornings
I imagine as you say I'll have the leccy jobbie..I'll investigate!

Happy HDi ing

Dave.

[lexi]

These two different systems? Where does the showerhead unit come in?........like my last one.

[CitroJim]

These two different systems? Where does the showerhead unit come in?........like my last one.

Only available on the estate lexi or see Aerodymanica (Graeme)...

We all know the HDi is one cool engine in more ways than one but this one's just too cool for my liking...

It has come to pass that Rattiva's heater is incapable of delivering anything but tepid air at the best of times. For a while I could write this off to perhaps an airlock in the heater matrix and short trips where it's well known the HDi barely warms up. Certainly I've been 6 or 7 miles without the thermostat opening...

I could also accept the heater was poor because the Eberspacher was not working. It is now and the heater is still rubbish.

That said, I know the thermostat is good and I know there is piping hot water flowing through the matrix. I can feel it, especially when the Eberspacher is running - the matrix pipes are beautifully toasty but still the air that exits the heater is far from...

Today I pondered if the heater matrix was blocked. This notion was reinforced by seeing a bit of crud and scale in the expansion tank so I back-flushed it with a hose and temporary matrix connectors. No blockage there. The matrix happily ran full-bore at mains water pressure... I even descaled it with some Oust kettle descaler... Guess what, not a jot of difference

The heater matrix elbow separated surprisingly easily and then I noted the matrix gland plate screws were missing... Someone's been there before me!!!

It transpires that the matrix has been replaced in the not too distant and was done with a erm, lack of erm, skill. This may account for the heater mixer flap drive being broken meaning that the temperature has to be adjusted between bloody freezing and luke-warm manually by reaching under the heater and moving the flap lever. That I can stand but I would like hot air after all that effort.

So, that's why I have a request in for a replacement heater box. I am now forced to the conclusion that there's something dodgy inside the heater box and the dash will need to come out to sort it I'm not doing that until I have a replacement 'box on hand.

I've never seen inside a Xantia heater box so have no clue at what goes on inside there with all the flaps. I'm wondering if it is something as simple as the last person in there left a rag stuffed up a duct but it's a heck of an effort to see...

At least I know the heater matrix elbow comes apart nice and easily so it's not all bad