Xantia TD Fuel Consumption

[ecohouse1]

A bit gutted - my "new" ebay 1999 TD Xant - first refil at the pump and 38.9mpg!!! I mustly do rural A-road stuff. My Petrol Merc 190 1.8 does 33 mpg so not a big improvement over that!

Had been expecting 45-50, like I used to get on my BX TZD!!

I think the brakes might be sticking a bit, I notice they can be awkward to apply gently and when the car sits on a slight incline - it doesn't roll. Saying that it doesn't stink of overheated friction material after a run either!

The carhad sat a few months before I used it - Need to service the brakes but would it make that much of a difference?

Turbo pipes looked OK - can't hear any leaks and all jubee's seem tight

New Air Filter/Oil/diesel/thermostat/waterpump etc

Anything else worth me checking or is this standard consumption?

Cheers
Alan

[Xaccers]

With 4 adults, a large dog and a full large roofbox, doing a constant 55mph Cassy does 43mpg.
Best I've had out of a Xantia 1.9TD hatch was 53mpg with hypermilling.

[Chris570]

you've got to remember that the 1.9TD isn't that good, the HDi is what you want.

(just for Xac that comment )

you should be getting a bit better economy than that though, 45mpg was what i got from mine running on veg so check the usual suspects brakes, as you've suggested, find out which wheel it is, might be a sticky handbrake, mine had that. also tyre pressures

[RichardW]

I did well over 100k in TD Xantias, and the fuel 'economy' was pretty well 40 mpg average....

[Peter.N.]

Are you driving it like your Merc or are you keeping the revs down to 2000 or less? The 1.9 in the Xantia is working hard because of the weight of the car so you can't accelerate hard and get a good fuel consumption, I would have thought it would have done 40+ though. It certainly won't do as well as the BX because its a lot heavier, that was a complaint by many people when they replaced their BX with a Xantia. The 2.1 should be better because of its excellent low down torque permitting you to stay in a higher gear, and as mentioned the Hdi will be even better, I can get 60+ fom my 406 driven gently and 50+ from my 2.1 XM which is heavier.

Peter

[MPV]

39 mpg is not good. I used to get about that in a 2litre petrol automatic Xantia on long runs. Xac, your's sounds bad as well! My Synergie people carrier will do nearly 50 mpg if I'm running at a constant 55 mph, I've had 43 mpg out of it on the motorway cruising at 65. I've also driven knackered old 1.9 TD Xants with over 200K on the clock and got well above 40 mpg without driving for economy.

Ecohouse, if you're worried it's the brakes, then jack it up and give the wheels a spin and see what resistance you feel. Are their any flat spots in acceleration, or black smoke from the exhaust? Anything else unusual?

[ecohouse1]

Yes its a bit of a slug accelerating, pulling out onto fast roads is an exciting passtime!, ..... but seems to have bags of torque at around 50-70 in 5th. I have been driving it mostly at low revs using the torque. I found myself accidently speeding in it the other night as it effortlessly went up past 70 and it felt like 60 in the Merc!!

The Merc performed best at 3k revs + when the power band hit.

I will check the brakes this weekend and see if they are binding.They have loosened off a little bit in the few hundred miles I have done since buying it.

Not noticed black smoke but then again most driving has been in the dark!!!

[Xsarahdi]

I know it probably doen't help much but the 1.9TD engine in my 306 easily gets mid to high 50's (usually about 57ish) and I have had around 60-62 on many occasions. A 306 will weigh less though.

[andy5]

I haven't had a Xantia TD, but I'd compare to a BX TD which did mostly 45 mpg until I lost 5th gear, then 40 mpg, and a Xantia HDI which is about 50 mpg.

Given that the Xantia is heavier than the BX, and that they say the HDI is about 20% more efficient, if I had a Xantia TD I'd expect 40 to 42. The official overall figure seems to be 43.5, compared to 51.4 for HDI

[wotwot]

My xantia TD just turned over 200000 today whoopii doo.
And still gives me 40 miles plus to the very expensive gallon .
Mostly A and M roads at just short of 3000 rpm and 72 mph according to the satnav about 75 mph by the clock.
A recent oil/filter and diesel filter brought this figure up from 37mpg so well pleased.

[Xaccers]

Yes its a bit of a slug accelerating, pulling out onto fast roads is an exciting passtime!, ..... but seems to have bags of torque at around 50-70 in 5th. I have been driving it mostly at low revs using the torque. I found myself accidently speeding in it the other night as it effortlessly went up past 70 and it felt like 60 in the Merc!!

The Merc performed best at 3k revs + when the power band hit.

I will check the brakes this weekend and see if they are binding.They have loosened off a little bit in the few hundred miles I have done since buying it.

Not noticed black smoke but then again most driving has been in the dark!!!

When did it last have it's fuel, air and oil filters changed? If it's more than 6000 miles ago, change them and the oil ASAP
If your leak-off pipes between the injectors are firm, replace them.
Have you still got the dampner on the front of the fuel pump? It looks like a small suspension strut (sans spring) from the accelerator arm to the pump body, yank it off.
Replace the fuel line from the grenade primer to the filter housing, and from there to the pump itself with clear pipes so you can check for air.
Blow down the tank return line from the pump, if you can't, get an air line on it to ensure it's clear.
Lift up the back seat, pop out the fuel sender and give the mesh filter on the end a good clean (use cable ties on the end of the fuel lines to prevent them falling down the side of the tank out of reach.
Take the car for a good Italian tune up.

If that doesn't get back the proper Xantia acceleration:
Pop the dust cap off the UFO on the top of the pump, slacken the 15mm lock nut, use a T27 to turn the fun screw twice clockwise. Tighten up. Check that the pipe from the plastic induction pipe to the UFO is not split at all. Go for a test drive. Drive it hard. If your smile isn't big enough, turn the T27 once more clockwise.

[ecohouse1]

Thanks Xac. Yes Air/Fuel and Oil/Filter all done when I got it.

Will check the pipes for blockages/leaks etc.

Why have Citroen fitted the dampers, is it to stop the revs dropping quickly and giving a smoother deceleration?

What am I doing with the UFO adjustment? Is this allowing more fuel in and if so will this increase emmisions and the fuel consumption?

Thanks for your advice.

Cheers

Alan

[Xaccers]

Thanks Xac. Yes Air/Fuel and Oil/Filter all done when I got it.

Will check the pipes for blockages/leaks etc.

Why have Citroën fitted the dampers, is it to stop the revs dropping quickly and giving a smoother deceleration?

What am I doing with the UFO adjustment? Is this allowing more fuel in and if so will this increase emmisions and the fuel consumption?

Thanks for your advice.

Cheers

Alan

I believe the damper is to give smoother, slower acceleration, as it comes into play when the lever on the pump is pulled to the right (if memory serves), so removing it can give snappier response.

The fun screw in the UFO adjusts the on boost fueling, turning it clockwise increases it.
This should only come into play when you're boosting, so if you're chugging along at 55 it shouldn't make a difference to fuel, it certainly hasn't with Cassy.
If you find it has, then just turn it back the other way.

A couple of weekends ago, while Jim and I swapped her clutch, I also replaced her accelerator cable completely with a genuine one. They fray over time, normally in the plunger that fits to the side of the airbox, and I'd taken to using a cheaper bicycle gear cable gently pressed into the plastic clip on the pedal, that had eventually frayed (lasted a hell of a lot longer than the first replacement Citroen one did) so I'd shortened it quite a bit, hence the need for replacing the whole lot again.
Well, the Citroen cable is much thicker than the bicycle gear cable and the pedal feels like it's working through treacle, and where as before she'd fly with my foot just resting on the pedal on the floor, now I have to push hard, so I'm going to look at adjusting the cable or maybe dig out one of my spare bicycle gear cables and swap back to that. I'll let you know if that makes any difference.

[jmd]

I had 2 1.9 TDi xantias. Fuel consumption when I first got it was in the 30s till, till by accident I put in 20 ltrs of petrol (from near empty) then topped up with diesel + a pint of engine oil (felt it would lubricate the pump). From then onwards the car returned 50 plus. The cocktail seemed to clean the system and the injectors Had the car till 280,000 miles 7 years later it still starts.

[Peter.N.]

If these pumps work on the same principle of the old DPA pumps the damper is an anti stall device, it stops the throttle closing to quickly and momentarily shutting off the fuel which makes it stall of course.

Peter