An omen of things to come...

[Rhothgar]

Hi all,

Thought I'd post up my tale of woe for mirth and merriment or consolation whichever is your bag!

Finally got aorund to putting the Series 2 (with the slipping clutch) on the road yesterday which I bought for £200 from James at Duxford Service Station.

The drive back in April went well and the clutch only slipped if in a high gear and you clogged it from 1800rpm Other than that, fantastic! Managed to get 50.2 mpg on the run home taking it reasonably steady but not eco-driving. As I drive gently anyway, the clutch is not likely to present a serious problem to me for a number of years I would guess. Still debating with Sylv whether we drive to Austria in it in winter without doing the clutch. Some of the mountains where we are might test it to destruction.

Well! Taxed it yesterday and I've done 10 miles. Back box sheared at about 8 miles so you can imagine my dismay of what might be in store for me.

[Chris570]

if this is a 110 HDi the clutch won't cause you a problem as long as you're not towing anything for along while yet, i did 4k on mine before it got changed and the friction plate looked about 50% worn, it's the springs that get stiff.

don't worry

[Peter.N.]

I would agree, I did something like 15,000 miles in an XM after the clutch started slipping by not letting it slip, it was still driving quite satisfactoraly whenI sold it. My 406 Hdi had a very high pedal when I bought it, 20,000 miles later it still has.

Peter

[Rhothgar]

Cool. All very positive then.

I have a noise when I action the steering. Seem to recall a conversation with Jim when I was buying it. Would that be an air leak on the return to the reservoir?

[Mandrake]

A small hiss from the steering when you turn the wheel, especially while stationary (thus putting a torque load on the tires) is perfectly normal. It's the sound of high pressure LHM rushing obediently through tiny orifices in the steering valve

(In other words, they all do it...)

[citroenxm]

Hey roger... nice one..

ill tell you something here now.. my hdi 110 will slip for a day or so.. ill let it slip a few times then all of a sudden it stops slipping and is perfect again... thats with a tuning box now.. last month she was slipping like oil on the road then stopped and hasnt done it since.. (now at 218k)

50.2mpg iscabout correct. mine miracesally has decided to start returning this sort of figure too..

enjoy it! im glad you saved her but unfortunally we lost a stunning exclusive in dorset last week to the S man... a real shame

[Rhothgar]

OH! My Series 1 doesn't do it.

It is all the time not just when it is stationery.

How can I enjoy the wonderfully smooth and quiet engine with that everytime I even slightly apply any pressure to the wheel?

It sounds like a BMW Mini steering. Irritating!

[Rhothgar]

S'pose I could move to the US!

[Peter.N.]

As you will have observed having a clutch that is prone to slip improves your fuel consumption drive it like that all the time and you will save lots of money.

Peter

[Rhothgar]

Cheers all.

Managed to extract 53mpg out of the S1 so will be aiming for a 60+ out of the S2 when I've accustomed to driving her a few miles. Quite funny. I put in 10.21 litres at Duxford and drove home as I think she was very close or even in reserve - can't recall now as that was April. I filled up the other day and put in 62.86 litres so I reckon I could have easily got back from Duxford. I assume that the S2 tank tanks 73 litres full to brimming as the S1 1.9TD does.

Paul. Did you see that nice looking XM on the bay the other week. 95k for only £650 or so. I should have bought it without looking but I was busy with accounts. Also, the clutch on my S1 slipped back in 2009 and I only got that changed last year. It went worse then got better. I basically revved it high a few times with clutch dipped on a long straight road doing about 50mph and literally slid my foot sideways off the clutch.

Chris570 mentions the springs getting stiff - I wonder if this helped to loosen them up a bit?

Also, I have previously looked at buying a Garmin with EcoRoute HD on but was reading a post on the forum about ELM 327 Bluetooth OBD2 reader and TORQUE App on Android. I was wondering if this is a better route. I will also investigate whether the Garmin app which is available on Android can be used with the ELM 327 unless someone else can try this on the forum?

There seems to be some confusion over the OBD2. Jim got irate about it on one post. Garmin site states OBDII became the standard in Europe in 1996 (which probably means it was passed as a standard which must be introduced into cars by a certain later date).

These ELM 327 - whilst they say they are only compatible with OBD2 also show the picture of the connector and states that if the connector looks like this then it is OBD2? Not sure that is fully correct either as Series 1 as a DLC connector and isn't OBD2.

Good job the new Xant is a 110 Hdi then!!! Perhaps soon to be 136?

[Chris570]

. Also, the clutch on my S1 slipped back in 2009 and I only got that changed last year. It went worse then got better. I basically revved it high a few times with clutch dipped on a long straight road doing about 50mph and literally slid my foot sideways off the clutch.

Chris570 mentions the springs getting stiff - I wonder if this helped to loosen them up a bit?

Funny you should mention that, i found that a bit of erm, clutch abuse would stop it slipping. It's only my theory that makes me think its the spring as when they wear they get heavier so my assumption is they prefer to 'rest' with less clamping force etc.