New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

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oldskool.andy
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New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by oldskool.andy »

Hi All,

Just picked up a new to me Xantia Td to pop to work in and use as a general work horse. So far all seems well apart from a few niggles but will sort them over time.

Got a few queries that I hope you can help me on...

Tyres - Currently I am on standard 15" Steels running the standard 185 65 15 sized tyres. Am I able to change to 195 65 15's ? mainly as they are a more common size and you can get a better deal on them. are there any downsides or safety issues in doing so?

Oil - Will be doing frequent changes myself, I do a fair few short journeys and I am thinking of going for a 5w40 fully synthetic oil, would this be ok or am I totally wrong?

Heating issue - OK, this is the biggest issue I have, I cannot change the flow of air from the windscreen say to the vents etc, if I put the fan on full then I get a little heat on the windscreen but thats about it. At the moment it feels like none of the flaps are open!

My question is how the hell do I fix it? I have a feeling the cable may have come off that adjusts the air flow but other than that have no idea!

Many thanks for all your help.
Andy
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by melkig »

oldskool.andy wrote:
Tyres - Currently I am on standard 15" Steels running the standard 185 65 15 sized tyres. Am I able to change to 195 65 15's ? mainly as they are a more common size and you can get a better deal on them. are there any downsides or safety issues in doing so?

Oil - Will be doing frequent changes myself, I do a fair few short journeys and I am thinking of going for a 5w40 fully synthetic oil, would this be ok or am I totally wrong?
I'm on 195/65/15 tyres/wheels (straight swop from a Xsara) and don't have an issue. Speedo reading is 2.1% high but as they generally read over anyway, that's not a problem. To get the same diameter then the best option is 195/60/15 but not sure how much they are compared to the 65 ratio tyres. 195 wide tyres *should* fit on your existing rims but others may have better knowledge.
http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/equ ... dvice.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As for Oil, I'd stick with the recomended 10w40, 5w40 is too thin really. I actually go with bog standard 10w40 mineral oil but change each 2000miles partly because I'm running on WVO.

As above, others will probably have more knowledge than me


This might help with the vents:-
http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... =3&t=10563" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

There may be an issue with running the wrong size tyres on your Xantia. IIRC insurance might be a problem if you are running a car with non-standard equipment.
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by Old-Guy »

Welcome to the forum. Your Xantia is what is generally referred to as an S1 - important as there were significant changes from 98 on (S2 identifiable from one-piece bonnet with grill)

Oil: Stick to the correct grade. You're throwing money away using anything better than that specified by Citroen if you're doing more frequent changes (very wise). I use semi-synthetic because I can get it more cheaply than mineral.

Heater: As I read your post, there's no mighty blast of air anywhere with the blower on full. On full speed, the blower should be really loud - if it isn't, then there's a problem with the blower speed control (or it doesn't work - see S1 blower mod). If it's a matter of not being able to direct the air flow, then something inside the air direction control has broken or a link has detached - may be better to post a specific question in this case.

[Edit] On tyres, my understanding is that if the car manufacturer offered or the handbook lists wider section tyres/wheels on the same model (i.e an 'up-spec.' variant) then there should be an insurance problem. If you fit a wheel/tyre size combination that was only available on a more powerful version (e.g. Xantia V6) then you should notify your insurer. If you fit a wheel/tyre combination that wasn't ever specified, your insurer may not like the modification and you would be in deep s**t if you had an accident.
Last edited by Old-Guy on 20 Feb 2013, 15:31, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by melkig »

Hell Razor5543 wrote:There may be an issue with running the wrong size tyres on your Xantia. IIRC insurance might be a problem if you are running a car with non-standard equipment.
This is true and I should have mentioned it. I did tell my insurance company and as the difference was only 2.1%, it was not an issue.

Their criteria was that the speed rating and load rating should be current, the tyres are not too big for the rims & the difference in diameter is less than 3%.
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by Xaccers »

The bicycle brake cable type controls for the flaps get kinked, normally by someone moving them with the blower on full blast (its bloomin powerful).
Quite often they kink at the control module end, so you may be able to pull out the radio, lift off the top of the control module, release the kinked cable, twist it a bit to tighten it up and refit it the other way around so it kinks to the left refit it with the kink on its right, hopefully that will make more sense when you look at it.
Otherwise live with it until you need to have the dash out to replace the heater matrix and replace the cables too.
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Post by Eddie Nuff »

I ran a 95N 1.9TD for nearly 10 years, all the way up to 292k miles before the car dropped to pieces around the engine, and I only ever used 10w40 oil. Nothing fancy neither, just regular changes flushing the old oil out each time with a drop of diesel.

Always ran 195/65/15 tyres, no problems with fitting.

If you cannot change the flow of air from the windscreen to the vents then either a cable has come off the selector or a cog is stuck. Remove the strip around the centre dash and then remove the screws holding the heater panel in (probably torx screws). Then pull the panel out and slide the selectors up and down. Any loose cable will be obvious. Spray the lot quite liberally with WD40. Worked for me more than once :roll:
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by oldskool.andy »

Hi All,

Many thanks for all your help and advice.

I have been getting used to all its niggles and quirks over the last few weeks and I am still happy with the old girl :)

Anyhow, back to my initial questions....

Decided to stick with the stock tyre size when the time comes to change them over unless a nice set of alloys comes my way!

I am thinking of using Total's OE spec 10w40, seems like there is no bad reports on here over the use of it?

Finally, just to clarify on the heater issue - The blower works fine, so will need to strip down the dash at some point but even with little air flow over the windscreen it still demists ok.

Once again many thanks
Andy
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

It could be worth calling into your local Asda (large branch). I have seen them selling Castrol oil for £20 - £35 for 4l depending on the type of oil (normal, GTX, and Magnatec).
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by Harlequin »

^^ actually every few months or so they have a sepcial on castrol GTX 10w40 semi - 4l for £12!
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Re: New Owner... 97 Xantia 1.9Td... Few questions

Post by Xaccers »

oldskool.andy wrote: Finally, just to clarify on the heater issue - The blower works fine, so will need to strip down the dash at some point but even with little air flow over the windscreen it still demists ok.

Once again many thanks
Andy
Remember, if you're taking the dash out, do the heater matrix at the same time! :)
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Post by Eddie Nuff »

Xac wrote:
oldskool.andy wrote: Finally, just to clarify on the heater issue - The blower works fine, so will need to strip down the dash at some point but even with little air flow over the windscreen it still demists ok.
Remember, if you're taking the dash out, do the heater matrix at the same time! :)
No don't take the dash out . . . don't do the heater matrix . . . just don't!

(Got to have a lie down now, it brings back such bad memories :oops: )
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