Simon's new Xantia V6 and Leaf blog

[mickthemaverick]

Quite correct Neil, motor traders do not become registered keepers of the vehicle so a V5 is not issued and hence traders are not included on number of previous owners. Thus the, I believe red, part of the V5 which you complete and send to the DVLA when selling to a motor trader. When I was trading the trade plates used to cost the equivalent annual fee of a car which. at the time was £240 PA. There are regulations about the use of the plates which most traders flout eg, you should display a plate on each end of the vehicle covering the vehicles normal plate. Plates must be mounted on the outside of the vehicle, not wedged on parcel shelves or dashboards. You cannot use trade plates to carry friends or family for personal reasons, or as a general means of transport for yourself.

[Gibbo2286]

Motor traders have to register all their stock vehicles on the MID at the MIB.
https://www.mib.org.uk/

Ps. As Mick said you cannot use trade plates for private social domestic or pleasure use, you are also only allowed to carry one passenger who must be a potential buyer of the vehicle.

There is a saying in the trade re the police attitude to trade plates "Red on white stop on sight."

[CitroJim]

Thanks for the very comprehensive answer to my questions on timed climate, how the EV heaters work and why such luxuries can't be enjoyed by ICE cars owners...

Most enjoyed and appreciated

[Skull]

ITV4 9pm On The Road Leaf 5 minute feature about 40 minutes in ...

[mickthemaverick]

ITV4 9pm On The Road Leaf 5 minute feature about 40 minutes in ...

That was 8pm here, 9pm on ITV4+1
Greatest Car in the World 9pm on Quest

[Skull]

Sorry Mick I should really put my clock back

[Mandrake]

With winter coming to an end the Xantia is coming out of hibernation and unfortunately it has a number of matters that need attending to! I'm going to separate these into their own posts...

The first issue I noticed was very loud tapping from the rocker cover area of the front bank of the engine - which goes away when the engine revs are held high and then returns. Here is a video I took of the noise:



If you listen right to the end of the video you can hear that the noise gradually returns after going back to idle.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? The engine in this car has suffered from intermittently noisy hydraulic lifters in the time I've had it - at least that's what I think it probably is. Changing the oil/filter does seem to help somewhat but it never completely eliminates the noise which is more prominent when the engine is hot presumably due to the oil being thinner.

This video was taken several weeks ago when the car hadn't been started for more than a month and it does seem a bit quieter now that the car has had a little use, but it's still intermittently a little noisy.

The oil/filter change is overdue in time (about a year overdue) but not in miles as the car has only done maybe 4000 miles since the last oil/filter change due to both the lockdowns and doing most driving in the Leaf.

[Mandrake]

Problem number two which has been festering for a while but has recently come to a head is water leaks... or at least I think it's water leaks.

Many years ago the heater matrix had a slight weep that used to give the typical curry smell when the heater was on and I used Forte Stop Leak on it, and as far as I know that has stopped the leak, however the car has continued to have problems with condensation on the inside of the windows, mainly the windscreen and rear window.

If the car hasn't been used for a few weeks it was always a bit of a chore to get the condensation off the inside of the windscreen etc especially in cold weather... I had sort of assumed that there might still be a slight leak in the heater matrix but recent events have convinced me that I have a rain water leak - and a fairly bad one.

About a month ago when the video in the previous post was taken the car had not been driven at all for over a month and we had a couple of days of very heavy rain. When I went into the car the following day I noticed there was a small amount of water pooled on the drivers rubber mat (about a tablespoon worth) and there were many drips of water resting on the top of the brake pedal...

As I say, the car hadn't been touched for nearly a month and that water wasn't there last time the car was used. When I pulled all the rubber mats and carpet mats out I found the carpets on both passenger and drivers side wet. In particular I noticed that the carpet going up to the right of the accelerator against the wheel arch was very wet, and still is despite a couple of days airing the car in the sun with the windows open.

From what I understand a leaking heater matrix would only ever cause the passenger carpet to be wet, not the drivers side? And not up high on the inside of the wheel arch area of the floor? That seems like there must be water leaking in behind the dashboard as it had dripped onto the brake pedal as well as wetting the carpet up high well above where it would pool.

On inspecting the plastic strip at the bottom of the windscreen it's in pretty terrible shape. It's always had one large crack near the middle right through to the bottom of the strip which has never seemed to cause a problem, but in the last year or so it seems to have developed loads of micro cracks that are really obvious now that I inspect it. See the following photos:

So a few questions:

1) Does the fact that the drivers side carpet is also wet, even up high beside the wheel arch and water drops were found on the brake pedal rule out a leaky heater matrix as the cause? There is a LOT of water in the carpet I suspect, yet the coolant level never goes down - I literally have not needed to top it up in two years, and the car isn't driven much anyway. (So doesn't spend much time with a pressurised coolant system)

2) Would the cracking shown on the strips in the photos be enough to explain a rain water leak behind the dashboard down into the carpets or is it aesthetic only - I've never had that strip off before so I don't know whether it's for looks or whether it plays a role in keeping the window water tight. (Or is that done by a bond on the under side of the glass ?

3) If the strip could be causing the leak, are new strips still available, or would filling the cracks with some black silicone do the job as a quick (albeit ugly) bodge to put a stop to water leaks?

4) If the strip doesn't explain the water leak, where else could it be leaking?

[NewcastleFalcon]

Your video is tagged as private Simon so on my equipment anyway you can't access it. Probably the same for others.

REgards Neil

[Mandrake]

Item 3 on the agenda is the front right lower wishbone arm bushes.

Ever since I've had the car it has had a clonk from the front right suspension that has gradually got worse - and it is pretty bad now, usually when accelerating on a tight right steering lock like out of a T junction.

The lower ball joint, drop links etc have been replaced before to no avail so I'm pretty confident now that it must be the lower arm bushes and it's time to do something about it.

I don't have the tools to replace the bushes myself so I'd rather just go the replacement arm route - has anyone bought a replacement arm with bushes included that they have been satisfied with and which has lasted well ? I'm aware that some of the cheaper arms that are available don't have long lasting bushes, but I'm willing to pay a little more to get an arm with known good bushes.

If I swap the arm with bushes included what tools do I need to do the job and how difficult is it likely to be? I'm not in a hurry to finish the job in the same day so if I can't get it completed the same day it's not a problem as I drive the Leaf most of the time anyway.

[Mandrake]

Your video is tagged as private Simon so on my equipment anyway you can't access it. Probably the same for others.

Thanks Neil - I had changed it to public and hit Done, but failed to notice there was an additional save button that needed pressing!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Have you got one of these Simon?

Diagnostic interface connection between ear and vehicle.



Regards Neil

[Hell Razor5543]

In the past I have used GSF for a fully 'bushed' wishbone, but we are talking several years ago and for an HDi engine, not the V6.

[harryp]

Hi Simon,
Is not the clonk

when accelerating on a tight right steering lock

not the classic sign of a duff CV joint?
Cheers, Harry.

[Mandrake]

Hi Simon,
Is not the clonk

when accelerating on a tight right steering lock

not the classic sign of a duff CV joint?
Cheers, Harry.

Nah, it's not the CV joint. I've had enough of them fail over the years to recognise it. A failed CV joint will make a continuous clicking noise if you accelerate on full lock.

This is a clonk/rattle, and usually happens if I accelerate on a lock and hit a pothole, or if traction is low and the wheel scrabbles to get grip I will get multiple clonks like a rattle which I can feel on the steering wheel - I believe the acceleration on the lock is pulling against a faulty bush in the arm knocking it back and forth metal to metal.