Simon's new Xantia V6 and Leaf blog

[Mandrake]

Have you got one of these Simon?

Diagnostic interface connection between ear and vehicle.



Regards Neil

No, but I already know where the noise is coming from - the valve gear in the front bank, it's very obvious where the noise is coming from even without a stethoscope. And the hydraulic lifters are the only source of that kind of noise I can think of which could come and go within a few seconds.

Pretty sure it's a collapsed hydraulic lifter, but the question is "why", and why does it vary with engine speed and temperature. And what can be done about it, apart from changing the oil. (Which has helped in the past but never made the lifters fully quiet)

I'm thinking of using a slightly thicker oil when I change the oil this time - if the lifter has excessive leakage it is more likely to "deflate" with thinner oil than thicker oil. I'll need to check back in this blog thread to figure out what grade of oil I used last time but I think it was the thinner of the two oils recommended for this engine, so maybe time to try the slightly thicker variant.

[Mandrake]

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.

A long time since I've been to GSF

They have one listed:

https://www.gsfcarparts.com/422pc0280

There is no picture for the RH side arm but they have a picture for the left hand side one that looks correct. (Here is the matching left hand side: https://www.gsfcarparts.com/422pc0270 )

Haven't heard of DriveTec before so no idea if these are good or not? £98 is slightly more than I was hoping to pay but if the bushes are good quality and will last I'm OK with that.

Mr Auto have a variety of arms:

https://www.mister-auto.co.uk/suspensio ... ont%20Axle

Bolk, (£45) Frap, (£75) Quinten Hazel, (£78) Delphi, (£75) NK, (£68 or £184 ???) Mapco, (£47) SASIC, (£77) MOOG, (£67) A.B.S, (£51) Vaico, (£62) Febi Blisten, (£68) TRW, (£63) Monroe, (£91) Sidem, (£83) Lemforder (£109)

Too many to choose from. Help!!!!

The only brands I recognise are Delphi, Febi Blisten, TRW and Lemforder. I wonder which if any of this long list of contenders was the original OEM for the part when the car was made, as the originals have lasted a long time!

[mickthemaverick]

Only comment I can offer there Simon is that we used to use Quinten Hazell parts on the rally cars and found them pretty durable, and I have run Monroe shocks on many competition cars with no failures!!

[Mandrake]

Does anyone have the Citroen part number for the RIGHT HAND lower front suspension arm?

On Mr Auto there seems to be some confusion about left and right side arms because they list them as "drivers side" and "passenger side" but when I google some of the part numbers elsewhere it looks like that is based on LHD! So the only way to be sure would be to match it to the Citroen part number for the correct side.

I'm also a bit confused as to whether Mr Auto is functioning at the moment. The website has a notice saying that the website is down, yet I can navigate it, look up parts, put them in my basket for "dispatch tomorrow" etc...

They seem to have the largest selection of arms, and also have the oil and filter that I want to buy so it would be nice to get everything from one source. I've dropped them an email to see what's up, but I have a bad feeling (based on some trust pilot reviews, and also not seeing a message saying the site is down if I switch to French) that it is something Brexit related!

[RichardW]

352181 is listed as the RH wishbone for non Activa cars (3520C1 listed for LH)

If you're not pushed for time, then no harm in getting the arm off and having a go at getting the bushes out / off - once the old ones are off, then new ones will go on without too much difficulty.

The ticking noise might be an exhaust manifold leak? How easy is it to get the rocker cover off and check the clearances?

Usually a water leak from the scuttle runs into the fan and then straight into the passenger foot well via the blower - but it's not beyond possibility that it's overflowing on the driver's side somewhere, but your drive is pretty level side to side so seems unlikely...

[Mandrake]

352181 is listed as the RH wishbone for non Activa cars (3520C1 listed for LH)

Thanks Richard, I'll take a note of that number as I don't trust these websites to get their left and right right....

If you're not pushed for time, then no harm in getting the arm off and having a go at getting the bushes out / off - once the old ones are off, then new ones will go on without too much difficulty.

How would I remove the old bushes ? It's not something I've ever attempted... Hacksaw or disc cutter ? I still haven't got around to buying a grinder so a blunt hacksaw is all I could muster at the moment.

Would the new bushes go on with a small bench vice and a block hammer or would they need a press ?

Whether I went for an arm or bushes it looks like Mr Auto are out of action in the UK for a few weeks, as well as the notice on their website I've just spotted this on their UK ebay account:

This is unfortunate timing because I am off work all next week and was hoping to do an oil, oil filter, coolant, and air filter change next week and have a go at swapping the arm as well, but no luck! I've had a look elsewhere like carparts4less but nobody else seems to have everything Mr Auto has in one place or have the variety of arms available so I might have to wait until they're taking UK orders again.

If I buy a whole arm I want to make sure that the LH side is also available in the same brand because if the RH side is successful and fixes the knock there I think I'll replace the left hand one as well, at 23 years old the bushes must be on the way out there too...

The ticking noise might be an exhaust manifold leak? How easy is it to get the rocker cover off and check the clearances?

When you say exhaust manifold leak are you talking about an exhaust valve not closing properly or do you mean an actual external leak? I'm not sure how either would cause a loud ticking noise to be honest.

Usually a water leak from the scuttle runs into the fan and then straight into the passenger foot well via the blower - but it's not beyond possibility that it's overflowing on the driver's side somewhere, but your drive is pretty level side to side so seems unlikely...

The car actually parks with the front left wheel in a depression in the driveway near the garage, so the car leans slightly to the left. Despite this the carpet on the drivers wheel arch footwell was very wet!

I've had the doors and windows open on a couple of sunny weekends recently with all the mats out and the carpet actually feels dry now and the windows condensation free when parked over night. Not really sure how to track down a leak like this short of spraying a hose over the top of the car with the dashboard out!

[Zelandeth]

Ticking noises can be tricky sometimes.

This one for example is being caused by a split in the inlet manifold gasket.



No, I didn't see that one coming either and if you'd suggest an inlet manifold leak causing that noise I'd have looked at you funny.

My theory is that the tick you hear is the air being displaced when the injector fires being pushed out through the gap.

It's definitely the cause though as you can stop the noise by putting your finger over the affected area and the noise stops.

It's a shame the cam covers are such a pain to get off as it makes checking anything physically quite a pain. A friend used to have a Saab 900 with one stubbornly sticky hydraulic tappet, what eventually worked to free it up was running it for a few days on engine oil rated for diesels (they contain higher detergent concentrations than petrol engine oils). We figure it finally shifted whatever was causing the tappet to stick.

One thing I might do if it were my engine is to verify the oil pressure hot and cold just for peace of mind. If there's an oil circulation issue, the top end will usually be where evidence appears first as it's the last area oil gets to.

I imagine it's nothing more sinister than an admittedly annoying sticky hydraulic tappet, especially given the car doesn't see all that much use. It definitely sounds like that at least.

[bobins]

CarPartsInMotion on eBay have several of the RH wishbones in stock. FirstLine / Borg & Beck and also QH ones listed. Currently 15% off with a limited time voucher code: https://pages.ebay.co.uk/coupons/2021/ucqw8/index.html
Just under £43 for a QH one delivered https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-XANT ... 3844736365 though double-check to make sure that one's right.

I've used CarPartsInMotion loads of times with no problems.

[Skull]

My OSF bushes were purchased off EBay (unregistered seller now) Nov 2017 very cheap and were fitted using a small vice / socket and lube to press on, only low mileage use but the majority of miles are hard around town and have been OK ....now 15,000 miles old

NEW FEBI BILSTEIN OE QUALITY - FRONT - REAR - CONTROL ARM BUSH - 22273 (#352006647007)
Seller: premier-factors (unregistered)
£11.66
¤ºTOPº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºEBAYERº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºMANYº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºTHANKSº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºA+º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºA+º¤
NEW FIRST LINE - FRONT - CONTROL ARM / TRAILING ARM BUSH - FSK6040 (#391330256865)
Seller: premier-factors (unregistered)
£4.97

Drop links were done at the same time as I had to cut them off .....but have since been replaced

[Mandrake]

CarPartsInMotion on eBay have several of the RH wishbones in stock. FirstLine / Borg & Beck and also QH ones listed. Currently 15% off with a limited time voucher code: https://pages.ebay.co.uk/coupons/2021/ucqw8/index.html
Just under £43 for a QH one delivered https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CITROEN-XANT ... 3844736365 though double-check to make sure that one's right.

I've used CarPartsInMotion loads of times with no problems.

Good find bobbins.

The cross reference number matches the one Richard gave earlier, so I've ordered it and it should be here next Monday. The discount code didn't seem to work - it said the item wasn't eligible, however it was still only £50.45 all up so not too bad! Hopefully the bushes are of good quality. If the job goes well and the clonk/rattle is fixed I'll probably replace the left arm in a couple of months with the same brand so that they are both new and well matched. Even though the left one doesn't clonk metal to metal if the bushes are stuffed (and how couldn't they be at 23 years old) then it won't do anything good for handling or torque steering having one good side and one iffy side... having new bushes on both sides should restore tracking under braking/acceleration to how the car was when it was new.

[Gibbo2286]

Your tappet noise is probably due to sticky/clogged lifters, it was a common problem on some of the Vauxhall engines in the Cavaliers etc.
I'm not familiar with the Citroen V6 engine so cant't advise on the possibility of cleaning them but there's a video here of what I mean.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Re ... FORM=VIRE

[Mandrake]

Got a response back from mister-auto.co.uk as to why their website is inaccessible, and it's the same form response that other people on trust pilot have been reporting since January....

Dear Mr. -----------

Thank you for contacting us.

In regards to your query, please be advised that due to the pandemic transport restrictions and the Brexit agreement, we are not able to process any new orders or returns for the UK.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Once the restrictions are lifted and the regulations finalized, we would be able to process and prepare your new order.

We are already working to find solutions to bring you the best service again.

To get updated on when orders are possible, we kindly suggest to visit our website.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

If you require further assistance, we remain at your disposal.

Kind Regards

Mister-Auto Customer Service Team

They're based in Europe and are basically blaming Covid and Brexit and it looks like they've been unable or unwilling to sell to the UK for the last 4 months. A sign of things to come?

A shame because they are one of the best car parts suppliers I've used with a very wide range of parts. (Just look how many different suspension arms they had available - for a 23 year old car!)

I've got a suspension arm coming from ebay so I guess I'll fish around the other suppliers for oil/filter etc now.

[white exec]

It does sound like a UK problem. I often access their UK site for search purposes, and then place orders on their Spanish site for delivery here. Turnround has been uninterruptedly quick, even for stock not held in Spain.

There seem to be lots of instances of suppliers not now wanting to get involved with small/individual deliveries to and from the UK. Small, direct-to-customer packages can apparently attract a similar quantity of paperwork that a bulk shipment would. Govt trade advisers are now recommending that UK suppliers establish warehousing and distribution facilities outside the UK, so that bulk deliveries can be made to there, and from there to individual EU customers. In short, for the UK, Brexit has made the shipment of small orders complicated, slow and expensive, and many UK and Continental suppliers have just called it a day. All this was, of course, predicted, but denied.

[Mandrake]

So that's all the other items ordered and arriving some time next week.

Triple QX blue coolant and Shell Helix 10W-40 HX7 SS from Carparts4less, and a Bosch oil filter and air filter from opie oils.

I was originally going to get the oil from opie oils but carparts4less have £25 off the price of the exact same oil at the moment... (but conversely, I didn't like the look of the oil filters they had - no pictures and none of the part numbers matched up with the known good part number from my last oil filter, so I ordered the same Bosch filter as last time from opie oils)

I decided to try 10W-40 this time instead of 5W-40, so we'll see how that goes. It's also the first time I've used an oil other than Castrol in this car.

Weather will hopefully be OK next week while I'm off work so hopefully I can get these jobs done on the Xantia without being drawn off into too many other "projects" around the house...

Edit: Looks like I have inadvertently ordered a Diesel rated oil, but based on an earlier post about the hydraulic lifters and the extra detergent in a Diesel rated oil this may be beneficial? Can it be left in a Petrol engine for a full normal oil change cycle without problems? It won't cause harm to the catalytic converter? It was actually one of the recommended oils for the car on opie oils when I gave it the license plate of the car so I'm thinking I'm probably ok... ?

https://www.shell.co.uk/motorist/engine ... 0w-40.html

By the way Shell seem a little confused - it states its a fully synthetic oil on one part of the page and just below that says it is semi-synthetic!

[Mandrake]

It does sound like a UK problem. I often access their UK site for search purposes, and then place orders on their Spanish site for delivery here. Turnround has been uninterruptedly quick, even for stock not held in Spain.

There seem to be lots of instances of suppliers not now wanting to get involved with small/individual deliveries to and from the UK. Small, direct-to-customer packages can apparently attract a similar quantity of paperwork that a bulk shipment would. Govt trade advisers are now recommending that UK suppliers establish warehousing and distribution facilities outside the UK, so that bulk deliveries can be made to there, and from there to individual EU customers. In short, for the UK, Brexit has made the shipment of small orders complicated, slow and expensive, and many UK and Continental suppliers have just called it a day. All this was, of course, predicted, but denied.

I fear you're right Chris. I voted remain at the time and when the final countdown started last year I ordered a few things from the EU that would be more difficult and expensive to obtain post Brexit, including some hard to source in the UK speaker drivers from Germany!

If there is too much paperwork to be done and fees there will be many companies who will just throw up their hands and say "too hard", just like there are still many websites in the US which years later still block access to the EU (and UK!) over GDPR because they can't be arsed rewriting their sites to conform with GDPR regulations. (And I don't really blame them to be honest)

I think mister-auto will be back though as their ebay page is on hold but says they will be back on April 27th. So we'll see. In the meantime they've lost about £130 worth of total sales from me as they had all the different items I needed in one place.