Elmas Xantia V6 and Musical Stuff

[lexi]

They are Ok for DD......as long as you keep out of town. They guzzle in town as most big engine autos do.
Otherwise they are super little pocket rockets, if a little bit attention seeking with leaks. Every Cit fan should try one I think.

[CitroJim]

I don't need any more citroens to fix )

Same here now.... Except I have a Pug to fix too

[elma]

I'm very excited and nervous. I'll be picking the car up on the 26th having not actually seen it yet.

Today I've actually been arranging the welding. My work have bought an expensive new mig welder but unfortunately it's rubbish. Therefore I'm going to hire an esab mig but do it at work so I've access to the air tools to finish it off nicely. I'll practise a fair bit on scrap as I've not wielded a mig in a while.

Insurance ended up being £400 fully comp which I don't think is too bad. Most quotes ranged 500-800 with a few silly high ones too.

I'm not terribly worried about fuel economy, my driving is mostly 50-70mph and steady. I hope to see the upper end at 30mpg which isn't bad compared to the Scenics 35mpg with a slowish 1.6.

Whatever happens it's good to be getting back behind the wheel of a Xantia. They're definitely my favourite car I've owned and I never dreamt I'd get off of diesels and into a V6.

[myglaren]

The car is listed as using Total Quartz 5w40 fully synthetic oil. The price in the link is good if I buy 2 bottles it'll be £40 delivered with their extra 10% off offer. As the Scenic uses the same spec oil I think I'll go for that just to keep things simple.

Good prices there - had a look on GSF and they had no oil I would use and the Mobil 1 cost nearly as much as I paid for the car.

I generally get mine from a local car bits shop, mainly because he is a very nice, clever and interesting bloke but the shop is rarely open when I have the time to get there.
Looked at Mick's Garage out of curiosity and was pleasantly surprised.

Do check though about the oil, I think Quarz 9000 may be over spec and 5W40 a bit thin. Sure Jim and David H use 10W40 mineral.

[CitroJim]

Yes, that's good on insurance James.

Yes, 10W/40 is perfect for a V6... I always used it - same stuff as I use in all my Xantias - 10W/40 diesel fleet oil from Costco... Good on performance and good on price...

No point in spending lots on a fancy oil...

Never worry about using diesel oil in a petrol.. The main difference is it has more detergents in it...

James, I know exactly what you mean about being back in a Xantia... The reason I'm so happy with Gabriel...

[wurlycorner]

Doesn't diesel oil also have additives to neutralise sulphur?

[CitroJim]

Doesn't diesel oil also have additives to neutralise sulphur?

I've no idea but why would they want to do that as sulphur is a good lubricant....

Must look into it...

All I know is that running diesel oil in petrol engines for a good while now does not seem to cause any issues I'm aware of...

[Mandrake]

They are Ok for DD......as long as you keep out of town. They guzzle in town as most big engine autos do.
Otherwise they are super little pocket rockets, if a little bit attention seeking with leaks. Every Cit fan should try one I think.

Are you referring to coolant leaks or LHM ?

I'd recommend any newly acquired Xantia V6 has its coolant expansion bottle (next to the LHM tank) replaced if there is any coolant loss or the slightest sign of staining around the seam of the bottle - they just don't last!

My current V6 had the bottle replaced 3 times before 65k miles for leaking and needed to be done again when I bought it. My old V6 needed it replaced as well. About 20k seems to be typical life span before the seam springs a leak. Definitely a weak point on the V6.

The bottles are still available new for about £35 from Citroen (so is the cap for another £5 or so) so even if it looks OK and isn't leaking right now I would be inclined to buy one and put it safely away in case they go NFP because you WILL need one sooner or later...

[CitroJim]

The bottles are still available new for about £35 from Citroen (so is the cap for another £5 or so) so even if it looks OK and isn't leaking right now I would be inclined to buy one and put it safely away in case they go NFP because you WILL need one sooner or later...

I'd be tempted to get a stock of them in whilst you still can; not just one...

[Mandrake]

I'd be tempted to get a stock of them in whilst you still can; not just one...

Don't be hoarding them all Jim - you might cause it to go NFP for the rest of us!

On the other hand, if there is a steady demand for them maybe they will keep making them longer...

I wonder if they are still in production or whether they just have a massive stockpile that seem to sell well so they keep them in stock ??

[CitroJim]

I'm not hoarding them Simon I no longer have any V6-engined cars...

If I hoard anything soon it'll be 1.9TD stuff!

[lexi]

I'm not hoarding them Simon I no longer have any V6-engined cars...

If I hoard anything soon it'll be 1.9TD stuff!

I thought you had a...........

Ha Ha like me you are back with the donkeys! Comfort, mpg, and them tractor engines

[CitroJim]

I'm not hoarding them Simon I no longer have any V6-engined cars...

If I hoard anything soon it'll be 1.9TD stuff!

I thought you had a...........

Ha Ha like me you are back with the donkeys! Comfort, mpg, and them tractor engines

Oh yes, and loving it Lexi... I've really fallen head-over-heels with my 1.9TD

It's back to where I started for me...

[wurlycorner]

Doesn't diesel oil also have additives to neutralise sulphur?

I've no idea but why would they want to do that as sulphur is a good lubricant....

Corrosive in the presence of moisture

Doesn't come up in this article particularly, but some of the other key differences do;
http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Rea ... gine-oils-

[elma]

So finally I have brought the V6 home and I absolutely love it. I left on Saturday morning with a friend and the Scenic headed to Jims. Then travelled onto Norwich with Jim and Gabrielle to collect the V6. We some nice cars along the way including a Lotus Esprit, a White Honda Nsx and most of a Skyline.

Then at half past two we arrived and there was a fairly smart looking dark blue Xantia sat waiting for me. I didn't entirely know what I was buying but was very pleased with what I found. It drove back to Jims and then North Wales without any fuss at all.
Here's a dark picture of the cars together on the way home.

It took 18 hours in total to fetch the Xantia so I had a long sleep.

On Sunday I fancied giving it a little polish inside and taking it for another spin. I took the Dog to Snowdon and we went 2/3 of the way up the Miners Track. Didn't fancy going higher into the iciness as it gets dangerous without crampons. It meant driving Pen-y-Pass and surrounding roads though which was nice. I also bought new front wipers and an air filter. The air filter turned out to be unneeded, I found a brand new one already installed when I went to change it.

I did find this bit on the air filter housing that looks like it should have a hose, is anything missing? Just by the right side of the jubilee clip.


Driving the V6 makes me grin, it's like having a first car all over again. It's seemingly got a very good engine and box with all of the little problems not affecting the drive very much. Things that I've noticed so far are numerous, I'm trying to work out what must be done before next months Mot and then what order makes sense for everything else.

The 2 things that need attention which affect the drive most are the brakes which are a bit weak for a Xantia but probably good enough for an mot and the tracking. I think it's the tracking anyway, the steering wheels not straight when going straight and theres a little vibration over 50. Need to jack it up and check the suspension before forking out for tracking. I'd like the wheels rebalanced as well even if the vibration is something else because the weights are on the outside where they will damage the finish.

The welding will have to be done quickly as well, I'm making arrangements with work to do it one evening. Other than that it needs a general service, an Earth strap, coolant expansion bottle, paint on boot lid, 2 dash lights, the gear selector bulb, lots of seat buttons fixing, headliner gluing, maybe a matrix, and a few other bits. I'm wanting to make headway with the cooling system as well since it appears to be full of stop leak and there are crystals around the seam on the expansion bottle. I've not found the degassed tank yet but assume it'll be the same and I've smelt coolant slightly in the car a couple of times so assume a matrix is due. Oh it's due a cambelt as well.

All in all a wonderful car thats going to keep me quite busy for the next few months at least.