a few Xsara questions

[dei9]

Hi all,

I've finally got my Xsara Hdi 110 Auto LX.

A few niggles, nothing major I don't think. The front drivers seat's height can be adjusted, you pull the telescopic handle thing out and pull the lever back anti clockwise, it goes up, however it doesn't stay up, the mechanism seems worn down or weak, all I have to do is accelerate hard to or push back and down with my ass and it's goes back down and backwards. Are there any easy fixes, other than to jam it in place somehow.

Are there any common issues with the exhaust? There's some rattle somewhere from mine, not sure if it's the baffles inside one of the boxes or it's just loose somewhere. I will of course look myself or take it somewhere for replacing whatever it is that's loose or broken, but any common issues or quick fixes?

As I mentioned before the auto box is fine. But I will be doing an autobox oil change next weekend. But I have three questions, does it HAVE to be level (the car) to be done, i.e I could jack it up, but this means the oil won't come out so well (I will replace however much comes out though). So my options are, jackup the nearside front corner or jack up the whole front. I would do the final level checking with the car on a level ground with the oil temprature at 62oC of course (seen the procedure in the technical docs). I am not sure if I can trust ANYONE else to do it to be honest.
As for the LT71141, is the Mobil stuff the same as the Esso stuff? Was is 3 or two litres that comes out? A week or so apart? I will be checking it over on a Lexia tomorrow, so that'll be interesting, I might just reset the oil age now before I get lumbered with limp mode (I know i'll be getting the oil done anyway).
Oh could I suck the oil out with a relevant device?

Finally, is it still safe to jet wash (or steam clean) an engine bay in this day and age? My car is covered with dust and dirt, but it's clean other wise. It goes really well. It has a surprisingly solid feel to it. Stops well and accelerates smoothly and quickly with no drama whatsoever. My Xantia is a nippy car and has a great engine, but this one, it's a different beast altogether.

Advise and discussion would be much appreciated as always.

Cheers, D

[dei9]

No one? If only a solution to the drivers seat height not locking, that's quite annoying!

[chinkostu]

The seat is a common issue, if you take off the trim you should see two bolts under the adjuster, they work loose!

[dei9]

OK, thanks, I'll have a play tomorrow. I found a loose screw today, so maybe that got loose.