Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 206!!

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
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CitroJim
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... Brake bits, spheres & coolant leak to do before MoT...

Unread post by CitroJim »

ekjdm14 wrote:does that sound like the junction is damaged to you Jim?


It does as the leak gets a little worse as pressure builds in the cooling system. Likely a hairline crack...

The same issue that afflicts the degassing tank on V6 engines...

You were lucky with those 206 tank strap nuts... I've seen them looking very crusty in the past and thus looking like a potential problem to undo...
Jim

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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... Brake bits, spheres & coolant leak to do before MoT...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

I don't know how lucky I was to be honest, the nuts did indeed look very crusty & not dissimilar to old exhaust clamps (or a chunk of tree bark for that matter!) but they actually came undone really well.

This little 206 has been good as regards fasteners undoing, very little in the way of corroded/seized bits anywhere on the car. One reason I reckon it's a keeper, it looks to have led an easy life.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
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CitroJim
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... Brake bits, spheres & coolant leak to do before MoT...

Unread post by CitroJim »

ekjdm14 wrote: This little 206 has been good as regards fasteners undoing, very little in the way of corroded/seized bits anywhere on the car. One reason I reckon it's a keeper, it looks to have led an easy life.


Ditto with my 207... It may be over 10 years old now but underneath it's pristine :)
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... She's watertight...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

So yesterday I set out to replace the discs/pads and trace the water leak, and ended up replacing the water pump! Lesson being, just because it feels and looks OK doesn't mean it will be...

Anyway, the only replacement I had to hand was the one from the dead engine. The surprise on removal though is that both pumps are original items ('94 and '95). However where the leaking '94 pump (150k) looks a little crusty and rust stained inside, the '95 one (97k) could pass for a new one. My feeling is that the leaker was damaged by corrosion from standing for years and ripped the seal up when I started the engine.

So now that's ok for the moment, I will keep an eye on it and consider another cam belt job with new pump and rollers in the near-ish future. For now though, it's onto the brakes and suspension with a view to having an MoT by next weekend.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
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CitroJim
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... She's watertight...

Unread post by CitroJim »

Excellent result :D Those water pumps enjoyed a long life!
Jim

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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... She's watertight...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Replaced the offside disc/pads earlier, ran out of time & energy to do the other side but if it's anything like the O/S it won't be too tough.

Also got the aux belt on properly and checked all the bolts etc to make sure everything's done up tight.

Yes Jim those pumps have done very well, will fit another genuine one if I can get one soon.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
ekjdm14
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... little niggles & MoT soon!

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

OK so being a little bit ill today have got hardly anything done, but did venture out to the Xantia a while ago to do a couple of bits inside the car. Firstly I pulled the stereo out as I was hoping to get a code from the serial number. This wasn't necessary though since someone has had the stereo out before, written the code on top of it & put it back with one screw. At least that was easily sorted & despite being a basic model 2030 it works well and sounds nice enough.

Also I had a quick look at the loose steering column cases/switchgear but I will need to remove the steering wheel to screw those back in properly & I don't feel up to that just now. So somebody has opened those up in the past too & not put it back correctly either... I wonder if that's when they did the relay mod, and if so, did they do it with twisted speaker wire and a bit of tape? :? :rofl2: One to check in the future that, although the fan blows OK for now.

So then, onto this-:

Copy/paste from my other post-:
Quick question on the workings of the height adjustment lever on a Xantia driver's seat (think it's largely the same on stuff like 405/406 and XM too).

Has anybody stripped/repaired the handle mechanism or could point me in the right direction with what I'm working on here. On the Black NA auto the driver's seat has always sprung upwards when empty, and sinks down again when you put weight on it, the handle moving from facing straight up to sitting level as the seat moves down.

I pulled the trim off the seat earlier to see what was going on and found the handle not attached properly and a couple of screws missing from the frame side so somebody has been here before (getting to be a common theme with this car!!! lol) and failed to sort whatever the issue is/was...

What I'm after is, from these pics am I missing any parts other than the 2 obvious screws? and are the parts in the correct order/right way round? (from the outside they were arranged handle/plastic spacer/metal piece).

Also, am I correct in thinking the adjuster should work on a friction-stop basis and the handle part should ratchet to allow the lever to "park" in the same position regardless of height setting? I ask since the only working example I have as yet encountered was in my 405 some 10 years ago and I seem to recall that's how it was but could be wrong...

Assuming I'm not missing anything other than the 2 screws, the only fault (if there is one) is that the ratchet mechanism in the lever/handle is jammed. This being the case, has anyone stripped this part down and either fixed it or found what goes wrong inside them?

Cheers all :) (pics to be added when they download!)

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'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... spheres done, booking MoT tomorrow :)

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Winter seems to have returned to us here in Cheshire and we awoke to snow on the ground this morning! Fortunately the weather brightened up towards the afternoon and I managed to complete the brake work and get the Xantia back on all fours. After tea I also popped out and changed those back spheres, as expected they were both ruptured and peed LHM everywhere, but at least they came undone easily.

Dangerously close to being booked in for an MoT now with just a rear wiper blade to borrow from the Escort, a hose join to make good and a general check over/Citerobics session to see her fit & on the way to the testing station. Hate to jinx it but I have fingers crossed for being on the road by the 1st of May...
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
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CitroJim
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... spheres done, booking MoT tomorrow :)

Unread post by CitroJim »

Excellent news :D A working rear wiper is not needed fort he MOT as far as I know :)
Jim

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ekjdm14
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... spheres done, booking MoT tomorrow :)

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Possibly not, and there's no wash function either but I had a suitable blade in "stock" so makes sense to have it on there seeing as the one fitted had no blade left at all!

Working windscreen washers though, are a requirement & just checked those to find the pipe had broken between bonnet & bulkhead. Probably due to my constant opening of the bonnet to the service position (well, I have to allow the P/O some credit somewhere, so will assume they worked when we got the car...). Screenwash smells nice & strong too so I'm inclined to think that is the case.

Just off for a quick brew and then will commence "operation road-prep" and give the garage a ring :D
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
ekjdm14
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... MoT test in the morning!!!

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Well she's as ready as I can make her at the moment, there's a rack gaiter that I found has a split but depending if the tester sees it I'll ask about letting them change it & any other little niggles. If they want a fortune I'll just do it myself, not planning to tax it till the next week anyway as I have no desire to pay 20 quid for the few days left this month!

As if to reward my efforts thus far, the sunroof just decided to show some signs of life while I was fiddling with the switch & for the half second or so I heard the motor run it sounded smooth and not crunchy so there may just be a bad connection behind that failure (think the roof has gone up a little from where it was stuck too)... Although I have my doubts, considering the reputation they have.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
ekjdm14
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... MoT snagging list...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Just got back from the MoT centre and we have a short list of bits before the certificate is issued.

Sods law kicked in just as we were setting off & the brake light switch died, firstly leaving the lights on and finally leaving them off after I had a quick wiggle of the wiring. So that, although disappointing, took the "pressure" off a bit in that I knew it'd fail & just had to see what else if anything was wrong. As an aside, it's a lot easier in an automatic to use the fog light switch as a makeshift brake light switch! :D

So on the to-do list we have the inop. brake lights to sort out, the rack gaiter and a dust boot on the nearside front drop-link to replace.

To further finish things off and to have no advisories I'd have to replace the front reg. plate, repair the exhaust tailpipe and sort the nearside door jamb rust. That though can stay on the advise list until next year as I'll get around to that in due course.

Not bad at all considering how the car came to us, and I'm a lot more confident that we'll be enjoying the ol' barge next month :)
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
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CitroJim
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... MoT snagging list...

Unread post by CitroJim »

That's a great result :) Which rack gaiter is it? One is easier than the other...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
ekjdm14
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... MoT snagging list...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Offside so no ram to faff with at least, I recall reading some horror stories over trying to get/make the gaiters stay on too but we shall see.

The old ZX came to the rescue with the dust cover from the drop link I removed way back, nice to feel that at least a tiny part of it is still around helping another Citroen carry on living :-D Brake light switch I'm unsure at the moment, it feels a bit strange so maybe there's a bit of dirt stuck in it but hopefully it can be sorted as the only other Xant locally in a breakers is manual I think so the switch would likely be different.

Retest looks like being either Saturday or Tuesday, either of which suits me since Tuesday is the first day we could tax the car anyway.

Very close now, and the drive to/from the test centre showed a very smooth quiet riding car that just soaks up the bumps especially at the back, so those new front spheres will be pressed into service to see if the front can be made as magical as the back.

Oh and one point I forgot to mention from the test was the emissions smoke test..... on a 150+k engine that has sat in a shed for years before being pressed back into service in a completely different car with a different gearbox, and running on a mix of 10 litres of diesel combined with the dregs of whatever vegetable oil the PO had been running on (enough left for the tester to ask if we wanted salt & vinegar!), being driven for a total of under 3 miles plus a lot of idling prior to the test....

The result was, and drum roll please..... fast pass at 0.17 (NA diesel limit being 1.50 for a fast pass)!

To say I'm pleased with that result would be a huge understatement, and once again a huge thank you to fastandfurryous David for supplying the engine that produced those figures
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD rolling shell, White, 81k
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Re: Re: Black Xantia NA Diesel auto... MoT snagging list...

Unread post by xantia_v6 »

On the Xantia brake light switch, the contacts are pressed by the plastic cover. If the contacts have got hot (through being dirty), the plastic pusher can melt, and then be too short to operate the switch. I have previously overcome this by fitting a very small wood screw into the end of the plastic pusher, to restore its length, and (as it won't melt) make a permanent repair.