Citroen Xantia 1.9 td pressurising

Xfactor1012003 · Post by **Xfactor1012003** » 07 Jun 2004, 18:46

Hi all
Can some opne give me some help.
I got a 5 year old citroen xantia 1.9 td facelift. I have had a lot of probs recently and spent a lot of money on it.
The car was losing a lot of water which resluted in the head gasket apparently going. this also cause a lot of pressure in the cooling system. i had the head skimmed and new gasket and run the car but still a lot of pressure in system the rad went. then and i needed a new lower rad pipe from citroen which took 6 weeks as they had a computer cock up. I have a similar problem. you can hear the pressure being released from the pressure cab and is using a bit of water again but not as much as it was b4. is it the head gasket or would it suggest the head maybe cracked there for lots of money. Any help greatly appreciated.

gjb02 · Post by **gjb02** » 07 Jun 2004, 19:11

Possibility of there being an airlock in the cooling system. Read through the forum and you should find a bit of info on bleeding the air.
May be the head itself. Was it pressure checked when it was skimmed?
If the head is cracked it could be sucking and blowing from/into the water jacket. Any steam in the exhaust? Mayo in the oil filler?
The head gasket may have been fitted incorrectly, not torqued down properly, old gasket not cleaned off, etc.
Hope this is of help.[:)]

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 07 Jun 2004, 19:54

Most sure way testing for a hg leak :
With cold engine, remove coolant filler cap. Then start engine, let it run idle, and observe if any air bubbles constanly is seen from the coolant. It will be worse if you rev the engine.
Bigger jobs requiring draining/refilling of the cooling system often imposes problems with airlocks :
With cold engine, check engine oil level (!), top up the coolant.
Park the car nose up, let it idle up to normal engine temp, air will escape up the fillerneck.

Xfactor1012003 · Post by **Xfactor1012003** » 07 Jun 2004, 21:21

I have bled the system when i refilled it. by removing the two bleed screw one on top of engine and one where the heater matrix is i bled it till not bubbles were visible and screwed the bleed screws back again.
I had a header tank like it says in the haynes manual and while idling there was continuous bubbles as it heated up and it never stopped it was idling for about an hour and i revved it and the bubbles came out more. my water is going down i have put a litre of water in it today. it was not pressure tested when i had head done but i know now it should have been. No mayo in the oil and not really see if there is any vapour from the exhaust.
Hope this gives more info

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 07 Jun 2004, 21:37

Drat [:(]
Back to the garage with a claim. You've payed for a problem to be corrected, which it is not.
Could be RAC time for legal help on warranty claims [8)]

Xfactor1012003 · Post by **Xfactor1012003** » 08 Jun 2004, 13:49

Hi again all
another question anyone know where i can get a replacement head if needed i would prefer a complete head as would save me on labour costs.
Any help appreciated

ohms69 · Post by **ohms69** » 08 Jun 2004, 15:17

Had a similar issue with bleeding the coolant system and found the best way was quite simply to oped the bleed screw, put my lips to the header tank and BLOW like thunder. Forces the water to push all of the trapped air out, and hey presto one bled coolant system. Takes 5 minutes as well, which is useful!![8D]

bernie · Post by **bernie** » 08 Jun 2004, 16:23

I know you love your Citroen ohms69 but living up to your name[}:)][;)][;)]

zorgman · Post by **zorgman** » 10 Jun 2004, 05:57

did u get the head crack tested its a must for the heads
if the job was done at a garage take it back they have got to fix it free of charge as youve paid for car to be fixed and its not fixed.
even if you get a second hand head still get it cracked tested and skimmed and use new bolts with a "metalflex" head gasket of the right thickness