Early SED - a new chapter

[CJS]

how much but more importantly where in the world!!!

Sorry, should have said. Twickenham, so easy access from end of M3 or M4, or M1 via north circ come to that. I have worked out the pipe pinhole on the way to the doseur is just where the pipes lay flat along the bulkhead after entering the scuttle area through the bulkhead, that is the mist is forward of the nearside wiper spindle. Feels like middle two pipes of four, laid flat on the rear of the bulkhead, have corroded. Even with suspension on low it is spraying a fine mist, which is contrary to my theory that going into high suspension blew the rear suspension return to the doseur. I vaguely remember when the pipe over the rear axle went that setting the suspension to low was enough to stop it p***ing out. Whether it is full pressure front or modulated rear feed to the doseur, I'm not going to repipe there which limits the ability to get the thing in the air without topping up the LHM tank. Ironic that it ran for over an hour without problem, but better that it failed with me rather than 3 seconds into someone else's enjoyment. Just makes loading more interesting.

It was only when I got the scuttle trim off that I realised how much gunk there was in there, which thankfully doesn't seem to have affected the body. I hadn't realised how the drain under the wiper motor mount gets blocked, it isn't just a case of keeping the end drain holes clear.

Chris

[citroenxm]

Easilly enough to change as you can just unscrew the 4 pipes at the through joins by the lhm tank inside the scuttle and unbolt the valve.. the whole lot lifts out as a complete assembly .. its easyer to swap rather then just an individual pipe..

strange actually for a pipe to blow in the scuttle.. they are useually kept out of any wet alltogether..

I must have about 5 assemblies..

[CJS]

I must have about 5 assemblies..

Wow. I wish I had your space and when we finally get out of London I intend to but in the short term I have to scale down. What I haven't mentioned yet is I've been with the mother of my child for years but we've kept separate homes and mine has been work & cars, her flat has been what non-Citroen owners call a normal home. My work has stopped us getting into one house, which happens in two weeks hence the space issue. Currently on ebay listing furniture.

Taking everything out as one makes more sense, but I'm still not convinced I want to do it before it leaves me. If it came out easily then no problem, but there is bound to be one stuck bolt/pipe. What might be better is I make up a blanking pipe and fit that with a fresh coupler to give suspension with brakes at the end that isn't affected, whichever end that is. Assuming I'm not breaking.

Still feels like I'm getting rid of something very dear to me. More time and more space needed, must get out of London.

Chris

[citroenxm]

Have a look in the members cars area at my topics!!

I rescued a v6 24v s1 manual which was more scrap then good!!
I've done many daft thing other wise. I had a H plate sed 2.1 manual but was destined resto but turned out increadably bad.. I stripped her bare into the shed.. she was likely a sister car to yours same colour too..


Parts in the shed now..


Green one still in the same place awaiting resto.. The H Grey one is my V6 24v Manual, the K reg Grey is a 2.1td Manual, who is owned by a fellow member on here, and the end one is my SED 2.1 that was so rotton she had to become parts and stripped bare


Undergone a massive blog, which is on here.. and lots of work. A Light resto she was. In ownership with a member on here.


Now engineless awaiting a descision to what to do with the rest. Needs some welding dooing too!

[russ92xmsed]

HDI it!

[citroenxm]

HDI it!

Hmmmm increadably tempting. . Top spec xm with ultra modern (last generation) power plant...

the issue with a manual hdi into an s1 xm is cable clutch on xm and hydraulic on hdi 110 engine... unless I strip it down and fit an s2 xm pedal box... but this is not for this topic to talk about that.... its about the sed 2.1 mandarin. ..

[russ92xmsed]

Of course, but I like the thinking..... Back to mandarin 2.1's!

[CJS]

You're going to love today's instalment, sharing in full because I want any taker to know "warts and all". If anyone is still on board after this.

I am drowning in things to do, even ignoring my backlog of work I have so much to do in the next two weeks it is beyond belief. I have not seen my child for a week because I am meant to be getting this house straight. That was not meant to include two afternoons cleaning a near 26 year old car and then changing a pipe to the brake valve. Well I had to. I've got the tools, including my old friend the 12mm spanner that was bent in 1992 to access the BX pressure regulator. The choice was mess about with jacks to video underneath or put the same effort into changing the pipe. Citroen logic.

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So I let it idle for 20 minutes again (neighbours must love me), a bit of low-high-low-high then one last time low..high..let's pick the revs up..the revs are picking themselves up..bit smokey..turn the ignition off..f*** really revving now..lots of smoke..time to actually get in the car, clutch down, into 3rd, dump clutch and..stop.

You know I hadn't seen diesel runaway until a few months ago. I was following a transit at 5am in London and it was getting more and more smokey so I was flashing my lights as I had read transit's have a runaway problem, in the end I had to drop back because I could not see and a mile further on it had stopped but was still belching out thick smoke at full revs. Worse than any fog you have ever driven in.

Back to the SED. The smoke cleared very quickly, a girl leaving the school opposite did say to someone on the phone "someone is having a barbeque, oh no it's a car" but I don't think it ran for long as there really was little smoke left hanging despite the initial cloud. Get out, turn over on the starter (wire on solenoid remember) for the briefest moment, still turns. Wait ten minutes for the school to empty. Oil level where it was, just above minimum. Start it, idles fine, bit smokey but thinking about this it was the other day too. And every time I have started it for a while, which was at least two years ago. Although at MOTs smoke has always been 10% of the limit.

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Wait another 20 minutes of idle (including explaining to passing neighbour this isn't going to happen every day), temperature all good, low coolant warning. Now to be fair, this is where we came in and why it was parked. Under the bonnet, some steam but no idea where from. Let it cool, pressure cap off, top up the lost water. Run for 20 minutes again (!) at idle without pressure cap. Then..how big are mine? Clutch down, into 3rd (realise I knocked a bit off the gear knob at my last feverish handling), rev up to 1200, back down, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600,1700 and off we go. For half a second before the clutch comes up.

What do we think? Turbo (original, over 200k miles), or breather? I bow down to the experts here but I'm voting for oil rather than diesel, although I had never tested the diesel cutoff solenoid with my foot to the floor and diesel pump running full bore. It still idles fine, runs at a nice temperature, I think it just needs some love.

Anybody still on board, I will next post some video of underneath.

Chris

[CJS]

Before more advertising of a car that was the most expensive car Citroen sold in 1990, unless that was a CX DTR estate which I always avoided because of the porous block, those SED scuttle pipes aren't great and I think it is because sometimes leaves would cover the bottom of the windscreen and top of bonnet, creating the nasty environment so loved of pipes over the back axle. However, my back axle woes have been where the pipe is clipped, this failure was not at a clip. But, and this might be useful, there was a small collection of leaves sitting right on top of this pipe. The doseur return hose runs above the four HP pipes, and at this point the return hose deviated enough from the rear of the bulkhead for leaf gunk to collect. Resting on the failed pipe, it corroded and has also affected the pipes below.

Chris

[CJS]

I should say, but you all know, that the effort I am putting into this makes no financial sense at all. Anyone taking this car on will wait a long time until it is worth DS money and collecting it never mind repair is driven by passion. For years I have at times parked cars 15 minutes' walk away, outside controlled parking, because this car has taken one of my two driveway parking spaces. That other parking has been controlled since September by the way, all part of the pressure on the collection.

Something good to start. I replaced the headlights when the plastic inserts faded so they look lovely. This was before folk suggested removing the plastic altogether which I did on the V6.

Okay. Lots of Waxoyl to be seen. Starts with the inline joints for the over axle repipe. Ends with the largest sill plate I fitted to this car many years ago, I have pictures somewhere. I previously paid a VBRA member to repair a sill end on the V6, the one I redid this year, wasn't impressed and when I realised three sill ends on this car needed a minor patch and one end something more I bought a MIG. I grind off more weld than I keep on, infant school standard but it works. The other two places this car is welded is the underside of the front box which is/was otherwise fine and a plate rear of the front offside wheel. For the latter I barely lifted the carpet, ugly repair but you don't see it. When I welded the sill front offside, I was at a loss how to finish near the wing and ran the weld into the bottom of the wing. Hence replacing the wing with a good lacquer alternative will need cutting not just unbolting.

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Driver's door.

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Worst door is the rear offside, this damage appears linked to the damage on the sill top edge.

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I think it is common but the area around the rear subrame rear mounts isn't 100%. I think on this one there actually was a hole, but not enough to make me work out how to weld it or stop me driving it.

Chris