Citroen xm 2.5 year 1998

[Xmforever]

Hello, my name is Francisco, I live in the north of Spain, I bought in January a 2.5 xm with pressure problems in the water circuit, my intention is to bring him back to life, I will publish photographs of my work, a greeting to all.
The car is well preserved, its equipment is high, the owner sells it due to pressure problems in the water circuit.



I made the repair myself, I'm not a mechanic, my job is in a transport company.
The xm already at home, start the rock and roll !!!!!!!





Engine out !!!!!
Oil leakage high mileage 460,000 km (288,937 miles)












repaired alternator,
new bearings,
new copper brushes.

Original clutch, the end of his life, is next !!!!






Bad vibrations, water in the cylinder



I have left the butt in the specialist, the worst expectations are fulfilled, broken stock ...

New cylinder head solution, with screws.


continue .......... I welcome your comments and advice with pleasure

[trampsterdave]

Hi Francisco - very impressive [and brave! ] for a non-mechanic ! [like myself]
hope it all goes well...
Dave

[White Exec]

Really impressive work, Francisco, and an excellent set of photos of the work.
That's quite some mileage (heading towards half-a-million km), and a real tribute to previous drivers - and an original clutch!

In addition to radiator etc. repair/replacement, if the car is still using its original (or even a previous replacement) Valeo oil-water heat exchanger (the one under the oil filter), I would suggest that you remove it from circuit, and by-pass (join together) the water connections to it. These units have a habit of unexpectedly breaking down internally, and injecting the cooling system with engine oil. A job that may well have been done already.

We had our 2.5 engine out (in Nerja) exactly 10 years ago, at 80k miles, lifted the head, and replaced a good few parts. Next week (120k miles) the car is going into Citroen for new belts (10 years old too) - which is a job I'd rather not do myself now, with the engine in the car - all so much simpler with the engine out!

Looking forward to more details of how yours is progressing.

[xmexclusive]

The cylinder head cracking is a common problem on 2.5 engines.
In my experience roughly half of all these cylinder heads removed after overheating problems are cracked beyond repair.
Replacement heads can still be obtained but are getting rare and expensive.

With the engine out now would be a good time to do the Aux belt mod.
See posts by DJG.

John

[Xmforever]

Really impressive work, Francisco, and an excellent set of photos of the work.
That's quite some mileage (heading towards half-a-million km), and a real tribute to previous drivers - and an original clutch!

In addition to radiator etc. repair/replacement, if the car is still using its original (or even a previous replacement) Valeo oil-water heat exchanger (the one under the oil filter), I would suggest that you remove it from circuit, and by-pass (join together) the water connections to it. These units have a habit of unexpectedly breaking down internally, and injecting the cooling system with engine oil. A job that may well have been done already.

We had our 2.5 engine out (in Nerja) exactly 10 years ago, at 80k miles, lifted the head, and replaced a good few parts. Next week (120k miles) the car is going into Citroen for new belts (10 years old too) - which is a job I'd rather not do myself now, with the engine in the car - all so much simpler with the engine out!

Looking forward to more details of how yours is progressing.

Hello, thank you very much, I have sent the oil cooler, to a workshop specialized in checking clean, tomorrow I will put some pictures, I also bought the 2 boards, new. the 2 radiators, will be new, brakes are also new etc etc

[Xmforever]

The cylinder head cracking is a common problem on 2.5 engines.
In my experience roughly half of all these cylinder heads removed after overheating problems are cracked beyond repair.
Replacement heads can still be obtained but are getting rare and expensive.

With the engine out now would be a good time to do the Aux belt mod.
See posts by DJG.

John

Hello, new cylinder head with 540 € screws in citroen, not supplied. Timing belt, tensioners, water pump thermostats, gaskets etc etc all new, I will put pictures of the work, the car has to be perfect, I want to travel with my wife and our daughter from our city to Normandy in France, I am a lover of the history of the Second World War, and I wish to visit this area to show our 13 year old daughter the horrors of war, this car is fantastic, for the comfort and spaciousness now, my wife drives a golf gti vy is a car with little trunk, and little comfort.

[White Exec]

If you haven't already had the work done, my advice would be don't spend money on checking out the oil cooler, and don't re-fit it. It is an unreliable component, as many of us have found out. I have had two of these rupture, despite always having used top-quality coolant. The item is easily removed completely (the oil filter will then screw directly on to the aluminium flange below it, with a standard short threaded tube). The two water hoses can then either be joined with a short length of 15/16mm pipe, or even blocked off. Either way, the cooling of the engine seems not to be affected. Leaving the cooler in circuit on the car risks it perforating internally at some point, and oil being pumped into the cooling system. This is a mess, brings the car to a halt, and very time-consuming to clean out.

Also (and I hope you don't mind the tip) when it's all back together, two more recommendations:
- use PSA's own 'Pro' coolant, 5-litre ready to use, Peu/Cit pt.no. 1135305. It's made in Spain by Brugarolas for PSA. Don't use long life OAT coolants. Use the Pro mix for all topping up.
- make sure when filling with coolant to bleed the system according to the Citroen workshop procedure, using a temporary 'header' bottle. This takes about 50 minutes to do, but ensures that all air is removed from the cooling system, particularly the cylinder head, and avoids the risk of localised overheating and boiling where air might collect.

Hope everything goes well. There's no better way to travel through France!

[MTXM]

Another very warm welcome to the Forum Francisco and that certainly is impressive work you are doing! I am also not a trained mechanic, but relish the challenge of pulling out an engine and box now and again! I second Chris in that there is no better and more comfortable way to travel than an XM, as I am reminded when I travel in my wife's 2015 DS3 D Style Plus - a nice looking car but also bone-shakingly uncomfortable partly due to skinny modern tyres! Please do keep us posted and good luck with the work. With regards, Matthew T.

[marc61]

Well done Francisco you’re making very good progress. I got through about five 2.5s from 2002-2012 and most failed due to cylinder head issues and I think they all broke down due to auxiliary belt issues at some point, so it’s important to get those things dead right before you put it all back in.

They’re great cars, very smooth, very well equipped and they’re getting pretty rare now. I hammered mine, did big mileages and always got good performance and economy.

Cheers

Marc

[Dean]

Welcome to the forum, looks like you are going to have a lovely car when you are done, excellent work!

D