CitroJim's Citroens

[russ92xmsed]

That would be sooo strange.

[Jan-hendrik]

It really needs a proper footrest for your left foot.

Does this mean there IS a footrest, but sort of useless? I'm OK with the footrest on my LHD AT XM

[Jan-hendrik]

So Mazda are your local car maker then Jan, just as Aston Martin once was mine.

Yes, and I've owned 7 of them, including 3 rotary models in the 60s and 70s, before I progressed to other domestic products and Citroen! I suppose the Mazdas and other domestic cars were a lot more affordable than your Aston Martins

[CitroJim]

Ever rebuilt an RX engine Jan?

It really needs a proper footrest for your left foot.

Does this mean there IS a footrest, but sort of useless? I'm OK with the footrest on my LHD AT XM

Not that my foot can find Jan Must be an RHD thing..

I can't recall the 2.0 TCT having one either...

There is one in the V6 Xantia...

[Jan-hendrik]

Ever rebuilt an RX engine Jan?

No, Jim. When the engine of an '71 coupe was about to fail (that was about ten years ago) I sold it

[CitroJim]

Ever rebuilt an RX engine Jan?

No, Jim. When the engine of an '71 coupe was about to fail (that was about ten years ago) I sold it

That was sensible Jan...

Read on to see why...

Firstly though...

James (Hellrazor from the FCF) came up to see me today as both he and I needed to adjust ride heights, he on his Xantia and me on the XM. We discovered it is possible with care to drive either car up a pair of Halfrauds ramps. Ride heights were successfully adjusted in both cases and both of us noted what a difference having correct ride height makes to the ride...

We then freed off the disc retaining screws on the rear brakes of James's car so he can replace the badly worn discs. These screws had previously defeated him but a touch of heat did the job.

Chris570 and Liam (RX-8 owner) made an appearance clutching a massive impact gun to make an attack on the previously unmovable crank bolt on the RX-8 engine.

It did nothing. The bolt remained unmovable. We tried heating it with propane until smoke issued from the crankcase. Still no go. Then I cracked out the oxy-acetylene gear and did as we had seen advised in some forum posts on this very problem - heat the bolt cherry-red.

This we did and it came off without a fight Then we attacked the flywheel and it saw sense and it too gave up easily enough.

Twenty minutes later the engine was entirely in bits.

Here it is:



The news is not good. The engine is basically scrap. One of the main bearings on the e-shaft (crankshaft analogue) failed catastrophically. You can see the scores on the journal quite plainly and this allowed the shaft and rotors to flail around. Apex seals broke and worst of all the front rotor crashed into the side plate and has ruined it. In fact all side plates are badly worn.

This is the worst one:



In fact the only serviceable items are the things we thought would be wrecked - the rotor housings. Although not perfect they might just do another tour of duty but there's no way anything else in the engine will..

We're not sure what caused the failure. Possibly it ran out of oil..

Parts to rebuild would be more than a new engine... Liam is now wondering what best to do. Tomorrow we're going to measure up an ES9 engine as a possible transplant candidate...

To round off the day I investigated why the cruise control on the XM is not working. Good news is the bellows and vacuum system is fine as I've had the vacuum pump working. All supplies are present and correct so why it's not playing remains open to speculation. The ECU may be dead or the speed signal may be missing...

Which may account for why the gearbox is apparently unhappy...

More to follow...

[Dieselman]

Why not convert the RX8 to electric?

[CitroJim]

Why not convert the RX8 to electric?

Now there's a thought Will... I will float that idea past the owner tomorrow..

It's not a bad idea at all. I've read of other electric conversions on little sporty cars and very successful they were too..

Your very own Tesla and look how that goes. Could be fun!

[russ92xmsed]

Why not convert the RX8 to electric?

Now there's a thought Will... I will float that idea past the owner tomorrow..

It's not a bad idea at all. I've read of other electric conversions on little sporty cars and very successful they were too..

Your very own Tesla and look how that goes. Could be fun!

Your very own Tesla? I'm intrigued.

Excellent cars Teslas. The new family car I think looks very neat.
This is a great idea...why not convert the RX8 to electric. The acceleration would probably be better than the rotary!

Thanks for the RX8 up date Jim. This is very interesting seeing it in bits. You can really see where it has failed. A shame. Still can't believe these engines are still so temperamental.

[Jan-hendrik]

The cruise control can fail to engage because of a wobbly control stalk on the steering column: no contact is made then.
My cruise did not work when I first got the car. I checked everything systematically. Last was the ECU: there was a break in the circuitry on the PB. Tried to patch it, but that did not work, some component in the ECU must have failed. I got a new ECU, the seller paid half. The CC has been working fine since then - 6 years.