CitroJim's Citroens

[CitroJim]

Sorry I've been absent by and large this week. It's not been a particularly good one sadly...

Anyway, I'm back now...

In the meantime...

I finished work at 2 today as it was a privilege afternoon holiday for Maundy Thursday so after a nap I got all the housework done, baked a cake, cooked a demon chilli con carne from scratch and did all the washing and ironing.

I am now free to play cars tomorrow,,,

And catch up on what's been going on here..

Early tomorrow morning I’ll be baking bread... Kneading dough is incredibly therapeutic...

And then doing an ATF change on the XM, checking her spheres and doing other minor TLC ready for a run in her ton Somerset on Saturday to see Dad...

[citroenxm]

Nice one.. I managed a day on my sd last Friday 29th March with jonathan_dyane.. See my blog on my car...

[CitroJim]

I'm looking forward to reading your blog in a bit Paul.. Only just come back here again after a long absence for reasons you know why... Got a lot of posts to read and happenings to catch up on and it seems I've only been gone a few days... Looked at the unread stuff on the FCF and just gave up. Very little on there is Xantia related these days anyway... It's all getting very modern but I guess that's progress. The BX Club spun off the FCF when the Xantia became overwhelmingly popular on there just as the C5 has now become the most discussed FCF car.

There's no intention of spinning of a dedicated Xantia forum though. The FCF has been the Xantia's home for far too long now...

I have been doing a bit on the XM though...

Changed the ATF on Friday and did as I always do with a Hydraulic Citroen, just put the car on high on a level surface. No stands, no jacks, no hassle...

I checked the level on the dipstick before commencing and it was perfect. I drained out the old, saw it was nice and clean and measured 4.3 litres out. I measured 4.3 litres of new back in...

Pleased to find the 20l drum the ATF came in has an easy-pour spout on it so measuring a litre at a time into a jug is easy and not at all messy as it can be with 20l drums of Costco engine oil that don't have easy-pour spouts on them.

Then I checked the front spheres on the XM and found the corners a bit low and the centre Hydractive was OK pressure-wise but was a little one. I had a new 500cc one in stock so fitted that..

Then I washed the car ready for the run to Somerset on Saturday...

I did really want to check the rear spheres but pacing said I'd done more than enough so I stopped and relaxed. I had done more than I should have. I wore myself right out. I was tucked up in bed by 8...

The XM as a cruiser is good, very good indeed... Those seats are so comfy and boy does the V6 go...

And it did the journey perfectly without a spot of any fluids used and not much petrol either...

It amuses me that other drivers don't expect an XM to go like a scalded cat and get a heck of a surprise when it does.

This morning the V6 Xantia has been washed and checked over and the XM wiped over with a chamois ready for the X rally... It'll not move again now until Sunday morning...

Tomorrow I will do the same to the Activa. It's about time it was woken from its slumbers and got ready for summer...

The V6 will have a long rest over the summer this year ready for next winter and during the warm dry months the Activa will become daily driver... Looking forward to that...

On a more personal level, I've had to give up the struggle to work full-time and will soon be going part-time - four days a week with Wednesdays off...

You might say I'm soon to be semi-retired. Not through choice

[Dieselman]

Then I checked the front spheres on the XM and found the corners a bit low and the centre Hydractive was OK pressure-wise but was a little one. I had a new 500cc one in stock so fitted that..

I'm interested to hear how you get on with that arrangement as your car should be 450cc across the front and 400cc across the rear.

You now have 1400cc across the front, which should make it very supple in soft mode.

[CitroJim]

It's quite supple Will but I'm sure there's still some way to go yet. I desperately want to check the rear spheres but health and common sense on preserving same is currently preventing such work. Maybe tomorrow...

The car handles beautifully and seems very well damped. Perhaps more than it needs to be for the cruiser role it plays so I'll be interested to have a play with damper holes in due course...

I really want this one to float like it's riding on a cloud... Going round corners is not of primary concern. I have an Activa for that...

[Dieselman]

Your car has larger corner damper holes anyway, but he real trick would be to drill the centre dampers out a bit.

[CitroJim]

but he real trick would be to drill the centre dampers out a bit.

That's quite a major job Will.... Especially given the location of the Hydractive sphere block...

[ragger]

Hope you are feeling fit for the rally next week-end, Jim.

I've been thinking about the ride on mine and although the spheres are really quite new I feel the need for more floatiness too - after all that's why I bought another XM in the first place. Think I will ask Chris to give them a check over. It has now done nearly 5 months on Hydracuringe and sbout 1500 miles so a refill with LHM will be due when the weather warms up.

Rob

[captainhaddock]

Having changed my 4 wintertyres 185/15 for 205/16 alloys with michelin energy savers, did make a big difference as well as to floatiness. Less comfort
I only mention it so that tyre choice can play a role here as well.

And Jim, I strongly believe that part time work should become more of the norm. Once you've grown used to this, you won't want to go back full time.
It would solve a lot of problems for the human working race

Look forward to meet you but please don't make me to go and long for a V6

[CitroJim]

Hope you are feeling fit for the rally next week-end, Jim.

Thanks Rob I shall do my best, by taking it easy all next week so I can be fit for Sunday...

Jaap. I agree about part-time work. Our organisation really does encourage it and it comes under the guise of flexible working. They even encourage job-shares where two part-timers can do the same job at different times. Very forward thinking really and makes for a happy workforce...

I plan to start four days and slowly taper off to retirement proper over the next few years... I don't want to give up my work completely and this makes it a nice compromise...

I'll try not to make you long for a V6 although that might be difficult. Perhaps if I keep the keys away from you and don't let you drive it that might help...