Charles's 2.1 SD Manual (formerly Citroenxm's)

[Charles M]

A diversion from problems - why I like my independent, Ray Williams. It's his CX GTI Turbo 2 which he's had for nigh on 30 years, just repainted last year.

[jorgy]

Beautiful CX.

Charles, more and more I'm thinking that, for someone wanting to run a car of this age as a daily, and with my level of skill (similar to yours I think, i.e. know/understand some stuff, can do some stuff, some more with guidance, have some small/medium tools but not, e.g., a MIG welder (!) in the garage) it's better they keep 2 in running order, if possible. Currently my V6 isn't able to go anywhere , and I know I'm on paid time relying solely on the other one (the 21td)! As a Uni student, my XMs have left me car-less for a week or more a couple of times, be it for a part to arrive, or for a fault to be diagnosed, but with a baby daughter now, that's out of the question. Any car I use now is only allowed to break down with (lots of) advance warning The good thing with the 21td is it's so simple and reliable (on a mechanical pump), basically what you're checking these days is pretty much all that will usually go wrong -fuel solenoid, air in fuel, earth wires-, I've had it all myself in the 4+ years I've had her, so it's pretty much sorted now Okay you could get a leaky pump if you're unlucky, maybe glow-plug issues, but not much else that will stop it running...

Your window issue now reminds me, once my girlfriend had a Fiat Coupe (5 cyl n/a), one evening the window just fell down in the door, in the supermarket parking! I happened to have screwdrivers with me, so the door card was off in 5mins (guess where I learnt the process ) : some screws+bolts had simply come loose and then just fell off!!!! Not going to get another Fiat in the forseeable future... That engine was a mad performer though, I had fantasies of how it'd feel in an XM at the time...

[Charles M]

Ah, the Fiat Coupe. I had the 16v model when the car first came out. Delightful to drive and very stylish. Even when brand new the electrics were pretty ropey - it would stall at low revs if you had the radio and the aircon on at the same time - that rather surprised me on one occasion coming out of a roundabout!

I have come to the same conclusion as you. While I have a number of old cars I have to have one vehicle that is reliable for business, the amount of time I have spent this week is absurd, and having an even more capricious back up car is unhelpful. I have a new (by which I mean NEW - warranty etc) car coming in six weeks and I wanted Lucifer gone, but all the current issues mean I'll have to devote more time and money to sort that out. If it hasn't gone there is a serious risk I'll have to sell the 2.1 as I can't house this number of cars and the numbers are getting out of control.

[Vince]

Sorry to hear your having problems Charles....The new car will no doubt provide some relief and reliability to everyday transport and give you time to build up some reserve to tackle the rest of your fleet without the pressure of having to use them as everyday transport....there really is nothing worse than is anything going to go wrong today? At that point I too tend to sell a car on...it overtakes the enjoyment of owning it

Getting the Nissan helped me a lot with the xm as although its been utterly reliable apart from shearing its gear linkage miles away from home, and the accelerator cable snapping on me one time,(which isn't bad considering the mileage its done and the time I've owned it) I know I have a car outside which I can travel whatever distance if needed without that "what if" feeling....

Things will get better Charles...Keep your chin up pal ; )

[Charles M]

Vince - yes, it will provide some relief, that is certain, but with four cars on the drive (one of which is a bugger to move) plus two classics in the garage (which I do want to drive) moving things in and out will be a total pain, squeezing in and out exposes paint to scratches, alloys to kerbs and doors to body panels. Oh and I have to get into the house! Add in insurance, tax and maintenance plus the ever present risk of something else going wrong and I can no longer bear it. I love the XMs, but rather like the Mercedes W124s I had before, all these little things don't half add up.

Anyway, my chins are firmly up, the Cosworth had its first proper run out today, and I had the ItalVolanti steering wheel fitted. Crikey that's an improvement - a car now rather than a bus!

[Charles M]

Other news, sidelight from France arrived today, 4 days after ordering, so that will be sorted when I find the right bulb, and I have rigged up a diesel gravity feed bottle out of a white spirit bottle, so tomorrow I'll have the big guns on getting this thing started. The stink of Esso super diesel is everywhere, it pains my black skinflint heart to see that stuff swilling out of the filter.

[Charles M]

Charmingly, my black XM decided to come to a halt at a roundabout last night, battery warning light came on. The usual frigging around to get it restarted, then got it home, used my Mercedes to do what I needed to do. The battery was fine upon checking, so any clues?

If issues keep appearing, it might be cheaper to scrap the car and get it off my drive that way.

[citroenxm]

Oooooo send her up to me please Charles! Battery warning light on its own stayed on? That can only be alternator.

[Charles M]

Only the battery light Paul - yet the alternator is clearly working, as the car battery is fully charged, having been standing for a couple of weeks while the ABS issues were sorted. Once it restarted, it was fine, just no longer trustworthy.

My hope is it is just lots of water swilling around on the roads at present causing little shorts etc.

[Dieselman]

Can you be sure the ignition switch didn't get switched off accidentally?