Just got an XM! ['92 TDi Estate, J71 MCW]

[Dieselman]

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I'm surprised at the overall corrosion situation of that car, considering it is 31 years old with 230,000 miles under it's bonnet and has stood idle for at least six years. No apparent holes in the sills and the front bumper trailing corners appear still attached.

Buy at least 5 litres of Lhm+, the tank holds that much and you need to change it anyway. If possible buy some hydraulic flushing oil to run through first. The Citroen version is called Hydrarincage, or hydraflush.
The oil is mineral hydraulic oil, so isn't affected by moisture, but obviously water in the system isn't going to be good for corrosion.

Obviously, you need to fix the leak before tipping in more Lhm. The pipes under the car are 3.5mm and 4.5mm.
The main pipe from the pump to the FDV is 6.35mm (1/4") and the pipes to the suspension rams are 10mm.
It's most likely to be a small pipe corroded through just before the rear subframe.
You can buy back-nuts and jointers, most easily obtainable from 2Cv parts suppliers, as they use Citroen flares.
Find out where the leak is and come back to us.

The headlamps are generally rather poor, as you say from having the internal plastic lens, but also the silvering of the actual reflectors oxidises.
They also get very dusty and a swill out with water can make a reasonable difference.

A dash out job is hard work on your own, but easy with two people. At the factory it was installed as a complete assembly, including the pedal box, but you need to strip it down if on your own.
If installing A/c from a doner Xm, I would avoid full climate control for two reasons.
1. It uses the push button control, which isn't as nice looking as the round dials.
2. You can't have the direction exactly where you want it, only in pre defined settings.

Heater box strip-down. Let me know if you need the images to be clearer.
viewtopic.php?t=6292

We have a video of the car being made, here is the dashboard going in.


As for your turbo pressure transducer, it's falling off the pipe under it's own weight. It should be fitted to the battery box on a small bracket.
You appear to be missing the battery hold down clamp.

Your radio is the Philips one and you should be able to obtain the code from an online decoder.

Your lack of starter power will be the battery clamps are goosed. A diesel needs a high current delivery to spin that starter, as it's direct drive, without any reduction gearing.

[citroenxm]

Shout for a battery clamp . Got loads of them lol.. as long as the fixing nuts which are captive on the sides of the battery box aren't broken .. I dont have the long bolts though ..

[gwolfski]

Probably should've put some blocks under the jack points while the car was still only half-sunken from no pressure, I can't even get a low profile jack under it now. Current plan is to lift it up by the tow ball enough to get a low profile jack under it. Anything I should be wary of?

[citroenxm]

No. Just DO NOT JACK IT on the jacking plates on the cill ends.. always use subframes. The plates are old.. they do weaken with age and if bend can tear the cill and if not seen allow water in and rot them inside out..

[Dieselman]

Using the towbar is a good idea, but you should also be able to push a jack under the rear towing eyes and the front corners of the front subframe.

Get it as high as you can, so you can work on the burst pipe.

[gwolfski]

Went out and jacked it up, to go looking for the leak. Everything is covered in diesel and some kind of oil, so the leaky spot wasn't obivous. I know it's in the rear left corner, but had no luck finding it. I started it, hoping it would start leaking, but (I think) there's so little fluid the safety valve(?) didn't give any fluid to the rear.

Might've to pour some more fluid, or that flushing fluid, to get enough pressure to see where it leaks out of. Or get it to somewhere with a pit/ramps, but then again I'd rather not rip the entire underside off trying to move it on its bumpstops.

[citroenxm]

If its a brake line it will only leak when the brake is pressed...

[Dieselman]

The leak is most likely to be inside the left rear sill as the pipes bend up in front of the rear subframe, otherwise it will be on top of the subframe.

Once the car is jacked up you should be able to wedge the rear trailing arms, where the extension paddles project into the transverse tube. Pull the plastic arch liner back a bit to have a good view.

The front can be wedged using 23" long bits of wood between the top of the Arb and the underside of the strut head.
Citroen supplied tubular steel wedges for the rear and collars to fit on top of the front struts, to perform the task you need to.

Place some cardboard under the car, the leak will soon be obvious.

While sorting the leak,there would be nothing to stop you filling the reservoir with cheap, mineral hydraulic oil.
Lhm+ is hydraulic oil to a set viscosity and viscosity index, with anti foaming properties and added lubricants.
For short term use a mineral hydraulic oil should be fine.
Do not use any type ester based product, such as brake fluid, as that would ruin all the nitrile rubber seals and diaphragms in short order.

[DownUnderXM]

I have used auto transmission fluid (specifically Dex II) in a Xantia without any ill effects.

[Dieselman]

If an oil meets these specifications, it is the correct oil to use as Lhm+:
PSA: B71 2710
ISO: 7308
New Holland: NH-610A
Ford: M6C59-A
IVECO 18-1823
SDFG OF1611S,
DIN 51524-3
FIAT 9.55597