1995 2.1td SX Auto Project

[Dieselman]

If fitting the passenger wiper arm to the drivers side effects a fix, it suggests they are reversed.
The drivers side won't normally sweep right from the scuttle to the edge of the windscreen A pillar trim.
Are the drive spigots the correct way round, as the crank on those may be different lengths, to affect the required larger sweep angle for the passenger wiper.

Suspension lamp should be top left of binnacle but won't work with Ecu disconnected, should illuminate when Sport is selected and for 3s at Ign on. Being an Sx model your Xm doesn't have an oil level gauge. The square Lcd in the gauges is the gear selector indicator: check for cracked solder joints.

[josh2109]

That was my thought originally but swapping them means that whilst the driver's side sweep is fine, the lowest that the passenger arm can park without the arm striking the scuttle is at about 45 degrees.



And with the arms around the way I currently have them:



The two spindles/spigots are different lengths, so it isn't possible to fit them to the wrong side as one would protrude from the housing too far and the other wouldn't protrude far enough to get the arm on.

It's really got me racking my brain.

I don't recall the suspension light coming on in all the time I've had the car, so it looks like it is binnacle out time to check what the situation is with the bulb.

That's great to know that there is potentially a gear indicator on the dash as well, as one thing I think is really poorly thought out on the car is the gear shifter - I can't see that there is any form of indicator light/needle on the panel by the lever and the gaps between the gear positions are so small that it's hard to tell what gear you've engaged by feel. I've owned dozens of automatics and this is the only one I've noticed this in. All the other cars I've driven that had the gears laid out in a straight line normally had a moving red needle or filter to show what gear you were engaging.

The ABS sensors will be with me next week, so I will probably give the XM a good wash at the weekend and then swap it with the Proton MPi that's sat in the courtyard behind it so that I can strip it down ready to fit the new sensors once they land.

[josh2109]

I meant to include this observation in my last post:

Whilst priming the fuel system last night, the weather was calm (unusual where I am during the winter as we are by the sea!) and I noticed a very high pitched, high speed 'bubbling' noise.

I didn't have a listening stick handy but it was most prominent with my ear against the pump. Despite this, I can't see an external leak on the pump.

It does lose prime within a minute or so though, which isn't great. I'll try and get a can of diesel ready tonight so that I can isolate the pump and test it again.

[Dieselman]

The latest positions for the wipers looks to be about right. The wipers rest just above the windscreen black border.
As you have already seen, the drivers side spindle crank gives about 87 degrees of sweep, the passenger side about 110 degrees.

It's possible the fuel primer diaphragm has a small split, which will allow air in when running, or switched off.
New diaphragms are available.

[josh2109]

Time for a long overdue update!

My partner and I have had our second child in February, which is why I went off the radar a bit after Christmas as cars took something of a sideline whilst we found our balance with a new-born and a toddler.

To cut a long story short, the following things have happened since my last post:

• I removed the original fuel pump from the engine, and fitted the spare that I took from my spare engine

• This cured the starting problem, but the new fuel pump would cause the engine to run away and there was zero throttle control

• I filled the pump with ATF and left it to soak in for a week or two, whilst periodically shocking it and manipulating the moving parts

• That achieved nothing, so I took the top off to have a look at what was going on inside

• Taking the top off the original fuel pump on the bench revealed that the governor shaft on the spare was not actuating properly

• Freeing up the weights on the governor and actuating the shaft brought it back to life

• The car now runs, but starts lazily - I'm certain that the adjustment of the pump is slightly of and I'm confident I can cure that with a bit of playing

• I have a seal kit sat by to rebuild the original pump, I just have very limited spare time!

• I then was motivated to replace the offside rear ABS sensor. It wasn't a hard job, just a bit of a tedious one. The new sensor has sorted out the last of my ABS faults and I now have a warning light free dashboard

• Full of confidence, I booked an MOT for this Saturday

Have some pictures to illustrate the work:









































Sadly my celebration has been short lived, it appears that I have disturbed the brake pipe and it has ruptured. It weeps from beside the anti-roll bar.





I believe the part number is 4885C0 for the pipe that I need to replace; of course NLA. It's a 2116mm length of 3.5mm pipe, I have a suitable flaring tool here but I don't have the dies or the pipe at hand. Can anyone recommend a source for the parts? The best I've managed to track down is about £50 for 25ft of the piping locally and £30 for the dies on ebay... I was hoping to have the car done and in for a test on Saturday so it's a bit of a gut punch that I need to cancel that now and spend more money when I thought I was through the worst of it.