29,000 Mile XM - What would you do next?

[chillmax]

Hi All

Just picked this car up, if you take the Citroenian you'll have seen it mentioned in the last issue, December I think.

1 owner plus Citroen Director, unfortunatley/ fortunatley (depending on your preference) it's a 97 'P' so 12v not 24v, I do miss the 'rocket' takeoff, but I'm going to have the ECU remapped to get the best from her, and on the plus side I prefer the smoother power output of the 12v, as the 24 was a little fierce sometimes.

She's been serviced yearly, regardless of miles, and had whatever she's wanted; no problems I can percieve other than spheres by the feel & a hissing accumulator, so with that done what else should I do to keep her in tip top condition, especially on the ZF front?

You can see the day before the changeover here, with some of the items I've lost, like Snow Mode & Side Airbags...

http://cid-9a7c5ed6f656dc2d.skydrive.li ... chUpload=1

Cheers - Justin

[Dean]

Hi Justin

That seems like a nice buy if this car does not have anti sink which i would guess it does not the hissing is normal, it usualy happens at idle when the car is cold on mine and goes if the revs are raised/system warms up or the steering is turned, it its just the FDV doing its thing and you get it with all sinkers.
The gearbox oil should be changed straight off, service history may be good but it needs to be kept clean, clean the filter as well and use only D2 fluid, there is a how to in the self help section on the 4HP18 box procedure to help if you need it.
Also make sure the coolant system is tiptop, give the gearbox heat exchanger a back flush through if you can to make absolutly certain its clearand make sure the throttle compensator cable (kickdown cable) is correctly adjusted with all these things done she should give no trouble at all.

Good luck and enjoy your new toy

D

[chillmax]

Hi Dean

thanks for the pointers, all that will be on the list to be done asap!

The hissing seems to be very excessive, noisy and throughout the drive, so maybe the spheres were recharged rather than replaced, also they're pretty usless over my local speed bumps - I'll get the lot done, I think i might even give the comfort type a go this time, I know it compromises cornering and the sport mode, but I do like the old style soft ride.

Cheers - JJ

[Dean]

If it hisses all the time then there sounds like there could be a problem, what are the cycle times of the pressure regulator, also known as 'tick times', count the amount of time between the fdv cutting out and cutting back in again. if its very low (under 20sec) it could point tyo a flat acc sphere on the fdv or a internal hydraulic leak.

D

[Dieselman]

It could be an internally leaking valve, such as a brake doser. As it's only done 29k I wouldn't be surprised if the LHM has never been changed which could lead to deposits causing sticking.
Try a good LHM flush.

[robert_e_smart]

Hi Justin, the car looks excellent.

Congratulations. I read about the car in the Citroenian also. Glad to hear it has found a good owner.

So, 29K since 1997, thats rougly 2.5k miles a year. I bought a 1990 2.0 Si with 17k when it was 17 years old.

Depending on the service history, I would change all belts, all fluids and filters, and also check the condition of any rubber components, namely hoses CV gaiters, and the tyres. At 29k, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the original tyres are there, esp the rears.

My Si had its original rear tyres which were perishing, other problems were an iffy front height corrector and cooling fan relay being goosed.

Your car will have the FDV as Dean suggests, since it has one of the early XM engines. If it is hissing constantly, I would change teh accumulator sphere first, and see if that makes any improvement. A slight rev should stop it hissing for a few moments, also moving the steering wheel should stop it from hissing. This works on my 2.1 TD.

Robert

[chillmax]

Hi Robert

It is indeed a rare find, I'm just glad she wasn't picked up by our friends Roger or WHM

Tyres are all pretty new P6000's - don't mind them but might Mich them up next year. Also just spotted a new exhaust in the bills!

I don;t think the belts have been done yet, so I could add that to the list. The Srevice is really funny to look through, the bills are all in perfect date order, and she's been serviced EVERY year, even though he drives about 700 miles a year - so it looks like most of the miles were from the Citroen Finance Director; funnily enough the chap I bought her from was a finance director too!!

On the suspension front, I think what might have happened is that because she's been used so little, the suspension hasn't been updated too much. I can see a bill for a new Accumulator in 2002, but when you think one of the main reasons we have this car is for the suspension, I have no problem in just changing the lot - which is what I'll do. As to what else might be causing the problem, hopefuly it will be gone, if not, we'll take it from there

I'll take her for a check up at my XM specialist, and then I'm looking forward to getting her ECU remapped, not done it before, but I think it'll be really worth it, I'm not expecting my 24v back, but she should be the best she can be, even on the economy front. http://www.ecu-chip-tuning.com/meet-the-team.asp

Cheers - JJ

[citroenxm]

1997 P reg?? It should - no, will have anti sink by then, I dont doubt it..(Robert, are you sure Anti sink was NOT fitted to the PRV)
Fantastic to see a VERY clean tidy example..

Shes MUST be a VERY Last 12v V6 90 deg, as this year was the year they dropped the 12V PRV for the PSA 24v auto..

It depends also on which 24v engine you were talking about, I have a Series 1 PRV 24v and Fierce it is, but damm right Awesome..

Ive also got the Series 2 24v Auto V6 engine in a Xantia, which I also find quite awesome, I also have a 12 PRV Auto, and its quite tame in my opinion.

All V6 engines have a rather smooth delivery.. with being able to sample ALL 3 sorts..

Anyway, a nice milage, all the "Teething" problem to come I guess....

Regards
Paul

[robert_e_smart]

I find the irony that this car was owned by 2 Finance Directors smashing. Depreciation.

Hi Paul, I don't know what the rules are for anti-sink, if it was after a certain RP number, but I think it was phased into different models at different times. Also manufacturing date will play a part here as well. My P reg 2.1 is a sinker, although it was made long before it was registered, as I suspect to be the case with Justin's car.

[xmexclusive]

Hi Paul

On V6's anti-sink and the 6+2 hydraulic pump came in with the new V6/4HP20 engine/box for the 1998 model year (ORGA 7511).
In preperation for this change from 01/19997 the production of the ZPJ4 V6.24V engine ceased.
The change was needed to avoid having to redesign the older engine to meet the EU L3 emmission standard.
About the same time (ORGA 7483) V6's and 2.5TD's got the larger front and rear brakes.
Though none made it to the UK some V6 manuals were made.
For the ZPJ4 variants the MG5T box was used. Same box as on 2.5TD just different ratios.
For the ESJ9 engine the manual box used was the ML5T.

John