Citroen XM Forum

Good afternoon everyone
My late father was an avid Citroen fan and had may over the years from 1970 onwards ending with his last car bought in 1991 an XM 2.0 SEI in silver. This he unfortunately wrote off in a accident when I was two years old, It was replaced by the insurance company with the nearest similar model at the time a Memphis blue 3.0 sei manual. Later that year he stopped driving due to bad eyesight and the car was used by me now and again to keep it usable. In 2004 we moved to Scotland and I reluctantly brought the car with us as it seemed crazy just to scrap it when it was fully functioning but worth nothing to anyone. It was used to to Scotland to London runs on a few occasions up to 2008 but since then we have had a small fleet of cars available so it was put on the garage and forgotten about!

My father passed away in July of 2015 and last March we decided to finally have a garage clear out this was to include the dust trap sat sadly in the corner. With mixed emotions I agreed with my wife that is should go as "we are never going to do anything with it".

So I came up with a heads or tails choice, if she starts I'll keep her and at some point when funds and time allowed will put her back on the road. If she won't start the we will just scrap her. Well b##ger me if she did not start on the 2nd turn of the key! hydraulic pump had had it but she moved out of the garage under her own steam.

So this leads to today. I'm no mechanic and have not got bottomless pockets but she will live again and guys I need all the help and advise i can get. Who , Where etc go get it sorted.

Cheers in advance

Peter

Hi Peter.

What a great car to have just knocking about. A 3.0 SEi manual is a rare beast and (imho) much nicer than an auto.
Memphis is a great colour, too.

I doubt the hydraulic pump is u/s, much more likley the rigid suction pipe is drawing air at the connections.

What needs fixing on it? Is it rusty, or just needs fettling back to life?

No rust on the bodywork that I can see but will need to go on a ramp to look underneath. That may be a deal breaker I suppose

The sills are normally a good indicator of the underbody condition. If they are solid, the underside is very likely to be sound.

Check the sills near the jacking points, the outrigger sections at the rear of the front wheel arches and the rear chassis rails where the rear subframe trailing mountings fit. If those areas are solid the rest of the underside will be.

Can you and are you prepard to do any of the work yourself, or does it need to be taken to a garage?

I have very little mechanical knowledge but I am practical. I have no problem with removing and replacing things but diagnosis fault finding are way out of my league.

I see you have a similar task with a 24v mate and it looks as if your very handy with this type of thing?

Your car sounds in much better condition than my 24v. I think with a bit of simple work, your car will be a go-er.

Try tightening the clamps on the hydrulic suction pipe using a small screwdriver to wind the cotter pin round. I suspect the car will then raise up. Does the power steering work? If not it definitely points to complete lack of hydraulic pressure, so either no fluid, pump not being turned, major leak, or most likely, air being drawn in.

In the main, working on an XM isn't too difficult and the fact that yours starts is a good news. The hydraulics rarely go wrong, other than rusted pipes, or split rubber ones. If required, fitting new spheres is easy with the right tool.

Whare are you in Scotland?

Unfortunately the belt has been replaced twice it just screams from startup until it burns out if you let it! That was why it was put in the garage in 2008 if I remember correctly. I just had no time to get it to the mainland to be sorted. I live on a Scottish island

It's unusual for the pumps to lock up, but very common for belts to burn out due to lack of grip and tension as the 3.0 pump is camshaft driven, so has to be geared up, thus creating a lot higher belt load. Can you turn the pump by hand?

The tensioner on the pump bracket needs to be in good working order to achieve enough tension. Use a good quality belt, loosen the pivot bolt and tensioner locking nut, tighten the tensioner until the belt is tight, then lock the tensioner and pivot bolt.

Dean and I have both had this problem, but have resolved it with quality belts and in my case fabricating a new tensioner, as the flange it acts onto, on the cylinder head is broken off.

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Ok I spent a whole morning trying to get it working back then . I'll give it another go soon . can you recommend the best place to get a replacement belt and tensioner?

Hi Peter,
It was great to hear about another 3.0 12v that might possibly return to the road and any early V6 XM is a very rare beast these days! I am fortunate enough to own several examples, which in most cases were picked up for little money and destined to be scrapped.
There is certainly some good knowledge and willing assistance on the Forum and if you have a chance it would be good to see some photos of your car.
In response to the query about pump belts, such items are readily available on the Bay, although do make sure the fitting is correct as there was a change in the pump pulley diameter around 1992. The tensioner should not need replacement and please note that the belt does need to be set quite tight to prevent slippage.
With regards,
Matthew T.