Citroen XM Forum

Well here she is!

Newly purchased 1994 XM exclusive 2.5 TD in manual with 87k. Strangely I viewed this car when it was for sale in 2018 but decided it was too much to take on at that point. Quite a few bits done already in our ownership including;

New cam belt and balance shaft belt (previous cam belt was 18 years old)
LHM change, reservoir and filters cleaned - see old fluid! A dash of paraffin was added to the new stuff and it’ll be drained again soon when I bleed the brakes
Missing rear internal window replaced
A trip to Westroens for new spheres. Three replaced (accumulator and both centre spheres), two re gassed, other two were fine
New roof aerial and base
Brakes stripped and cleaned
New glow plugs

Things to do;

- Horns inoperative - suspect wiring at fault.
- Electric wing mirrors inoperative.
- Air con re gas.
- Replace O/S anti roll bar link - new Febi part waiting to go on.
- Lack of heat in cabin - suspect the heater flap motor which was removed today but appears to work?
- Front bumper has been poorly painted and needs doing again.
- No remote fob, just one basic key. I need to source the receiver box and a matched key if possible.
- Recent heavy steering turned out to be a tiny split in the main feed from the reservoir to the pump. Temporarily repaired until I get some new hose - looks like 3/16 fuel hose?
- Slight weep from radiator top connection - holds when engine is up to temp bit drips a tiny amount as it cools down. Coolant needs flushing out and replacing too.

I’ve also acquired a set of alloys from a V6, see pics. They’re all heavily corroded. I took them to two wheel refurbishment places and one advised me that they would be very difficult to restore and couldn’t guarantee a decent finish that wouldn’t tarnish again? I believe they’re diamond cut. Any suggestions?

Anyway, looking forward to attending some shows/rallies and getting this old girl up to a high standard!

A good project car, keep going and it will all get fixed. As usual, you are catching up on years of neglect, but it appears that corrosion is not an issue...the sills and jacking points look sound.

The wheels shown on the car are the correct wheels for it. The diamond cut wheels are Series 1, SE model wheels, and imho, wouldn't suit your car. S1 wheels tend to look a bit odd on S2 cars due to the different body treatment.

Regarding the horns, check the connections on the horns, but due to their location XM horns do fail, due to internal rust. Sometimes removal and a good whack can get them going again.

Thanks Dieselman,

It is remarkably solid underneath. It has had two small patches welded on the front outer sills and a another small patch to the front subframe. All very tidy jobs. Fresh waxoil is evident too.

Wheels are a personal preference I guess. I think these wheels are beautiful and by far the best wheels fitted to the XM. I might just smarten up the current wheels though. The tyres always look under inflated but are always spot on pressure wise. They are fairly cheap tyres mind on a heavy car.

A word of warning for you. be careful of jacking the rear of an Xm up under the subframe cross tube...being round, the jack can slip as the arm lifts.

It's better to jack using a beam under both of the longitudal sections.

I see you are no stranger to Citroens...keep up the good work.

And a BX in the background?

She looks very sound. Yes, nice straight jacking points (although best not to jack under these).

Horns could be the connections at them (weathered), or the horn relay. All front-end relays can acquire dirty spade terminals.

Original horns are Mixo brand (made in France), and were fitted to lots of vehicles. TR99, High note and Low note. Units are marked. Nice sound when both are working. Lots of places sell them. I acquired a pair (for another vehicle) from an MG spares outfit, of all places, in UK. Still available from Citroen! Probably best to avoid the Chinese copies. You can't beat a genuine French horn.
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The hose repair looks ok. Pipe under suction, but not huge negative pressure.

Be sure to download Gabor's circuit diagrams for the car, if not already to hand.

Nice car and another XM 2.5 - great ! That means that I can see what to expect in future and maybe learn a bit more about this specific model.

Is your car still in Poland, Prem?

Dieselman wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 12, 2020 7:40 am

Is your car still in Poland, Prem?

Yes Will, still in same place and I'm terrified, because I don't know how much been done to it (can't reach that guy over the phone). I'll travel to Poland (with family and dog) over the Easter time - so in few weeks time I'll know exactly what is going on with my car, mechanic and everything else