Another XM in Australia

[DownUnderXM]

Oh and Mike, thanks for your reassurance on the tranny thumps - certainly haven't noticed any flaring.

Nonetheless, the thumps definitely seem heat-related (doesn't happen when cold), so apart from getting oil level right, I am wondering if the cooling is adequate for hot weather. I originally had ideas of fitting a towbar (we have a relatively light camper trailer) - the motor would certainly cope, but it doesn't seem worth the risk of shortening the life of the 4HP20.

Cheers

Alec

[White Exec]

That was my thought, too. I'm no expert whatsoever on HP20, but recall many auto boxes that suffered this when they were hot. Maybe simply a matter of less-viscous fluid rushing rapidly through a valve/restrictor. Mike (ours, not the other one) and others have IIRC looked at improved cooling for the ATF.

[Eddie nuff]

selecting Snow mode stops it

Snow mode in Oz? Bit like having roof rails on a soft top

[White Exec]

Hi Eddie!
I took the liberty of reproducing your wonderful avatar last week, after seeing this on FCF...
.

Zel's XJ-S V12 underbonnet.jpg

Zel replied "The resemblance is striking!"

I think both Rover and Citroen would have been ashamed to let anything like that out of the factory, however many cylinders the engine had.

[DownUnderXM]

selecting Snow mode stops it

Snow mode in Oz? Bit like having roof rails on a soft top

You think? Took these pictures last winter (August) west of Sydney - just up the road from where I bought my XM.

IMG_8315.JPG

IMG_8292.JPG

Of course it only snows in winter - this was followed by the possibly the worst bush-fire season since white settlement - no doubt you saw the pictures, as it went on for months.

Cheers

Alec

[Eddie nuff]

That's not snow. We have at least half an inch of slush twice a year and moan about it for ages.

[DownUnderXM]

Well, you couldn't wish for a better portrait of the car than on Wikipedia, Alec!
It certainly is a late one (RP8603 = a build date of 29 May 2000).

Just out of interest, I wonder whether you might have the late-type Xantia suspension regulator (centre sphere) valves fitted from factory? Officially, these didn't get on to XM, but were standard fitting on Xantia from March 1999; we've often wondered about this.

Welcome to the forum - Look forward to some more photos and posts.

Now that I've read the whole story, I feel I don't even need to crawl under to look at the valves. I had already noticed that, even though the electrovalves hum every time I open the door, the suspension does not always switch to soft mode.

Of course I now realise what is happening - when system pressure is high (soon after engine has been running), the system switches to soft mode when asked, but if the car has sat unused overnight, the electrovalves still hum but the switching doesn't happen - just as you describe.

To have the new type valves slipped in would have been a wonderful surprise, but things seem to have moved on since the days of DS assembly - from what I have read, there seem to have been numerous variants, depending on what was available on the day the car was built.

Despite the hydraulics actually being built as documented, I have to say that overall I am very pleased with the state of the hydraulic system in this car - everything seems to work as advertised. For example, my wife and I both found it a relief when coming up the very windy Oxley Highway to be able to switch the suspension into Sports mode, and reduce the general floatiness, until the road straightened out at the top of the range.

Cheers

Alec

[Dieselman]

XM are not normally floaty.
It's possible your car has comfort, or drilled, spheres fitted.

When you switch a Hydractive 2 car into Sport, it doesn't switch it into hard mode. It alters the parameters if the switching threshold, so it switches into hard mode more readily, but is still Ecu controlled.

A Hydractive 1 car switches straight into hard mode when Sport is engaged.

[White Exec]

That's right. On a seriously curvy road, the suspension will automatically stiffen up, and will do so even quicker if steering wheel, accelerator pedal or body undergo rapid or significant movement. Putting the system into Sport mode just makes these things happen sooner. When everything relaxes, car will revert to a Soft ride, even if switch remains set to Sport.

Agree with Will, an XM should never feel uncomfortably floaty, unless spheres/dampers have been altered from standard, or fitted in wrong positions. Are there any readable markings on the spheres?

[DownUnderXM]

OK - time to fess up a bit here. Obviously I'm new here, and this is my first XM, but I've owned it for just over 12 months. Also have some experience with Xantias.

When I was buying the XM, the owner told me that all spheres had been regassed in 2015. On test drive, and at the start of the drive home (about a 7 hour trip), the ride was excellent - everything I'd been led to expect - but I was not quite so impressed by the time I got home, so started to wonder about the state of the spheres. Then a few days later, while I had the bonnet up, there was an almighty bang, and the LHM tank filler cap disappeared! When I looked into the tank, the LHM appeared to be boiling!

I concluded that a sphere diaphragm had just ruptured, and possibly another had gone on the way home. I got onto Sphere Shop (very sorry to see they've closed up) and ordered a full set of 8 IFHS spheres for the Series II XM. So definitely no comfort spheres! Checked the dates, and all spheres were very fresh, so should have been fully gassed.

Also found this double width chain wrench online - not cheap, but has been very worthwhile.

chain wrench.jpg

So the car is fitted with 7 new spheres (I baulked at dropping the subframe to replace the anti-sink sphere - it's still in it's box), and the ride was back to how it should be. I am confident that I fitted them correctly. However on the Oxley Highway, between Wauchope & Walcha, it was just too much of a good thing. BTW - this is quite a lengthy climb - probably over an hour of corners with advisory speeds between 75 and 25 km/h.

Perhaps I just don't drive fast enough to trigger the switch into hard mode, and the road surface probably wasn't helping, but the ride was just too soft for our stomachs over that extended windy section. I'm sure that selecting sport mode did just as you said Dieselman - anyway it made the difference - I was able to push through the corners without the wife getting seasick.

This is really not a problem - it means I am getting a proper Citroen ride most of the time, and that the Sport mode button works as advertised!

Cheers

Alec