Another XM in Australia

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karuzin
Can find the S1 radio
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2020 8:29 am
Orga / RP numbers: CJ7749

Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by karuzin » Thu Apr 30, 2020 1:39 pm

Thanks for "finally" joining Another XM in Australia. With so little that happens here, you addition keeps the members happy. I haven't been able to write as much as I would have liked to, but with this lockdown I haven't been able to access my spare. As I can't ask for help with knowledge I'm forced into silence. And I am enjoying reading this as it happens, its much more satisfying than reading old post and I have learned far more than reading older post I have chosen to read.
Things I want to learn I haven't had much finding because the user manual had got water logged prior to my purchase and therefore, the pages can't be separated.
I feel somewhat impolite to hijack this with a question, but it won't take longer to answer and it keeps this moving along and the happy owners of our rare beauties together during this craziest time of lockdown.
My question, and who knows, I might ask more. The previous owner, although born Australian, would love to have lived his life in France. So he changed all the warnings into French. I don't have a phone, so I don't have internet access on the road to translate it back to English. I was sitting in it whilst parked in the driveway. I had changed the battery because unfortunately the powerful Ferrari Battery had died due to an after market door lock system that ticked constantly and forever drained the battery. I put the new battery in it. Opened the door, sat in the luxurious drivers seat. Yes I can see you visualising but you have gone to the wrong door, I sit on the right. I insert the key, always horrified as what to do if ever I lose it. I push my secret code which I don't know how to change over from the previous owners because I don't have a users manual. I start it. Up comes two warnings in French. "Shit, 2 warnings, I never get two warnings. What could they mean? What has happened since I started it the other day. I turn it off, as one would with two warnings written in a foreign language. I go inside. I find a pen and paper. I return to the car and started it again. The two warnings appear again. I write it down fast, I have two warnings so I write it down fast. I turn it off. I go into my home, sit at this computer and find Translate. I type the first warning. DOOR OPEN. Well obviously my door was open, I knew that. Type in the second. BONNET OPEN. Well obviously my bonnet was open, I knew that. I knew at that moment I have to know how to do it. Shit, I can't even find the fuse box. And when reading that the Executive has front and rear heated seats I went in search for the switches. I know we didn't get DIRAVI steering, but did the French decide to cut costs because only a few Australians' like to live in the snow, am I right Another XM in Australia? But did they also cut cost by not giving us heated seats, and yet, they gave us snow mode? Maybe I am missing something. "We have given him a sunroof, no need for heated seats."
I am getting paid very well in this lockdown. People ask me what i am going to do with all the money when things return to normal. I have things I need to spend money on, but nothing is as important than the XM and I have to do everything possible to have it in perfect condition mechanically. The body and interior are very good. So I am taking it to a Citroen mechanic and have everything done so I know that if I get a warning, it will either be DOOR OPEN BONNET OPEN. But I would prefer to know how to change into English, so the warnings, if they do present themselves on my 300 kilometre journey to the mechanic, I will know what the XM is telling me.

xmexclusive
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Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by xmexclusive » Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:51 pm

Karuzin

Try removing fuse F8 in the under dash main fuse box.
The display should then change from French to English.
On your car fuses F4, F8 & F12 select display language.
French = F4, F8, F12 present.
English = F4 & F12 present.
Other settings of those fuses give you German, Spanish, Italian & Dutch.

Dieselman
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Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by Dieselman » Thu Apr 30, 2020 5:59 pm

The fusebox is mounted in the left footwell, where the owners manual flap is.

You could learn a new language during lockdown...
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DownUnderXM
Knows how to use the parking brake
Posts: 226
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 4:38 am
Orga / RP numbers: RP 8603
2000 ES9J V6, 4HP20 auto, Gris Quartz hatchback

Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by DownUnderXM » Fri May 01, 2020 1:59 pm

So actually, doing the anti-sink sphere was really just procrastinating. The job I was really supposed to be working on was to remove the PAS RAM.

Aussie XM (& Xantia) owners had warned me that once the inner bush chops out, a leak in one of the feed pipes was only a matter of time. Late last year I got my nephew to waggle the steering wheel while I watched from underneath (car was on ramps as I recall). Sure enough, the ram moved at the fixed end!

As a result, I've hardly been game to use the car since! I knew that the bushes could be found, but from a fellow Aussie's experience, the short pipes from rack to ram were really difficult to get replacements for. Took me a while to bite the bullet and order the parts - seemed that down here the usual parts suppliers like EAI didn't stock them, so either I had to go genuine, or order from Europe. Trouble was, while parts from over there are much cheaper, freight tends to be very expensive :o , and I couldn't seem to come up with a worthwhile list of parts (enough to make the freight look 'reasonable') from any one supplier. Eventually I went genuine, and let Continental Motors handle the overseas ordering.

Now Dean's How-to was for removing the whole rack, but UFO (fellow Aussie - has an account on FCF) assured me that he had once removed ram only from his Xm (but too long ago to remember details).

Horrible job, and I am not looking forward to squeezing the thing back into place, but here it is:
DSC03364.JPG
Now I'm realising I should have ordered the leak-back collar - not leaking badly (just a bit sticky) - but of course I can't get them through Citroen (NFP). I know that Chevronics has them, but I might try a few local options, so as not to hold things up too long. Again, freight is crippling, and who knows how long it would take to get delivered...

Just as well that this car is in really good condition, with hardly anything wrong with it! Still got to trouble-shoot the non-functioning cruise control, and while poking about getting the ram out, I've noticed lower control arm bushes are not looking their best, and a flexible pipe (runs vertically on the LHS, roughly in the space through which I was trying to remove the ram) is just at that weeping/sticky stage..

Time for beddy-byes

Alec
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White Exec
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1996 2.5TD saloon, Exclusive, Polar White
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Location: ex-Ealing, Cheshire, W.Sussex & Surrey. Now living in Sayalonga (Malaga, Spain)

Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by White Exec » Fri May 01, 2020 3:32 pm

First check on the cruise control is the brake pedal, which contains a simple 3-wire changeover switch:
+12 IGN in
N.O. contact is for brake lights
N.C. contact enables cruise (trips CC out when pedal is touched). No N.C. contact = no cruise.

Open up the pedal switch to sort/clean the contacts.
A single 10mm nut on the back of the pedal arm secures the pad/switch.
Chris
1996 XM 2.5TD Exclusive RP7165 Polar White
1992 BX19D Millesime RP5800 Sable
1989 BX19RD Delage Red Deceased; 1998 ZX 1.9D Avantage auto Triton Green Company car 1998..2001; 2001 Xantia 1.8i auto Wicked Red Company car 2001..2003

DownUnderXM
Knows how to use the parking brake
Posts: 226
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 4:38 am
Orga / RP numbers: RP 8603
2000 ES9J V6, 4HP20 auto, Gris Quartz hatchback

Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by DownUnderXM » Fri May 01, 2020 9:38 pm

The brake switches must be a weak point - going through old invoices, I found that a new one was fitted in 2006, and then another new one in 2008!

Then in 2011, a 2nd hand one was fitted, which appeared to be the one still in use - probably one of the ones previously taken off cleaned up and refitted :lol:.

I did open mine up, but managed to break the clips on one side. Points looked OK, but it was slow to operate - the brake lights were not coming on with a light touch on the pedal. Useful if you can see a policeman coming up behind you, and feel the need to bring your speed back under the limit without brake lights coming on! I bit the bullet and ordered a new one - interesting that they are still available, when so much else is not.

Fitting the new one did not fix the problem, but the new rubber pad feels great! I haven't yet started measuring voltages etc., but the dash button lights up when pressed, and the rubber bellows holds air. Have pulled out the wheel arch liner and can see the vacuum pump, but that's as far as I've got.

xantia_v6
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Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by xantia_v6 » Fri May 01, 2020 10:24 pm

Jim wrote quite a bit about the xm cruise control, both here and on the FCF . Also see Simon's Xantia topic

Note that Jim found that there are 2 almost identical versions of the cruise ECU, which have pin functions swapped, and plugging the wrong version into the car will destroy several transistors inside, so beware if you don't know the history of yours.
1999 XM Exclusive V6 24V ES9 Manual (LHD) 105,000 km
1997 Xantia Exclusive V6 (RHD) 45,000 miles

DownUnderXM
Knows how to use the parking brake
Posts: 226
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 4:38 am
Orga / RP numbers: RP 8603
2000 ES9J V6, 4HP20 auto, Gris Quartz hatchback

Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by DownUnderXM » Sat May 02, 2020 12:40 am

Thanks - would be a shame to blow up the ECU (assuming that's not the problem). Will follow the "How to" guides very carefully...

Continuing on from my list last night, apart from needing the dashboard trim strip (base of the windscreen) and an auto gear lever, I have a set of seals for the LHM pump (fortunately leak onto alternator seems minor), and then there are oil leaks to track down. From the flavour of the drips, it would seem I have leaks from both the engine and the auto trans. Hydraulic fluid seems well contained - there are no green drips (apart from the ones I know I have caused myself).

To access the LHM pump, I might bite the bullet and learn to remove the nose cone.

xantia_v6
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Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by xantia_v6 » Sat May 02, 2020 2:31 am

On the es9 engine, it is almost always just the pump outlet O-Ring leaking, no need to remove the pump to replace it, but I would recommend using a slightly thicker Vinton O-Ring, as the original type will leak again in a few years.

These engines always develop leaks at the cam covers and the sump seal. These joints have no conventional gasket but are sealed with a silicone sealant..

If you are unlucky they also leak between the cam bearing block and the head, which is more work to fix.

The only common leak on the transmission are the washers on the banjo visible through the wheel arch.
1999 XM Exclusive V6 24V ES9 Manual (LHD) 105,000 km
1997 Xantia Exclusive V6 (RHD) 45,000 miles

DownUnderXM
Knows how to use the parking brake
Posts: 226
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2020 4:38 am
Orga / RP numbers: RP 8603
2000 ES9J V6, 4HP20 auto, Gris Quartz hatchback

Re: Another XM in Australia

Post by DownUnderXM » Sat May 02, 2020 5:34 am

You must be in NZ at the moment :). It's to be hoped that Oz & NZ do mutually open borders before too long - we are itching to come over for a holiday.

When I bought the car, it was clearly well overdue for a service. In addition to oil & filter changes, I decided to fit new plugs. When I removed the coil pack, I was very disappointed to find that the front plug wells were full of oil, because Mike (PO) had told me that Jason Hantos (one of a dwindling number of Citroen specialist mechanics in Sydney) had sealed the cam boxes.

However the back wells were dry, so I was happy to just replace the plugs. I was girding my loins to attack the front cam boxes, when I got an interesting suggestion from a fellow Aussie Xm owner - he said that if the worst-affected plug well was below the filler cap, then it should be prime suspect.

This didn't make sense, as I had evidence that the oil filler cap was not very old. I had no idea how to get a replacement sealing ring, but decided to try fitting a couple of O-rings between the cap and standard sealing ring. Bingo - I rechecked after a couple of thousand km, and there was no new oil in the plug wells. That said, is it possible that oil could leak outward from those cam boxes without collecting in the plug wells? The sump seal is definitely a suspect, but I can see signs of oil coming from higher up - so perhaps the cam bearing block/head interface, or even the rear head gasket, is the problem.

Re. the 4HP20 banjo connection, I currently have it exposed while faffing about with the P/S ram. Seems perfectly dry, but I'm getting a slow drip from the bottom of the transmission - oil is collecting along the central seam. Am pretty confident it is not the drain plug. Actually, I'm confident that it's not engine oil, but I had better recheck whether it is actually LHM rather than trans fluid.

Thanks for your interest, and all your suggestions.

Alec

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