Vince's xm - 2.1TD daily driver

[Dieselman]

Your car is generally in fine fettle, just needs the gear linkage doing.

I don't recall noticing an LHM weep.

[CitroJim]

I don't recall noticing an LHM weep.

Nor me and I laid under it for long enough

[Dieselman]

I'm sure I even had a look as mine has been weeping there.

[Vince]

It doesnt leak onto the drive, but im sure i felt some LHM on the pipework beneath the FDV when i was cleaning up the engine bay before the rally...? Who knows i might have found it in a dream or something

It does have an engine oil weap somewhere....doesnt drop on the dipstick that you can notice but over the months its stained the drive a bit.

No worries on anything really, but whilst its at Paris and Paul being an xm owner/enthusiast/specialist mechanic, he can go over it. He knows i like my cars to be right.

I remember when i bought it and took it down for him to give it a look over...he was walking round it and spotting loads of things you just wouldnt notice unless you knew the cars.... Thats why i use him

I dont think id dare take my car to a non specialist garage unless it was something very easy to do. Im even reluctant to get the tracking done until i have located and have in stock a track rod end and a tie rod, incase they break something....

I had a good one today at work....one of my guys has his petrol 206 in a garage to get one of the manifold gaskets done,..the garage called up saying the manifold wasnt quite straight so the metal style gasket supplied wasnt sealing 100% so he sent them a composite one which they said was a bit thin and again not sealing.....he asked me for some advice on where to get a thicker gasket from.....i simply replied "he is a mechanic isnt he"? Yes came the reply..so i simply said well tell him to fit the composite one to the manifold and the steel one behind it to the head and see if the composite absorbs the slightly off manifold and together they are the right thickness....Hey presto it worked....

If i can figure stuff out over the phone more often than some garages can and im reasonably un mechanical, then you can appreciate my insistence on using a citroen specialist with the xm

[Dieselman]

Without having looked too deeply, I suspect the oil your engine leaks is from the cam cover seal and the crank seal.

[CitroJim]

you can appreciate my insistence on using a citroen specialist with the xm

Absolutely Vince, I'm precisely the same as you...

[Dieselman]

I use a specialist engineer too....Me...

[CitroJim]

I use a specialist engineer too....Me...

You and I use the same one then Will

But... There's still the problem of MOT tests and things like tyres and tracking that I can't do myself and I really do like to find someone with some XM knowledge to do those jobs...

That's just me and I'm really fussy on who does the jobs for me that I can't, even tyre fitting.

[Vince]

Cool, you guys move up here and im sorted

[Vince]

Well, the xm went in today to get the linkage fixed and also if within budget get the wheel alignment sorted.

Jim i dont know what you made under there but i think it ended up stronger than the OE linkage from Citroen

I tried to avoid traffic lights and changing gears but i copped every damn red light....but it held on and perform faultlessly

Ive told Paul to give it a check over and also discussed some future work i want doing on it as and when funds allow.

In the meantime, my haynes manual turned up today so i can start doing some work myself safe in the knowledge that i can read what involved before getting in too deep. Im looking forward to it