Russ's 2.1 SED Auto now in Mandarin

[russ92xmsed]

Rust now treated in the front drivers side sill.

Its clear that the floor panel and the weld of the inner sill have been forced open a little at some point. so it shouldn't be like it is, but the positive side is i could get into the inner sill and treat it. Injected a load of Krust to kill the corrosion. Then liberal application of wax oil about the place. I think it would be wise to get a wand to treat up the sill towards the rear. I'll also be filling them up with oil too tomorrow.
Check the passenger side too tomorrow. Hopefully it's alright. the weather stopped play...raining since 3:30.

Then it's a case of having a good poke about the underside and re-applying underseal.

On other things, the car has been suffering from a damp drivers side carpet, just in front of the seat. Not drenched, just a bit damp to the touch. It had dried out, but with decent amount of rain last night it was damp again this morning. So for me anyway, this means the matrix is not at fault, but it is something else. I am now suspicious of the door seal.
Curious one this one.

Thankfully it is now so much milder. And the XM being a French car is enjoying it. It popped up really quickly today. It has been a bit slow to rise, idle setting a bit low I think. But I have a theory based on my families old Renault 21...French cars love warm weather. It loved being in the warmer climes of France, and ran fantastically because of it. Now with milder weather, I think the XM is enjoying it too.

[CitroJim]

Excellent stuff Russ

Work I'll be getting stuck into soon. When it's lovely and warm so the rustproofing stuff flows nicely...

I think everything performs better in the warmer weather really and everything seems easier somehow...

It was very bizarre up here today, warm but blowing a heck of a wind. The wind was warm so I guess it was coming from a nice warm place which makes a nice change from the recent winds which seem to have been coming from somewhere very chilly indeed...

[russ92xmsed]

Cheers Jim. Hopefully this will stop the rot in its tracks.

It has been very windy here too, but very warm. It's all strange....Warm weather...what is this!
But hopefully tomorrow, it will be even better.

[captainhaddock]

Good stuff.

Get rid of the rotten crusty metal surround that's supposed to protect the spare wheel, it's always rotten. (I've done it twice now :~( ) Beware, both had to be welded as well.
You now have have better access underneath, the rear part needs the most time and effort. Take out the rear exhaust dampers. Drill at least 6 holes per sill and use a good compressor to get the stuff everywhere. Oil, I would't use. Go and clean behind the plasic wheel covers of course as well.
I spray a lot of waxoil behind the subframe on those invisible suspension pipes. I've found XM's do rust indeed behind the protective layers.
Good luck, it's a dirty job with no reward other than piece of mind (and no more rusty stuff underneath)

[russ92xmsed]

I think that's the best benefit Jaap...peace of mind.

The car has been well under sealed, but I just need to touch up some places, mainly where it has been jacked up.
I do want to do the rear subframe pipes. I have already done the spare wheel carrier last year. All treated and painted up and under sealed. I even undersealed the rear floor and chucked some wax oil in the box sections. But ideally it needs a better job. I would like to check it all again and see what is happening.

[russ92xmsed]

Further developments this afternoon. I finished off the drivers side sill and treated the whole inner sill with a drop of oil.
So now I'm currently in the middle of doing the passenger side. This is what I found....



Looks even worse than the other side. Not at all surprised however...but annoying. Closer inspection...mainly with a screwdriver, it appears to have been welded and sorted out. There is solid thick metal below it and around the rot. Strange not cutting it out, but having a good bash about underneath it is solid too. So I have treated it with some Krust and will probably coat it in wax oil. Also treat the sills to some more oil too.

When I moved the car round...so I wasn't sitting in the road with the door open doing the passenger sill, whilst inspecting the underside, i noticed a pool of liquid and some drips right under the drivers side wheel. Immediately I thought split return pipe, but it turned out to be clean clear water. I could see it was coming from high up in the engine bay. Knowing my coolant is bright green it couldn't be that. So I managed to trace a dribble coming from the strut tower. Very odd.
Then a light bulb went ping.....it was this odd well had filled up with water again. I got the cap of and sure enough, full of water. So it must be finding its way out and dribbling out. So this time I have taken a pic of it. I tried to fix this issue before, but clearly it hasn't worked. My only thought that rain water must be getting in via a gap in the cap seal and filling up this strange pocket with water. Fortunately it is full of wax oil and such like, so doesn't appear to be rusting through...well from what I can see.



I'm leaving the cap off for now to dry out. Not sure wether to try again and seal it or just leave it off. Decisions... decisions!

[MTXM]

Check out the space directly below the screen on the outside against the doseur valve Russ as there is a drain hole there that sometimes gets blocked up with leaf debris etc. I had this problem with one of my cars and under heavy acceleration water poured down from underneath the dash inside! With regards, Matthew T.

[russ92xmsed]

Thanks Matthew...that could be the problem. I have had the scuttle panel off just last week and cleared a load of rubbish out from it. But I didnt know about that particular drain hole. I'll go back in!

[captainhaddock]

Those are rotten places Russ, especially with the CX by the way. In my XM there is a rubber stop but it is copiously factory sealed on both sides. I wonder if the water doesn't creep in somewhere else. Maybe a good idea to garden hose-test and seal it off again after, the drain is probably full with wax oil now! It will be the cause of your dampness no doubt.

Better take all that sound proofing around that area all out, so you can have a really good look. Don't despair, my CX had a few of those surprises as well, some of them far worse

[russ92xmsed]

Hey Jaap,

Not nice to see are they! GRRRR. I really don't like those cracks in the floor. But as I have said, there is really solid metal right underneath it. I'm calm about it at the mo.....and kind of thankful I have found these places to keep an eye on...but I wish there was a rust X-ray machine you could use to really find out what's going on.

What I want to know is if this pocket or box section is meant to be totally sealed. It seems to me it should be. So I do wonder if it is the cause of my damp carpet. But if it breached or overflowed, surely the water would run into the scuttle or the engine bay. As it is doing currently it has found a hole and dribbling out behind the strut..... Not sure.

When I say damp carpets, it is only on the drivers side and it is only ever been very very slightly damp to the touch. Bit like getting into the car with wet shoes....and no I haven't been doing this thinking i have a leak .....If you blotted it with kitchen roll for example, I don't think it absorbs much if anything. The rot areas I have discovered have all been dry, with no damp, water marks, or wet foam.....and it has been raining quite a bit recently. i.e last night!

Anyway, more investigations needed.