My Citroen XM 3.0 PR-Vestige

[White Exec]

All sounds a very satisfying time under there, ol' Bean.
Look forward to hearing how the ride goes...

I have nothing exciting to report at this end, except I Mer'd the whole car this morning, when it was cool and with the sun totally shrouded by mist.

Reason for doing this is that I have just discovered that, on the Brittany Ferrries boat we're due to take from Santander to Portsmouth on Sunday, there is a strong chance that the car might well be lashed down on the upper car deck, next to the funnels, and with the dubious benefit of copious salty sea spray for 26 hours. Hence all the Mer, and last month's total underside and cavity treatment with wax. All set for a week in Arran, and then a couple of weeks in stormy Hampshire. Just what those front-end relays need! Nice, though, that diesel is now just €1 a litre here in many places.

Keep smilin'
C.

[Dean]

It can't be worse


D

[White Exec]

It can't be worse

Famous last words.

[cxprestigeauto]

A then a couple of weeks in stormy Hampshire.
C.

Chris, I am in next door Wiltshire!

If you fancy/have time for a meet up we could exchange RH display units? Just a thought.

Rob

[White Exec]

Sounds a good idea. PM on way to you.
C.

[Dieselman]

Dean. Tell us more about doing the ARB Bushes. Do you need to release any hydraulic pipes to drop the subframe enough. I have removed one, but all the pipes came off with it.

I might do the wishbone bushes as well.

[Dean]

only the strut top end of the o/s strut feed pipe and the top two clips, also the firmness regulator end of the n/s strut feed hose and its first clip on the subframe, then the steering pinion clamp (seperate it as you lower the subframe, dont jeff about with the column) there are other bits like the 4 subframe stay's (two each side) and the lower arms need unbolting from the subframe itself to move them out of the way of the arb bush housing, and take the bolt out of the rear engine mount donut, thats pretty much it.

Its a bit tight and you have to keep a watchfull eye on the return lines and brake calliper feed pipes where they drop down the baulkhead and fix to the subframe but thats it, just be mindfull of them when levering the subframe down, i left it fixed on the front two bolts, just undone enough to let the frame hinge down on them.

I was pleasantly surprised, mind you i should of done the job when it was in bits before but there you go.

D

[Dean]

Just been out for a drive.
OK so i am partial to a little detail but the car is transformed, the knocking on long suspension travel, the noisy ride on rutted ground the slow shift from sport back to soft mode, the buzzing from the electro valve are all gone, its so smooth now in noise terms over rutted ground its unbelievable.

The problems as I see it were the following-

Body movement sensor arb clamp out of adjustment, hitting chassis at low ride heights
High pressure feed to electro valve trapped against chassis and subframe
O/s strut feed pipe loose body clip
Worn steering ram outer bush
Worn arb bushes, arb showing heavy wear marks where it had been striking the subframe both sides

The above lumped together was transmitting a little noise at different times, I'm not sure which was worse but now it is very quiet. The arb bushes although not totally shot were oval allowing play forward and aft, this meant under load the C shape of the arb was actually closing and scuffing the subframe.

The symptoms that lead to this rather extreem investigation are not present but I'm still not sure what caused them, the electro valve has been swapped as has the body sensor and all plugs cleaned and lubed, checked front reg pressure while I was in there too and that's fine.

End result is a vast improvement in what has been a long standing knock / taping stopped and general front end silence restored.

Happy days

D

[russ92xmsed]

That sounds really good Dean. Nice one. Can you just pop over and sort mine out? Cheers!

[Dean]

Edited in above ^

In all seriousness, you get it down here and I will sort it out, I'm really enjoying tinkering with cars again ATM

D