Citroen XM Forum

Took the XM out for a trip down to Portsmouth today. The main reason for the trip was to get under and change the center sphere on the ramps at Southways as the ride was a bit harder at the front opposed to the rear.

The new sphere was fitted, and has softened the front end, but something still isn't quite right. I have a feeling the two main front spheres have seen better days. Anyway, that's for another day.

Whilst in Portsmouth, the 19 year old Citroen clicked over 80,000 miles. I decided to record the moment for prosperity.



Once home, I decided to remove the mudflaps. This was so I could decided if I should leave them or not, however every single bolt snapped so the mudguards are off for now!

This is what was hidden behind the mudflap.



Which cleaned up very well indeed



I think it is an improvement..

There may well be a load of soil, road grit etc In the space behind the bottom of the wheel arch liner.
Regular rust spot as it collects there over the years and stays damp.

John

I removed the mudflaps from all my XMs. I dislike the things.

xmexclusive wrote:There may well be a load of soil, road grit etc In the space behind the bottom of the wheel arch liner.
Regular rust spot as it collects there over the years and stays damp.

John

Indeed there was John. I have cleared the area out, and it' looks in great condition. To be honest, the whole car is immaculate. It really is as clean as it looks.

Sounds like you have made a good buy there; well done.

Rob

Looks awesome.....hope to see it at the rally

Hi Simon,
I am glad you are still pleased with the car, although I would put the mudflaps back on myself after cleaning inside the wings, partly for originality plus they do keep the lower body clean.
Just to confirm that all seven spheres were changed when I bought the car some four years ago with around 65K miles!
With regards,
Matthew T.

The offer to pressure test the old spheres still stands.
I also can check orifice size.
We have a regular interest on here with how spheres degrade both on the shelf and in service.
Testing new ones before fitting is also of interest as a few turn out to be at variance to spec.
My earlier interest in type of Hydractive system fitted is important if it is the later type.
Just the last few Mk1's got this but it means separate front and rear electrovalves and drivers.
This often explains odd behaviour one end.
ECU driver, electrovalve or dead diode can all be the cause of problems.

John

Hi John,
The car has Hydractive 2, ie. sport/normal and from my memory the suspension was fine after I had replaced the original flat spheres!
I have already suggested to Simon if he wants a softer ride to fit rear comforts spheres, that was very successful on one of my other cars.
With regards,
Matthew T.

Thanks John, I will take you up on that offer soon.

Anyway, I have now owned the XM for a little over a week, and have spent a lot of time in the drivers seat. My mileage isn't usually high, but due to collecting it last weekend, and then a weekend away to Devon I have managed to rack up 800 miles in 8 days!

I always knew this weekend was going to be a baptism of fire for the car, so I took a few brave pills and set off on Friday for Torquay. I had done little more then check the levels, have the front wheels balanced, and changed one central sphere (hoping to improve the ride slightly) since collecting it a week beforehand.

What can I say, the car was excellent on the trip to Torquay. It covered the ground well, the auto box was a godsend when I hit traffic near Canford Bottom. The journey took about 4 hours (only 125 miles), but surprisingly my pregnant girlfriend didn't need to stop for a wee!

We rocked up at our rather plush 4* hotel, and there was something very satisfying about parking a nigh on 20 year old Citroen with a PH smiley on the back in a car park full of boring mundane BMW/Audi/Merc's (along with a GTR and a 370z)

The following day we took a quick jaunt to Paignton Zoo, again, probably the oldest car in the carpark.



After the zoo, we headed up the M5 towards Weston Super Mare (85 miles). There was something about the M5, but I found it stupidly monotonous and found it hard to stay awake. Very odd. Again, the car was excellent, although I had started to notice a small squeak whilst stopping. I know the pads are very low, and I will endeavor to replace them this week. I also noticed a little hesitation when its in 4th, on the longer hills. It's like its missing ever so slightly. It didn't really affect the car, but I was aware it wasn't quite right.

Anyway, here we are in Weston Super Mare. Again, in the hotel car park, it must have been the oldest car by at least 10 years



After a night sampling the wonderful English seaside, we headed to Wookey Hole (15 miles) this morning (Sunday). We arrived nice an early, and saw mist rolling over the Mendips.



After that, it was a 70 mile trip back down the A34 to Southampton. Again, the car performed faultlessly (bar the little squeak and the slight "miss" when straining)

It's now parked outside my house having a rest. A little dirtier, but I'm very impressed with it. The ride still isn't quite what I expect it to be, and it might be my imagination, but its feels as if its getting a little stiffer as the miles tick by. I'd hazard a guess that this is a sure sigh the remaining 2 front spheres (minimum) need changing, if not the rears too. I will also treat it to a set of pads this week, as well as new plugs and leads, along with an oil change and a new fuel filter. Hopefully this will clear up the minor (and I mean very minor) issues. Not bad for a 20 year old French Car