Citroen XM Forum

oh yugh, I wish I hadn't read that:( Will do my extra prevention scheme early this year, not to fond of surprises there.

MTXM wrote:Usually it is possible to repair holes with plates Neil and I surprised that you need to replace the complete depth.

It isn't a matter of needing to replace the full sill, it's a case of looking forward a few years to when they will need replacing. The work being done now will make them good for a few years, but the original metal will not get any better and they will need fettling in the near future.

citroenxm wrote:They are FINE on yours Vince, and IIRC all the jacking points were nice and straight too!!

Great news Paul

That's fair enough Neil if you are going to keep the car and can afford and/or want to do a more thorough job, although I have always taken the approach of patching as and when required. I think the sills would have to be pretty rotten to justify complete replacement. With regards, Matthew T.

My experience with sills is that there are four areas that present rusting risk.
All are in the lower part of the sill or adjacent car floor.
The outer sill can suffer small rust holes but the MOT man never misses them.
The inner side of the sills can rust badly particularly at the lifting points.
The floor pan strip where it joins the sills can rust usually where the pan is shaped.
Overhand welding, pipes and pan contours make this a particularly difficult area to plate well.
The final area is the internal stiffener in the centre of the sill.
This usually suffers the most rust with bottom sections missing.
As under current rules the MOT man does not check here this problem is often ignored.
A reasonable guide is the state of the lifting points.
If they are bent in then that happened before the stiffener had rusted.
If the lifting point has collapsed up deforming the sill as well as bent then the stiffener was already rusted through at the time of jacking.

The XM body shell is a structural frame made up from a large number of thin steel pressings spot welded together.
I believe patching does not risk altering the frame structural integrity provided jacking is even.
Cutting out large areas and replacing those sections requires jigging to ensure maintenance of dimensional integrity.
For this type of work there is an insurance industry "Thacham" booklet prepared for most cars including the XM.
It covers permitted cut positions, welding standards and jigging requirements.

John

xmexclusive wrote: For this type of work there is an insurance industry "Thacham" booklet prepared for most cars including the XM.
It covers permitted cut positions, welding standards and jigging requirements.
John

e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/citroen-xm-th ... 1308347166?

I have one of these and they are most interesting and also include early model paint code details! Regards, Matthew T.

I got the car back from the welder on Saturday morning but, because of work, couldn't get her in for a re-test until this afternoon. She passed with ease and I'll have her back on the road for the weekend. About half of the inner sills have had to be welded, the offside being the worst, with some patching on the outer sills. Some work has also been done on two pieces of chassis, one next to the inner sill in line with the b-post being a fair size. The drivers seat and carpets have also been out in order to plate up a piece of the floor near the b-post.

Minor bits and bobs to sort such as the RH matrix display needs new bulbs, glovebox catch needs fitting, and the boot has decided it doesn't want to open - but to compensate for that the auto heater has started working on its own

Happy bunny really as the spring arrives and the rally season is upon us.

GREAT STUFF Neil!

Need to get my 24v in and inspected now. Just a TINY little tincy hole to fill in on the passenger side.

Fab news Neil. Look forward to seeing it at the X rally.