Citroen XM Forum

Nice to hear things are going OK.

Well done Steve, not a good day to be without a heater At least you are mobile. My first car didn't have a heater, it was warmer outside!

Peter

andmcit wrote:John must be talking in code as curiousity got me having a search which only turned up x2
WHM fancifully priced mutton sold as lamb cars! I considered eBay.fr but it's supposed to be
'local'. I checked completed listings too so either it's VERY badly described or it's been pulled
and/or had an offer.

Andrew

The story of my life!

Well I made it back home by 5.30 so I don't think that's too bad for a steady trip. The weather made it a pleasant trip so all in all a great day out.

The chap selling the car remembers Peter coming to have a look at it.

Within minutes of driving it I felt comfortable in the way it drove, it feels tight and well planted which is good considering the mileage and age. I would guess that the central spheres are shot or the hydractive system isn't working properly, further investigations should clear that up. I think the dashboard is brilliant, a far better layout than the series 2 and with that single spoke wheel it's easy to all the controls. I can't help but think that the later dash is a step backwards. The interior is in great condition, not A1 but tidy and clean. What I do like is how dark it all is compared the the TCT I've got, the plastics are black as is the actual headlining.

The engine starts fine and runs well even though it does rattle a bit more than is normal. The first few bouts of acceleration produced an impressive cloud of smoke which soon stopped. I took a bottle of Redex diesel cleaner with me and put that in the tank before putting some fuel in for the way home. The engine pulls strongly with only the slightest whistle from the turbo. Unfortunately the boost gauge on the dash doesn't work so that will need fixing along with the speedo. I think something's broke on the speedo system because it all looks plugged in under the bonnet. The outside temperature gauge is faulty too.

So the next thing is to swap over my alloys and get the TCT sold so that I can start sorting out the SED.

For the money I'm happy with it and it has the same feel that my first XM had, it's hard to define but I guess it's like an upmarket BX.

If there's anything you'd like to know just ask - no it's not for sale, I'm smitten.

Steve.

Result! S1.5's rule!! The early dash is much nore nicerer!!
Now to just get that matrix sorted to thaw you and the car out.

Have I got this right, you don't want to keep those lovely mint looking period wobbly webs on it!!?
Which wheels are you planning to fit on it instead - Volvo rims?

Andrew

Hi Steve

Pleased to hear you got home safely. I think you have a good car for the money, there can't be many of them left now, so shortly there will not be any available at any price. Personally I prefer the Mk2 but certainly the dash layout is nice on those plus the addition of a boost gauge, I expect the pipe is disconnected on yours. There is not much very technical about a mechanical speedo system so I expect you will soon sort that out.

Enjoy

Peter

Hi Andrew

Your search perameters are not quite wide enough.
It was listed twice, same photo, car or as spares.
Still on ebay only 25 miles from Peter.

John

Hi Andrew

That's right, the webs will be going on the TCT and the Volvo wheels on the SED. Here's why (just in case you were going to ask) - the Volvos are easy to get balanced whereas the centerless webs aren't, I prefer the look of the spoked wheels and it's easier to check the pads and bleed the rear without removing the wheels.


Hi Peter.

I always prefered the series 2 until I drove this one. I can see why they dropped all the bulb warning messages off the series 2.

I wonder if the garage that fitted the clutch cable bust something whilst he was under the bonnet? I don't know much about the series 1 or 2.1 XUD so it'll be good to have something to get my teeth into.

Steve

John:

clearly I didn't try "big weird car"


Steve;

The wobbly web's aren't the standard one's found on a s1 (or 1.5) and are obviously off a later s2 car!
Early one's simpy have a removable plastic centre cap. I agree bleeding the brakes is easier on a
more open alloy wheel mind but personally like the OEM one's.

Andrew

Jings,

I would have the "etoile de mer" wheels on it over the volvo ones! I prefer the original fitment XM wheels. But its your car, and if you prefer the Volvo rims; why not. Just means the TCT will have really nice wheels!

Centreless wheels, what were Citroen thinking that day, ohh wait, we have the 2.1 engine finished, and we can piss every one off by putting the thermostat in the stupidest place ever.. but what next... Eureka! Lets make the wheels impossible to balance!

I got a set of these "etoile de mers" a couple of weeks ago, and they're centreless. I thought it was only the Monte Carlos that were centreless.

The XM dash was designed to have a single spoke wheel, so you could see the extra switches, later series 1 wheels and airbags ruin it.