Citroen XM Forum

Suspension documentation tends to refer to the final drive/speedo cable sensor as a "distance sensor", with speed sensor being reserved for engine (crank) speed.

In the video, the water surge coming out of the expansion tank looks like trapped air escaping. Agree that mayo/water droplets on the oil filler cap are likely the result of standing, ie water/condensation in the sump; should evaporate off.

Unexpected noises permitting, might be a good idea to get the engine right up to working (fan cut-in) temp, and bleeding the cooling as you go. Might also shed some light on The Noise.

Chris the noise has not returned although another cold start tomorrow will confirm that, the water was because i was lifting the rad hose to burp the air out, at this point it was up to stat open temp, just under 90 degrees. I need to source another spring clip before i can run it with the cap on as the bottom rad hose is not fastened currently.

D

Apart from improvising with the cooling, have you changed anything else to make the noise go away?
Just wondering about coolant sloshing due to an air lock?

Nope, i came home and fitted the main rad hoses, all the coolant pipe work in fact but was short one spring clip so just pushed the bottom rad hose onto the radiator, filled with raw water and started it, the noise was there but came and went for the first few minutes, not as severe as in the prevoius video, it eventually tailed off, getting quieter and shorter in duration until it stopped and didnt come back for the next 10 minutes, the stat opened and burped a load of air out , i then came round and held the front rad hose up as i have not fitted the support clip for it yet and a load more air came out as seen in this video.

I did pinpoint the noise down to the block in general but didnt seem to change pitch, duration, how frequently it accured or its volume much with engine speed.

If its gone completely tomorrow when i complete another cold start i will declare the problem solved and cautiously move on.

D

Air lock, most likely.

Could the noise be the charcoal cannister purge valve. That might also be influencing the poor running due to causing a lean mixture.

I plan to dispatch the engine cover rubber mounts later today Dean and I am sorry for the delay. It would also be possible to include a rad hose spring clip or two if you wish as I have many spare! With regards, Matthew T.

Dieselman wrote:Could the noise be the charcoal cannister purge valve. That might also be influencing the poor running due to causing a lean mixture.

That valve produce ticking noise,similiar to injector's noise.
It is pulsing.

yes, having the canister detached from the system doesnt make any difference, ive tried it, there are two valves on the vac line, one opens when the fuel pump is active, the other pulses on and off under certain conditions like idle.

Firstly i can confirm the noise is gone, a cold start today revealed no sign of the noise at all and the engine is running much better, there is an exhaust blow on the back of the engine somewhere, i think on one of the header pipe joints but thats easily sorted out.
The engine starts fine and smooth but then gets a bit woolly for the first minute until it gets some heat in it and then its fine, the crank sensor fault is still there but i think for now im going to ignor that., put some injector cleaner in and get it on the road, if some Italian use doesnt sort it out i will deal with it but i need to drive it to understand what is going on.

I have decided for the time being to fit the stock exhaust but with a 5" tubular stainless straight though back box with 2.5" rolled tail pipe as with the 2.0i for two reasons, cost being one (stainless chav box is only £30) but its a rather soft grumbly exhaust note so it shouldnt be that annoying.

The coolant system has been removed again now and im in the process of making some stainless heat shielding for the front of the engine bay to improve air flow control and keep the hydraulics and starter motor cooler, ive got to re-route some piping and wires and generally make some improvements to the stock setup which, i think at least, is very poor at keeping engine bay temps down and protecting components from heat, this will of course make access to some components trickier due to having to remove the shielding but given the type of driving i do i think its required (low speed stop start).

Its got damn cold out now so i shall sit by the fire and resume at the weekend.

D

Keep the faith my friend, Rome wasn't burnt in a day.

Rob