Citroen XM Forum

Was nice chatting Neil - the car looked great (who needs to wash 'em!)

Here's the company I was telling you about
http://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-stru ... ng-service

Since I dealt with them they now appear to actually supply gas struts new for all the Citroen models even the classics (GS was the first Citroen to have gas struts on the bootlid) they do list XM bonnet, rear hatch and estate hatch struts but no mention of the glove box strut. Still, they can re-gas the strut for the glove box.

I noticed your glove box strut was actually fitted upside down with the thin rod upwards. I'm certain the wider part of the thing is meant to be at the top so maybe that's why your glove box strut went flat? There's a wee bit of oil in these things that is meant to sit down around the seals but if it's upside down for extended periods itlets the seals dry out and the gas leaks.

Anyway, give them a try and see what they say.

I'm certain the wider part of the thing is meant to be at the top

That is quite correct Graeme!! In the past I did try and obtain new struts from other sources, but there was either a problem with the size or the cost as I recall. Last time I checked Citroen supplied S2 struts that can be fairly easily modified. With regards, Matthew T.

SGS told me they wanted £57 for a strut for the glovebox.

I'll try a Stabila dealer.

Really? for a new one? I was thinking more of a regas. Or is that what they want for a regas?!?!?!

Mine was U/s. I now have another so might give them another call.

New bonnet, hatch lid and estate tailgate struts are available on ebay for around £25 a pair posted.
The bonnet set I bought were fine.

John

Dieselman wrote:SGS told me they wanted £57 for a strut for the glovebox.

HOW MUCH!!!!!!!!

Aerodynamica wrote:I noticed your glove box strut was actually fitted upside down with the thin rod upwards. I'm certain the wider part of the thing is meant to be at the top

You learn something new every day. I'd never noticed that in all the time I've had her.

When I get 5 minutes I'll take it out and have a look see.

When I got the wheel trims from Paul I knew they weren't perfect, I didn't expect them to be, but they were the ones I wanted. Over the past couple of weeks, with a hour here and ten minutes there, I've managed to refurb them back to their former glory. Ok fellas these aren't brand new trims straight out of the cellophane, they are 25(?) year old trims that have seen their fair share of kerbs, but they have come out pretty decent.
Before . . .

with scuffed and broken edges, scratched centre, dull paintwork and chrome discs.
The rears were filthy with ingrained dirt . . .


Wash all four down with soap and water, then tfr to get rid of the grease, then a dose of some industrial floor cleaner that swmbo acquired ages ago. Certainly got rid of all the crap but also brought out all the imperfections.

Rubbed down the edges with wet & dry, then filler, then wet & dry, filler . . . and eventually some stopper to hopefully get rid of the scratches That only worked to a certain extent. Then some plastic etching spray to hold the paint to the trims, and foam strips to cover the brown/grey edging and thin card to cover the five centre rings . . .

Three coats of silver grey, a couple of coats of the brown grey, and a coat of lacquer and . . .

I've also taken the bands off the back and re-seated them so they now sit right on the trims, and therefore on the wheels.

They look so much better, the time taken over a couple of weeks to allow the spray to harden has made a big difference.

Looking excellent, and worth all the effort!

Is it my imagination, or do solvent paints (aerosol, Hammerite...) all seem to take much longer these days to harden, and then really harden? Probably 'safer' solvents? Have noticed that providing an airflow (fan) over the painted item for 24h makes a noticeable difference, presumably by continually shifting the solvent away from the paint layer.

Good stuff, Eddie.