Stu's Xantia TD SX (picture heavy!) - Building a mile-muncher - update 09/02 - Saxperience

chinkostu · 17th August 2015, 16:41

OEM + ish cruiser?

It's about time I put up a progress thread for the old girl given that i've owned her over 6 months now

Shes a 1995/6 Xantia 1.9 TurboD SX. yea, the old bus only has 90hp

and she had done less than 65k when I picked her up, and only 2 previous owners (the last owner had it from about the end of 1996, its on the logbook

)

(quite possibly the most overexposed photo ever

)

First owner was Hertz

And it did minimal miles

So I bought her for £475, with some very knackered spheres, dodgy paint and a lack of boost. the interior was a bit grubby too and the ABS light was on. It did however have (as said) low miles, electric front and rear windows, an alarm (that didn't work...), heated electric mirrors and an electric sunroof!

PLANS!

Not really much left to do here, but it's a case of finding the parts from here on in.

Respray in the original colour. I did plan on going for a change (these look ace in mauritius) but would be too much work.
VSX or similar alloys, something period correct really Mk1 Exclusives fitted
Mirrors with caps. These are hard to find as they changed the mirrors around 1998 when they released the mk2. Can find LOTS of mk2 mirrors, minimal mk1. Sorted
CD changer to match the stereo DONE!
Full bloody service, she's definately had a belt in the past as the covers have been disturbed but when, who knows.
Rear spheres as they're definately lower than they should be in pressure
Tidy up the engine bay. theres minimal rust (all surface) but theres a bloody great big dirty engine in there!
Fit "wiring mod" to headlights to cut voltage drop, fit better bulbs. The standard Xantia lights are...interesting.
POWER! Mess with the Boost + fuelling to get a bit more poke.

It would be nice to fit a leather interior to really finish the inside off, however they're not up for sale for long these days, plus the seats are only half the battle as the oddment tray would need replacing for the heater controls too.Non-Heated Leathers fitted!

Theres not really much you can do braking and suspension wise on the Xantias. Larger brakes were fitted to the V6, 110 HDI, 2.0TCT Activa and 2.1TD, along with (oddly) the runout automatic models with the 1.9TD.
However this would also include replacing the hub carriers as the mountings, hub faces etc are completely different. not even sure if the driveshaft hub splines are the same!

So the overall plan is to turn it into a cruiser with a bit of poke to go with it. As of this post i'm most of the way there, but mechanical stuff needs doing now before I crack back on with the looks!

Some of the parts might end up being from a donor, as simply MOT failures are seeing these getting sold on cheap

Setting the suspension to low when parking makes it look a bit meaner

Here she is next to my friends Exclusive HDI. His being a Phase 2 which doesn't show its age so much

First jobs were to fix the bouncy castle ride and sort the boost.
The boost issue turned out to be a loose pipe that had popped off on my way home

however it seemed that it wasn't right for a while before that as as soon as it hit boost when I replaced the pipe it made the road look like a coal mine. A new air filter and running some cleaner through it and it cleared up a bit more.

An hour of banging, 2 corner spheres and an accumulator later and she was riding better and rising quicker

This made the car so much nicer to drive, and didn't "tick" every 5 seconds overworking the pump

Old age set in on a few pipes. A return pipe from the PAS and a diesel return had both split, spewing LHM and diesel everywhere

More swearing later (these pipes were a PITA to reach) had her going again.

Eventually I managed to find an interior to swap mine out with. The problem was it was in Somerset, and I was in cheshire. The guy said it was mine for nuttin if I came to collect it, so 6 hours later these came out

and in went these psycadelic jobs (these are pictures from today as I never actually took any at the time

That takes us up until about a few months ago

theres plenty more thats happened since but it'll take another post!

chinkostu · 18th August 2015, 09:15

After all that it was MOT time. Took her in with the intention of seeing what was going to fail, and it wasn't all bad. Ended up being ABS light, Droplinks and handbrake efficiency. We had an inkling that the ABS was the front sensors, garage reckoned it could be the ECU shitting itself. it was, thankfully, dead sensors. At £25 each they didn't break the bank either

the rear pads got done as well as the front, and just as well

We were then legit for another year

So as far as tidying the car up, there were a few things that were small but made it look really untidy.

First up was the rear lights. The factory ones were prone to fading white and looking horrible, and mine were heading that way. Luckily a friend had a set surplus, so we made a deal and I got around to swapping them out

they make it look a bit tidier from the back, although in this shot you can see the awful paint on the bootlid (common Xantia issue as it's plastic!) and the rear wiper which you can't tell is wrong but sits all funny due to the washer jet on the arm.

on that second note, a few quid lighter and I had a Valeo OE wiper heading my way.

It's designed to sit offset from the arm itself, as the washer jet runs along the bottom and fouls the wiper if you use a normal blade.

after all this, it was just the dodgy doorcards to sort out

leeroybrown · 18th August 2015, 11:00

Love a good Xantia I do, I've had the 90 bhp HDI one, isn't a TD 92 bhp?

chinkostu · 18th August 2015, 12:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeroybrown

Love a good Xantia I do, I've had the 90 bhp HDI one, isn't a TD 92 bhp?

whats 2hp to us

the HDI is supposed to be a cracking engine too

So the main thing annoying me after I got the new seats was the horrible doorcards. they were grotty and looked pretty much past it.

A guy not too far from me had a set from an exclusive that he was willing to sell for £30, so half an hour later I had them rattling around in the back of the car.

the cards aren't the flimsiest of things either, 3 screws, 2 massive torx bolts and 2 huge torx screws along with lots of clips. A far cry from the Saxo!

the big issue was the drivers doorcard I aquired was a little bit damaged. there was a small rip in the top vinyl and a few clips were broken. these didn't appear to be an issue until I fitted them and the drivers side flopped around opening and closing the door.

So it was time for a makeshift repair.

I quickly realised that the top section was held in place with plastic lugs that are melted down to hold it to the rest of the card. a hacksaw makes quick work and I come out with the top section of the old card (with one broken clip, I worked around this one as it's on the inner edge so see's little work. plus the plug in the door was missing due to it being damaged.)

The old card. Missus will moan at me keeping bits, they will have a use!

Generous usage of evostik rapid and some weight, and wait.

(on the above picture you'll note theres a bit of plastic that holds the cream plastic part of the armrest in place. this was broken on both, but theres a massive bolt that runs between them and holds it together)

after effecting that repair, I fitted the rest (with thankfully nothing broken!)

the last thing to do was swap out the broken speakers. Not sure whats happened but all four were goosed when I bought the car. Anything at a reasonable volume crackled.

Taking off the trim showed the extent of the damage.

I got hold of three speakers via the new doorcards, and #4 was generously donated by a Xsara in the scrapyard

Now I had working speakers the Radio I had fitted was really irritating me. It was my old Sony unit from the saxo, as the one that came in the car was pretty much gone, an ancient Alpine (and not even a good one). It has a lovely flap to cover it up when you're not using it, but this sets it back into the dash too far for any easy way of getting to the volume. It also meant the wheel controls didn't work.

£20 later I had aquired a factory radio (Blaupunkt 4030) just without a code. Furious googling later and the radio was in and working a treat.

It's got an AUX in. 1995 and AUX IN!!!! This is what swayed me, as i'm not really a bluetooth guy and all my music is on my phone.

Theres also provision for a CD changer if the cables are in the loom, which prompted a quick root around under the seat

one of those is definately the right plug, just need the changers side of the plug to match and a changer and we're rocking!

(you can also see lots of foam all over the floor here. the bolster on the seats slowly crumbling

)

chinkostu · 19th August 2015, 01:51

Today I took to the smaller, less visible job that needed doing.

The parcel shelf straps.

The way these work on the Xantia is the cords are individually tied to elastic, so that they retract when the bootlid closes. Each cords elastic is tied to the opposite side of the shelf by looping onto the plastic bungs at the ends.

20 years of use and heat doesn't play nicely and the elastic doesn't stretch anymore. this means the cords stay out, and get trapped in the bootlid when you close it

it also means the shelf doesn't rise, as the cords end up getting pulled through the bung if you so much as look at the shelf.

Repair kits are available from Citroen for about £15, but with no lead time. So it could have been months until I saw it. Tesco sell elastic for a few quid, how hard can it be?

Regretting the job almost instantly, I replaced the elastic with one piece that held both cords, one on each end. a sharp knot and lots of glue later

By complete chance there was just enough free play for it to slacken up as the bootlids near enough closed, so that the elastic isn't under constant tension.

having a working shelf is a novelty now

chinkostu · 23rd August 2015, 20:51

So today I decided to do what I will call "doing a willsy"

Basically theres always been crud in and around the centre console. 20 years of accumulated crap doesn't seem good. So out it came

The wipes of choice, got a bulk load when tesco were flogging them for cheap!

theres some scuffing here where the seat rubs, theres no way of avoiding this unfortunately so i'll have to do what i can

in the shower it goes!

also cleaning out the footwell vents as they were rancid.

The height control surround got a good going over too.

While all that was drying I got to cleaning the ashtray and cig lighter socket.

A bit of wire wool later (don't worry, it was out of the car so no power!)

This is the mass of wire that runs under the console

Lots of spare plugs wrapped in decomposing foam...

After taking the radio out (again) I got down to checking the heater panel bulbs, as nothing lit up, cleaning as I went.

the culprits

Unfortunately had none to hand, and they're soldered into the metal that sits in the little plastic bit, so not easy to substitute.

with them removed to track down, I set back to replacing the console. The vents were cleaner, but not perfect (ideally it'd be a thin piece of cloth in the vent to wipe it down but I had nothing!)

It's not perfect, but a lot cleaner (I had my screws and stuff sat in the coin tray, so completely forgot to clean it before I put it back!)

If the seats ever need to come back out I can get the buckles nice and clean. for the moment they're ok.

With all that done, thought I best check fluid levels. the coolant looks a bit brown

So flushing the system is on the list.

The aux belt has seen better days too. with the weather so hit and miss it's hard to get a day to fight with it. the shell here has a lot of crap stuck in the creases, as it gets no air or water near it. it was thick with old dirty spillages, gave it a quick wipe with a sponge many moons ago! theres minimal rust though, only really on the captive nuts.

Theres a tiny leak from the feed pipe here on the LHM pump (the rubber pipe).

This has the effect of slowly letting in air, which the pump compresses and it finds its way into the system. so over a few days the ride gets really intermittent

I took the time to replace the clamps topside on the tank to see if it helps

So my next big jobs are to replace the Aux belt and see if a new clamp can stop the small leak

lincolndanny · 23rd August 2015, 21:26

Great little thread mate, I love reading stuff like this.-They'd love you over on www.autoshite.com

chinkostu · 23rd August 2015, 21:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by lincolndanny

Great little thread mate, I love reading stuff like this.-They'd love you over on www.autoshite.com

Cheers man. The 206 was always the unloved car, never really bonded with it. This has got me back into tinkering really, it's come a long way already and feels so much nicer to sit in.

Seeing some peoples threads gets me thinking about tidying it up, and due to the size and suspension it will never be a B road monster, so it's my cruiser

I'm trying to keep the mileage down too, so when it is all sorted hopefully it may actually be worth something!

Funny you say that too, there was a guy over on Autoshite with a white estate that got a suprising amount of attention.

Phaeton · 14th September 2015, 20:11

Had a Xantia from 1998 until 2004 did over 120k in it had 156k on the clock when I sold it. Probably the best car we have ever had & we've had some good ones, although I did think the SX was 110 bhp

Sent from my SM-T330 using Tapatalk

ashy90 · 14th September 2015, 22:05

I had an S reg Xantia SX 1.9td. Head gasket or turbo went at about 120k though. I did like it despite its electrical gremlins.

sri_130 · 16th September 2015, 12:22

You sir, are a legend.

chinkostu · 4th October 2015, 19:22

Not much has been happening with the bus recently, other than earning its keep. Managed to get a good run out a few weeks back and came back with some suprising fuel results.

Sat at 56mph for pretty much 3 hours on the M6 to newcastle, and 2 hours back before the services. Works out at around 65mpg which is impressive given its only 40mpg by the book

I also didn't ache, just mentally exhausted from 7 hours of driving, can't fault the comfort at all and that's what i'm after, i'm sick of rattling my teeth out!

I do however have a pressing issue. The car only has 3 wheel bolts on the drivers side front, the last hole is completely stripped. A few weeks back when tinkering I felt one of the other three binding a bit on the way in, as though they were threading.

So, it needs a new hub. and while its apart, it would be silly not to replace the balljoint and trackrod

I also sourced some of the original longer headed bolts on ebay

Unfortunately time is against me here, as I literally have one day to get it swapped around due to work, and I know the balljoints usually put up a good fight

I've also started trying to source all the parts i'm after to "up-spec" the car, so to speak. The guy I got the doorcards from gave me a nudge and said he was scrapping the car soon and did I want anything before it went. So off I went and returned with some goodies.

The real cracker there is the CD changer. It actually turns out the radio I bought was from this car, and having discovered the car side of the changer cable under the seats it was daft not to leave it there. It also, contrary to what i've read given the age of them, works perfectly

The mirrors are completely the wrong colour but that was the intention. If the caps are buggered then I can replace them (loads on ebay), but finding he actual mirror assembly that fits the caps is harder, and without broken tabs or glass.

Given that I don't want to upset the doorcards i've not long since fitted, they're going to sit in the spares pile and get cleaned up and the caps sprayed, more than likely when the rest of the car gets sprayed (eventually) as they will finish the car off

and the indicators, well, mine were cloudy and one had a crack, so futureproofing there

I've also shotgunned the alloys from the scrap car when it goes, but I didn't get a picture, so heres one before the car came off the road.

Not the exact ones I was after (which seem to be like hens teeth at the moment), but still in keeping with the car itself

chinkostu · 3rd February 2016, 19:55

Small update today!

Finally got around to replacing the stripped hub, all fairly simple stuff except for the balljoint being a massive arse. the nut was stuck hard and the splitter wouldn't hold it still so had to angle grind the nut off

no worries as i had a new one to replace it with.

until the bastard thing wouldn't come loose. ended up throwing in the towel and taking the hub to a friend and they got a huge chisel and twatted it out

then as always something had to go wrong and the abs sensor bolt suddently snapped when i was putting it back in. i think i didn't quite have the sensor flush to the hub so the bolt was trying to press that in too

for the time being until i can get the rest of the bolt out i've pulled the abs fuses as it would kick in at 5mph

also means i can fix the part that holds the heatshield on!

Around christmas I managed to aquire a set of leather seats too.

They're not heated unfortunately and didn't come with any of the loom so I had to wire them in myself (the car didn't have any of the loom either, but has the wiring for the heated part oddly enough.) I managed to find a switched live for the seat relays from an unused plug near the gearstick

a few hours of lifting carpet and trim and the wires were laid.

they're not quite as comfy as the activa cloth (which are like sitting on a sofa they're so soft!) but the electrics make it so much nicer to adjust and they're easier to clean.

I've got the new alloys sat waiting too for me to find another dry day to fit them!

Brettles1986 · 4th February 2016, 09:22

Never noticed this before.

I have to say I love the restoration and OEM upgrade threads more than anything else these days.

chinkostu · 4th February 2016, 21:46

Cheers dude

if i really wanted to i could have just kept it completely standard but the interior changes make it such a nicer place to be!

Shes begging for a respray though as the lacquer peel has just got hilarious, theres barely any left on the roof and the boots nearly to primer :-/ for all the little patches that need doing it would be quicker to do the whole car. Think that'll be last on the list though, still need to fix the awful bootlight switch!

Phaeton · 7th February 2016, 21:37

I had a 1995 SX got it with 35k on it sold it with 155k 8 years later best car I have ever had, only sold it because the heater matrix clogged up & I was told it's a dashboard out job.

Sent from my SM-T330 using Tapatalk

chinkostu · 8th February 2016, 19:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaeton

I had a 1995 SX got it with 35k on it sold it with 155k 8 years later best car I have ever had, only sold it because the heater matrix clogged up & I was told it's a dashboard out job.

Sent from my SM-T330 using Tapatalk

It is unfortunately! Best to swap all the bulbs and clips at the same time save taking it all back out! Has led to many a xantia death as its a huge job

Update soon!

chinkostu · 9th February 2016, 11:40

After digging out the 7 (yes 7!) exclusive alloys I had sat around, I finally found a clear day and all the corresponding bolts. The plan was to get the 4 decent tyres on the car and shove one underneath (which didn't work as the wheel carrier is just big enough and I didn't have enough room to keep it pushed in and up!)

One of the last 2 has a horrible leak and bubbles like buggery when filled so need to see if its the rim or the tyre!

I spent more time cleaning the bolt threads up this time as this happened last time i rushed.

A few of you will notice I posted about the right wheel bolts as I wasn't 100% sure the taper/flat ones would fit. The P/O managed to find a handful of older flat ones, and I grabbed 2 wheels worth from a 206 in the scrappie

The original flat ones are slightly longer in the thread but they seem to go through far enough to keep them on firmly.

I think they suit the car. You can also see the horribly faded wing

They need a good clean as they were sat in storage for a few months, and then I might have to give the calipers a clean as they look a bit grotty behind the wheels now!

chinkostu · 23rd February 2016, 14:12

Small update today. Decided to replace the amber indicators with clear ones. I'm very much unsure on it, they look neater and newer but the amber ones seem to suit better

Then onto the droplinks. Remember guys, buy cheap buy twice. These have been on the car for about 10 months or so (last MOT) and the cars only done 7k ish since. Absolute shite.

this end doesn't look or feel bad

the others are well beyond fucked. I could understand if i'd have split them putting them on!

chinkostu · 13th March 2016, 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaeton

I had a 1995 SX got it with 35k on it sold it with 155k 8 years later best car I have ever had, only sold it because the heater matrix clogged up & I was told it's a dashboard out job.

Sent from my SM-T330 using Tapatalk

Well, I found that out this week

Matrix spilled pretty much the entire system into the footwell.

So this was my day today!

And the matrix is hard against the bulkhead essentially, under the wiring that runs across the top of the dash!