myglaren

Have you checked your air filter? Could be saturated. Has been known with Xantias.

Had mine done a couple of weeks ago at a local indie (where I always go). It had been done at 100,000 miles but I had no way of knowing (bought the car at 114,000) so had it done to be on the safe side. He said it had been done but the tensioner was buggered and the belt was rubbing against the cover and wouldn't have lasted all that long. He changed the belt, tensioner and water pump, gave it a full service, replaced the exhaust centre section, renewed all the injector seals and washers, plus a few other odd jobs, £399 all in!

Did mine last week - I got a bit of discount at the dealers and paid £44.70 for it (bought some other bits and bobs at the same time). Very easy to swap once I had located it, found a nut driver the perfect tool. Removing the trim was harder and I still haven't replaced it yet :rolleyes:

Strange - I used Bio for the best part of a year - originally from WVO but then from virgin rapeseed oil. There was no discernible difference in running to dino diesel and while the source has now dried up and I'm on dino again, there have been no problems whatsoever with the pump or injectors.

I would broadly agree with your synopsis. I always considered mine rather underpowered. Overcame this by modifying my driving style somewhat. Mine will potter around in 4th at 30~40mph quite happily unless it encounters an upward gradient, then it is down to third. It does need a serious kick in the arse to get it moving from the lights or junctions though. OTOH, my son followed me to a garage in his 306 1.9D-Turbo and had a struggle keeping up with me so perhaps it isn't that bad :rolleyes: As said, let loose on a motorway it will cruise along all day at 70 ish.

I would broadly agree with your synopsis. I always considered mine rather underpowered. Overcame this by modifying my driving style somewhat. Mine will potter around in 4th at 30~40mph quite happily unless it encounters an upward gradient, then it is down to third. It does need a serious kick in the arse to get it moving from the lights or junctions though. OTOH, my son followed me to a garage in his 306 1.9D-Turbo and had a struggle keeping up with me so perhaps it isn't that bad :rolleyes: As said, let loose on a motorway it will cruise along all day at 70 ish.

The power steering should be reasonably light at low speeds. I find that mine is not as light as my Xantia was but it is far from heavy - my daughter's mini is a major pain in comparison. Try bleeding it by going from full lock to full lock and keeping it at full lock each time for half a minute. Be sure the reservoir level is correct, that it is LDS in there and that it is properly pressurised.

I can't say that I have had any problems with side winds (estate so more likely to be affected). I get about the same effect as I did with my previous Accord and the Xantia before that. The only car I've had that was completely immune to side winds was a GS.

Thanks Malcolm. I couldn't identify the unit once all the trim was removed but the car has been in for a service the past few days and the auto electrician popped in to the garage and had a look at it, reckoned it was the switch on the dash as the unit in question was live but not receiving a signal from the fan switches. Probably just as well I didn't go and buy a new unit before accessing the installed one.

I have done quite a few in the past but not for years. The motor factor I used told me that repair kits had been outlawed so I never bothered with it again - never needed to either, fortunately.

Mine is dead too and I'm finding it quite difficult to get at without causing damage to the trunking - I assume I am approaching the problem incorrectly, any tips recieved with gratitude (Climate Control model)

I would certainly be interested to see how that turns out - academic interest only as mine is not an HPi and I have no plans to acquire one.

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe that for some years now repair kits for master cylinders have been unobtainable and it is illegal to repair them yourself. You may be able to buy a service exchange unit that has been professionally rebuilt. Your symptoms would certainly indicate a master cylinder defect.

IIRC kfk posted a downloadable (.pdf) copy of the owners manual here a couple of weeks ago.

Agreed Techbod. It is my (probably wrong) understanding the the cat actually does nothing appreciable on a diesel. Nothing they test for anyway. Ed: fix crap coding

My money would be on the throttle control or the cable from the throttle pedal to it - I bet it is dirty tracks.

There is some ambiguity regarding "de-cating". I know of a lot of Xantia guys that have done it but I asked my local parts supplier who said that post 1997 cars have to have the cat to pass the MOT. He had a 607 and binned it specifically because he didn't want to shell out for the DPF/Eolys & cat. It would be wise to check with the MOT bods regarding the applicable regulations. Personally I would go for a de-cated s/s system when the time comes. I paid £57 for a back box (that I didn't need, when I finally got round to actually looking under the car) and £16 for a repair piece to splice in.

Sorry - I was thinking it was the HDi.

When I had mine done I was warned that sometimes removing the calipers destroys them if the corrosion is really bad and they always like to do it early in the day and be assured that a replacement set of calipers is available just in case. As it turned out mine came off reasonably easily and were cleaned up, replaced and new pads fitted. A few people have done it themselves, notably Mr. Coastline who has a fair bit of experience with car repairs. May be a bit much for a first-time project.

You could just buy a replacement set of seals. The dealer, GSF, Euro Car Parts or the pump manufacturer will have them, or possibly a local diesel engineer. Got to be cheaper than in investing in another pump for the sake of a seal. Also I believe that Plaiedes will strip and service the pumps or do a service exchange.

It rather depends on which service level it is. Some are comparitively cheap, some very expensive. An oil and filter change, with a check done on other fluids and the condition of the brakes checked is going to be far less than one demanding all the fluids and filters changed, cambelt and auxilliary belt changes, brake components renewed etc. I take mine to an indy, he's done my Citroen work for the past 20 years and always gives good value for money. The upcoming one is cambelt, tensioner, water pump, auxilliary belts and tensioner, and a replacement pulley that is squealing, plus the brakes and a new injector that is leaking. Clearly some of the items are not covered by just the service but need doing anyway - false economy not to change the water pump and tensioners at the same time as the belt.

Could it be something as simple as you have them on automatic? If so you can turn it off if you wish. The procedure is in the handbook but IIRC you put the key in the ignition, set the light stalk control to 'Auto' and press the button on the end for two seconds. I leave mine on auto, doesn't cause any problems.

You can refurbish the rear calipers yourself BUT the bolts are very long and tight and have threadlock on the all the way. Also when the corrosion pushes the caliper away from the steel arm it is not pushed straight but at a slight angle which puts further stress on the bolts making them even more difficult to remove. I had mine done a year ago and fortunately it was in its early stages and all came to pieces easily. It can happen that the calipers be destroyed while removing them so it is a good thing to have quick access to some replacements. They run at around £80 each. If you do refurbish them, make a polythene gasket to introduce between the caliper and the steel arm to stop the EMF that causes the corrosion.

If it is any consolation, my brother had remarkably similar problems with a Rover ZR. It repeatedly went into limp home mode, just after Rover crashed and the warranty died with them. He took out a private warranty and the garage then spent four months and £3,000 attempting to locate and rectify the fault including a new fuel pump, EMS and god knows what else. He made them take the car back and bought a BMW instead, the ZR went for auction with the fault not cured. The BMW isn't much better though. Touch wood I have had no problems with my C5 other than very minor ones - the standard rear caliper corrosion being one, everything else just normal wear and tear. It has currently done 123,000 miles and goes fairly well although I do think the Xantia was a better car overall. Have you tried the simple expedient of, half an hour after switchin off the ignition, remove the battery and charge overnight. In the meantime short out the battery terminals with a lightbulb for a couple of minutes, then apply a dead short for half an hour. Reconnect the battery, wait half an hour then restart the car. You will have to reset the time and radio stations, automatic window closing and lights but the upside is that sometimes and in some cases it clears the faults. Long shot but a cheap and easy one. A bonus is that the ECU will 'learn' your driving style and adapt to it, you might even like the car better after that.

Anything floating around loose in the spare wheel stowage area? Loose jacks have been responsible for lots of innacurate diagnoses.