Xantia 1.9td S Reg Starting Problem + Unusual Noise

[Guest xantia19tdsregStevie]

Hi, just bought a 98 s reg xantia 1.9 td to replac my saab 900s r reg talladega as i am sick of fuel prices and throwing money away also xantia more practical for the family! :-(

 

Anyway got the xantia for £300 with mot till march 08 and taxed 5 months, 100k, nice.

 

Has a few problems and i need help, handy with the spanners but new to citroen.

 

1st, there is a problem with starting in the morning, takes 2-5times to start and it usually smokes alot for few secs after starting. Looked over the forum and it could be a few things. Guy i bought the car of said glow plugs had been replaced and i noticed inlet fuel pipe?? in engine bay was new with new one way valve??? tried the primer bulb and this is fairly easy to pump but gets quite firm after 2-3 pumps. Once car is started, car does start after 2secs, lazyish starter to. Any ideas??????

 

2nd, there is a weird rattling noise comming from the front of the car that can be heard when driving in 1st 2nd gear, like the sub frame is loose????? goes away in 3rd gear but i think it just gets drowned out with the engine and road noise. The guy i bought it off was advised by citroen that it was the aux belt tensioner that had been over tightened and snap although still present, citroen mechanic said that not to mind it and that it was ok to live with just the noise but i dont beleive this to be true!!!!! any ideas???

 

3rd the clutch engages near the topb of the pedal, had a look at the cable setup and the clutch setup and found no adjust method on cable and feel that adjust if possible would not cure the problem as the clutch is pulled????? rather than pushed, that right? anyway i am downloading a service repair manual and i am thinking about replacing the clutch my self, been quoted £245 by The clutchman all in. but i can get new clutch for £48 and feel i am capable of doing the job myself, need a few tips and a walkthrough guide would be great.

 

nice car in all aspects

 

Hope i get help!!!!!!!

 

Also was wondering if this was the facelift model and does anyone have the software to get the code for the stereo Blaupunkt ph1©

 

Thanks

[Guest Colin Hunter]

Hi there. You don't say how many miles the car has done, but I imagine it's quite high. I had a 1.9 td before my current 110 HDi and know that the 1.9 td is an engine which needs the heaters at all times, even when hot. The heater circuit stays on for some time after the light has gone out so try waiting a further 10 sec or so before cranking the engine. Also, do you put your foot on the accelerator when cranking the engine? This would cause excessive fuel to be injected, so "quenching" the glow plugs and also causing the smoke when the engine eventually does "take". The citroen handbook specifically says "Do not depress accelerator when operating the starter."

It also says to depress the clutch when the temp is below 0deg to reduce starting load. I personally do that anyway as a matter of course. Saves embarrassment is someone else has left the car in gear! The "Lazy" starter may be caused by a poor earth. The neg lead from the battery (on my mk1) went to a bolt on the gearbox which also holds on the gear linkage bracket. It was fine when looking from above but when you looked underneath it was all a mess of white corrosion. I moved the neg lead to a bell housing bolt and the problem stopped.

 

As to the rattle I have no idea hat causes it but have heard quite a few citroens (And pugs) making a similar noise without any detriment again, is the car high mileage?

 

The clutch is adjusted to give a pedal travel of 150 mm (+ or - 5mm) . Ensure no obstructions below pedal and measure from centre of pad to steering wheel base. Depress pedal and repeat measurement. Subtract one from other to get travel. You will find an adjuster nut (with locknut) on the gearbox end of the cable. You may have to take out the air cleaner housing to get to it properly. Adjust the nut (Probably wants slackened a fair bit) until you get the required travel. Depress the pedal ten times before re-measuring.

 

The radio code can be obtained from the dealer who sold the car originally. OK if it's local to you but can be obtained for a charge from citroen UK through a dealer. A mate of mine went though a similar thing with another car, tried all sorts and eventulally got a replacement radio that he knew the code for. When he pulled out the old one, the code was written on the casing! Worth a look maybe!

Hope this is helpful.

[Guest xantia19tdsregStevie]

Hi chris thanks for that. the cars done 100,000 miles so low miles for year. Had a look at the clutch cable and it looks as though the cable has been slackened off to its limit, prob will need the clutch replaced. Gone over the details for replacing the clutch and it looks straight forward unlike in the 2.1td where you need special tools!!!

With regards to starting, i did press the accelerator when i started the car but i will not do that from now on, would the poor earth affect the glow plugs from heating up correctly?, if it is a poor earth that is (lazy starter). I usually allow the glow plug light to go out and wait for the click from the glow plug relay (about 10 secs) before i switch off then heat again and then crank the engine.

I`m thinking as all the glow plugs were replaced recently that the problem will be a poor earth. And possible air leak in the fuel lines

Need to have a good look at the suspension and undercarriage for the cause of the noise, doesn`t sound like ball joint or Cv,, really does sound like the bulkhead that runs the rear of the engine is loose!!!

Also i did have a look at the stereo when it was out and noticed a four digit number in print at the rear of the stereo casing, assuming it was the code i entered it and no luck! Put in a replacement stereo in the meantime although i would like the car to be standard and have use of the steering wheel controls for the stereo.

 

Any more help much appreciated

[Guest Colin Hunter]

Hello Again.

 

Re your clutch. If it isn't slipping I would be inclined to live with it taking up near the top of the pedal. A good way to check on the condition of the clutch is to try driving away with the handbrake applied. The engine should start to labour as the dive is taken up and may even stall. If the car tries to move against the handbrake it's probably OK (For the time being). This kind of treatment should prove it one way or another.

 

The Lazy starter may well be just that it too, is past it's best. because of the number of cars that use the 1.9 (D or TD) engine there are plenty of good used spares about, at reasonable prices too. Try a search in Ebay and you'll see what I mean. I found one for under £35 including carriage at

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PEUGEOT-306-TD-95-19...6QQcmdZViewItem Alternatively you could try a Local breaker.

 

The radio is much the same. Do a search in Ebay for "Citroen Xantia radio" I found 6 for sale under £30 and an ad for decoding as well. Also found on same search a steering wheel from a breakers called Goodwood Autos which led to the starter motor. (Above) If you do buy a replacement radio I'm not sure whether the Mk1 and Mk2 ones are interchangeable. A Citroen Mechanic I know says the wiring is the same but thinks the Fascias may be a different size. The Mk 1 ones just have buttons. The Mk2s have a rotary knob for the volume. Both kinds appear in the ebay search.

 

My Xantia had a rattle from the front which I traced to the anti roll bar links. This did not go away at higher speeds except on smooth roads. Sorry can't be of more help on this one. You really need to hear these things for yourself. Hope this helps a bit Cheers.

[Ronin]

"2nd, there is a weird rattling noise comming from the front of the car that can be heard when driving in 1st 2nd gear, like the sub frame is loose????? goes away in 3rd gear but i think it just gets drowned out with the engine and road noise. The guy i bought it off was advised by citroen that it was the aux belt tensioner that had been over tightened and snap although still present, citroen mechanic said that not to mind it and that it was ok to live with just the noise but i dont beleive this to be true!!!!! any ideas???"

 

A "penny to a pinch of salt" it will be one of the front anti-roll bar drop links that are rattling. (they always go eventually and sound terrible as if the subframe or suspension is dropping off lol)

There is no way of physically checking them for excessive play as they are under load all the time but the small top ball joint wears, thus causing the terrible rattle. look closely at the rubber joint seal on them , if its cracked or split it will be a sure sign. It's advisable to replace both at the same time and it's not difficult to do.....Trust me thats what it will be. :blink: