1990 2.0 Si - Olympic Blue

Apologies for the night time shots.

Here's the sunroof for Andrew...



And here's the engine bay - shiny!

JEEESUS christ that is A hell of a clean engine bay! Id eat my dinner off the rocker cover and inlet manifold!!!!


That Sunroof does look like the earlyer refelective type, they had a different shape to the later ones...

Im sure my G reg Black one had that style of roof and was reflective...

Rgds
Paul

That is gorgeous! What a colour, suits the Xms shape perfectly

What a nice find, looks in superb condition, nice spec and a manual too, not that im jealous – much


TE, i didnt think you did manuals?

That is one clean engine bay! I thought mine was clean until I saw that.

My G reg has the same sunroof. I noticed that Ciaran's G reg had a different sunroof the last time I saw his.

Christ, ditto on the engine bay, I too thought mine (and Robert's) were fairly clean until I saw that!

Cracking car.

And yes Rob, I remember our discovery of the sunroof differences now you mention it. I believe yours may have the 'after factory' one.

Ciarán

Tim, watch you'll make Dean jealous of your detailed engine bay!!
Actually, has it had a pressure wash to find where there's been a bad leak!

Once upon a time my G plater V6 had the little "CITROËN" sticker in white/silver.

Andrew

That is damn clean, but still not as clean as mine , ive got a polished sump and painted block .

I think by the looks of things in the photo's you have posted Tim that engine bay sums up the whole car, it hasnt just been cleaned for a sale, it has been loved and polished since new to have kept the cam cover that shiny! it took me 3 evenings to get my cover polished up like that , but then im sad

D

Thanks for all the positive comments. I feel a bit guilty that I have this nice car for minimal effort! Don't think that'll last though - see below.

Here's an update after two weeks of ownership.

Good stuff

Car still looks good and has a nice 'quality' feel about it.
The doors close with a satisfying 'thunk' and everything feels nicely greased.

The right hand display even shows the time (I thought it was shot until I tried to set it - must have had the battery disconnected recently?). The temperature is just showing '----F0' - pushing the wiper stalk does nothing. I'm guessing this function at least is not working?

All the windows work (even the rapid functions on the driver's side).

The engine seems to be loosening up with a bit of use - it felt a bit 'tight' at first, but it seems more willing now.

Not so good stuff

Very disappointed to find that, as a result of a misguided attempt to rust proof the car in the past, the drain holes in the sills have been blocked with the same tar-like material that covers the lowest four inches or so of those panels. On the outside they are solid but the inner surfaces of the sills are looking decidedly flaky with the 'rustproofing' holding pockets of water in places. There's evidence of more of this material on the front subframe and elsewhere - I'm a bit concerned.

Problem with the inner sills is that they look really awkward to access with a welding torch. The panels are only really a 'return' forming the inboard leaf of a welded seam, but they're flakey for much of their length. Fuel tank will need to come out and several pipes are routed just inboard of them on both sides of the car. Speaking of which - there are some very flexible looking sections of pipe let into one or two of these where they tuck behind the sill lip - all looks a bit DIY and MOT failure-ish.

My main problem is that the MOT is due in April and my R30 is also sat waiting for sill ends in the space I'd need to use to work on the XM - and I'm short of time as ever. If anyone has done a similar repair on their XM I'd be interested to hear from them just how easy/tough it is! I'll post some images when time allows.

Suspension feels firm - is it common for the non-hydractive cars to become stuck in sport mode? I had the spheres checked and all the rears had virtually no pressure it seems, so all three were replaced. Still a firm ride though. Front seems to ride a little high too.

Glove box lid has the usual issues and there seems to be a DIY bracket between the centre console and dash - stopping an annoying squeak/rattle perhaps?

Overall

I'm very happy with the car - it looks stunning, but the sill issue has soured things a bit - the feeling that for once I owned a car that didn't need welding was beginning to feel quite real until today.

Seemingly so. Mine used to do it quite a lot for no reason. The dealer thought it was the switch but I suspect bad earthing may be more likely.

Certainly of that vintage-'G'?- would concur that earthing could be suspect.
But I'm no expert.......

Alan.

Has it had a hydraflush and new LHM? Are the height correctors free and moving right? That could be the cause of the high front, although it could just be set too high, which wont do your ride quality much good.

Have you had ALL of the spheres checked for gas and recharged/replaced?

Your car must have Hydractive1 surely? Does the ride quality change when you select sport mode? It may well be stuck in sports.

Chris.

Tim

YES! Just recently, Ive been through a welding spate!

Ive welded up my V6 12v, front passenger side cill, were I put a Jack through it after a blow out!!

Ive welded up BOTH rear cills on the 24v were the water has got in and rusted insde outwards!!!

The 12v FLEW through the MOT AS FAR as the welding was concerned - they didn't say a word!

If you get her welded up BEFORE you go for an MOT you can do what ever you like !

Its only when THEY find the damage they WANT to see the repair!! :-)

Rgds
Paul

Thanks Paul,

To be honest I'm happy for my tester to see the sills before they're fixed - I might even ask him to do them if I don't have the time and he doesn't mind the look of the job. Thing that bothers me most is the inaccessibility of the flange that's rotted. I always submit my cars for test with just rust-proof paint on the welded repairs so he can see what I've done - and that's usually all I leave on them so I can keep an eye on any future rot. I'll put the car up on stands at the weekend and have a good poke around - it might not be as bad as I thought but I'd like to nip it in the bud.

Cheers,

Tim.

Thanks Chris,

All the spheres were checked - but there was no flush, just topping back up of the fluid I believe.

I haven't been under the car yet to check the correctors - if I can stop myself poking holes in the sills I'll look for them and check them while I'm under there.

Yes - Hydractive 1, sorry - got hold of the wrong end of the stick regarding the hydractive 1 and 11 - I knew it was the earlier type that's all. No change of ride quality switching into sports mode (I assume the switch works as the display note the change). Is there a common cause for sticking in sports or can it be one of many things?

That's a lovely looking motor. The colour's great. The interior looks lovely. I like the wheels too.

What size tyres do those wheels take?

Steve.