Just throwing the idea out there for a possible project one day in the distant future, theres a gap in the row of buttons where the air con should be, do you reckon if I find a button to put in there the rest of the system might appear when I next open the bonnet?

Seriously now though, I really can't get my head around the fact that my base model Xantia came with aircon but the VSX XM didn't. Anyone had a go at retro fitting it?

At a guess, I would need the compressor, evaporator, radiator, pipes, aux belt spring tensioner, different mountings for the hydraulic pump and of course the button. I reckon most of that could be got off a scrap 2.1 Xantia.

Thats not going into the electric side of things which I imagine may have to be XM specific, different climate control ECU for instance?

Retro fitting was done on some Mk2 XM's.
Usually by dealer and A/C specialists to meet particular customer needs.
XM's were so thin on the ground that availibility seldom fully matched what was wanted.
A/C was standard on exclusives and a paid for option on VSX's.
The retro fits were often sub-standard compared to a factory installation.
Made a few enquiries with my first VSX about 5 years ago.
Got outright refusals from the two A/C specialists I was sent to.
XM, never again, was the view.
Looked up all the info for 2.5's and will do my two best VSX's before I bring them out of dry store. Needs a donor A/C 2.5 because of the large number of different bits.
LHM pump moves so new pipework and unique mounting brackets needed.

John

When I had a 2.5 with aircon to scrap, Andrew Cox took half the wiring and most of the dfashboard and mehanicals off the car with the intetion of fitting it into his car. He gave up - which was not like Andrew - and I scrapped the whole car after it had been cannibalised by sundy folks. There was not much left!
I can possibly find a contact for Andrew if anyone really wants to have a go..He may still have the relevant parts.

Kev,

DONT... Seriously DO NOT try! From experiance now.. DONT TRY.

I say this becuase when I stripped an XM with Air con, the evaporator in the car behind the dash was SO WELL put in and buried deep in the heater box, I broke a few parts getting it out.. it was then I decided that Id never fit it if its not already in.. It REALLY is bloody hard to get that half of the heater in with so many wires in the way.. I removed what I though was all the fixings but it was still solid. Having said that, the harness can be unplugged and moved out the way. I think

Xmexclusive is your other man to reply.. he will either agree or disagree with the dificulty. I could have missed something..

Shame really, as the Xantia one is SOOOOO much easyer to install... which Id rather do.

I fitted Air con from a 98 Xantia to my 1994 SX TD Xantia.. it was easy, it was just the wiring I had to do myself.

As for the engine side of things, it depends completely which HP Pump mount you have, and if you HAVE got anti sink.. (Same pump as Xantia)

You will also NEED an Alloy Sump with Compressor mounts on it.. Only the 2.5 TD uses a Compressor bracket..

Then the pump needs moving to the top, this then entails a different feed pipe to the regulator. On the XM the Regulator is mounted vertically, not horezontally... so the Xantia feed pipe may not do.. Or are the Later regulators mounted horizontally?

Paul

I changed the evaporter in the lump of excrement here.... Are these the biggest heaps of sh!t ever designed ??? Removing the engine and gearbox from a CX, replacing the clutch.... then rebuilding the gearbox and engine just for the hell of it would be **LESS INVOLVED** than fitting/changing the evaporator an XM.

Then you will need to add the thermisters, A/C compressor, condenser.... I fitted air conditioning to my CX with both front and rear (in boot) systems. It's quite involved and you will need the correct tools. ie: vacuum pump, gas, manifold/gauge set and most likely line fabrication tools (unless you have a car to pull the parts from).

If you want and XM with air conditioning, I'd suggest buying one with it already fitted would be far cheaper and easier.

Have a look on the other XM forum for my "evaporator change" thread if you want to know how incredibly involved this task is.

seeya,
Shane L.