BXProject

[charlie]

my recently aquired 2.1td xm could be described as neglected

ok ok so its a fuckin shed

its done 97,000 miles and as far as i know the head gasket hasnt failed

dont want to get too deep into the causes of the dreaded head gasket failure

wrong coolant, electrolysis, lack of flushing, rust eating the gasket etc

but do you lot think about doing the head gasket before it actually fails

half of me thinks it would be wise

but i think im looking for excuses not to do it

cause im a lazy bastard

[Bx Bandit]

Do it...without hesitation mate. the colour of that coolant was a lovely rusty brown gawd knows when it was last changed poor thing

[charlie]

got a new camera

so i took a few pics

[charlie]

i know mate, that waters gonna be done a couple of more times before it runs clear

and its points to the neglect its had

but the head...

if it aint broke....

maybe when it warms up a bit

and youve resurfaced ur drive

[Philhod]

Being an ex maintenance fitter,I would normally be with you mate "If it aint broke don`t fix it".............However..............
It all depends what you are going to do with it If you are going to keep the car and you want it to be right I think we got here on that other thread... There are so many other jobs you can do with the head off, to give you total confidence in her, when you have done the rest of her up and can go round showing off.
Or would you rather leave it and then keep coming back on here saying help guy`s, such and such has gone and hearing the big echo
We told you so

Sorry for sitting on the fence

[David]

You'll be annoyed with this.... removing the head does of course mean removing the cambelt again.

Also I have heard that removing the 12V head from an XUD in an XM is an utter bastard of a job. If it were my car I would run some speedflush through the cooling system to clean it as much as possible, then fill it with a decent quality coolant at a 50% mix, and leave well alone.

More important would be to look into fitting a small auto-transmission fluid cooler to protect the autobox.

[stu]

Buttons! Buttons! Too many buttons!

Also, why do you have the door mirror adjustment knob from a Pug 309/Mk 2 BX sticking out of your steering column?

[charlie]

phil mate

im in this xm for the long term

and youd better move over on that fence cause im sitting right next to you

[charlie]

which leads me to daves point

yeah its suppose to a bastard!!!!

haynes tells yeah to remove the engine but the lads on the xm forum tell me that it can be done in situ but be prepared for mega shit

and theyre split on whether or not i should or not

they also tell me to run it with loads of blue anti freeze in it

[Philhod]

Because, I imagine, that`s where they put it

[charlie]

stu hows ur xm going

dat mirror knob mate is so that u can cut ur toenails while speeding down da motorway

cruise control baby, cruise control, the fact that i havent got it to work yet might be another issue but im workin on it

rest of the buttons is mostly to do with the air con and yes that doesnt fuckin work either

[stu]

It's going bloody lovely - nothing wrong with it, except that warning lights keep coming on for no reason at all.

It's a great new game - warning light bingo ftw!

(BTW David - I had no spurious warning lights at all on the way home from your place. It obviously likes you)

[charlie]

ive not really used mine at all

all ive done with it is take it 5 miles up the road to bandits and then bring it back again

thats because even though ive done the cambelt etc, it rides hard and needs more work....

on the front strut mounts, trackrod ends, drop links maybe and spheres etc

then i can at least start to use it

[Philhod]

If your resources, space, equipment are all a bit scarce mate, oo err, I mean your equipment not "your"equipment.oh dear thats worse. Oh bollocks you know what I mean I would indeed do everything doable and leave wot`s working alone.
On the other hand.... if it`s long term and you have an engine hoist.......
This is your hobby after all

This fence is urtin my arse

Oh and any coolant will do mate as long as it`s mixed metal ALOOMINUM friendly

[charlie]

id be using bandits drive and his pointing fingers as an assist if and when i do the gasket

its not on the top of the to do list but if it happens its gonna be an early summer job and can hire a hoist for not a lot

its just that the topic got raised in conversation and sort of made sense to me

so until then will do the doable

and until then bore you with other questions

how about how do you get off the fence without hurtin urself

[Vanny]

just bloody do it!

oh and stu, dont you know about XM wiring, the lights arent coming on for no reason, its simply designed that way, its a gift from the french to the silly english to keep us amused!

[charlie]

temper temper



happy new year

penfold

[Philhod]

A good jump always works for me

[docchevron132]

HG's a bastard to do on 2.1 XM's???
Really?
Ok, yeah they are a bit, although I'd rather do one of thise than a heater matrix in a Xantia..

Plenty easy with the engine in the car, I've done lots like that.
Only done 2 with the engine out, and it was out for other reasons.

That said, if it isn't blowing, is it really worth it?
If it fauils at some point in the future then tht might the time to do it.
Bare in mind that the head should really be skimmed once it's removed, not essential, but I'll bet it aint toally flat.
Once the heads off, then you may aswell do the pre-combustion chambers, valves, guides etc etc..
It all costs money, I know this to be true.

I totally agree with David about the autobox cooler though, essential if you want to keep the car longterm and not have to give me ALOT of money to fix the box!
(BTW, I seem to have done quite a good sideline in ZF autos over the years, why are people so terrified of auto transmissions??)

[charlie]

wot would i need for a autobox cooler then

i remember both you and dave mentioning it at your barn

and be gentle with me cause im a bit thick and a bit skint