My new XM

Armidillo said:
OK - P/S ram back in (my hands are cut to ribbons by the heat shields), but I have a problem - a wire slip has fallen out, and I don't know where it goes :cry:.

I believe it's come from the lower part of the steering column - if I were to drive without it, would I lose control and run into a tree?

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Mr Russek is no help - his diagrams don't seem to illustrate anything vaguely similar, and of course I can no longer while away the hours poring over the Service Box diagrams (well I can - at a price). Can anyone help?

Alec
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Just throw it in the spare wheel for the next owner .... Yes I am always helpful :clown:

It looks like something that would hold one of the heat shields in position to me :confused:

seeya
Shane L.
 
This clip goes round the housing for the pinion valve, with the ends going through two holes in the heat shield. The outward tension of the clip holds it in place in these holes. The shield clips over the rack on one side and is bolted to the frame on the inside of the wheel arch, so it's not going to fall out if the clip is not there. The clip holds the shield back towards the steering column, away from the motor, so the worst that is likely without it is a few rattles.

The service box diagrams I found had a different type of heat shield with different fixings - not worth paying to view!
 
Thanks! So Shane was basically right - about it's purpose, and what I should do with it!

Must admit I was just about to call a meeting of the XM sub-committee (I think XM owners should have their own sub-forum)!

After much feeling around I located the holes, and after more fiddling and groping, when I was just about to give up, it popped into place!

One mistake I had made was assuming that the loop in the middle needed to be pressed onto a narrow shaft. Obviously there's nothing narrow enough in there for it to fit like that.

Anyway, now it's plastic liners back into place, wheels back on, and time for a test drive!

BTW, I managed to pop the RH handbrake cable out of the pivot connector, so have had the opportunity of learning a bit about handbrake cables and adjustments :).

Cheers

Alec
 
Armidillo said:
BTW, I managed to pop the RH handbrake cable out of the pivot connector, so have had the opportunity of learning a bit about handbrake cables and adjustments :).
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We work in parallel universes: when I put everything back together... I managed to pop the RH handbrake cable out of the pivot connector... ! It took a while to work out that the central unit is effectively installed upside down in right-hand drive cars. I put a cable tie around the two cables to the brakes so they wouldn't fall out if I ever needed to disconnect them at the wheel end again.

In case anyone has developed a paraphilia concerning XM steering rack components, here is a new ram offered on Facebook recently:

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Look at the beautiful new plastic bag it comes with!
 

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I guess that in one way to get new ram bushes and fitted to the ram as well.

Cheers, Ken
 
Oooh - what a gorgeous thing! That's one way of getting a new leak-back collar, but I presume it went for a bit more than the price of a pair of bushes, plus the cost of getting them pressed in (plus of course the price of a new collar, which I did without).

If that ram gives any more trouble, I think I'll get a ball-joint puller and any other required tools and pull the whole rack out next time. Getting the little pipes fitted, and everything lined up was a soul-destroying job - I'm not sure I could face it again.

The cable tie is a very good idea! Took the car for a test drive yesterday - all seemed fine, but when I applied the handbrake it seemed very tight, then it wasn't - there was a clunk and it went right to the floor. This time the LH side cable had popped out :rolleyes:.

So I pulled out Russek and followed his advice - obviously too much slack in the cables. Now it takes 8-9 clicks from right off to locked on, and everything should stay in place.

My drive to town includes some suitably rough bitumen to test whether the new bushes had made a difference that I could feel, or whether it was all done just to protect those little pipes. I can now tentatively say that the annoying shake in the steering wheel, evident when driving over rough surfaces (not under brakes - new disks got rid of that shake), has been eliminated, so I'm happy for the moment.

By comparison, I have a 25 year old 605 that has done a few more km than the Xm. On our rutted gravel driveway, the front suspension rattles away like an old Holden, which I'm sure indicates that it needs ball joints/bushes/drop links replaced (still passes rego though). However the steering wheel remains vibration free, so I'm guessing that it's P/S ram bushes are still OK.

But (there's always a but) while lying under the car I realised that I have an LHM leak from the area of the regulator. It drips off the bottom of the transmission and off the regulator sphere, and it's bad enough that I doubt it will pass rego as it is, so my triumph is short lived. Of course rego is due next month. I've got seals to fit to the LHM pump (which is of course dripping onto the alternator), and it's 12 months since the car had an oil change. There is at least one engine oil leak, which I can't determine the origin of. Then there are the headlights, with the yellowing plastic lenses. My vision of floating serenely into Cowra a month ago for Cit-in now seems incredibly naive.

I'm starting to understand Shane's attitude to Xms...
 
Happy 20th Birthday to the New XM! (I think)
Wishing you a long life as a (reliable?) classic.
 
Thanks - I was vaguely aware that it was coming up, but had not noticed that it was today (according to the Orga #)! Curiously the aluminium manufacturers plate says June 00 (the Australian compliance plate says August - 08 00).

The UK's Club Xm website lists mine as 2nd-last in their list - only one day older than the newest one they know of!

I also hope it will be an affordable classic! Have just realised that all speakers need replacing :rolleyes:.

Off to get some spray-on degreaser, and try to locate the leak from the vicinity of the regulator.

Cheers

Alec
 
Since putting the car back on the road have become aware that oil leaks seemed worse.

Definitely engine oil escaping from a couple of places (maybe front crank seal for one) - but the real problem was oil dripping off the gearbox and the regulator sphere. Rego's due in a week, and the way it was dripping, it wouldn't (or shouldn't) get through a rego check!

Oil on transmission didn't look green, and I was starting to wonder if it might be leaking along the middle seam. Anyway, careful cleaning and tracing proved it was all coming from the area of the regulator, and I was pretty confident it wasn't the sphere seal.

Found (mostly by feel) a hose clamp with a long tail - aha! Obviously the return hose has a dodgy hose clamp... It seemed a bit loose, so tightened it (terrible mistake I can hear you saying). Still, leak didn't seem to change, and it actually didn't seem to be coming from the return hose.

Checked the pressure release bolt (which I had tightened after reassembling the P/S ram) - seemed tight. However another degrease and leak trace finally pinpointed the pressure release bolt as the source. Presumably has a washer that's not doing it's job. Now I knew that if I removed it that I would lose the ball bearing (is there a spring as well?), so what to do? I tightened it harder (with my trusty ratchet ring spanner), and it felt like it was about to strip! But it is holding, and the leak has at least slowed if not stopped.

So now I've (still) got engine oil leaks, a stripped bolt on the hydraulic pump pulley, a leaky hydraulic pump that needs new seals, and the regulator pressure release bolt needing at least a better washer (here's hoping there is no stripped thread). Oh and then there's the cruise control etc...

Cheers

Alec
 
whipping the reg out shouldn't be a problem Alec, much easier to deal with on a bench and a new rubber ring seal and ball tapped into position should solve it. you probably have to get at it from underneath though to remove the reg.
 
Have you tried working on an Xm? It's all I can do to get a spanner on the pressure release bolt! At some point the nose cone and radiators are coming off, and I'll deal with a lot of stuff in one go.

Alec
 
Steven,

Us guys that work on 4 cylinder Xantias that sit in an engine bay with room for a V6 are spoiled for room in front of the engine. There is even a lot less room in a BX especially those ones with the huge ram charge intake manifolds.

Cheers, Ken
 
I have never seen a non dripping ES9j engine yet
I feel that although the engine is a brilliant thing it decides that engine oil must drip onto important items like alternators to make life interesting
My 406 already killed one alternator from oil, in traffic though if you get the right amount of oil drip, others don't seem to box you in at traffic lights lol
 
the ES9 engine in the one i have was dripping oil.
and then i started driving it, for a week at at a time, on off, through the co vid lockdown, a week on, a week off.
it has sealed itself up.
no oil leaks from engine.
no LHM dribbles.
they have to be driven.
that is all i can conclude.

drive it i must.
 
UFO said:
You can squeeze 87 litres in if the tank is really low and you brim the fill, but always remember the fuel pickup in an XM is on the right side of the tank (standard for Euro cars I suppose) so when the warning says you have 85km or so left in the tank - get fuel NOW!
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Well I didn't really believe Craig about needing to get fuel when trip computer is still indicating 80+ km to empty, and the fuel gauge is still showing almost 1/4 full - until tonight!

Trip meter had just ticked over 930 km, the warning light had come on, but according to the computer, I still apparently had enough fuel for another 80km, but the car stalled when coasting toward an intersection. Didn't really think I'd be out of fuel, it restarted OK, but I headed to a servo. It stalled again as I slowed up approaching the servo, and I coasted in. Again started OK, & I was able to drive to the correct pump (98). BTW - fuel price cuts are over - price was $1.50/litre!!

Now note what Craig says "You can squeeze 87 litres in if the tank is really low". My tank took 93 litres!!!! I claim a new record! Actually I probably should call consumer affairs to check the pump calibration - that seems outrageous! I think I found out why it was stalling :blush:.

My first thought was that the gauge must be wrong - warning light had been on for maybe 10km - but from what Craig says, that is normal o_O. Given that I can run the 605 down until the computer gives up predicting how much further I can get and just gives flashing lines.

So if the gauge and trip computer are correct, and the problem is the location of the fuel pickup, then the Xm tank must have 100 litres capacity!:dance::headbanger":drink:

Cheers

Alec
 
Armidillo said:
Well I didn't really believe Craig about needing to get fuel when trip computer is still indicating 80+ km to empty, and the fuel gauge is still showing almost 1/4 full - until tonight!

Trip meter had just ticked over 930 km, the warning light had come on, but according to the computer, I still apparently had enough fuel for another 80km, but the car stalled when coasting toward an intersection. Didn't really think I'd be out of fuel, it restarted OK, but I headed to a servo. It stalled again as I slowed up approaching the servo, and I coasted in. Again started OK, & I was able to drive to the correct pump (98). BTW - fuel price cuts are over - price was $1.50/litre!!

Now note what Craig says "You can squeeze 87 litres in if the tank is really low". My tank took 93 litres!!!! I claim a new record! Actually I probably should call consumer affairs to check the pump calibration - that seems outrageous! I think I found out why it was stalling :blush:.

My first thought was that the gauge must be wrong - warning light had been on for maybe 10km - but from what Craig says, that is normal o_O. Given that I can run the 605 down until the computer gives up predicting how much further I can get and just gives flashing lines.

So if the gauge and trip computer are correct, and the problem is the location of the fuel pickup, then the Xm tank must have 100 litres capacity!:dance::headbanger":drink:

Cheers

Alec
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I think you have probably filled all the the fuel vent circuits.... Its probably best to drain 10litres back out of there, you have probably filled all the expansion boxes etc that recycle the tank fumes to the motors pollution circuits.... Did you trickle the last 10litres in really slowly :confused:
 
No - only last litre or two was trickled in. The run home today was 568 km, so gauge is now showing just above half full. Trip computer thinks I'll get another 518 km - make that about 438 with what I know now! Anyway, I'm confident that 1,000km per tank is quite achievable with purely country running.

It did sit overnight, but there was no sign of an leakage this morning, nor any petrol smell.
 
Armidillo said:
No - only last litre or two was trickled in. The run home today was 568 km, so gauge is now showing just above half full. Trip computer thinks I'll get another 518 km - make that about 438 with what I know now! Anyway, I'm confident that 1,000km per tank is quite achievable with purely country running.

It did sit overnight, but there was no sign of an leakage this morning, nor any petrol smell.
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my xm got way more than 1000kms from a tank. an average of about 7L/100kms and an 80litre tank :)
 
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