Gareth's S1 Activa Progress Report

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 13 Nov 2010, 10:11

Thought it would be a good idea to start from fresh, a new thread which will detail my progress on my recently purchased 1997 Activa.

As time progresses there should be a lot more here, but for now this is what is planned.

Replace manifold gasket - Ticking, more annoying than anything at this stage

Tighten actuator to remove age slack - quicker spool up, less likely to drop boost at top end

Remove air-con - Increases airflow to intercooler and radiator

Remove front pipe and cat - Has a leak somewhere, going to weld a pipe section in to remove the cat and obtain a spare for MOT time

Replace exhaust system with 2.5in single box - Same set up on my Maestro, sounds great and works a treat, big power to be gained from this and the decat.

Fit boost gauge and boost controller - Set up for around 12psi

Cambelt and general service

CitroJim check on suspension - Needs some spheres testing and setting up, overall seems ok for its age

Replace number plates - Got some from work

Clear side repeaters on wings - Already fitted

New NS headlight - Has a bullet hole, £10 new off ebay to replace!

Modify front bumper - Increase airflow but not ruin the look, repaint as it has a few scuffs

Machine Polish - Overall bodywork is good for the age, a few dings but much better than my S2!

Refitted 4030 headunit - Has the Aux input for an Ipod, and sounds really good, plus it looks nicer and original

Swop VSX rear wheel for spare Activa - Has an odd wheel, tyre needs swopping over though. all tyres are V rated, a bit of a mixture but good tread all round so staying for a while. See how good the wheels clean up and may refurbish them.

Future plans - Bigger intercooler, once i have found a suitable one. By removing the air-con rad, airflow should be much increased to the OE set up, and subtle bumper mods will improve this further. Next year when it warms up, i may replace it and fit an aftermarket one once tests have been carried out on its effectiveness.

Bigger turbo - On my old S2 i had a bigger compressor wheel, the options i have may be to get the internals from a Volvo T5 15g and have them fitted to the Activa turbo, retaining the original turbine outlet and thus, i can keep my downpipe set up.

Megasquirt? Would be nice, need to investigate, the standard ECU is restrictive, see how we get on. Would be happy with a solid 190bhp 220lb ft.

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 14 Nov 2010, 11:06

Managed to have an hour this morning to have a closer look at things.

Being an S1 Activa, it has the 283mm discs on the front, Bendix calipers, the disc on the OS seems ok visually but i think they are warped. A new set will be ordered.

I've swopped the VSX wheel over, cleaned up the Activa spare. It has about 3mm of tread left, i will fit the good tyre on it soon, but wanted it to have 4 of the same wheels!

I've removed the spare and the cradle. This gives tons of space underneath now, plus saves a bit of weight. This wont be a family car or driven on long distances, i do have a puncture kit that will take its place with a mini compressor.

The good news is, someone has been here before!

its amazingly clean, espeically when compared to my old S2, which looked like it had been sat in the sea for a year!

All 4 corners spheres are new GSF, date stamped 2010 on the rears. The anti-sink, hydractive and activa spheres are reconditioned Westroen ones

Rear ram is nice and dry. Rear arm bearings have new nuts on them, i know one has definatly been replaced. Height corrector has seen a clean up too.

Moving onto the front, much the same. Westroen as far as i can see, couldnt see a sticker on the Hydractive sphere though.

After a week, the STOP light went out after 20 seconds again. I suspect one or two of the spheres are at the wrong pressure or have lost pressure.

The Westroen overhaul was carried out in 2008 @ 109k, its at 116k now.

As the car went up, the NS had a little kick, i have my feelings on the Activa accumulator being at fault.

The front pipe is leaking behind the cat. When i do the fanimold gasket, a pipe will be welded in up the the original flange. Once i have confirmed the pipe diameter, i may get a HDi 110 cat repair pipe which is 2.25 inch, which will rid me of the centre box. This will then have a straight through back box welded on with a nice looking tailpipe.

2.25 inch is enough for 200bhp, any more and i would consider doing a 2.5 inch but this involves some fabrication, this way, it would be much easier.

I'm not 100% certain on the OE diameter but a quick measure on the largest diameter part reveals a measurement of 55mm OD, which would explain why they seem so strangled as the HDI 110 has a 60mm pipe!

The ID of the pipe must be around 2 inches and increasing this to 2.25mm, removed the centre box and fitting a non-baffled rear will see very useful gains, and all done on a budget!

Deanxm · Unread post by **Deanxm** » 14 Nov 2010, 11:29

Looks like she will be something rather different Gareth, i have to admit i did ditch the spare carrier on the XM and just carried a couple of bottles of gunk, its not worth having the spare when all my driving is so local, if i get a flat i can just get the spare run out to me, or walk home and get it.
My Activa has no spare either as the twin exit exhaust gets in the way but on both cars it makes maintaining them so much easier.
She certainly looks good and clean under there, exactly the same as mine in silver with westroen spheres all over the place

.
Regarding the exhaust, on the TCT the downpipe is rather small but on my nasp the downpipe is at least 2.5inches, and after reading up on turbo's i think they used the smaller pipe on the higher output engine to help stop the little turbo overspooling at high revs, i have made and use a decat section for the nasp xm, i think the same is on the cards for the Activa to take advantage of the straight through exhaust, just a shame there was never a non cat tct, would have made life a little easier to make one up.
I would be very interested to see your exhaust system when its all done.

D

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 14 Nov 2010, 11:41

I've done some research, the pipe is need is 889-007, around £20!

Interesting what you say about the front pipe. I should think the main difference would be the top end power rather than the bottom end, it may as you say slow down the spool as for a petrol, to hit decent boost around 1500rpm even today is very impessive.

Do you fancy measuring your nasp downpipe? I think the position of the outlet is the same as the turbo.

Deanxm · Unread post by **Deanxm** » 14 Nov 2010, 11:46

yeah i can measure it but the outlets are in a different place unfortunatly the nasp pipe is s shaped to go over the subframe and turn up to the mani, the tct one is the same profile but has a dogleg to the o/s to meet the turbo, when i get back later i will have a good measure and take some piccies as i have to do some for MikeT anyway.

The £20 downpipe sounds promising anyway!

D

KevMayer · Unread post by **KevMayer** » 14 Nov 2010, 15:11

Hi Gareth,

Someone has been there before, it was me

The front Hydractive sphere is new from GSF. No more than 2 months old from memory.

I replaced the rear arm bearings (including shafts and seals etc.) with SKF kits on both sides earlier this year (2010). Loads of Castrol bearing grease applied too.

P.s. What will you be doing with the Sony head unit now you're refitted the old 4030?

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 14 Nov 2010, 15:14

KevMayer wrote:Hi Gareth,

Someone has been there before, it was me

The front Hydractive sphere is new from GSF. No more than 2 months old from memory.

I replaced the rear arm bearings (including shafts and seals etc.) with SKF kits on both sides earlier this year (2010). Loads of Castrol bearing grease applied too.

P.s. What will you be doing with the Sony head unit now you're refitted the old 4030?

Hi Kev,

Thanks for that, i can rule that one out then!

I think Jim mentioned he had a sphere or two on his ex-Dickie G Activa that was a regassed one, and that the pressure had dropped a fair bit in a short amount of time, i'll have to have a search.

I'm selling the Sony head unit, any interest? It will be the whole set up including the fascia plate and wiring harness.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 14 Nov 2010, 15:38

Great work Gareth

Some really great plans you have there!

My Activa still has mostly Westroen spheres on it. The rear corners were very low when I first had the car and made the rear very bouncy.

I last checked the spheres in July and found them all more or less within limits, just so they carry on. The ride is lovely on mine and suspension performance is OK. Next year they'll all need replacing.

It certainly looks beautifully clean underneath!

Sid_the_Squid · Unread post by **Sid_the_Squid** » 14 Nov 2010, 15:44

Good to see you back with a Xantia Gareth

Deanxm · Unread post by **Deanxm** » 14 Nov 2010, 16:29

Gareth my nasp downpipe on the xm is 70mm diameter which goes down to 60mm just before it joins to the middle section. herres the (rather expensive now) pipe i made my decat out of by welding in a lambda boss but the trouble with using an xm one is althought the fittings at each end are the same the pipe has a divider in it to cut down back pressure on oposing cylinders, something the turbo doesnt need http://www.onlineautomotive.co.uk/Produ ... yID=114060

what pipe did you have in mind, is that a citroen part number?

D

lexi · Unread post by **lexi** » 14 Nov 2010, 16:54

Excellent Gareth. As always this will be a very interesting mechanical journey for myself and others.

I think it's brill to be able to buy cars such as this that are rust free and have performance and handling. Plus the enthuisiastic following and the fact you still aint put big money into falling value. Look at the fun and the pain side too

............The Challenge

It's a special car!

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 15 Nov 2010, 17:01

Had a good look underneath the front now. Its up in the air awaiting surgery, may need to drop it down a bit at the front as its a lean to access the back of the engine.

As you can see, Kev's been here before!

May just need a tweak here and there to get it perfect but suspension isnt a worry really, makes a change for an Activa.

The manifold gasket is visibly warped. There is a small weep from the turbo drain too. I may end up removing the turbo from the top. The engine needs to tilt forward just over an inch for the gasket to come out, but the faces will still need cleaning up, so it could be easier to get the turbo off, once the manifold itself is removed.

Citroening · Unread post by **Citroening** » 15 Nov 2010, 17:23

I'm looking forward to seeing the updates on this - I like the sound of a modified Activa.

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 15 Nov 2010, 21:40

Made some more progess this evening despite the freezing conditions. Its been calm and quite nice to work out there with the floodlights on!

I'm using a bucket to stand on, to lean over into the engine bay.

So far the front pipe has been undone, this was quite easy as the bolts and nuts were not in too bad shape, i did plusgas them a couple of hours before though.

The fiddly task of removing the jubilee clips for the intake and outlet on the turbo gave me a few cuts, access is ridiculous! Once they are out of the way, and bonnet propped right up, it may not be too bad.

Oil feed and water feed to the turbo must be disconnected, and the turbo/manifold cover can be take off, giving reasonable access to the manifold nuts.

Here is a gasket showing the stud pattern -

As you can see, 4 along the top, and then underneath to get the other 4, the 2 closest to the turbo could be the fiddle.

To remove the turbo itself shouldn't be a problem, under the water feed and drain, oil drain, and the brace that supports it against the block. Two nuts are easy to get to from the top, the other two underneath again may be a fiddle. Once it is off from the manifold the fire ring gasket will drop, refitting it may have to be glued in, this was fiddly even with the engine out!

With the turbo lowered, the remaining nuts holding the manifold on can be remove and then the manifold can be lifted out. To get the turbo out will mean removing the lower steady bar/mount, and a section of the top mount to tilt the engine forward enough to lift it. This may not be essential as long as the turbo is in good shape, it can stay there!

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 16 Nov 2010, 22:57

Not done too much today sadly, and wont be able to do anything till the weekend now, but, i did manage to get time to take the turbo inlet elbow off to check the condition of the turbo and it was perfect. I also tried undoing a few nuts, not difficult because they were loose, exactly like my S2.

When its all refitted i may loctite them in place, or use a nut on the top to prevent them losing their torque, it seems with heat cycling over time it causes them to loosen and then is enough for exhaust gases to weep past and burn the gasket away. A design fault really as the studs are too small to take a huge amount of torque.