Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 206!!

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Not a lot to report this last week or so, been busy with other things & low on funds but have managed to dig out a shift rod that'll work. Being low on funds, it's typical comedy timing that we've just spotted a Pug 505 GTD Turbo auto break rolling shell for sale for a bargain price.

The 505 is an itch I'd previously given up on being able to scratch, given the rarity now. Let alone a break, and even more so a Diesel Turbo automatic. And this guy has TWO of them!!! Needless to say, we're now scrambling round on a "relaxing sunday" to work out how we could secure this beastie. Will be popping the 306 for sale shortly, selling some bikes & crossing fingers etc etc...

As per above edit, 505 "seller" appears to be an utter ignorant bell [-X & as such the itch remains unscratched. Ho hum, at least it leaves more time for Black & the ZX.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

A little more progress the last couple of weeks (promise to get some pics soon!). Spent far too long faffing with the modified lower engine mount as the XU10J4RS 'box clutch & flywheel on XUD9TE means the driveshafts sit about an inch lower relative to the engine block and the engine lays back a tad further.

I did think I had a standard mount that would work so laboured in the heat removing the mount & bracketry only to find the 3 other mounts I had wouldn't work, then had to reassemble it all again!

On the plus side I now know how it all goes together & it looks solid as can be, plus I got the heater hose routing, PAS line routing and driveshafts in whilst I was rolling round in the dirt & discovered that the alternator/PAS pump bracket will in fact work as it was, with the pump/integrated reservoir & alternator that I had already. Changing the hydraulic clutch arm to work with the cable proved easier than expected too, the throw of the arm being largely similar to the cable pull which I didn't expect. Simply drilling the clutch arm to accept the cable & modifying a cable bracket to fit in the right place resulted in a decently working clutch in less than an hours work. So now the car is capable of starting, charging, steering & moving under it's own power. :)

Over the last few days we also managed to locate most of the brake parts we were missing at a local breakers including some brand new (and larger) discs/pads/calipers/hoses from a C2 which somebody had rebuilt the entire front end on and driven about 0.5 miles judging by the discs, before scrapping the thing for some reason. Would've grabbed the struts/springs/hubs/ball joints etc too if I thought they might work but they are quite different sadly. Master cylinder from a Saxo should work out by my reckoning, although it did need a shallower reservoir from an HDi Partner van in order to fit under the scuttle panel properly.

Also the rear brakes proved elusive, being 180mm Bendix type drums. Everything at the scrappy seemed to be at least 200mm drums or disc, apart from the above mentioned Saxo which sadly has been a "lower bunk" car (supporting a Transit Connect on it's head!) at the yard for a few months now and the drums were seized solid to the shoes, and a 2010-ish Fiat 500 which happily yielded the auto adjuster parts we were missing as well as brand-new looking shoes as a bonus.

Waiting on a few bits from evilbay and we should be able to add fluid to the brake system in the next week or so, front suspension & steering is pretty much buttoned up just need to fit drop links & one ball joint & then it's pretty much the "home stretch" of-:

front end/radiator back on to weigh up whether a Xantia TD intercooler will fit without cutting anything up or if we're off to the scrappy again hunting
fixing up the exhaust properly so it's not fouling the gear linkage
Locating suitable Bitron relay & getting the GP relay to function as it should
getting a set of decent matching tyres on it & tackling the windscreen whether it be via a company or DIY.

That ought to see it through the MoT at least, then loose ends such as getting the diesel tach. to work with this flywheel (or picking up a new trigger point from the pulley maybe) adding oil pressure, EGT and boost gauges/controller since the senders are already in place & this may be turned up a little at some point and whatever other little niggles that crop up from building something almost-but-not-quite factory. Pretty much 100% PSA though, as it should be ;)
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
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CitroJim
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by CitroJim »

Fantastic progress Dan! It's gonna be a bit of a 'bitsa' and that's just great! Love that it'll have C2 discs...

I've seen scrappers in the past with some very new looking parts on them. Often al lot of work is done and then terminal rust is found...

I scrapped a Ford Ka like that once... Replaced a load of braking components on it for the MoT and then it failed spectacularly on having an underside that looked more like a colander :D
Jim

A bit of a Citroen AX fan...
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Definitely a bitsa, the irony of the engine in this being originally ex-Xantia then Black's engine being ex-ZX tickles me too! (how about the fact that the only non-PSA bits are from a Fiat, two pre-Stellantis brands from decades apart united in 2024!)

The C2 brake donor didn't look rotten, or rough in general, so all I can think is either catastrophic powertrain failure or perhaps emissions + costly type-approved cat were the death of this one. Here's hoping the weather stays decent today, should be able to get the camera out at last if it does!
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
ekjdm14
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Posts: 1943
Joined: 19 Jan 2015, 17:42
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Typical me, not done photos yet. I *think* we've got all the parts needed now aside one brake hose (which I ordered off the dreaded evilbay, never materialised.) and the windscreen/tyres to be replaced.

Hopefully have a hose & be able to finally test/adjust the brakes tomorrow then it'll just be a case of saving enough cash for the glass 'n' rubber :)

Very likely we'll just get a set of part-worn on the steel wheels for the moment, I have nothing against the steelies (in fact I really like how naked PSA steels look) but would love to find a set of Volcane alloys in future, they'd just set the car off so nicely.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
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CitroJim
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by CitroJim »

Great stuff Dan :D

I'm still very keen to make this into an article for the CCC Citroenian magazine so lots of photos will be good ;)
Jim

A bit of a Citroen AX fan...
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Really thought I'd replied to this way back, evidently not! Oops. Still, you know I'm bad about photos so they never ended up happening sorry. We did end up finishing off the ZX to MoT standard (projects are never truly finished here, they evolve over time) in early September & she's been forced into daily use since I managed to break the 'screen on Black (don't ask!!!). She's done great, just a few teething troubles with the alternator which decided to go intermittently tight & start eating belts plus a turbo hose that blew off but other than that great. Definitely due a set of glow plugs now though and a good wash of the underside now salt season is pretty well over.

Other than that the French car stuff has been quiet here on account of playing with an old Allis Chalmers tractor I somehow bought on ebay for £195 :D a 1941 model B that was stripped down & incomplete. That's now together and running with some home made internal parts & mag-distributor adapter using a dizzy from an old Crossflow Ford etc. Finally started looking more at the cars again as we're possibly moving again from Manchester back to Cheshire & would need a tow pig for moving stuff round, initially bought a cheap & tatty '09 plate 407SW for the task but within a week decided it was horribly uncomfortable compared to what we're used to from PSA so ended up taking a 650 mile trip to Cornwall and back in order to rescue a '98 406sw.

Was a horrible experience enduring 16 hours in that Germanic-feeling 407 with trailer in tow, marginally better on the way back but still Godawful so the decision was made to strip that of any useful parts (basically just a nearly new battery & a load of bulbs) and send that to the boneyard for a small loss but still better than if we'd hired a car to collect the 406 & got a free battery into the deal.

406 is a 1.9 L DT with no bells or whistles & a small MoT fail sheet from February. After correcting those bits, our garage found a couple of drop links that need doing. Those are due to arrive today and it'll be off to retest soon with any luck.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
ekjdm14
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Posts: 1943
Joined: 19 Jan 2015, 17:42
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Wow time flies, ZX is back off the road for some work, short story needs a radiator. Long version it needs a radiator but I don't want to fit another standard one because it's about time it got a front mount intercooler so I'm procrastinating on what rad to use & whether to ditch the silly bayonet bottom hose. Exhaust also needs sorting properly.

406 has been providing sterling service over the last few months, done just about 10k of hard miles including trailering all the other cars back down from Manchester to southeast Cheshire once more. She's worked tirelessly with little more than a cambelt and service but over the last month things have started to come unglued. Firstly the clutch is well worn and would slip under heavy load (not helped by oil contamination from the rocker cover being loose when we got the car!), but now the heavy work is over was hoping it'd make it to next spring that way, some rattles developed in the back end which turn out to be the ARB bushes, but I'm not fancying the look of the hardware after it's Cornish prior life, that could be fun. Then a handbrake cable failed, no huge deal. Major issue though, last trip out she started smoking excessively and making some ominous rattling noises from the turbo.

Mission aborted, as we turned round for home suddenly we had "cruise control" where it never existed before. Went for a downshift and it became obvious what was happening... Thank God the clutch held and I managed to get it stalled before she went to the moon. Had to whip the charge pipe off and limp home a couple of miles NA since the turbo was plainly dead anyway.

406 is now in the air and most of the up-top work is done to pull the engine, wow there's a lot more wiring & hoses on the later XUD! And don't get me started on the bayonet rad hoses not wanting to release after years of sea air! Still a little peeved at how tight access is on a larger car, I feel like if this was in a 306 or ZX I'd have the thing on the deck by now lol.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
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CitroJim
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by CitroJim »

Good to hear from you Dan :D That was a scary moment with the start of a diesel 'runaway' :shock: Love how you describe it as 'cruise control' :lol:

Keep us posted ;)
Jim

A bit of a Citroen AX fan...
ekjdm14
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Posts: 1943
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Thanks Jim, not often I get a chance to be online nowadays with one thing or another. Was very reminiscent of old school cruise control when it happened, was half ready for it with how much smoke we produced but still shook me up plenty enough. Play stupid games & all that though... Just thankful I didn't win the top prize of a dead engine or burned down car.

Not much further progress due to body and weather failing to align, but fluids are all out & should just be a couple of heater hoses, gear linkage and driveshafts before the whole lot is ready to pull. Will definitely have to get in there with the pressure washer while it's apart, looks like half a beach lodged in behind the wings and other inaccessible places. Maybe the loose valve cover was deliberate self-preservation by the poor car since the leaked oil has protected the front half of the car shockingly well compared to how the rear end looks, only one snapped fastener (inner leg holding the bulk wiring connectors) on the whole stripdown which is amazing to me considering the nuts on the rear arms/ARB bushes are probably -2mm from their original sizes & I'm 99.762% sure the studs will just crumble rather than snap when I have to do those bushes. If any of the arm bushes fail it's looking more sensible/less work to locate a better used subframe, it's that nasty.

Anyway, be well all, and will keep on keeping on as usual.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
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CitroJim
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by CitroJim »

ekjdm14 wrote: 12 Nov 2025, 12:32 Anyway, be well all, and will keep on keeping on as usual.
I like that Dan! A good motto :)
Jim

A bit of a Citroen AX fan...
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

The "keeping on" is now on hold waiting for parts to arrive. Engine is out & cleaned, turbo rebuilt (that was a close one on inspection of the old core, the nut on the impeller wheel was so loose it was about ready to be sucked into the engine!) Impressed that the original had a 360* thrust bearing though, I'd expected 270* so that's likely why the Garrett turbos hold increased boost better than the KKK item. Also impressed that I already had the replacement core in stock. Sometimes being a hoarder pays off I suppose since I'd bought that originally for "White" nearly 10 years ago before we concluded the engine had deeper issues.

Gearbox removal was more interesting, the 4 main bolts holding 'box to engine were less than torqued. Not finger tight, but loose enough I was surprised they held on since the last clutch job was done. Also the pin for the release arm had been driven too far in to grab and extract it so had to resort to bending the arm up for clearance to disconnect the release bearing. Inside the bellhousing was a horrendous oily mess, wear pattern on the clutch shows warpage & have made the call to pull the flywheel and have that resurfaced for good measure since it shows a bit of discolouration. Good news being the clutch was very much on it's last leg even if it hadn't been contaminated so no big loss there.

Cleaned up not too bad for nearly 200k as well, the oil has done wonders keeping things nice up front.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
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CitroJim
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by CitroJim »

Good work Dan! A few lucky escapes with loose things... It's amazing how that happens but given time and vibration over time...

It'll seem like a new car soon!
Jim

A bit of a Citroen AX fan...
ekjdm14
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Posts: 1943
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Yuck, wrong parts abound... Clutch cable arrived today and it's for a push clutch not pull even though it was listed as for the 406 1.9TD. Youngest lad also received a ball joint for his 306 1.9D & it's the 18mm type not 16mm.

All good fun, parts f-ups aside though new clutch is in/gearbox back on & just waiting on a wastegate actuator to arrive before the engine/box are ready to go back in. Hopefully gearbox is torqued up nicely this time haha!
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 29k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 88k
'98 406sw 1.9TD, Cherry Red, 197k
'98 306 1.9D, Cherry Red, 180?k
'98 Ford Fiesta 1.3i 72k
'93 Ford Granada Scorpio 2.9i 135k
User avatar
CitroJim
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Posts: 54730
Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 2

Unread post by CitroJim »

That's bloody annoying Dan :twisted:

Yep, all 1.9TDs are pull clutches...

And balljoints can vary by year of manufacture... Welcome to the minefield :twisted:
Jim

A bit of a Citroen AX fan...