2002 Xsara VTS

[Ben_w]

I have a fan that works as it should again!

The resistor pack arrived this morning. I fitted that to the fan unit id taken out of the breaker car as I figured it was easier to test if it was this pack by simply unplugging the wiring from the existing fan motor and plugging into the other one...

So ready to rock, I set about removing the one from the car.

Few trim screw clip things to remove to drop this piece of carpet.



Small issue when rebuilding the fan motor. I couldn't get one of the connections in the sub loom in. Looks like the tab was slightly bent.



Easy fixed.



Carpet section out of the way and faced with this....3 7mm bolts hold the fan in. You can see one to the right of the fan motor in this pic.



The other two were more difficult to access as you are pretty much doing it blind and by feel. Eventually all three bolts out and with some contortionist skills, fan motor out.



Plugged the new one in, started up the car (fan only works when the engine is running) and it worked as it should. Same messing about to get it back in and then refitting the mounting bolts but all in all, including a brew, it took perhaps 30 mins.

Only jobs left to do now are the service (hopefully tomorrow) and the door card clips one they arrived from Poland (had confirmation they have been despatched)

---

Today was supposed to be a simple service task, taking an hour or so. I get the feeling nothing will run right for me and this car...

So, all the bits I need to service it (apart from the Mann filter, because this is a pic I took before buying the proper one). Oil, filter, proper OEM air filter and a copper crush washer for the sump plug.



All was going well. Car jacked up, sump nut cracked and sump drained. All good. With a little effort, and assistance from a large pair of pipe grips, the oil filter was off, the new one one, sump nut replaced and 4.25 ltrs of new oil added...with not a drop spilt.



Excellent. Started up the engine. Noisy lifter was noisy but there was another noise.......oh, that will be the 4.25 ltrs of oil getting pumped out from behind the oil filter all over the floor.



Its a good job the neighbor was out on the front with his kids, because I'd likely have turned the air bluer than blue. As it turns out, I made a proper schoolboy error.

When I removed the old oil filter, it left the old seal behind. I didn't check. Screwed the new filter back on (with the old seal kinda just hanging in place on the filter screw thread mount) trapping the old seal, meaning no seal.....engine start and voila. Oil. Everywhere.

Speedy call to the wife to get some cat litter on the way home and another order of 5ltrs of oil from ECP.

Took me 90 mins to do a 22 mile journey, thanks to the joys of your local football team playing at home.

New oil added, car dropped off the jacks, oil level checked and topped up and car started. Noisy lifter was still noisy but as the oil warmed and got round, it shut up. Took it out tonight and blew any remaining cobwebs out of it. She's ready for the driving weekend.

---

I had the new VTS badges arrive today.

I never understood the choice of yellow for the 'S' part of the badge. To me it implies that's it's not quite a hot hatch....which I could understand for the VTR but not the VTS. Good job someone makes the badge I think this car should always have had.

As they arrived this morning, fresh from Rich at VehicleDecals (https://vehicledecals.co.uk)



Side by side with an old badge.....



The clips on the badges are very fragile indeed so to get them off, I took the whole trim panel off, giving me access to the badge clips from back. Took the opportunity to clean under where the trim had been and gave it a coat of Orchard Autocare's Speed Seal



Badges back on...







I think the red looks so much better, especially against the silver of the body.