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Xantia heavy clutch on start - Sammy D
Hi,

My Sister in law has a P Reg 2.0 Petrol Xantia. In the first 10 minutes or so of driving she experiences a very heavy clutch. This then returns to normal. Garages are saying this requires a new clutch at several hundred quid...it sounds more to do with the actuation so I wondered if anyone had experience of this and could give us a clue if do need the clutch change.

Thanks
Xantia heavy clutch on start - RichardW
MM's around ths morning, so he will no doubt fill in any holes!

The Xantia 2l Petrol uses the same pull type clutch as the 1.9 TD - and it is known the get heavy with age, indicating replacement - normally in the the 80 - 120k range depending on use. Your only otion other than taking the 'box off is to replace the clutch cable and see if that improves things. I suspect however that the garage is right, and the clutch is sticking when cold and will have to be replaced.

Note also that the clutch cable is fixed to the pedal using a £5 plastic clip, and a heavy clutch action will break it. Whilst this might not seem a problem the design is such that changing it takes around 3 hours (the first time, sbsequent changes when the clutch pedal bolt does not need to be sawn off take about 1 hour)...... Having changed my clip a couple of weeks ago, I do not fancy doing it again in a hurry!


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RichardW

Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
Xantia heavy clutch on start - dilbert

I'm afriad that I can't hope to give any technical advice so I'm not sure if this helps..... I had a 2.0 petrol Xantia as a company car in the 90s (absolutely top car but that's another thread, I guess). The only problem I had with it in 2 years/70k miles was a heavy clutch. My local Citroen dealer changed the clutch at considerable cost and IIRC it didn't really solve the problem. Kind of led me to believe that the problem was elsewhere. The lease came up for renewal before I managed to take it back to the dealer for further investigation so in the end I didn't find out what the problem actually was.
Xantia heavy clutch on start - M.M
You don't leave much to add Richard!

In full agreement these clutches are getting heavy because they are close to replacement, it's a major factor with used Xantias now.

The only comment I would add is...

Are you sure the owner means the clutch is heavy for the first few miles...not actually the gearbox as the oil warms?

I change the gearbox oil at the 72K service on Xantias, use a good semi-syn 75/80 oil. If anyone has put in a heavier oil in the past by mistake the change can be sluggish when cold.

Given the substantial cost of a Xantia clutch job I would go for a cable and oil change, even if a longshot.

M.M