Another "speared" Xantia strut top...Check YOURS!

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andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

isisalar wrote:Got to do mine after inspection. Any advice as to where to get new tops? Is it worth looking in breakers.
Unless you can find some very good used/second hand ones from a
breaker/ebay seller etc, presently your only supplier is Citroen.
isisalar wrote:Are all models the same? Mine's a Hydractive,
The hydractive is different to most other Xantiae - the hydraulic feed pipe
into the top of the strut is a far bigger diameter.
isisalar wrote:Some posters say the strut needs removing ,others say not,any advice please
.

Whichever is easier for you to DIY or find someone to do for you and fits
in with your available replacement/repair strut top. Previous threads here
from many differing posters should show the varying options that are
available to you.

Andrew
isisalar
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Post by isisalar »

Thanks for the replies guys
Looks like it's the new route then.I'll give it a post on 24/7 though to see if anything turns up.Anyone got any experience with them?
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
citronut
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Post by citronut »

vince wrote:Guys, GSF can get these top mounts, its just they arent a stock listed item and therefore cant be sold to customers.....yet.

I have asked the Citroen product manager to get me a price for a pair of top mounts for mine so i can see what kind of money they come in at.

He doesnt seem to think there is much cause to get them in as a stock item, as during his time at Citroen...10 years he hasnt come across more than 1 or 2 that needed changing.

I will keep this updated if there is a chance that these will become available through GSF.

Vince you know there is at least 4 diferant types of these strut tops, beeing modle spesific

regards malcolm
steff
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Post by steff »

First post, and new to Citroen: i bought a 94 td Xantia as a temp car (£285 on Ebay) but i like the ride cos we have lots of ramps where i am.

So, with the MOT imminent i noticed what looked like a cover plate corroded in the wheel arch. After spending all day browsing and identifying the problem i came upon this forum (others were pants) and after reading this thread, especially the andmcit definitive guide, think i may be able to cope with the scary green bulbs etc and fit the replacement i have just bought.

I'm not sure how to release and reinstate pressure, and what about bleeding air out? do you need to? i'm ok with keeping driveshaft in etc but new to the hydrothingummy stuff...

stef
andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

Hi Stef.

WELCOME to this forum and Citroens too - there may be no going back!!

You would do a lot worse than read this link's information though it does
go into a great deal of detail and is specifically for the Citroen Bx but the
inherent design is the same on the Xantia:

http://www.tramontana.co.hu/citroen/sus ... ension.php

As you're new to Citroen hydraulics any work can only be undertaken
when you release the pressure - it is quite considerable at 1500-2000psi
so care must be taken and a decent 'respect' is required!!

The Xantia can be depressurised initially by selecting the height adjuster
lever on the central console TO IT'S LOWEST SETTING situated/marked
beside the handbrake lever. Ultimately a reserve of pressure is required
to be released on the main hydraulic pressure 'switch' or regulator -
located on the body upon which another sphere is attached on the front
of the engine. A simple looking 12mm bolt head is the release or so called
'bleed' screw which MUST NOT be totally removed but turned about
90-100degrees until a sound of whooshing air is heard.

Great care needs to be exercised with space allowed around/under the car
as it will drop right down leaving mere inches of space underneath unlike
any other car but once the height has dropped it is stable and safe to work
on taking into account travel of arms/wishbones will have flaccid
movement.

The system itself is self bleeding and that is what the aforementioned
12mm release screw is for with the engine running. In essence the
maximum high setting is generally used as a reference as this is
maximum presssure where all the systems fluid is being sent throughout
the suspension to lift it up and the reservoir of fluid is checked for its
correct minimum level by the float on its top.

There's a whole forumsworth of keen DIY'er Cit nuts here so you may
even find there's one in a garage/driveway near you now so help advice
or just moral support could be the answer if you get a bit confounded by
the Citroeny extra bits!! :D

Andrew
steff
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Post by steff »

Thanks a million Andrew, i'm getting the general idea now - so after i change the unit do i use the 12mm nut to bleed the car on it's highest setting whilst keeping an eye on the LHM level?


stef
andmcit
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Location: Swansea - South Wales
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Post by andmcit »

steff wrote:so after i change the unit do i use the 12mm nut to bleed the car on it's highest setting whilst keeping an eye on the LHM level?
Yep, you've got it. It'll take a while to pressurise the system from totally 'flat'
and it may even help to have the height adjustment lever on the standard
'normal' setting before to allow the car to raise up before taking it to high to
bleed - there won't be massive pressure or fluid trying to take your hand off
on the 12mm head bolt if slightly turned so don't be too spooked about
undoing it!!

A few cycles of low to high to low or as some call it Citrobics will help put the
system through it's paces again and help dissipate any air.

What I've learned the hard way over the years is take my time and be
thorough - easy to say, difficult to do!!

Andrew
steff
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Post by steff »

Just got back from the MOT and they failed to notice my sphere :shock: although it failed on nsf lower (rear bush) and osr lower (rear bush) and front brakes binding (i've just had the pads changed - could it be connected or do i need a caliper?) do you have to get bushes from the stealers?

stef
andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

The wear on the lower arm bushes would have quite a leverage effect on
the top sphere mounts so there may very well be a link. The top mounting
is an equivalent to a top wishbone balljoint and even in full health the
amount of movement on the top is quite startling - check out the movement
on the strut crown looking under the bonnet when you turn lock to lock!!

I think the brakes could be a dragging caliper - does the lever move back
on the spring freely enough or drag?

Andrew
aerodynamica
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Location: Glasgow
Lexia Available: Yes
My Cars: 2008 C5 Exclusive Tourer
1993 Xantia 1.9 TD VSX Mk1 Sinker A.K.A Slugmobile 13'
'Old Katy'
previous convictions: totaling 52litres of LHM in one go:
1968 ID19B 'Old Polly' Stellar white
1993 Xantia 1.9 TD SX Mk1 Sinker Silver
1992 XM 2.0 SEi Turbo Manual Anthracite Grey
1982 CX 20 Pallas 'Old Goldy'
1993 XM 2.1 SD Auto Light blue
1993 Xantia 1.9 TD SX Mk1 Sinker light Blue
1982 BX 16 TRS 'Cyril' Vallelunga Red
1995 Xantia 1.9 D SX Auto Dark green
1977 CX 2400 Pallas C-Matic 'Aphrodite' Regatta Blue
1982 GSA Pallas SE Silver Pearl
1980 CX 2000 Reflex Vallelunga Red
1978 CX 2400 Pallas C-Matic 'Prometheus' Midnight blue
1984 BX 14E 'Cecil the slugmobile' Maroon
1987 Fiat Panda 'the mighty panda'
x 97

Post by aerodynamica »

Oh ballcocks!

Image

I think it's going.... what to do! what to do! this car has nly done 28K from new - 2 owners and apart from this it's mechanically great, recent cambelt, oil, filters, spheres and hydroclean

bumhats and cock monkeys
Graeme M
2008 C5 Exclusive Tourer 2.0 HDi
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myglaren
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Post by myglaren »

I think it's going.... what to do! what to do! this car has nly done 28K from new - 2 owners and apart from this it's mechanically great, recent cambelt, oil, filters, spheres and hydroclean
Well worth fixing before it buggers the bonnet.
Car is barely run in.
andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

There's no point in plans to scrap it just yet Graeme.

The rubberised lower 'protection' has obviously failed and is now likely
causing more harm than good trapping in the moisture rather than repelling
it; I'd say peel it off NOW to prolong the chances of the strut top!

The main collar plate doesn't look past rescuing with some decent anti rust
and paint protection as there's still some 'meat' to the visible thickness - is
it actually flaking/crumbling up or just rust brown?

The brilliant low mileage whilst being great in respect to wear and tear on
the car could possibly count against you on the strut tops as they've sat for
long periods of the cars' 15+ years without the airflow of normal use to
keep any moisture out! IF the car has sat with the top wet and festering
you really need to examine both tops very closely and plan to source
some good secondhand units or budget for a bit of wallet bashing...

the car is well worth sorting this issue out; there can't be many 28k
Xantiae about the place and it'd be sad to see it scrapped having
barely been used!!

All the best, Andrew
aerodynamica
Donor 2023
Posts: 1299
Joined: 26 Dec 2007, 18:10
Location: Glasgow
Lexia Available: Yes
My Cars: 2008 C5 Exclusive Tourer
1993 Xantia 1.9 TD VSX Mk1 Sinker A.K.A Slugmobile 13'
'Old Katy'
previous convictions: totaling 52litres of LHM in one go:
1968 ID19B 'Old Polly' Stellar white
1993 Xantia 1.9 TD SX Mk1 Sinker Silver
1992 XM 2.0 SEi Turbo Manual Anthracite Grey
1982 CX 20 Pallas 'Old Goldy'
1993 XM 2.1 SD Auto Light blue
1993 Xantia 1.9 TD SX Mk1 Sinker light Blue
1982 BX 16 TRS 'Cyril' Vallelunga Red
1995 Xantia 1.9 D SX Auto Dark green
1977 CX 2400 Pallas C-Matic 'Aphrodite' Regatta Blue
1982 GSA Pallas SE Silver Pearl
1980 CX 2000 Reflex Vallelunga Red
1978 CX 2400 Pallas C-Matic 'Prometheus' Midnight blue
1984 BX 14E 'Cecil the slugmobile' Maroon
1987 Fiat Panda 'the mighty panda'
x 97

Post by aerodynamica »

Don't worry Andrew, I'm with you there - I'd never scrap a car with only one major problem! I spent too much on it getting it back on the road in January (when there was NO sign of this a the time) Cambelt, oil, oil filter, 5 spheres, 5l Hydrorincage, diesel filter, 3 wiper blades, 1 pattern part off side leccy mirror, rebuilt front height corrector and new plastic link, 2 front tyres and one replacement remote for the locks. All DIY of course, (except tyres) but still mounts up the cost in parts but flew through the test in January.

I checked the strut tops back in February and although there was a wee bit of deterioration, it wasn't crusty or distorted. They were derusted and painted but now there's a sudden deterioration to this present state - I'm really quite surprised how bad it is so suddenly!

I' say it's a bit flaky under the rubber that's flapping off. I really can't tell for sure how thick the plate is as it's so obscured so without removing both sides I can't tell so maybe it's time for the strut tops to come out and renovate the plates if they're saveable. Balls to buying a set of strut tops at around £100 a pop!

I think it is a ridiculous design fault. If one of these goes on a car cornering at speed it could be an end over end situation :shock: not heard of this yet though...
Graeme M
2008 C5 Exclusive Tourer 2.0 HDi
citronut
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Post by citronut »

i dont belive these can be repaire, as i think they are quite complicated, im sure they are not just a lump of metal with a rubber coatting, as they must be sort of a road noise deadening device, which means they will be two picecs of metal bonded together by rubber
regards malcolm
andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

Graeme - has your local council recently gone mad gritting the roads?
I'm not insinuating your summer weather up 'there' is that bad or anything!
:lol:

Actually think the collar's all one thickness of metal - or is it mdf or ply?

I've not seen or heard of one fail at speed but then if it did 'go' and took
the car into the scenery the wreckage could hide the failure... :shock: A
discussion about this "fabulous design feature" on Xantiae and Xm's here:

http://club-xm.com/forum2/index.php?sho ... entry25265

Andrew
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