French Car Forum

I have to admit to getting VERY hacked off about this sh*t design!!

Just had A CLOSE look at the state of the tops on a new arrival to my fleet and these are TOTALLY hanging. God only knows why they haven't let go already - the metal shoulder on the collars in the wheelarch areas peeled almost totally away to less than half the thickness when the loose rubber was given a tug...

Hohum

IF YOU HAVEN'T LOOKED AT YOURS...

WHY NOT!??

I think you've really got to have a GOOD prod about on these damned things - no use pretending it's all OK and the problem will 'go away'. Great to see the rescue stories mind!!

Andrew

hi guys

ive noticed to today that my o/s strut top is going and i would like to upload some pics here to see what you guys think but how do i do it.

pete.......................

Hi pete -

You need to have your pictures public accessible from the internet. You cannot show your pictures if they are stored on your harddisc only - as we dont have access to your harddisc from the internet (well some hackers do ... )

Once your pictures are copied to an internet store - you submit the complete URL (internet address) to your pictures here - put that address between the img codes - and voila the picture is loaded on the viewers computer by the browser.

Note that you should limit the size of you images shown here to fut approx half the page.

pete@co.uk wrote:hi guys

ive noticed to today that my o/s strut top is going and i would like to upload some pics here to see what you guys think but how do i do it.

pete.......................

Hi Pete.

If there's signs that the rubberised lower visible face [seen from underneath] is sagged or peeled check out the condition of the metal - if it flakes apart in delaminated rusty chunks then there's less metal holding up the weight of the car on that corner!!

The previous pictures posted here show strut tops that were starting to fail although the picture below was one that failed on my 2.0 VSX:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g318/ ... ruttop.jpg

I use photobucket.com to post pictures

Andrew

This old chestnut rearing it's head again I hear you say?

Well, the following on ebay reminded me to remind everyone here and those who've not seen this before!! Also a cheap way of getting yourself a cheap easily fixed Xantia...

CITROEN XANTIA 1.9TD for repair or spares
Item number: 220015606880



Andrew

LeeDJC wrote:

KP wrote:I would personally also say if anyone is replacing these and keeps their car long term to paint up the new mounting plates as to make them live just that little longer as the paint if done reight, should help keep the water away from the metal for a bit longer as not many xantias have non rusty ones... mainly this countries weather...

Good write up there though on how to replace them

Or use lots of waxoyl, like I have

Or 50/50 paraffin/oil mix. I just poured this over the top plate from above and within an hour it had all soaked through to the underside right round. I can guarantee that if I pour another spoonful or two over the tops once or twice a year there will be no more corrosion. I've kept struts on a Vauxhall and the chassis on a Herald sound indefinitely this way. I don't rate Waxoyl that much. Paraffin and oil can't be beat for penetrating seams and stopping rust.

Anyway, thank for this thread guys. Stumbled on it looking for something else, and like everyone else hadn't thought to check these tops only because the rest of the car is so wonderfully rust free it lulled me into a false sense of security. If it was a Vauxhall, I'd have been oiling the strut tops knowing how poorly protected these are. They weren't perfect, but seemed sound enough under a screwdriver, so here's hoping I caught them in time.

Neil Taylor wrote:Or 50/50 paraffin/oil mix. I just poured this over the top plate from above and within an hour it had all soaked through to the underside right round. I can guarantee that if I pour another spoonful or two over the tops once or twice a year there will be no more corrosion. I've kept struts on a Vauxhall and the chassis on a Herald sound indefinitely this way. I don't rate Waxoyl that much. Paraffin and oil can't be beat for penetrating seams and stopping rust.

Great stuff - all non galvanised older Citroen sills and box sections should be filled with it. I'd be a bit wary about using it on the strut tops - problem is, the oil will eat through into the rubber in the tops penetrating the stability of the strut.

PLUS, it's so damned messy on the ground where it finally drops through!

Andrew

http://tinyurl.com/ry52w

1995 CITROEN XANTIA 1.9 TD LX 5dr Diesel Estate for 150 quid...

160,000 miles, Spares or repair due to front suspension mounts failure (suspension is otherwise fine). remote central, deadlocking, keycode ignition, PAS, elect. windows & roof, roof bars, tow bar, engine in great conditions starts & runs well. Bonnett & front struts damaged rest of car good condition. £150. ono
Telephone: 0797 6186965 or 0141 5616308

Yep, with a PAIR of stuffed struts - a pair!!??

WONDER HOW THEY MANAGED THAT ONE!! a 'traffic calming' speed bump? Think I'd have been apoplectic...

Cheap car with the rare sunroof on an estate option too.

Andrew

If one of the suspension struts did fail, exactly what would be the list of jobs and replacements that would be required to get it back to original state?

mezuk04 wrote:If one of the suspension struts did fail, exactly what would be the list of jobs and replacements that would be required to get it back to original state?

Replacements are the straightforward part of the job. I didn't say easy, straightforward!! Finding the green bonnet is a good trick if it's the darker one - I've been looking for one for my Xantia for over a year now...

The struts are either new from the local Citroen stealer, or good secondhand ones from anything between a fiver to 30-40 quid - any more and you may as well pay the new price.

In truth with a pair of struts and a few tools you could go and buy this estate and fix it there and drive it home - may have to bend the bonnet a bit over a stout piece of timber so you can close it and see where you're driving...

Andrew

andmcit wrote:http://tinyurl.com/ry52w

1995 CITROEN XANTIA 1.9 TD LX 5dr Diesel Estate for 150 quid...

160,000 miles, Spares or repair due to front suspension mounts failure (suspension is otherwise fine). remote central, deadlocking, keycode ignition, PAS, elect. windows & roof, roof bars, tow bar, engine in great conditions starts & runs well. Bonnett & front struts damaged rest of car good condition. £150. ono
Telephone: 0797 6186965 or 0141 5616308

Yep, with a PAIR of stuffed struts - a pair!!??

WONDER HOW HOW MANAGED THAT ONE!! a 'traffic calming' speed bump? Think I'd have been apoplectic...

Cheap car with the rare sunroof on an estate option too.

Andrew

Good effort that one - it's done BOTH sides!!! Must have been flat spheres over a big hump at 40 mph

I wonder if the owner can claim compensation from the Council - I believe that there are regulations governing the 'steepness' of speed bumps.

Any idea where that is located at all as i cant pull anything from the phone number so i guess its a cable number

the strut top will go anyway with out going over lumps and bumps,and with good spheres,its just all of these things will help it on its way a bit sooner,also do not put any oil around good strut tops to try and keep them good,as all that will do is rot the rubber bonded to the metal
regards malcolm