French Car Forum

Yes, you can. The strut tops come complete as a unit and they're surprisingly easy to change.

They are specific to model so if you give us exact details of your Xantia one or another of us can look on pr.net and tell you part numbers and how much they'll cost.

They're officially called Sphere Brackets in pr.net by the way

Thank you Citrojim. The car is a 1996. Xantia 1.9Td. Chassis No. VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]. Above that No on the ID plate are the numbers 35380L3595. I think the latter is the ID TYPE. Painted on the Bulkhead is the following FRY CR 6903....thanks again for your offer.

jmd wrote:Thank you Citrojim. The car is a 1996. Xantia 1.9Td. Chassis No. VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]. Above that No on the ID plate are the numbers 35380L3595. I think the latter is the ID TYPE. Painted on the Bulkhead is the following FRY CR 6903....thanks again for your offer.

Going on your VIN and RP Number you need these:

Left: 5271 E1
Right: 5271 E4

Sphere Brackets for Power Steering but without Hydractive.

Cost: £105.64 each including the dreaded. Worth every penny though for peace of mind. Yours have got to the danger point.

I'll second what Jim says about them reaching a point that requires action.

The metal collar isn't massively thick new and when it delaminates and large
chunks flake off you're putting more pressure on an already weakened
section. Bear in mind the weight of the front of the Xantia is being held up
with it's full hydraulic pressure acting against a corroded 10" diameter ring
collar of metal a few mm thick and 2-3" radius...

On a good day this will be inconvenient when it goes pop so prevention is
better than cure. Also consider how effective the front spheres are - have
these been allowed to go off the boil a bit as this will burden the sphere
brackets stresses more. I realise this all sounds like it's getting expensive,
but just think what sort of money would be needed to buy a replacement
car if you throw the towel in with this one!

Andrew

Thanks Citrojim & Andrew-I will be acting on this within the next few days. My other concern is.........might I need a welding job around the collar, or will it be O.k Meeting my local mechanic tomorrow evening to determine this.

jmd wrote:My other concern is.........might I need a welding job around the collar, or will it be O.k Meeting my local mechanic tomorrow evening to determine this.

Most unlikely fortunately, the new sphere bracket (strut top) comes complete and all thet you see corroded will be fully replaced. The part of the wing it bolts to will be found to be absolutely immaculate.

It is almost as if the strut top is sacrificial

Thanks for all the help. Ordered the Strut Brackets today-hope to have them on Friday. Main Dealer €123 inc Vat. Thanks again boys!

the main diferance between standerd and hydractive is the size of the feed pipe
regards malcolm

jmd wrote:Thanks for all the help. Ordered the Strut Brackets today-hope to have them on Friday. Main Dealer €123 inc Vat. Thanks again boys!

Hang on!

That works out through an online currency convertor to be £83.46 GBP.
If that price is, as you say, inclusive of the tax added you're doing VERY
well from Mr Citroen in Ireland.

The basic BEFORE tax price in the UK is listed as £89.91 GBP. Jim listed
the total price here from Citroen's price database earlier as £105.64 GBP
with the taxman's cut added...

I'm not neurotic or anything (Whoossaidthat...!!) but why do I get the
impression we're being charged more by Citroen because we're in
England/Wales/Scotland and everyone "KNOWS" we're mug to pay up
and not complain - after all we're seen as a nation of natural born
Que formers...!

I feel ripped off again for the 600th time today!

Especially as the road conditions are crappier, MORE derelict, higher taxed
PLUS
environmental conditions are more conducive to corrosion than probably
most other places.

Andrew

Hi Andrew.
This is probably the only instance, where I have seen that a price has been better in Ireland than in the U.K Our Road Tax for instance-on my Citroen Xantia Td. Road Tax €540-00. This is I think much less with you Car Insurance has come down in the last few years. Mine with a Full No-Claims Bonus (30 years driving) €365-00. My Son aged 25 years !st car Insurance costs him €900-00 Citroen C5 2Ltd Hdi. Diesel Retails at the pumps for €1=02 /Ltr. You say your roads are worse than ours. I cannot agree, Yes around Dublin and surrounding counties, roads are very good, but down the country they are poor. I suppose the same is true in London & the home counties. My only experience of driving in the U.K has been in Cheshire & yes they are rather poor there. Yes your Local Authorities do tend to use more salt on the roads, Finally I telephoned two Garages to-day for a price for the brackets, both said they had never sold those items before, so I reckon the cause is the amount of Salt used on your roads is playing a big part in causing brackets and other car parts to rust in the U.K.
Jim

And you think you're hard done by!?

I need to replace the anti sway droplinks on my XM soon and I got prices from a supplier in Australia. Genuine Citroen $195 each (works out to be about 65UKP each)
Non Genuine $140 each
Low km second hand $140 for the pair.

I get onto the Andyspares (GSF) site and low and behold their price is 16.50UKP each. That's like $44! Plus some freight and whatnot and I'll probably still get away with less than $120 for the lot.

I was once quoted $195 each for front spheres for the XM. Any wonder we regas them here in Aus?

UFO wrote:Plus some freight and whatnot

That is ok if your not in a rush or the car is broken down. How long does it take to get your parts from GSF

Last time was three working days. I say that because the parcel cleared customs in Sydney on Friday but AusPost didn't deliver till Monday. But in reality I ordered Tuesday night and received Monday morning.

Many of us here use GSF for light weight parts as they are cheap and quick. However, if the weight is more than 3kg

To get a new fog/indicator lamp for the XM was £49 but freight would have been £65! Alternate arrangements were made.

(just found the acsii codes for £ and € !!)

ANOTHER ONE BITE'S THE DUST!!

Regular reminder time!!

1995 CITROEN XANTIA SX TD GREEN SPARES OR REPAIR
ebay item number: 110111206798



Andrew

If anyone's interested, I am considering breaking my 1.9D LX which has approx 6 month old strut tops on it, if I can get somewhere near my asking price. Take a look here -->> http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=21681