French Car Forum

In the past year I've seen two that were bad enough to tear apart with bare hands, one on a Xantia and one on an XM, and neither of them had failed. Are there other factors that cause them to let go?

This is what im wondering about. I dont want to take chances but then dont want to turn down otherwise good cars for the sake of top mounts that look like they may go

Andrew,

Sorry to see what happened How old was the Activa?

citrojim wrote:Andrew,

Sorry to see what happened How old was the Activa?

Early '96 and showing 140k miles. I swear from underneath the mount
looks very good and yet it was metal failure not the rubber. There is a
stain of general brown (faintly rusty) grubiness on the topside on the
top of the plate but no sign of flaking or rust penetration. I really can't
see how it was ready to let go and can only surmise the car was run on
hard spheres in the past.

I've driven it hard lately now the ride has been improved on but isn't
that really the point of enjoying an Activa!?

Looks like I'll need to stomp up the ££'s for a new pair as I'm not 100%
certain if the absolutely mint/near new spare units I have are the same
inner piston diameter etc being 'normal' VSX/Exclusive ones...

FFS - In failure mode every other car suspension doesn't self inflict
damage to it's surrounding bodywork!!

Andrew

Hohum.

£88.85 plus VAT = £93.53

What I didn't see coming was the warning on the database that a new
cylinder boot (gaiter bellows) is necessary as the design has been revised...

wonder why that is then!!!

new boot is £8.78 plus VAT so not too bad I guess.

Andrew

andmcit wrote:Looks like I'll need to stomp up the ££'s for a new pair as I'm not 100% certain if the absolutely mint/near new spare units I have are the same inner piston diameter etc being 'normal' VSX/Exclusive ones...

Andrew,

I've checked loads of chassis numbers on S1 and S2 Hydractive Xantia's and Activa's and as far as I can make out on S1 models normal Hydractive and Activa's have the same strut top. When it comes to S 2 models the strut has a different part number from S1's but that could well be due to it being supplied with two washers as well.

Hi Richard,

thanks, I've just gone and done the deed and ordered a new top which
I'll have in my mits tomorrow first thing.

What I had to weigh up is I'd rather keep the mint pair of whole spare VSX
tops and struts together and it wouldn't be possible using them complete
anyhow as I believe the nearside Activa leg for the anti-roll ram tab is
different.

It would still be worth your cross referencing the differing models though
- invaluable for this scenario in the future for anyone having similar probs.

VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] which gave me the 5271 E5 top.

Cheers, Andrew

andmcit wrote: I swear from underneath the mount
looks very good and yet it was metal failure not the rubber. There is a
stain of general brown (faintly rusty) grubiness on the topside on the
top of the plate but no sign of flaking or rust penetration.

That description doesn't seem adequate somehow... Can you elaborate on the nature of the failure, or post some pictures?

Given the title of this thread, are you saying that inspection was of no value in this case?

Fair enough - that description was shot off earlier whilst I was at work
trying to do several other things at the same time!!

I do intend having a damned close look at it when it does come off and
will take pictures if nothing else just to try and help paint a broader
picture of this failure that apparently doesn't exist as far as Citroen and
it's Agents are concerned.

Until I can be sure, this failure seems to have taken place higher up the
shoulder onto the dome than I've seen on these before. It's fractured the
inner metal up with the visible strut head dome top into the bonnet and left
the rubberised covering intact on the main bolted bracket on the wheelarch
so it'll not be apparent until it's off the car.

The collar from the underside bolted onto the wheelarch looks the
original thickness unlike others I've seen flaking away in big chunks like
waterlogged laminate wood and the bellows gaiter is still firmly held in
place. While I'm wondering whether I'll see the rubber has split a bit
around the cut outs on the main donut this is down to metal failure.
This must be down to rust from water drawing in between the bracket/
collar and the wheelarch where it's festered and rotted from the inside out.

When the new strut top is fitted it's going to get a whole load of silicone
sealant spread about the place that'll hopefully fill any gaps between the
mating faces - I haven't got time to put more paint on it as I need to get
the car moving again.

Andrew

Has the price come down for the strut tops? I thought they were over £200 a side. £100 is approaching the price I'd be willing to pay for a precautionary measure.

the ones i got for my 2.1td xantia estate came with the revised boots but if i remember correctly they cost me £105.00 a side.
citroen dealer claimed that they had never heard of the problem before which i don't believe as they had them in stock and the place were i go hardly ever seems to have any xantia parts i always have to order them in.

The current list price for Xantia S1 Hydractive (ie VSX) and Activa strut tops is £109.81 inc VAT, part number 5271E2 is for the N/S and 5271 E5 for the O/S.

V6's both S1 and S2 use N/S, 5271 E3 and O/S, 5271 E6 @ £108.85.

S2 Hydractives are N/S, 5271 F0 and O/S, 5271 F1 @ £108.85.

S2 Activa's changed from the early part numbers (E2/E5) to the later ones (F0/F1) from RP 8057 onwards. There are other alternatives but they relate to the V6 Activa so that won't affect us here in the UK.

superloopy1 wrote:Are there any step-by-step pictures lurking around on exactly how to do this strut change? I've read a lot of posts which say '30 min job' but to be honest a dozen pictures of exactly what i need to do and in what order would be soooooo much better. I reckon a lot more people would be inclined to get out and check there strut tops if they knew it WAS only a 30 minute job to swap out (or thereabouts) .... any chance there's something like this in the system somewhere??

Jack the car up, depressurise the hydraulic system then remove the sphere and the hydraulic pipe connection to the strut top, undo the top nut and push the strut down whilst supporting the hub from below. Remove the four bolts securing the strut top, and remove the strut top

superloopy1 wrote:Are there any step-by-step pictures lurking around
on exactly how to do this strut change?

Folk may have their own way of doing this, and may not agree with my
method, but I'll be taking pics shortly of my Activa rescue strut swap.

In theory, it is literally a half hour job. I'm just off out now to get some
clear silicone sealant to spread around my shiny new strut top only
30 mins fresh from my local Citroen Agent.

The price I paid for the top was £93 all in - maybe they know me so well
I got a bit of a discount, though they didn't say anything about that!

Andrew

That's about the jist of it Richard!! Pictures do tell a 1000 words and
demystify proceedings though - I may take longer faffing taking the
pics mind!! My real time is going to be spent getting the car lifted up
to work on it without there being any pressure in the hydraulics as I
depressurised it the other day to allow the bent bonnet to abate it's
just thumped into a brick wall buckled appearance; don't fancy starting
to pressure it back as there's only so much stretch strain the high
pressure feed pipe into the strut can withstand...

Andrew