I've had a problem with my BX ever since i put new struts on it that it sticks and then jumps violently when rising.
I've lubed the struts via the return pipe methods but it did very little. Well finally today i took strut off and took the opportunity to examine the strut top. I've really gone to town with the strut off lubing it up. We shall see tommorrow if its made any difference.
On the strut top, the metal flange where the three threaded studs are is fine, surface rust only. The rubber around it though is pretty perished. Is this a problem?
Yet Another Strut Top Topic!
Moderator: RichardW
Sounds a bit strange but the one thing I'm confident about is that its nothing to do with the strut tops.
Does new mean new? - not overhauled etc? If it does they should function smoothly straight out of the box without further lubrication. Presumably you have done your citroebics to expel air from the system. The LHM supply hose from the reservoir to the pump must also be sound (it lets air in not LHM out.) Air in the system will cause all manner of problems - and you should look for evidence of air in the reservoir when the engine is running. A milky look is air and will cause problems. Anders will say for diagnostic purposes you can substitute a length of clean garden hose.
Somehow I think the real culprit is the height corrector linkage which is seized and will probably respond to freeing off and lubrication. You may have to use a brush to lubricate it as its not easy to get to. In particular the rod going into the corrector has probably rusted.
Make sure the car is properly supported - if it drops on you it will kill you.
jeremy
Does new mean new? - not overhauled etc? If it does they should function smoothly straight out of the box without further lubrication. Presumably you have done your citroebics to expel air from the system. The LHM supply hose from the reservoir to the pump must also be sound (it lets air in not LHM out.) Air in the system will cause all manner of problems - and you should look for evidence of air in the reservoir when the engine is running. A milky look is air and will cause problems. Anders will say for diagnostic purposes you can substitute a length of clean garden hose.
Somehow I think the real culprit is the height corrector linkage which is seized and will probably respond to freeing off and lubrication. You may have to use a brush to lubricate it as its not easy to get to. In particular the rod going into the corrector has probably rusted.
Make sure the car is properly supported - if it drops on you it will kill you.
jeremy
you may or may not have to do this (citroebics) on activ citroens i dont know,but i have worked on and around citroens for quite a few years and never found the need to do this on strait forward systems like the BX,CX,GS/As,also if you bought GSF struts they may be re/coned not brand new regards malcolm
We had a similar problem with a TZi a couple of years ago that turned out to be in the height corrector. I'm not going to pretend I really know 100% what was wrong with it, but I do know that with the car up in the air on ramps, I slackened the H/C clamp on the sway bar and turned it, nothing happened for a few seconds and then whoosh, away she went.
I have suspicions that what was happening was the corrector was only working over a small area and tended to get sticky internally possibly on the shaft the arm connects to. When I forced it up and down a couple of times it let go with a roar like a train going through a tunnel, rose sharply and after doing a bit of lubing and readjusting, has been good ever since.
Alan S
I have suspicions that what was happening was the corrector was only working over a small area and tended to get sticky internally possibly on the shaft the arm connects to. When I forced it up and down a couple of times it let go with a roar like a train going through a tunnel, rose sharply and after doing a bit of lubing and readjusting, has been good ever since.
Alan S
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Richard Green
These struts were brand new Citroen items!
They both rise approx 10mm (at different rates)then stick, then jump to almost max height before returning to normal.
I took the struts off and they stick badly at the bottom, should they?
My height corrector linkages look fine, its damn difficult to get to though. You seem to need the engine out of the way to do it.
I've done citrobatics on it for the last year every week. Its never changed!
They both rise approx 10mm (at different rates)then stick, then jump to almost max height before returning to normal.
I took the struts off and they stick badly at the bottom, should they?
My height corrector linkages look fine, its damn difficult to get to though. You seem to need the engine out of the way to do it.
I've done citrobatics on it for the last year every week. Its never changed!
Struts shouldn't stick at the bottom. Richard Green has raised the interesting possibility of the return/breather hoses being wrongly fitted over the hole in the strut outer casing and I suppose if the hole is obscured totally this could cause a build up of something that might make the strut feel as though it was stuck. I know from experience that these aren't easy to fit but I seem to recall that my new genuine item from GSF came with the breather properly fitted.
The critical bit on the height corrector on my car was the bit thats most difficult to find - the rod that goes into the thing itself. When I greased that the car became consistent and I no longer had to raise it and drop it to get it to ride properly. I have tried spray grease but eventually found a brush full of grease to be the answer.
Jeremy
The critical bit on the height corrector on my car was the bit thats most difficult to find - the rod that goes into the thing itself. When I greased that the car became consistent and I no longer had to raise it and drop it to get it to ride properly. I have tried spray grease but eventually found a brush full of grease to be the answer.
Jeremy
I think that the problem lies inside the strut itself.
The height corrector appears to work fine, it adjusts to the correct height after it has been stuck on the way up.
The struts were pukka new Citroen items from M&C lockwoods but theres no guarentees how long they'd had them for.
I'm going to get another set of struts and compare them i think. Strut swap only takes 30mins.
The car is up for sale anyway, i hate GREEN!
The height corrector appears to work fine, it adjusts to the correct height after it has been stuck on the way up.
The struts were pukka new Citroen items from M&C lockwoods but theres no guarentees how long they'd had them for.
I'm going to get another set of struts and compare them i think. Strut swap only takes 30mins.
The car is up for sale anyway, i hate GREEN!