Dear all,
once again i find myself in the grips of a haynes manual mystery.
i am trying to replace the LHM fluid in my recently accuired xantia 2.1td (97), but am being confused by the conflicting information from my haynes manual (nothing new there).
the paragraph that explains how to depressurise the system specifically tells you not to touch the steering wheel. i am then informed in the paragraph that explains how to remove the reservoir that i must turn the steering lock to lock to empty the ram.
which is true? will my car detonate if i touch the steering or is it safe to turn it to empty the power steering components of their fluid. it would seem logic that in order to replace the fluid that as much as possible should be in the reservoir otherwise ill only be replacing the "excess". also i am in the dark as to whether my car has "hydractive" suspension or not. the suspension does sink when the engine is off, but not to the extent of older xantias i have seen squatting on their bellies in car parks.
any help is appreciated.
steve
P.S. thanks to the staff at g.s.f. who sent me the correct brake pads overnight after sending me the wrong ones by accident. (in future i will check my part numbers before taking the car to bits).
steve kerr
LHM replacement
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Hi Steve - Yes, when you depressurise have the lever on the lowest setting and turn the steering wheel. Don't turn the screw more than one turn, otherwise you'll loose a spring and a tiny ball. If you have four spheres on the back you have hydractive, if only three, you haven't. If your 2.1 is like mine, you won't get the block from the fluid reservoir without cutting the pipe clips and replacing with new ones. Mark the pipes to aid replacement. If yours is a 97 model, I don't understand why it sinks at the rear.
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Dave Burns
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I would forget all about trying empty the steering ram, this is just Haynes buncum if you ask me, think about it, where is the air going to come from to replace the displaced oil.....?
With the engine off, if you turn the steering in any direction, one side of the ram will be emptied, granted, turn it the other way and the empty side will fill up again as it sucks fluid back in through the pipe work.
It wont suck air in through the tank return because the pinion valve will be open to the delivery side as the piston is being pulled down its cylinder by the steering rack.
In order for this to be effective the entire suction and delivery side of the pump would need to be empty, only then would the ram be able to expell its oil and replace it with air.
If you can get the system emptied to this level you will more than likely have a fun time getting it primed and bled, possibly even damaging the pump if you run it starved of oil.
The ram doesn't hold much oil anyway so I would ignore that passage in the book.
As to your other post on this subject, the power steering is fed directly from the pump, which has two section's, the six piston section nearest the pulley is for the power steering, the two piston section at the oposit end is for the brakes and suspension.
Because the steering section of the pump has six pistons aranged radialy, the delivery strokes at 60 degree interval's overlap, so you shouldn't feel any pulsing from it at all, which is the reason for this design in the first place.
If you are getting a pulsing sensation from the steering I would suggest examining your tyres for bulges or out of round, and the drive shaft joints for any play.
Other than that the sensation could be from the steering ram its self on its way out, I have known ram failure on a ZX, this was dangerous because it momentarily prevented steering movements in one direction.
As for getting the pipe block from the reservoir, on a 19TD you can remove the air pipe that goes from the filter box to the plastic turbo air pipe on top of the engine (see Haynes photo's), you then syphon the fluid out, unclip the block from the tank and lean the empty tank over (now the air pipe is out of the way) and withdraw the pipe block.
The 2.1 I know has a slightly different setup in this area, I wouldn't expect a Citroen mechanic to remove the individual pipes, there may be a work round as in the 19TD, though I would expect John D to have found it if it exists.
Dave
With the engine off, if you turn the steering in any direction, one side of the ram will be emptied, granted, turn it the other way and the empty side will fill up again as it sucks fluid back in through the pipe work.
It wont suck air in through the tank return because the pinion valve will be open to the delivery side as the piston is being pulled down its cylinder by the steering rack.
In order for this to be effective the entire suction and delivery side of the pump would need to be empty, only then would the ram be able to expell its oil and replace it with air.
If you can get the system emptied to this level you will more than likely have a fun time getting it primed and bled, possibly even damaging the pump if you run it starved of oil.
The ram doesn't hold much oil anyway so I would ignore that passage in the book.
As to your other post on this subject, the power steering is fed directly from the pump, which has two section's, the six piston section nearest the pulley is for the power steering, the two piston section at the oposit end is for the brakes and suspension.
Because the steering section of the pump has six pistons aranged radialy, the delivery strokes at 60 degree interval's overlap, so you shouldn't feel any pulsing from it at all, which is the reason for this design in the first place.
If you are getting a pulsing sensation from the steering I would suggest examining your tyres for bulges or out of round, and the drive shaft joints for any play.
Other than that the sensation could be from the steering ram its self on its way out, I have known ram failure on a ZX, this was dangerous because it momentarily prevented steering movements in one direction.
As for getting the pipe block from the reservoir, on a 19TD you can remove the air pipe that goes from the filter box to the plastic turbo air pipe on top of the engine (see Haynes photo's), you then syphon the fluid out, unclip the block from the tank and lean the empty tank over (now the air pipe is out of the way) and withdraw the pipe block.
The 2.1 I know has a slightly different setup in this area, I wouldn't expect a Citroen mechanic to remove the individual pipes, there may be a work round as in the 19TD, though I would expect John D to have found it if it exists.
Dave