My 1.9 TD failed its MOT today. Leaky rear height corrector (or as the MOT man described it a "Rear Levelling Valve"
I had a good look this evening and could find no sign of a leak, just copious quantities of grease and oil around it from my over-zealous maintenance I think the MOT tester must have mistook all this lubrication for a leak. Easy enough as it was a mess there and some of the grease had reduced to the consistency of thick oil but it smelt like grease and not LHM.
I've given the HC a good clean up so it is completely free of grease and oil at the moment and it does not seem to be leaking at all. However, I did peel back the rubber cap on the side where the linkage attaches and a small dribble of very horrible, dirty and clearly very old LHM did run out that looked nothing like the LHM in the reservoir. After a clean I can find no sign of any new weepage from there.
Question is, do height correctors weep a tiny, tiny amount from here over the years (nearly 15 years for this car) that would collect under the cap?
Secondly, if it is leaking and I need to change it, is the hydraulic part of a front HC identical to the rear? I've compared them and they do look the same but I don't want to fit it and find it is not the same.
At least the rest of the car sailed through with no advisories and the garage will do a free re-test Not bad for a very, very early Xantia with nearly 200K on the clock...
Failed MOT : leaky Height Corrector
Moderator: RichardW
- CitroJim
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Failed MOT : leaky Height Corrector
Jim
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Hi Jim.
Not excactly uncommon to see a little weep from under the cap on the rear of the height corrector, but I allways rekon that if there is no fluid getting as far as the floor then it's not a proper leak so leave it alone.
I would suspect that as you first thought, the MOT guy spotted the greasy maintenance and has mistaken it for leaks, clean it, re-test it, then grease it back up again when you get home.
As you suspected, both of the actual height correctors are the same, it's only the cradles that differ, or you can peel off the back cover and find an 8mm nut in the middle, if you undo this, you can replace the diaphragm without removing the height corrector at all.
Regards
Slim.
Not excactly uncommon to see a little weep from under the cap on the rear of the height corrector, but I allways rekon that if there is no fluid getting as far as the floor then it's not a proper leak so leave it alone.
I would suspect that as you first thought, the MOT guy spotted the greasy maintenance and has mistaken it for leaks, clean it, re-test it, then grease it back up again when you get home.
As you suspected, both of the actual height correctors are the same, it's only the cradles that differ, or you can peel off the back cover and find an 8mm nut in the middle, if you undo this, you can replace the diaphragm without removing the height corrector at all.
Regards
Slim.
you cant replace the dust cover and diaphragm on the link side without removing the H/C from the cradle,
also the only ones i have found leaky in the slightest, have been damaged by what looked like someone had been leavering against the dust cover to try and free off the mechanisum and split the diaphragm
regards malcolm
also the only ones i have found leaky in the slightest, have been damaged by what looked like someone had been leavering against the dust cover to try and free off the mechanisum and split the diaphragm
regards malcolm
- CitroJim
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Thanks all
I've given the car a good work-out this evening during a session of "Dads Taxi" over lots of speed bumps and with a bootful of newspapers (tomorrows paper round ) and the HC has remained bone-dry.
Time to book the MOT retest and then..
Time to fit a new clutch
I've given the car a good work-out this evening during a session of "Dads Taxi" over lots of speed bumps and with a bootful of newspapers (tomorrows paper round ) and the HC has remained bone-dry.
Time to book the MOT retest and then..
Time to fit a new clutch
Jim
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...