xantia lx hdi estate registrated 22/9/99 v reg. suspension

[driftaway]

Hi ,Can you help, the suspension was not working and our car was leaking oil at the rear wheel (big puddle),took it to the local garage,he replaced rear hub hyd. cylinder and replaced lhm fluid that cost £300,went 10 miles shopping and the opposite rear one went,lost fluid and got back to the garage and he said that it was same as before.A friend who's uncle uses these types of cars said it was very unusual,he had never had this happen any of his cars .Anyone out there had this problem and where do I get the parts I need,as he said he had problems getting them.I can get a citroen mechanic to do it for me privately so save a bit of money I hope.Cheers Derek.

[myglaren]

Hi, drifteaway and welcome. Sorry to hear of your misfortunes.

Have you had the opportunity to read through some of the related posts yet?

To my ears there is something of an inconsistency to the diagnosis here.
Xantia's don't have rear hub cylinders, they have disc brakes and calipers.

That doesn't preclude a leak from a broken down seal but it would surprise me to see such a catastrophic failure so suddenly.

A rupture in the supply line would be a more likely event but even that is counter indicated by the fact that there is only a fluid flow in the brake lines when the brakes are actually operated.

The price charged would however seem to be in the right region for a rear caliper replacement.
If possible, take a look at the caliper and see if it is a new one, check the other side for a comparison and see if you can identify the source of the leak.

Do not get too close to or under an unsupported Xantia though, it can drop without warning and really spoil your day - the rest of your life too, if you are lucky enough to survive.

The other side suffering from precisely the same fault so soon looks like too much of a coincidence though.

Your friendly local Citroen mechanic who will do the work would likely be the best one to advise of a local supplier who will not scalp you on the parts prices.

Otherwise, GSF have a good reputation among the members here.
Perhaps one of our Scottish representatives would be able to expand on this it you could give a more precise indication of where you are located.

[driftaway]

Hi,
Thank you very much for your quick reply to my query.I don't know much about citroens,I just take my cars to a local chap who is very helpful.
I will look and see what he done and try to get a photo.It just says on invoice replace rear hyb. cylinder and replace LHM fluid.materials £135.36,labour £120 vat £44.69.
When I took it back to him,he said the opposite side had gone,he said he had to send to France to get the first part,it took 2 weeks.We could not wait that long and bought a 2001 Zsara Picasso.Its great so far and normal suspension.
Now we need to fix the xantia and sell it if it is worth fixing,just put 4 new tyres on it.......Cheers For now

[RichardW]

It sounds like the rear hydraulic cylinder had burst - this is not unknown on Citroens, but usually only occurs on 20+ year old ones - or ones that have been used to tow boats and had the back ends parked in the sea a few times! To have both go is unfortunate . It is a couple of hours labour to replace it, so the price seems about right. Not sure why he would need to send to France for the part, should be available from GSF, or if not, next day from the local dealer. If the other side is the same, then it should be about the same cost - but you will just need to top up the LHM (although if 4 litres have gone, this is £20 to start with )

PS - New strut is £77 from Citroen.

[driftaway]

Hi Richard,
Many thanks for your help in answering my query,I only had the car 6 months don't know who had it before as it was a trade in but it wasa great car till this happened.
I have checked on the net for this part but no luck,does any one out there have one or know where I could get it.trawled though pages of citroen parts but not able to find one.It is rear passenger side I need,I don't know if they are different.
This site has been a great help,been looking for weeks on some information on the citroens....cheers for now.Derek.

[RichardW]

Try www.gsfcarparts.com. I'm not sure they list the exact part in their on-line shop, but give them a ring in Heathrow, and they should be able to advise.

PS It goes without saying of course that you should get under it and find out exactly what has gone before splashing out cash on the say so of a bunch of folk that have not seen the car!