Xantia 1.9td VSX estate suspension problem

isisalar · Post by **isisalar** » 17 Jul 2008, 21:50

Anders DK brilliantly diagnosed my suspension problem as being air being drawn into the pipe between the resevoir and the pump. I affected a temporary repair with some hose repair bandage but it now needs a permanent solution.Is there any repair method or do I need to replace the pipe ?

Post by **Peter.N.** » 17 Jul 2008, 22:05

You really need to replace the pipe but you could effect a repair using straight hose and a copper elbow. The rest of the hose is possibly OK, it only usually goes on the bend.

isisalar · Post by **isisalar** » 17 Jul 2008, 22:25

Any idea what the price of a new pipe would be at the Citroen stealers?

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 17 Jul 2008, 23:00

isisalar wrote:Any idea what the price of a new pipe would be at the Citroen stealers?

Ooh, about £150, yes really it was that much the last time I looked to source a new one and that was at least four years ago. I asked Cit UK to check the price and they said "Its quite correct" .

Post by **Peter.N.** » 18 Jul 2008, 00:01

In that case, I would make one up.

vince · Post by **vince** » 18 Jul 2008, 07:15

hi pete, what was it doing for you to notice a fault?

I have a VSX saloon which whistles when rising from bottom. other than the whistle it performs faultlessly

it sounds like air in the system too to me being forced out....

lexi · Post by **lexi** » 18 Jul 2008, 09:12

I`m sure Pirtek could make a hose for less than that.......and they are extortionate!!

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 18 Jul 2008, 12:31

Yes - that hose is insanely priced.

The hose is special in a few aspects :

1) its made of thickwalled rubber to avoid collapse on the pumps suction.
2) its preshaped to fit the application exactly.
3) the hose would likely be made of Viton - a wellknown oil resistant rubber materiel

Common to the hose:
a) The rubber is nothing special as the LHM fluid is the same basic oil type as engine oil i.e. mineral oil based. Any "standard"oil resistant material will do.
b) the pumps suction is rather weak such the anti-collapse property is to be interpreted as a long-term property withstanding at least a decade of vacuum. Any meas of anti-collapse measures will do, such as using a rigid pipe on long runs etc.

I have previously adviced using a length of dead simple garden hose (PVC) for emergency repair. But this type of hosing may collapse on a short term.
Instead have a look on the various types of tap water/central heating plasticide hosing intended for use in concrete floor construtions.
They are only £1 the meter and can be shaped by careful heating.
You only need a flexible connecting piece each end. This could be PVC.