my c5 susp goes up and down with button but rear hard?

[gazzas c5]

my suspension on my 52 plate c5 2.0 hdi sx suspension works up and down with the buttons,but why is the rear so hard?i hate going over bumps in the road and speed bumps,can any1 advise me what i can do with it?be great to get the smoothness back again thanks a lot!!!

[wheeler]

Sounds like you need a set of new rear spheres.

[steelcityuk]

Has any member changed spheres on a C5?

If so what's the procedure? Do you just drop it to the lowest height or is there means of depressurizing the system, if so do you need dealer tools?

So many questions and no Haynes until December.

Steve.

[gazzas c5]

is it easy to change the spheres?i though they were long lasting compared to the xantias?i used to have a xantia and never had any trouble with suspension,the c5 goes up and down with the buttons no problems but why is it hard at the rear?front fine just the rear when you go over something hard cheers

[steelcityuk]

I know that the spheres on a C5 are the multilayer membrane type so they are suppose to last for around 5 years. Not all Xantia spheres are multilayer types and so go flat relatively quickly by comparison.

Steve.

[oldfruit]

Cit state "vie illimitee" (that's unlimited life for all you monoglots) for C5 spheres and only recommend a check at 5 years.

Peter (I love my V6 C5)

[myglaren]

Jim took mine for a spin yesterday and confirmed my suspicion that C5 suspension is much firmer than that of a Xantia.

It is still better than a steel sprung cat by quite a wide margin.

I'm sure the first C5 that I test-drove was softer than mine.

[deian]

Why would they need to be checked every 5 years if they are unlimited for life for spheres, maybe most spheres may be usable by the time the car would be scrapped for some reason.

The membranes of any type will be porous over a 'certain' amount of time. So I don't buy that quote off Citroen.

I would say new sphere are needed.

[oldfruit]

Sorry if I misled you, deian, but it's the suspension as a whole that Cit recommend should be checked after 5 years, not the spheres.

Peter

[deian]

no problem, that makes sense now then.

[steelcityuk]

Sounds to me like a marketing ploy much like sealed for life auto boxes, that then go bang out of warranty (not just Citroens but BMWs too by all accounts). Or cars with 20,000 miles service intervals the engine could well be knackered in 100,000 miles but by then it's out of warranty and they can sell you a replacement but it sounds cheaper when when you buy it.

Cynical? Me?

Steve.

[KevMayer]

I have read stuff that claims the spheres on a C5 should last approx 10 years. But some may need changing after 8 years.

Xantia spheres as far as I can understand should last 5 years but some may fail after 3 years.

I replaced the spheres on my Xantia 1.9 td after 6 years and I'm sure there was still life in them. It was an SX without hydractive etc. A good car. I miss it. I swapped it for my C5 in the end because my wife said it looked too old (P reg).

[C5IAM]

Now sold my 51 plate 2.2 C5. My suspension started to go off after 65k miles. Changed all spheres to 'comfort' spheres and I then had a car with a comfortable ride. Although my C5 was III+ it was too hard for me, I understand the model with only 4 spheres is harder still - go for comfort spheres, gives a little bit of roll but nothing to worry about.