LHM leak - can't pinpoint

[xantia_v6]

My Mk1 V6 (hydroactive II) has got a small LHM leak. It has lost about 300ml in 2 months.

The leak is somehere between near the rear LH corner of the car. There was quite a lot of LHM on the pipe tray running under the fuel tank, and some on the rear subframe under the suspension ram, but the sphere, suspension ram, height corrector and hydroactive block are all dry.

It looks like the oil is running down the pipes where they run vertically between the fuel tank and subframe.

The leak probably started about the time I changed the rear spheres a few months ago.

What are the likely causes, and what is the least difficult way to get access if the leak is above the subframe?

[AndersDK]

My pennies on the leakback plastic pipes.
Bet they have dislodged somewhere or are frayed in that region.
There is a rubber T-piece joining the plastic pipes from each sides cylinder and the pipe leading forward to the tank.
This T-piece is known to lose a pipe or even crack because the rubber rots away ...
Its an easy but messy job to rectify the problem once the T-piece is located somewhere on top of the subframe crossmember on cars RHS.

The leakback pipes takes care of the seepage past the cylinder seals, that are necessary to keep the seals and pistons lubed.
They are not pressurised, unless a gross fault occurs.

[barneyb32]

Hi,
co-incidentally I've just been working on my brothers xantia trying to find an lhm leak - lots of fluid on top of the chassis leg under the bonnet on the drivers side.
Eventually traced it to the inside of a bend on the metal pipe feeding the sphere on the drivers front wheel.
The pipe is mint - no sign of any rust but must have a stress weakness that finally gave way - took a while to find.
Try following the pipes back until they are dry again - pay close attention to the bends.

Follow up question - the leaking pipe I found will be a real bitch to change the whole pipe & its not at all rusty. Are jointing kits available similar to copper brake pipes - if so where can I get one?

Good luck
Barney.

[bonnyman750]

I had a similar fracture on the gold one when bought her. The break was just behind the quadrant shaped bracket where the pipe from the back of the RHF strut top was attached to the inner edge of the turret bodywork. It took me a while to trace it and had the same LHM trail as yourself. The point of this rambling is that I found it while replacing the cam belt and it was at this point (having a lead lamp under the wheel arch) that I also found out just how badly corroded the strut top metal plate was. I could see the light shining through the rust and into the engine bay!!

Would it then be reasonable to suspect that the strut top was moving around more than it was designed to do and the over-movement overstressed the pipe where it was held captive and eventually fractured?

I obtained a good S/H pair of strut tops from a breaker and my local Citroen garage fitted the strut top and put on a new pipe.

It may be an idea to inspect the strut top carefully just in case you are having the same failure...

HTH

Glyn

[Clogzz]

Had LHM leaking from the driver’s side front strut pipe when the car was 56,000 km old.
They silver soldered where it was leaking and removed the clamp that holds the pipe to the inner wing to allow flexing of the pipe over more length.
I also stuck a piece of sponge between the pipe and the inner wing to prevent chafing.
The car has clocked up 197,000 km now, and it’s still holding out.

The pipe must go from the strut top around the outside before it goes down along the inner wing.
A batch or vintage had a shorter pipe going down straight along the inner wing, where it was clamped, and therefore flexing over a shorter length.
The passenger’s side always has the long pipe routing that never fails … the difference is obvious.