hi folks,the suspension on my 2002 citroen c5 1.8 lx petrol has recently been feeling quite rough when driving at low speeds over speed bumps or any deviations in the road where as it never used to,basically you can feel every bump on the road, it seems ok when driving at speed on the motorway etc, i looked under the car and checked for any leaking spheres but could not see anything untoward,i checked the level of the lds fluid and it is sitting just under the seam of the reservoir tank but i am not sure if this is correct or not,can anyone tell me what the level should be,and if it is low and i top it up do you think that could cure the problem with the rough ride.
any help would be appreciated ,thanks.
p.s. i am not sure but i think the car has the hydractive 3 system
the level just a bit low will not cause a ruff ride, the first thing to check replace is the spheres, these dont usualy leak there gas exturnaly, it normaly leaks into the hydraulic system,
if there were any leakage around the sphere joint it would be LDS, and this usualy only happens if a seal had been damaged on sphere re/fitting,
im not sure on a C5 how the level is checked but it should tell you in you owners manual, the one which comes with the car from new
thanks for the quick reply malcolm,if there are no leaks from the spheres how can i tell if they are at fault or not,do i have to remove them one by one to check the seals etc,and if so is this a difficult job.
Could be that the spheres are getting due for replacement although they should have a much longer life than the previous type of sphere fitted to Xantias, BXs etc.
The fluid level as Malcolm says will not affect the ride until the pump is starved and you will get plenty of warning before that happens.
Have you tried Citroebics? while standing, raise the car to it's full height, let it sit a minute then drop it to the lowest setting, again wait a minute then repeat the process five times.
Neve helps with mine, not noticably anyway but it might it there were air/gas in the system.
I loaded mine up with a stupid amount of MDF and delivered it to a friend. My suspension seemed to improve markedly for a while after that - could have just been heaving a sigh of relief of course.
I always think my suspension is a bit firmer than it should be and prior to purchase tested a C5 saloon that seemed to me to be softer that mine. All rather subjective though.
The guy who services mine says it is just like all the others he has handled, except the broken ones of course.
If all else proves to be satisfactory then there are available "comfort" spheres that can be fitted in place of the standard ones - there is sure to be a price to pay elsewhere, over and above the £50 each for the spheres themselves.
Our C5 estate appears to be on original spheres at 105K miles, its a late 52reg. Which is good going, the ride is still good, a little firmer than Xantias etc but the C5s were never that soft from new. So still pretty ok, although it often feels more like a normal car.
My C5 hatch has comfort spheres, which is very soft, it smoothes the road nicely, although on undulating roads it can lose a bit of composure. Its much more Citroen like to drive, it floats along and you bearly feel anything, a much softer set up than normal.
Handling is pretty similar, even though the hatch is softer there is not a great deal of difference in how they corner.
C5 spheres, if i remember correctly, last for 5 years or 125K, which ever is first. Or that is what Citroen once stated. So you could well be due for a replacement set.
Spheres which are low on gas will cause a hard ride, your 1.8 wll be the normal hydractive 3, which basicallly means very little, its not hydractive as known on the Xantia and Xms. For that level of hydractive you would need the H3+ C5 (2.0 HPI Petrol, 2.2HDi or V6 is needed), which like the Xms and Xantias, cuts in and out of sport mode to give you a nice ride, but less body lean through the bends and a more accurate and pointy drive.
I much prefer the full hydractive in our Xms, than the normal non sport hydractive in the C5. Much more composed, gives a more involving drive and rides better.
Anyway, i would imagine 4 new spheres will be needed for yours...
I think Comfort spheres are about £45 each from Vantage, normal spheres are about £40ish i think.
Chris.
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
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93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
thanks again for the replies folks,i am going to put the car up on ramps tomorrow and give it a proper inspection and see what i can find,(i.e. any leaking pipes or seals etc),driving it at the moment is rather dissapointing as it used to be a joy to drive ,oh well the joys of motoring continue.
p.s. just like to say what a great site this is ,i have used it many times and i have always got good advice and info from it,cheers
hi folks just a quick update on my suspension problem,it turns out it was the drop links and after getting them replaced the car is back to its old self again,thanks again for the previous replies and info.
hi folks,the suspension on my 2002 citroen c5 1.8 lx petrol has recently been feeling quite rough when driving at low speeds over speed bumps or any deviations in the road where as it never used to,basically you can feel every bump on the road, it seems ok when driving at speed on the motorway etc, i looked under the car and checked for any leaking spheres but could not see anything untoward,i checked the level of the lds fluid and it is sitting just under the seam of the reservoir tank but i am not sure if this is correct or not,can anyone tell me what the level should be,and if it is low and i top it up do you think that could cure the problem with the rough ride. 
