C5 suspension leak again

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civvie
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C5 suspension leak again

Post by civvie »

On the rear height adjuster (in the middle just in front of the rear center sphere) there is a dollop of LHD liquid on the adjuster, there are no pipes that I can see, only the electric wires connecting it up, where on hell is this fluid coming from.
It came up on an advisory on the last MOT and I would like to sort it but don't know where to start. Both the suspension gaiters by the left and right hand side spheres are dry. Any clues appreciated.

Took some photo's but can't make out how to stick them on.

Cheers

Steve
Steve

C5 2.2hdi auto until I sell it (sold it) now have Peugeot 3008 1.6HDI (Now sold)
Had the jab a couple of days ago. Feb 21
citronut
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Post by citronut »

try putting your picys on photobucket and placeing the link on here,

i dont know a lot regarding the C5 set up but i would have though if its ahight control it will have pipe', please corect me if im wrong,

or maybe someone has greased or lubricated it and nout is actualy leaking

were abouts are you

regards malcolm
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Post by Citroenmad »

I had a leak on a C5 on a rear strut which leaked into the rear axel via the drain tubes. This then came out above the height corrector making it seem like it had a leak. You could try looking in the axel and seeing if its full of fluid, there are caps on each end you can look in.
Chris
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cachaciero
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Re: C5 suspension leak again

Post by cachaciero »

civvie wrote:On the rear height adjuster (in the middle just in front of the rear center sphere) there is a dollop of LHD liquid on the adjuster, there are no pipes that I can see, only the electric wires connecting it up, where on hell is this fluid coming from.
It came up on an advisory on the last MOT and I would like to sort it but don't know where to start. Both the suspension gaiters by the left and right hand side spheres are dry. Any clues appreciated.

Took some photo's but can't make out how to stick them on.

Cheers

Steve
Curious do you mean a dollop? LDS is quite thin if there was a leak I would only expect to see an oily wetness an anything it fell onto. There is a bleed screw on the center sphere manifold could it be leaking from there?.

cachaciero
2006 Toyota Prius T Spirit
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1996 XM 2.1 TD Auto VSX
1995 XM 2.1 TD Auto SX died @ 140K
1987 CX 2.5 Gti Turbo II dead
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civvie
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Joined: 26 Feb 2002, 23:49
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Hyundai tuscon
x 18

Post by civvie »

Hi lads thanks for the input.

Citroenmad, found your post about your leak, looks like it may be something like yours, will have a crawl under again today and have a look, got more of an idea where to look now, was going to Denmark tomorrow for a short holiday, for some reason don't think I'll get there!

Cachaciero, thanks for input, although I said a dollop its not like a dollop of grease, suppose something like a dew drop on the end of your nose. (maybe I described it wrong in the first place)

I'll be back when investigated more.

Steve
Steve

C5 2.2hdi auto until I sell it (sold it) now have Peugeot 3008 1.6HDI (Now sold)
Had the jab a couple of days ago. Feb 21
civvie
(Donor 2020)
Posts: 279
Joined: 26 Feb 2002, 23:49
Location: west London,
My Cars: different types over the years.when younger
Peugeot 405 estate
xantia estste 1.9d
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Peugeot 3008 1.6 hdi
Hyundai tuscon
x 18

Post by civvie »

Had a quick look under this morning, couldn't do too much as had young apprentice in the shape of Grandson helping! What I found, rear gaiters, near side when I squeezed it there was the sound of fluid squishing about inside, off side gaiter nothing. Will take plug out of axle over next day or so to confirm fluid inside, which side is the best chance of being faulty, left or right?

Citroenmad, you said the job was easy to replace seals when unit was off the car, I take it it's not just disconnecting pipes to the suspension unit then unscrew unit from car, there must be some awkward procedure involved, ( decompress system?) car is up on ramps at the mo.
Do the overflow pipes and breather pipe just pull off the unit, any special tools need to replace seals.
I also notice there are two sizes of seal depending on RPO? what is that? and where would the number be found. I'm not as stupid as I may seem but I was like a lot of people brought up servicing normal cars of a certain vintage, old by today's standards.

Cheers Steve

I'll be back!
Steve

C5 2.2hdi auto until I sell it (sold it) now have Peugeot 3008 1.6HDI (Now sold)
Had the jab a couple of days ago. Feb 21
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Post by Citroenmad »

Hi Steve,

Most likely the near side since that gets more of the bumps, mine was the near side too.

Best to check in the axel and see if there is fluid inside, there is a bung which easily pulls out and with a small torch you can see what is inside.

I just ordered the seal with the chassis number of the car, the part is very cheap. I also ordered the rubber boot.

Ah well, i didnt actually do the job all myself, my dad did most of it as he was previously a citroen mechanic he knows better than me. It was a fairly straight forward job. Sometimes it can be a pain to get the split pin clip off the end of the strut so it might be worth seeing if yours is free and spraying it with some wd40 or such before you try and remove it.

I asked at two local citroen specialitst who said they always replace the strut and have not bothered replacing the seal. Dont know why as its a very easy job to replace the seal, it can be done whilst fixed the the car.
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
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citronut
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Post by citronut »

the PR No. is on/by the tryre presure label in the door shut, if you send me your chassis/VIN No. i can check which seal's you require,

regards malcolm
civvie
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Hyundai tuscon
x 18

Post by civvie »

Hi Malcolm, thanks for the offer, will send you a private message when i've gone out to look at chassis number.

Took the bung off this morning and yes there is some fluid in the axle not an awful lot but its there. Have decided that if i'm going to all this bother I might as well do both sides at the back, as I want to sell it.

On a more urgent note, what is the procedure to depressurise the system on C5's so I can safely take off these susp units, plus is it best to have the back up on ramps or is it best to have axle stands and the rear wheels hanging down.
Did work on my old xantia years ago but don't know if the C5 is different or where any bleed bits are.

To be continued......
Steve

C5 2.2hdi auto until I sell it (sold it) now have Peugeot 3008 1.6HDI (Now sold)
Had the jab a couple of days ago. Feb 21
Citroenmad
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Post by Citroenmad »

C5 is actually very similar to Xantias apart from they have less pipework.

I just put mine into low when we did it, didnt cause a problem.

I think we had mine on the ramps, though axel stands might give you more room.
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
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citronut
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Post by citronut »

i havent delved into the hydraulics of a C5 as yet, but i think if you just set it to low after cracking of the spheres, and have the car on stands with wheels off, will give you beter access,

regards malcolm
civvie
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Hyundai tuscon
x 18

Post by civvie »

Thanks Malcolm, if I am to just replace the seals don't think there is a need to remove the sphere should be able to do it with them attached. (famous last words)

Interested in the comments about just putting it on low settings and it will be safe to disconnect the feed pipe to the susp unit and remove it, when I did my xantia's spheres you had to de-pressurise the system for safety before you did anything, so the C5 is different?

PS Malcolm PM has been sent.

Steve
Steve

C5 2.2hdi auto until I sell it (sold it) now have Peugeot 3008 1.6HDI (Now sold)
Had the jab a couple of days ago. Feb 21
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Post by cachaciero »

civvie wrote:Thanks Malcolm, if I am to just replace the seals don't think there is a need to remove the sphere should be able to do it with them attached. (famous last words)

Interested in the comments about just putting it on low settings and it will be safe to disconnect the feed pipe to the susp unit and remove it, when I did my xantia's spheres you had to de-pressurise the system for safety before you did anything, so the C5 is different?

PS Malcolm PM has been sent.

Steve
As you do with the C5, on low there is still / could be substantial pressure in the system as low is not necessarily low as in "on the mechanical" stops.

The Citroen recommended way uses a Lexia however without this there are bleed screws on the Center sphere manifolds which if opened will release pressure also before doing this make sure that the fuses are pulled for the pump. You will also need to be familiar with these screws to adequately bleed the system after you have put it all back together again :-)

cachaciero
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1995 XM 2.1 TD Auto SX died @ 140K
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Post by cachaciero »

Citroenmad wrote:I had a leak on a C5 on a rear strut which leaked into the rear axel via the drain tubes. This then came out above the height corrector making it seem like it had a leak. You could try looking in the axel and seeing if its full of fluid, there are caps on each end you can look in.
If you get fluid into the rear axel via the drain tube then surely all that is saying is that the drain tube has a leak.

There will always ideally be some fluid getting past the seals into the gaiter that's why the gaiter has a drain which goes back to the tank.

I would guess that if their was a major leak around the seals that the drain couldn't handle then it would start leaking around the gaiter maybe even blow the drain pipe off or split the gaiter.

So basically what I am saying is that if you find fluid somewhere where you don't expect it then look for a leak in the pipes, I would only consider doing the strut seals if the gaiter was "solid" with oil.(and the drain wasn't blocked!) I say this because in all my years with Citroens I have never had a failing strut, it's something I would put very low down on my list of likely failures.

cachaciero
2006 Toyota Prius T Spirit
2001 2.2 C5 Exclusive SE
1996 XM 2.1 TD Auto VSX
1995 XM 2.1 TD Auto SX died @ 140K
1987 CX 2.5 Gti Turbo II dead
1984 Ford Scorpio
1981 CX 2.4 Pallas Auto
Renault 21
1220 GS Club
Rover P6 2000TC
civvie
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Posts: 279
Joined: 26 Feb 2002, 23:49
Location: west London,
My Cars: different types over the years.when younger
Peugeot 405 estate
xantia estste 1.9d
c5 2.2 hdi hatchback
Peugeot 3008 1.6 hdi
Hyundai tuscon
x 18

Post by civvie »

Cachaciero,
Can see where you are coming from on this something to think about before I decide my next step. Do you or anyone know if the return is "pumped/sucked" back to the reservoir or does it go back to the pump, by the way where is the pump. Don't really want to spend time under the car if I don't have to.

Cheers

Steve
Steve

C5 2.2hdi auto until I sell it (sold it) now have Peugeot 3008 1.6HDI (Now sold)
Had the jab a couple of days ago. Feb 21
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