LDS in crossmember

[dnsey]

I thought my C5 was developing a leak from both the N/S rear suspension unit gaiter and the four way union in the centre of the crossmember,.
Careful cleaning and close observation reveals that the fluid is in fact seeping past the breather hose where it enters the cross member via a grommet, and similarly past the bolt holding the union carrier, and comes from within the cross member itself.
It's not really a problem for now (as long as I can convince the MOT tester that it's not a leak as such), as it's only a slight dampness, and nothing drips out when I remove the breather from the grommet, but it did make me wonder how to get inside the cross member to clean it up, and to ensure that the return hoses are secure. Surely the whole lot doesn't have to be dropped, or does it?

[Lighty]

Well obviously the unit shouldnt leak from this pipe, it means that fluid is leaking internally in the suspension cylinder, best way to clean it up would be to remove the rear wheel and shove a pressure washer lance up the inside of the crossmember tube.

[dnsey]

I don't think there is a leak from the breather pipe - the fluid is seeping down the outside of the pipe from inside the crossmember. If I squeeze the gaiter with the breather in the open, nothing escapes.
My concern is that the return pipes within the cross member may be leaking slightly, but I don't know how to get at them.

[BX]

Probably nothing to worry about. More than likely very slight weep past the second o ring on the cylinder into the bellows area of the gaiter or maybe the gaiter isn't perfectly secured and sealed on to the cylinder body. As the breather pipe is just pushed inside the cross member a slight dampness can be caused there.

[civvie]

More then likely one of the seals/o rings weeping in the suspension cylinder. I got an advisory on one of my MOT's, mind I had more then just dampness showing.

If you can find some of my old posts I believe I gave a run down on how I cured it.

How to clean out the cross member. I took both rear wheels off, took the plugs out of the end of the cross members threaded some cord right through and fixed some rag to the cord and then pushed it back and forth soaking up the liquid, only did that when I had cured the leaking.
If you do use a pressure washer the water will slowly escape from the cross member as there is a hole behind the " 4way union" That is where my LDS dripped from. Be careful of any rust forming if you use water in it.

[dnsey]

Thanks for that.
I've proved that all the fluid is from inside the cross member, by sealing the breather into the grommet with silicone. The gaiter below has remained bone dry since, but, as you say, there's still a little reaching the four way union.