The road gods hate my girl at the mo..

[Deb123]

Oh my where to start.. Ok i have a 54 plate Xsara Picasso Desire 2L HDI with 362504 miles on the clock i have had her from new and shes still full of beans.. However the road gods have not been nice to my girl in the last month..



On a recent trip to Northampton (from Hampshire) i hit a pot HOLE.. which according to the Garage when i got her home killed the Steering rack a Ball joint and a rod end.. £££..



She then was due her service with did all the usual things plus rear breaks and the pipes? to those.. £££



So i think home and clear.. OH no.. Sunday last the Coil spring goes front Drivers side.. Takes out the tyre (the entire inside wall) Thankgoodness i was going slow having just come off a Roundabout! I Dread to thin what might have happened on a motorway.. So tow truck (spectacle type) Turns up loads cars with a bit of faffing due to lack of hieght on drivers side.. get to garage unloads.. and takes out the Sump.. Grrrrr. lol



Well the break down folks paid for the sump.. i shelled out for the two springs and due to damage to one shock.. did both shocks.. Always in pairs!



However i now have the car back... and i have a rattle from the nearside front.. and a clunk from the offside front both halfway to Full lock and halfway back.. the steering is heavier than it was and i am at a complete loss as to which garage should have picked up the problem or worse if they might have caused or missed something.. Sigh.



Any ideas folks.. i have had my fill for 1 month..

Deb x

[Northern_Mike]

What a horrible month! Sorry to hear of your woes.

Sounds like either the strut top mounts have failed or the springs aren't seated properly. My Berlingo made a terrible rattle after we'd replaced a spring last year. It was the top mount - which we should really have replaced when we did the spring but didn't. The springs, I think, on the Picasso sit in cups. If they are not seated properly they can twist when you turn the wheel and make a knock noise.

Great mileage on yours though!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[citroenxm]

45 Plate and 362,000 miles! WOW Thats some motor!

[Hell Razor5543]

It may be older than thought. I would bet on a typo, and it being a 54 plate.

[Northern_Mike]

It may be older than thought. I would bet on a typo, and it being a 54 plate.

Even so, Bertie is a 54 plate and that's got 95,000 on it..

[Deb123]

nope no typo she was first registered November 2004

Sigh ok so back to the garage again then..

consensus being its more likely something to do with the Coil/ shock change than the rack ect.. just so i know WHICH garage to go back to! LOL

[citroenxm]

Sorry, Id guessed that, but really 362 THOUSAND MILES too?

Ive not got a lot of experiance of lesser "spinged" cars, with mine all being the hydraulic type! sorry.

[Northern_Mike]

nope no typo she was first registered November 2004

Sigh ok so back to the garage again then..

consensus being its more likely something to do with the Coil/ shock change than the rack ect.. just so i know WHICH garage to go back to! LOL

I'd say the ones that fitted the springs. When I had to fit a spring to my Berlingo, I called Citroen for the parts and they recommended the top mounts were changed at the same time. I thought "of course you would, they're £45 each and you are trying to sell me some..." Of course, once it was all back together, it rattled and knocked, and it was indeed the top mount..

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The top mount is the thing referred to in that diagram as the "mounting block". There is also a bearing in there. If the cost is anything like mine, which I suspect it will be similar if not the same, the bearing was £16 from Citroen, and a pattern top-mount was £45. Of course, the pain is that the strut and spring have to come out to change the top mount. I would go back to the garage who did it and complain like hell about the noise and tell them truthfully that it's only done it since they fitted the spring.

[Deb123]

lol yes 362552 miles! i will attempt to upload a pic when i get home. currently in the car.

cool i will do that then first think monday morning they are going to love me! :S chuckle

Plus it DID start after the work.. so had to be related to one lot or the other.

[Deb123]

ok lets see if this works

[Hell Razor5543]

nope no typo she was first registered November 2004

Sigh ok so back to the garage again then..

consensus being its more likely something to do with the Coil/ shock change than the rack ect.. just so i know WHICH garage to go back to! LOL

I'll bet a cuppa that she's a 54 plate!

[Northern_Mike]

In a surprise helpful post from me..



This is my knackered Berlingo strut top - I'm sure that the Picasso one won't be much, if any different. The damage was hard to spot, when we checked and rebuilt the strut and we missed it completely the first time, and struggled to find it the second time! - You might want to show your mechanic this if they struggle. In the pic , the line with a "2" next to it points to the deteriorated rubber around the centre cup. This had been allowing the centre cup to hit the edge - the dark mark pointed to by line "1" shows the contact mark around the edge. I replaced the strut top and put a new bearing in, and the rattling and knocking stopped.

[Deb123]

nice one Mike might just take lappy with me! LOL

I shall update once i know.. as there is nothing like looking for someone with your problem... finding one and then them not having posted the eventual findings.

and yes Hell razor.. i owe you a cupper.. sigh. not sure there even has been a 45 :S yet.. lol

[Hell Razor5543]

Sorry, I'm a bit of a pedantic sod (but at least I know it!). If my maths is right, 45 reg plates will happen in 2045 (if the DVLA carries on with them as they are).

One company car I had was a 54 Picasso 2.0 HDi, and I found it to be a nice car to drive. However, somebody on the forum has found an issue in that the drain holes in the sills are blocked by the paint, which means that water gets trapped in them, and they then rot. I cannot remember who posted the information, or when, but there was a lot of information and photos posted.

[Northern_Mike]

Sorry, I'm a bit of a pedantic sod (but at least I know it!). If my maths is right, 45 reg plates will happen in 2045

Maybe Deb123 is a Time Lord (or lady?) which explains the reason for the large mileage on the Picasso?