Help a noob... Xantia strut leak

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Kaibeezy
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Help a noob... Xantia strut leak

Post by Kaibeezy »

Hello, and thanks in advance for any assistance. I'll get right to it...

I recently acquired a 2001 Xantia 1.8 16v. Work done (many miles away) immediately before the sale included both front strut tops replaced.

Yesterday I noticed a puddle front left, took it to my local mechanic, got it up on the lift. There was fluid all over the inside of the wheel. The hose and clamps appear OK. Fluid was inside the gaiter and on the strut shaft. My mechanic says the strut is leaking from the top shaft seal, which can't be fixed, so it needs a new strut. Possible cause was stress on the shaft/seal due to movement within the old strut top. The struts are of course impossible to find around here, and I got a price of £300-ish for the pair, new from Citroen.

Questions are probably obvious:

- Anything else we could be missing in the diagnosis?
- Suggestions on finding parts?

Again, many thanks in advance, and I look forward to hanging out here and chatting, preferably on topics other than expensive repairs.

- KBZ
ekjdm14
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Re: Help a noob... Xantia strut leak

Post by ekjdm14 »

Could it possibly be a missing/faulty lower O-ring on the new strut top? would definitely be worth investigating the correct fitment of the new strut top before condemning the ram itself. I don't believe a failing strut top could cause damage to the ram, they are pretty tough.
Another more common possible cause of green blood under the wheelarch is if (especially if the strut top/s failed before they were replaced) the return/leak off pipe was damaged or dislodged.

Make 100% sure it is actually coming from the ram/strut and not spraying/working its way down from higher up first, and if the worst case presents itself I'm sure there's a couple of members on here who'd be able to advise on the best route to a replacement, if not supply what you need at a better price than elsewhere. used, I'd say, is for the win if you do end up replacing a strut as I don't think they tend to fail so should be cheap and plentiful (relatively of course) just make sure you get the correct type as there's a couple of differences between models IIRC.

And welcome by the way :) sorry it's not in better circumstances
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xantia_v6
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Re: Help a noob... Xantia strut leak

Post by xantia_v6 »

I would suggest that the o-ring under the strut top is present, but was not sitting correctly and has subsequently been forced out by hydraulic pressure. It should be possible to see where the leak is with the strut gaiter pulled down and the suspension on high. But put the car body on axle stands first!
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Mandrake
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Re: Help a noob... Xantia strut leak

Post by Mandrake »

Kaibeezy wrote:There was fluid all over the inside of the wheel. The hose and clamps appear OK. Fluid was inside the gaiter and on the strut shaft. My mechanic says the strut is leaking from the top shaft seal, which can't be fixed, so it needs a new strut. Possible cause was stress on the shaft/seal due to movement within the old strut top.
It's extremely unlikely that the strut (hydraulic ram) itself is leaking from the top shaft seal - the top most bush inside the strut that takes the side thrust actually runs dry, the "top" seal is well down inside the ram below this top bush and can't be got at and even man handling of the shaft during the work done is not going to damage the seal way down inside the strut - remember that the ram is designed to tolerate massive side loads under cornering steering and braking as it forms the top support for the hub. Assembly forces are not going to hurt it. I've never heard of a strut ram leaking out through the top around the shaft in all the years I've been reading the forum.

Much more likely as already suggested, is that the leak is at the strut top where the shaft bolts in at the top - the top of the shaft has a taper that sits in a taper seat in the strut top and there is a side port in the shaft to provide the oil supply, which has an o-ring both above and below the area of shaft with the hole to seal it. If the bottom o-ring was damaged or even missing then oil would run down the shaft and pool on the strut.

The strut and strut top are going to need to be separated again to find what's wrong, and if you're doing that it's probably easiest to remove the strut top so it can be carefully inspected upside down to see what has happened to the o-rings. If one is missing or damaged be very careful to replace it with a suitable high pressure o-ring that is mineral oil safe or it will start leaking again within weeks. During installation thread lock must be applied to the face of the nut on the top that goes against the strut top and the nut torqued to 65Nm. If you don't apply thread lock it will weep at the top.
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
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Kaibeezy
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Very late posting this result Re: Help a noob... Xantia strut leak

Post by Kaibeezy »

Hello again. Many apologies for the very slow reply. Had some stuff going on :( I still have the Xantia, still driving it, and... here's the answer to the leaking strut.

@ekjdm14, @xantia_v6 and @Mandrake, you were all correct, and you really helped my mechanic and I decide to check the strut top first before spending hundreds of £££ on two new struts or many hours tracking down a used one.

Upon disassembly, we discovered... the o-ring was on the wrong groove. The strut top replacement had been done by a well-known Citroen specialist in the Midlands, but they totally fupped this one! I would have complained, but in the end, it cost me maybe another £100. The o-rings themselves were £5 each, although we had to wait 6 weeks for one to be delivered from France, and then once we had it on, my mechanic and I looked at each other and said in unison: "Best check the other one, eh?" Sure enough, also wrong. 6 more weeks for the other o-ring. Should have ordered a pair in the first place, right? How it goes.

Now that I'm more or less back in town, I will try to be more active around here. In fact, I've got a small mystery to ask about, will do so in a new post. Many thanks again for your excellent analyses!

- KBZ
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