Citroen Suspension overhaul

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paranoid
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Post by paranoid »

I did not dissconnect hoses,I put the top unit (where the hoses connect) into a small container and left them to empty while I changed the fluid, I was a bit worried about losing track of the hoses and being short of time[^]
tony42
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Post by tony42 »

Finally replace my LHM today with Hydraclean. Took me about 4hrs and I only managed to bleed one caliper as I ran out of time.
For me it worked fine. I left all the hoses connected as suggested by the Black Sabbath fan and i had no problems repressurizing the system.
Had no problem with opening the bleed screw on the brake caliper but bleeding the brakes were awkward by myself as the bleed screw is locating beautifully to make it difficult to get a spanner and a bleed kit on to it.
Doesnt seem to be any air in the system as the brakes are working fine but I intend bleeding the 2 rear and 1 front caliper over the next few days just to get the old stuff out.
Very pleased that everything went ok and the instructions were great
Thanks
Tony
BonceChops
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Post by BonceChops »

Tony,
What method of brake bleeding were you using?
I bled mine like this -
1. Remove wheel.
2. Put 8mm ring spanner on nipple.
3. Put PVC pipe on nipple and other end into a container.
4. Start engine and push brake pedal down with a piece of wood wedged between pedal and drivers seat.
5. Open bleed nipple and watch fluid fill container. ( make sure LHM level is ok )
6. Tighten nipple and remove pipe.
7. Turn of engine.
8. Refit wheel.
9. Check LHM level.
And finally in good Haynes style - Complete the other 3 brakes using the same method.
Hope this helps.
John F
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Post by John F »

To all those who have contributed so much valuable time & information to this subject [8D].
Do you consider there is any advantage in using a white lithium waterproof grease on Xantia struts or is this going too far?
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Kowalski
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Post by Kowalski »

For step 2, In preference to an 8mm ring spanner, I would use an 8mm 6 sided socket. Where I have used a 6 sided socket and a ring spanner (12 sided) and lots of force on 24mm nuts on my tow bar the ring spanner damaged the nuts where as the socket didn't even mark them.
Waterproof grease tends not to be as good a lubricant as normal greases, however it doesn't dry up and won't get washed off very easilly. Under the gators on a Xantia you won't get a lot of water, so it doesn't matter about being water proof, and an LHM under there would keep the grease wet, so all in all there is probably no point using a waterproof grease.
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

If I were to do this, I would use a brake grease suitable for rubber. This will prevent the rubber from deteriorating and eventually wrecking the strut due to ingress of foreign matter.
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Kowalski
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Post by Kowalski »

The rubber is on a hydraulic strut, it would be sheer madness for it not to be oil resistant. When I changed my LHM I was wearing a pair of latex gloves, the LHM destroyed the rubber almost instantly on contact and I was left with LHM on my hands.
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Post by tomsheppard »

Agreed but on an external seal which isn't supposed to contact the LHM I would still use a grease that I KNOW won't harm it. My floor mats have never been the same since meeting LHM...
As for sheer madness - this is a Citroen we are talking about!
tony42
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Post by tony42 »

Neil
Stopped reading the instructions when it came to the bleeding.
I didnt use the block of timber which would have been sensible so hence a major cause to my hassles with it.
Not trying to lower the level of coversation but i had trouble with releasing the nipple and keeping the pipe over it. Thanks for the timber idea i had forgotten that part.
Have to say still not fully happy with suspension. new spheres greased struts and now hydraclean but still feel its not quiet what it should be. I will wait to see how the hydraclean works and maybe grease struts again. After that I will maybe investigate height correctors. Not too sure what I have to do I am assuming there are parts that can be cleaned and greased once the car is supported by axle stands or trolley jacks
Tony
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