Well, my first Citroen, and so far, more call outs to the RAC than any other car I've had (even more than the Maestro!).
This is a June 1987 1.9 TD Estate, however I suspect that it was actually built some six months earlier. The latest problem is a leak from the front lh suspension strut, it can be seen dripping off the bottom of the plastic gaiter and liberally coating everthing in sight when the engine is running. This results in the STOP light coming on the dashboard, some odd effects on the power steering, and the LHM level very low in the reservoir. So the question to the forum is, what is it likely to be? I am hoping someone is going to say I just need to get a little seal kit or a new bit of hose, not a complete new strut at £115!!
This was preceeded by the regulator clicking running about every 5-10 seconds, so is this as a result of or becuase of this problem?
So its back to the Series One Land Rover next week - any one know a good chiropractor in Somerset?
front strut hydraulic leak
Moderator: RichardW
If you're lucky, the return hose or vent hose has fallen off or perished in two - look for a hose that doesn't look like it knows where its going . . .
However, if its not your Xantia you're talking about, but a BX (which I suspect, since the Xantia wasn't launched until 1994) the you've most liokely suffered a front leg failure - and that corresponds with the high ticking rate. You can repair BX legs quite easily - or pick up one from a scrappy for next to nothing.
//NiSk
However, if its not your Xantia you're talking about, but a BX (which I suspect, since the Xantia wasn't launched until 1994) the you've most liokely suffered a front leg failure - and that corresponds with the high ticking rate. You can repair BX legs quite easily - or pick up one from a scrappy for next to nothing.
//NiSk
If your car is a BX your leak sounds a bit strange to me. usually they fail internally and the volume of oil returned to the reservoir increases until the return pipes either pop off the stubs on the inner wing or the collector rubber moulding lifts. The obvious answer is to replace the collector but if the strut is leaking this si a waste of time and you might as well put the time and money towards a replacement strut.
However you refer to LHM dripping off the plastic gaiter. Do you mean the one covering the steel piston at forming the top part of the strut? if you do can you work out if the LHM is coming upwards from the bottom part of the strut or downwards from the top.
If its coming from the bottom of the strut then your struts knackered - overhaul or replace. if its coming downwards its possible that the 2 'O' rings sealing the strut to the sphere mount under the bonnet has failed. The rings are not supplied with a new strut and look to be thinner than a standard 'O' ring and so may be worth getting from Citroen. To fit you will have to remove the strut and I'm sure you will find instructions elsewhere on this site.
jeremy
However you refer to LHM dripping off the plastic gaiter. Do you mean the one covering the steel piston at forming the top part of the strut? if you do can you work out if the LHM is coming upwards from the bottom part of the strut or downwards from the top.
If its coming from the bottom of the strut then your struts knackered - overhaul or replace. if its coming downwards its possible that the 2 'O' rings sealing the strut to the sphere mount under the bonnet has failed. The rings are not supplied with a new strut and look to be thinner than a standard 'O' ring and so may be worth getting from Citroen. To fit you will have to remove the strut and I'm sure you will find instructions elsewhere on this site.
jeremy
Well, it seems my ability to type accurately is severely limited (which is a bit of a hazard as a softeware engineer...). I should have said its a 1997 Xantia... sorry.
Thanks for the responses so far. I have driven the car very slowly (followed by my wife in the Discovery just in case) down to a friends place with a nice workshop. He specialies in Land Rovers, but as he's just bought a BX, he's using my Xantia "for practice".
The leak is definately dripping off the bottom of the plastic gaiter that covers up the top of the strut itself. I had a quick look at the return pipe, that's the one that comes upwards from the bottom of the strut secured by what looks like an up-market jubilee clip? Couldn't see anything wrong there, but...
Also, just before I picked it up three weeks ago, the previous owner had the two front spheres replaced, is there a chance that the job hasn't been done properly?
Is there a production date utility around somewhere for the Xantia - I've found the one for thr BX and it would be usefull to know as we've already fitted the wrong clutch cable to it due confusion over its age...
Thanks for now...
Thanks for the responses so far. I have driven the car very slowly (followed by my wife in the Discovery just in case) down to a friends place with a nice workshop. He specialies in Land Rovers, but as he's just bought a BX, he's using my Xantia "for practice".
The leak is definately dripping off the bottom of the plastic gaiter that covers up the top of the strut itself. I had a quick look at the return pipe, that's the one that comes upwards from the bottom of the strut secured by what looks like an up-market jubilee clip? Couldn't see anything wrong there, but...
Also, just before I picked it up three weeks ago, the previous owner had the two front spheres replaced, is there a chance that the job hasn't been done properly?
Is there a production date utility around somewhere for the Xantia - I've found the one for thr BX and it would be usefull to know as we've already fitted the wrong clutch cable to it due confusion over its age...
Thanks for now...
Thanks for the model update! Check around the seal between the sphere and suspension top fitting for LHM leaks. Check that the nut holding the strut piston rod into the top fitting is tight. These are the only two things I can think of that may have to do with a sphere replacement . . . they havn't changed the top mountings or struts have they? - there are differences i the size of the cone on the end of the piston rod (rod/top mounting) depending on the type/age of the suspension (hydractive/non-hydractive).
http://citroeny.cz/servis/xantiaser/pre ... stnice.gif
Otherwise Jeremy (above) has covered the most common possibilities.
//NiSk
http://citroeny.cz/servis/xantiaser/pre ... stnice.gif
Otherwise Jeremy (above) has covered the most common possibilities.
//NiSk
Well, I summoned up the courage to order a new strut, only to find GSF don't have any in stock. Any other reccomendations for a supplier?
Other wise, I'm hoping its the O rings at the top of the strut as NiSK points out (thanks for the link to the drawings BTW, very useful). I'll have another go at seeing if the leak is top down (please!) or bottom up (expensive).
Other wise, I'm hoping its the O rings at the top of the strut as NiSK points out (thanks for the link to the drawings BTW, very useful). I'll have another go at seeing if the leak is top down (please!) or bottom up (expensive).
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philhoward
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by derekjl57</i>
Well, I summoned up the courage to order a new strut, only to find GSF don't have any in stock. Any other reccomendations for a supplier?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Pleiades?
Well, I summoned up the courage to order a new strut, only to find GSF don't have any in stock. Any other reccomendations for a supplier?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Pleiades?
Before you decide to invest in any expensive spares - then try unscrew the sphere and replace the O-ring seal here.
Spheres must be fitted handtight <font color="red"><i>ONLY</i></font id="red">, never use a tool to torque the sphere.
I suspect this is your problem, as any overtightening of the sphere makes the seal twist and leak - instantly.
Note the seal must be a square profile O-ring - will cost you approx £1 at GSF.
Spheres must be fitted handtight <font color="red"><i>ONLY</i></font id="red">, never use a tool to torque the sphere.
I suspect this is your problem, as any overtightening of the sphere makes the seal twist and leak - instantly.
Note the seal must be a square profile O-ring - will cost you approx £1 at GSF.
Hmmm. Well, couldn't really decide where the leak was coming from, so decided to remove the strut entirely. Still none the wiser. No rust or anything, looks clean enough. Tried to order a new one:
Pleides: no
GSF: no
Europarts : waiting for them to get back to me
Citroen Trowbridge: £175 in three days
Citroen Bath: £150 in three days
Neat: no
Then I read Anders posting. However, if there were a leak in the sphere to strut join, it would leak into the engine bay, or over the top of the wing, wouldn't it? These areas were bone dry, the first sign of fluid was on the plastic gaiter around the strut underneath the wing. I am wondering if someone loosened off the nut on top of the strut (item 13 on the drawing) for some reason and then didn't do it up tight enough for the lower O ring (item 12) to seal properly, but couldn't think of a good reason why.
So, currently not sure if I should re-assemble the lot and try again and possibly waste another evening and a load of expensive LHM, or just wait for one of the suppliers to get back to me.
Anders, if I do re-assemble it all, how can I pressurise it all up to check that it really isn't leaking?
Pleides: no
GSF: no
Europarts : waiting for them to get back to me
Citroen Trowbridge: £175 in three days
Citroen Bath: £150 in three days
Neat: no
Then I read Anders posting. However, if there were a leak in the sphere to strut join, it would leak into the engine bay, or over the top of the wing, wouldn't it? These areas were bone dry, the first sign of fluid was on the plastic gaiter around the strut underneath the wing. I am wondering if someone loosened off the nut on top of the strut (item 13 on the drawing) for some reason and then didn't do it up tight enough for the lower O ring (item 12) to seal properly, but couldn't think of a good reason why.
So, currently not sure if I should re-assemble the lot and try again and possibly waste another evening and a load of expensive LHM, or just wait for one of the suppliers to get back to me.
Anders, if I do re-assemble it all, how can I pressurise it all up to check that it really isn't leaking?
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RichardW
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I had one go like this on a BX - must have been an internal leak as the LHM was welling up out of the slide bearing and running down the strut. Having said that it seems a pretty rare failure, so a trip to the breakers to find one that is dry on the outside seems a safe bet (I got one for the BX for £15). It might be a bit groany, but then it is only 1/10th the price of a new one! AFAIK all Xantias use the same strut[8D]
Derek -
If the strut is leaking - there must be signs of leaks somewhere.
The strut would be leaking, no matter weight/driving load, as the hydraulics pressure is applied as soon as the vehicle is raised by the hydraulic strut.
The working pressure in the hydraulic strut will equal approx the double of the sphere's initial charge, which then roughly equals 120bar (1740psi). At such pressure, any leak must be evident by nature.
Simply reassemble the lot, then start engine and set suspension height to normal, and the strut (and possible leak) is pressurised.
If you set the height to max, the full system pressure of approx 165bar (2400psi) is applied to the suspension hydraulics. If that does not reveal any weakness, you have no leaks, but rather some mess left from a garage work.
Note : inside the sphere base where the strut is fitted, you find 2 O-rings. These must be in perfect condition, as must the assembled parts here be meticulously cleaned. Wet the parts with clean LHM before reassembly.
If the strut is leaking - there must be signs of leaks somewhere.
The strut would be leaking, no matter weight/driving load, as the hydraulics pressure is applied as soon as the vehicle is raised by the hydraulic strut.
The working pressure in the hydraulic strut will equal approx the double of the sphere's initial charge, which then roughly equals 120bar (1740psi). At such pressure, any leak must be evident by nature.
Simply reassemble the lot, then start engine and set suspension height to normal, and the strut (and possible leak) is pressurised.
If you set the height to max, the full system pressure of approx 165bar (2400psi) is applied to the suspension hydraulics. If that does not reveal any weakness, you have no leaks, but rather some mess left from a garage work.
Note : inside the sphere base where the strut is fitted, you find 2 O-rings. These must be in perfect condition, as must the assembled parts here be meticulously cleaned. Wet the parts with clean LHM before reassembly.
Well, its gale force winds and horizontal rain in the west country., so no working on the car tonight. I've taken out another loan and ordered a new strut from Citroen Bath at £174... It should be here on Friday.
Another question for you all regarding the anti-sink feature. Even before the leak became evident, I noticed that when the engine is switched off, the front would sink within a minute, and would take a bout a minute to come back to the correct height when re-started. This is a bit of a pain as there is a sleeping policeman / road hump directly outside the house and if I don't wait, the car grounds on it. I noticed this evening that a neighbours Xantia, also P-reg, parked up the road did not seem to sink at all when parked up for some hours. I don't think either car has hydractive (well, I know mine dosen't). The back end on mine sinks slowly overnight, but not by much.
Another question for you all regarding the anti-sink feature. Even before the leak became evident, I noticed that when the engine is switched off, the front would sink within a minute, and would take a bout a minute to come back to the correct height when re-started. This is a bit of a pain as there is a sleeping policeman / road hump directly outside the house and if I don't wait, the car grounds on it. I noticed this evening that a neighbours Xantia, also P-reg, parked up the road did not seem to sink at all when parked up for some hours. I don't think either car has hydractive (well, I know mine dosen't). The back end on mine sinks slowly overnight, but not by much.