Xantia struts - 2001 compatible with 1997 ?

Mandrake · Unread post by **Mandrake** » 24 Nov 2005, 07:41

Hi All,

Does anyone know for sure if a pair of front suspension struts (the actual strut section, not the strut top) from a series 2, 2001 Hydractive 2 Xantia will fit a series 1, 1997 Hydractive 2 Xantia ?

Are there any other variations other than whether its Hydractive 2 or not, and other than the two different sizes of droplink mounting flange hole ?

Regards,
Simon

NiSk · Unread post by **NiSk** » 25 Nov 2005, 15:52

The strut and top are a matching pair. I.e. if the stut top looks different from yours, has different size pipework etc, then the strut won't fit (different coning on strut piston rod). You can drill out the drop-link hole from 8mm to 10 mm if the a/r bar has the larger size (drilling th a/r bar is no fun!)

//NiSk

Mandrake · Unread post by **Mandrake** » 25 Nov 2005, 18:25

NiSk wrote:The strut and top are a matching pair. I.e. if the stut top looks different from yours, has different size pipework etc, then the strut won't fit (different coning on strut piston rod). You can drill out the drop-link hole from 8mm to 10 mm if the a/r bar has the larger size (drilling th a/r bar is no fun!)

//NiSk

Hi Nisk,

The reason I'm asking is because I don't have access to the 2001 units to look at, (they are hundreds of miles away on a spare parts car) however I could buy them second hand. I'm aware of the differences between Hydractive 2 and non Hydractive 2, which is why I mentioned both are Hydractive 2 models, the only difference is the year.

Drilling the mounting hole for the drop link shouldn't present a problem, and in fact it wouldn't be drilling anyway - the later models have a larger hole so if my droplinks are of the early type (I don't think they are) I'll need a spacer instead.

The strut tops are only 5 months old as they were replaced by the seller just before I got the car, unfortunately the struts themselves were not, and after eliminating every other possibility such as spheres etc and still being faced with an extremely ride height fussy ride that is frequently very harsh at the front (and a number of other related symptoms) I've finally accepted the conclusion that I had all along that the struts themselves are faulty.

Either wear, or water damage, or both. When I first saw the car the gaters were down because the strut top rubbers had perished to the extent that the gaters no longer had any rim to connect to, which means its possible the gaters had been down letting water in for at least a year or more, so the inside of the strut unit could easily have water damage, in fact the shaft itself has a couple of milky streaks up it which dont clean off which suggests water...

Regards,
Simon

NiSk · Unread post by **NiSk** » 25 Nov 2005, 21:21

Citroën have deliberatly changed the pitch of the coning on the piston rods so that you can't fit the wrong strut to the top mounting, so some how or another you are going to need to know what type you already have.

If the struts really are that bad, you should be able to notice it when raising and lowering the car on the suspension. Usually, the front rises in jerks if the struts are worn or binding and can stick when lowering until the weight of the car forces them to drop with a thud.

If you have followed some of the other strut threads on the forum, you will have seen that one way of detecting wear is to raise the height to max, pull down/up the gaiters and check the piston rod for signs of local wear. Someone has suggested rotating the rod a half turn to distribute the wear surface.

Have you tried greasing the piston rods?

// NiSk

Mandrake · Unread post by **Mandrake** » 25 Nov 2005, 23:27

NiSk wrote:Citroën have deliberatly changed the pitch of the coning on the piston rods so that you can't fit the wrong strut to the top mounting, so some how or another you are going to need to know what type you already have.

Well that was the point of my original post - trying to find out what variations there were (if any) other than the obvious ones of Hydractive vs not Hydractive, and the droplink mounting hole size.

If the struts really are that bad, you should be able to notice it when raising and lowering the car on the suspension. Usually, the front rises in jerks if the struts are worn or binding and can stick when lowering until the weight of the car forces them to drop with a thud.

Not necessarily. Not rising or lowering without obvious jerking unfortunately doesnt mean the struts arent worn... the jerking is more a sign of the bushes being dry or the strut being VERY badly worn out.

If you have followed some of the other strut threads on the forum, you will have seen that one way of detecting wear is to raise the height to max, pull down/up the gaiters and check the piston rod for signs of local wear.

They have visible wear marks, yes.

Someone has suggested rotating the rod a half turn to distribute the wear surface.

Worth a try I guess, although because the strut tops have been replaced (just before I bought the car) the orientation of the strut shafts will be in a random direction compared to how they originally were anyway.

Have you tried greasing the piston rods?

Have you seen any of my strut threads ?

Yes I have... with grease and oil on numerous different occasions. With the ride height a bit higher than normal (about 10 to 15mm) there is usually an immediate and large improvement in the ride from the grease/oil which lasts only a few weeks at most.

At normal ride height (presumably where the wear patches in the shaft are in contact) neither make much improvement.

There is no doubt from the behaviour at different heights that there is position dependant wear on the shafts...

Suffice to say that I have spent a LOT of time diagnosing the ride problems of this car over the last few months (and posted dozens of messages about it here) and have step by step eliminated virtually ever other possibility with great care.

Regards,
Simon