Leaky Activa yet again

[petef]

Greetings from Dordogne, now holed up here for the summer season and will have to tough it out until September - it's a hard life! Got the Activa on the road last week and tried to sort out the permanently hard ride at the front - I am now fairly sure it is a defective ECU and I will have to live with it for the moment.
Any road up, I now have a much bigger problem- an LHM leak from the rear! After about an hour grovelling under the car on ramps, I have pinpointed where it is coming from - a t-piece in the plastic piping which I presume is the fluid return system. This (with typical Citroen impossibility) is situated above the rear height controller buried behind spheres, HP pipes etc. I can just about touch it! Now the big question. The leak is from one side of the tee - the two side pipes have a slight bulge in them, the end pipe which presumably goes back to the reservoir does not appear to have a bulge.Are these side pipes removeable? ie can they be pulled out of the t-piece, and do they have an internal seal (rubber o ring or similar)which can be replaced. Or is there any suitable sealant which can be applied to the outside?? I have not tried anything yet before seeking advice.
I am loathe to take the car to the local Citroen agent - if they need to replace the complete pipeline from front to rear I'm sure it will cost a fortune and I really cannot justify any further major expenditure.At the same time I do not want to lay the car up if I can stem this leak with sound advice and a bit of contortion on my part!

Any thoughts gratefully received

A bientot

Peter Fereday

[AndersDK]

Hi Peter -

The plastic tubes in question are the leakage returns from both rear suspension cylinders. You may find the very same pipes attached to the rear cylinders rubber bellows rearmost (on car).
There is only the LHM seepage past the piston seals from the suspension cylinders to be found in these plastic tubes.
(The other frontmost tubes on the bellows are the bellow vent pipes which have an open end in the rear axle cross tube).

All 3 plastic pipes should have a bulge on the end which mates a recess inside the rubber Tee to better keep the pipes located in the Tee.
There are no seals or rings inside the rubber Tee.

You may pull out the plastic piping and remove the Tee for cleaning/inspection and any minor modification to better hold & fixate the pipes.
Or get a new Tee from your dealer. Also any similar plastic piping your dealer may stock, can be used for repair, as this new pipe will have a bulge at least at one end to better stay located in the Tee.
(or try a local scrap yard)
Then you can cut back the old pipe and use a piece of suitable rubber hosing to join your new pipe to the old one under the car.

Many words on a simple task 8)