C5 suspension pump

[exasperated]

Hello All, I am working on the photo side of things. I have taken a photo of the pump in question and as soon as I work out how to post it I will do so. I have also found out that the pump is an unit to circulate the LDS fluid, from the reservoir, to the steering high pressure pump. This now leaves me with the only possible source of the leak being the pipe exiting said pump. This pipe is the most convoluted thing that you can imagine, disappearing to the, I imagine, steering rack. So now more parts to add to the pile.
VIN VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] 76696314.
Regards,
exasperated.

[GiveMeABreak]

Hello All, I am working on the photo side of things. I have taken a photo of the pump in question and as soon as I work out how to post it I will do so. I have also found out that the pump is an unit to circulate the LDS fluid, from the reservoir, to the steering high pressure pump. This now leaves me with the only possible source of the leak being the pipe exiting said pump. This pipe is the most convoluted thing that you can imagine, disappearing to the, I imagine, steering rack. So now more parts to add to the pile.
VIN VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] 76696314.
Regards,exasperated.

Ok, so now we know that you have a Left Hand Drive C5 Mk II Facelift 5 DOOR SALOON 3.0i V6 24V Petrol 211 (ES9A) With Auto 6 Speed Box. Warranty started Jan 2008, so it's a late model Mk II and not an X7.

There's an article here on posting images to the forum (you can't upload them - just link to them, so you'll need an image hosting account first), unless you want to email them to me as previously offered.
http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 19&t=35470

I'll post up a diagram in a second to help you try and identify where you think the leak is coming from.

[GiveMeABreak]

Sorry these are a little hard to see - but they are quite large. Zooming in with your browser will help, but if you want them sending via email, let me know.

[cachaciero]

I would say from my experience that rubber pipes are bad news, not so much in the pipe itself but in the fitment of the end fittings.
A problem I have seen on other French made hydraulic equipment is that the pipe is manufactured to Metric dimension but the end fittings are imperial. So the pipe and union are not an ideal fit, a common way around this is to "shave" the rubber pipe so that it enters the union which is then crimped onto the pipe. Now the rubber pipe is actually of composite construction and relies on a spigot in the coupling entering the inner part of the pipe which is the first level of "seal" and the ferrule crimped around the pipe as the second level of seal. Unfortunately "shaving" the rubber pipe degrades this seal allowing hydraulic fluid to force its way down the laminations in the pipe eventual resulting in ballooning of the outer rubber which eventually bursts leaving the system to leak under pressure. My MK1 had a permanent leak on the power steering on the LH side for exactly this reason.
I could see no reason on the Mk1 why the majority of steering plumbing couldn’t have been replaced with solid pipe which was one solution I looked at, another solution would be to take a failed rubber pipe to your local hydraulic plant specialist (Pirtex in the UK or similar) and get them to manufacturer a new one using their choice of pipe and end fittings, likely to be cheaper than Citroen and longer lasting.

cachaciero

[exasperated]

Hello All, I have removed the pipe that is leaking. {refer to GiveMeAbreak's diagram showing the suspension piping, it is the U shaped piece} It was not easy, would have been ok if the engine was out, or at least the radiator was removed. I have cut the steel pipe where it passes the water pump and have taken the cut off piece to the local hydraulic shop for the rubber piece to be replaced. Once that comes back I can start putting it all back together.
Once again thanks for all the posts.
Regards,
Exasperated.

[GiveMeABreak]

Glad they diagrams helped. Please keep us posted with the outcome, it really helps others.