Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

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spiff
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by spiff »

Thank you both.

Our daughter Amalie has a W XP laptop for me just waiting to be picked up, the next purchase will be a Lexia : )

I shall have to use our bus pass to collect it : )

How do I tell if it just requires just a gaiter, or if the seals on the ram are gone ?

If the seals have gone on the ram as suggested earlier, which is then putting pressure into the gaiter which in turn is filling the subframe from the vent tube.

The sub frame having a drain hole above the centre sphere is then soaking the sphere.

If the fluid is coming from the drain hole in the sub frame, it looks to be a bit more than misting, the area round the sphere was soaked and dripping.

The car dropping at the rear over night could point to the seals, it had never done that before the gaiter leak showed up.

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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by dnsey »

I'd temporarily pull the breather from the crossmember grommet, and attach a length of PVC or similar tubing.
Run the end of the tube into a jam jar or something.
Now do some Citrobics. If a significant amount of fluid drains through the tube you have a problem with the ram seals, if there's very little or none, there's nothing to worry about in that respect.
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by spiff »

That sound a good idea : )

Unfortunately there is also an intermittent fault with the motor not running : (

It will lift the car in the morning when the doors are unlocked, but if I try lifting it up or down or moving it far it will go into fault mode and the motor will not run.

It used to be drivable like this as the pressure stayed in the system, but not now : )

Given the amount that is leaking from the boot and the drain hole above the centre sphere, the seals must be leaking so much that they are over riding the return circuit.

I think : )

I have been looking online for some seals but so far no luck, perhaps I am using the wrong search terms ?

I have the replacement boot so might as well do the seals at the same time.

Any help with locating the seals would be much appreciated, I have tried.

Also some fluid, I only have the green stuff from our Xantia which has gone to the scrap yard in the sky, Redruth actually : )

C5 2003 ESTATE PETROL

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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by xantia_v6 »

If you post up your VIN number, a kind soul may look up the seal part number.

There have been a few related topics here in the past:
viewtopic.php?t=44652
viewtopic.php?t=54661
viewtopic.php?t=47704
viewtopic.php?t=32149
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by myglaren »

Have you checked the LDS reservoir for how much fluid remaining?
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by civvie »

xantia_v6 wrote: 31 Dec 2017, 01:28 If you post up your VIN number, a kind soul may look up the seal part number.

There have been a few related topics here in the past:
viewtopic.php?t=44652
viewtopic.php?t=54661
viewtopic.php?t=47704
viewtopic.php?t=32149


I also did a breakdown thread of the seals I replaced a few years ago on my C5
I purchased the seals from the local citroen dealer ( they wern't expensive)
At the end of the rear subframe cross member there is a plug on each end, if you take this plug out, with the aide of a torch you should be able to see along the length, if there is a lot of fluid in there the seals are the problem.

EDIT.
First ram, I managed to take off the car and did it in the workshop/shed, on the bench the other side I did it under the car without taking it off. But I was a few years younger then !! and it was summer.

There are three seals for each ram, when disassembled I could find only two grooves with the seals in, after a bit of looking the third seal was under one of the others. Very tricky picking out the old seals from the grooves without scoring the bore, take care here, I used a paper clip sharpened at the end plus one of those very small screwdrivers to pick the seals out.
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by wurlycorner »

You can buy LDS from loads of places - all the usual suspects (halfords, GSF, Opie, eBay...)
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by myglaren »

There are three seals for each ram, when disassembled I could find only two grooves with the seals in, after a bit of looking the third seal was under one of the others. Very tricky picking out the old seals from the grooves without scoring the bore, take care here, I used a paper clip sharpened at the end plus one of those very small screwdrivers to pick the seals out.


I find these antistatic screwdrivers useful for such tasks
633a6f98-8d88-4fa7-b7cb-7ae91296adc9.jpg
I got mine from eBay possibly a different seller though
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7Pcs-Full-Ty ... Swz2tZnq3I

The tips are ceramic so won't damage the ram if used with caution - they are easy to break though :(
I bought 5L LDS from eBay too - £38 delivered.
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by spiff »

Many thanks for all the help.

If there is a kind gent out there who can identify the part number of the seals from my VIN VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]

So that I can be self sufficient in future, what is required to identify part numbers from a VFN, or is the information not easily available ?

We run an online business supplying vintage radio service data, customers can be very lazy and rather than look their model up on our website, will try to get Alanna or myself to do it for them : )

I do not wish to take advantage of others like that, as I know how annoying it is if you have other things to do : )

I have read alot about different brands of LDS does anyone know if this one is OK ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Syntex-Citroe ... SwbApZcOQz

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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Spiff - I listed the parts back on the first page, but repeated here for convenience:
C5 MK I Rear Suspension Sphere.PNG
Number 6 is the Sphere Seal and is Part 5272 15 - £5.10
Number 7 is the O-Ring and is Part 5272 28 - £1.69
Number 8 is the Suspension Cylinder Sliding Seal and is Part 5272 30 - £4.54
Number 9 is the Weatherstrip and is Part 5272 32 - £2.78

All the above are VAT inclusive prices and are for single items.

The same seal (Number 6), Part 5272 15, is also used for the Centre Rigidity Regulator Spheres
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by spiff »

Thank you Marc,

Wind just hit 60mph here.

To stop the ram from leaking I had read there were three seals, two of which are used together.

I see 7 8 & 9 which look to be three separate ones ?

Are these the parts I require

Do I order these from a specific supplier, or is it a mater of searching around online ?

Happy New Year : )

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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Spiff, these are the Citroen main dealer part numbers, so you can call your nearest dealer, give them these numbers and they will order them in if they don’t already have them in stock. I can’t help you with regards to the seal you need without seeing it, so you have the lot here for reference.

Yes they are all separate to answer you question and if you look on the diagram they each go in a particular location on the ram. So it might be prudent to order one of each of 7,8 & 9.
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by Paul-R »

Be aware of the Unit of Issue. When I was considering changing the seals on my old C5 I seem to remember that you had to buy more than one at a minimum. Can't remember whether 2 or 5 was the minimum and not all the seals were the same UOI!

WRT to LDS, it's probably OK. It may not be orange though. I have heard of some third party LDS being green. A particularly poor choice considering LHM is green! If you need more than 1l (probably not) this works out even cheaper.
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by myglaren »

Yes, the Comma alternative is green.
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Re: Citroen C5 2003 dripping fluid from passenger rear suspension ram boot

Post by wurlycorner »

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