Xantia mot fail on strut

[zs&tas]

Hi everyone
Took the xantia for its MOT and as the title says , it failed only on a strut leak, which i think isnt too bad at all really, i mean i could have come away with a massive list of things to do , ya know when you have to decide wether to fix it or scrap it ? needless to say im quite happy and still enjoy this little car.

I am looking at second hand front right ( are they different ) struts, if anybody has any ideas ?
also for those that have done this job , any tips you learnt as you went along ?

thanks for any helps guys , hope to keep it running !
Anthony

[white exec]

Are you sure the leak on the strut isn't a leaky rubber return pipe? Common fault, and easily fixed.

[zs&tas]

im not sure yet, i havnt looked myself, yet , just what the tester said . i will have time to take the wheel off tmrw and look, just researching to cover my bases

[xantia_v6]

Xantia struts never leak, as Chris said it is probably the LHM return hose has perished, or (much less likely) an o-ring at the top of the strut.

[zs&tas]

now it has cooled down out there , i poped out and had a look, it appears to be coming from the very top, running down the slider, eventually congealing around the hub carrier. what do you guys suggest, i need to find a tech drawing but guessing i need to take the top apart clean it up and replace parts if needed. glad after research and your comments the struts seem pretty reliable.

[zs&tas]

so im thinking the o rings up top there . 11 and 12 maybe , i guess the taper fit should stop leaks , but then the o rings are there for a reason huh ?

[white exec]

The two O-rings are either side of the fluid path into and out of the strut and the sphere.
The taper is there for a firm fit between strut rod and the sphere mount, but is not actually 'fluid tight' in itself. The seal depends on the two O-rings.

You look to have access to parts pages, and from the ones I've looked at the two rings are sized as 18mm (I.D.) x 2mm (thickness), and 21mm x 2.45mm - but check carefully via your VIN number (which I don't have), as strut tops and struts do vary across models.

The last time I replaced strut O-rings (on XM), I used Viton quality, and upped the thickness by about 0.30mm to ensure a good seal, simply because there wasn't a lot of squash on the original Citroen thickness dimension. Lubricate well before inserting the strut, to avoid scuffing the rings.

Hopefully, it still might be a leaky return pipe, which does head upwards before disappearing. Clean everything up and dry off to check exactly where the leak is.
Strut top leaks are unusual, but can happen.

[zs&tas]

Thank you for all of that whiteexec

[zs&tas]

Hey , I just realized I never updated this ! I replaced the orings , stoped the leak , and passed the mot . The above oring dimensions white exec posted were correct for my MK1 96 . Thanks !

[zs&tas]

Double trouble