Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by aneesh84 »

The 62 bar accumulator sphere is

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/febi-bilstein/1880615
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by wheeler »

Mandrake wrote: 21 Jun 2022, 22:27 No Citroen dealer for probably hundreds of miles from me now - the one in Glasgow closed down!
Arnold Clark have a multi franchise (including PSA) parts centre in South Street in Glasgow.
They do aftermarket parts & dealer parts for the various franchises they hold.
https://www.arnoldclarkautoparts.com/
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by Mandrake »

wheeler wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 11:36
Mandrake wrote: 21 Jun 2022, 22:27 No Citroen dealer for probably hundreds of miles from me now - the one in Glasgow closed down!
Arnold Clark have a multi franchise (including PSA) parts centre in South Street in Glasgow.
They do aftermarket parts & dealer parts for the various franchises they hold.
https://www.arnoldclarkautoparts.com/
Thanks for the suggestion - however on doing a search for suspension parts they only have things like ball joints, tie rods, lower arm bushes etc... no spheres.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by jamescarruthers »

I was a fan of AUTODOC before Brexit but after a recent order, it has gotten rather slow due to customs checks. I will use them if I have to but will try avoid now personally.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by Mandrake »

I've emailed Westeron to see what they can offer in terms of cost and delivery time while I'm looking at alternatives.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by Mandrake »

jamescarruthers wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 11:59 I was a fan of AUTODOC before Brexit but after a recent order, it has gotten rather slow due to customs checks. I will use them if I have to but will try avoid now personally.
I've never been a fan of Autodoc but have been forced to use them post Brexit, and yes they can be very slow, but at least they do have a wide selection. (You just have to be careful to match the OEM numbers yourself as they have quite a few errors in listings)

Prior to Brexit I was using and generally very happy with https://www.mister-auto.co.uk/ however they decided to bail from the UK market since January 2021 and despite still having a UK website they still don't operate here! :( It would be a happy day for us Citroen owners if they did open their UK presence again.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by wheeler »

Mandrake wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 11:53
wheeler wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 11:36
Mandrake wrote: 21 Jun 2022, 22:27 No Citroen dealer for probably hundreds of miles from me now - the one in Glasgow closed down!
Arnold Clark have a multi franchise (including PSA) parts centre in South Street in Glasgow.
They do aftermarket parts & dealer parts for the various franchises they hold.
https://www.arnoldclarkautoparts.com/
Thanks for the suggestion - however on doing a search for suspension parts they only have things like ball joints, tie rods, lower arm bushes etc... no spheres.
Their website will only show aftermarket parts but they are a full PSA parts supplier for dealer parts & eurorepar, you would likely need to call them.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by jamescarruthers »

Mandrake wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 12:01
jamescarruthers wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 11:59 I was a fan of AUTODOC before Brexit but after a recent order, it has gotten rather slow due to customs checks. I will use them if I have to but will try avoid now personally.
I've never been a fan of Autodoc but have been forced to use them post Brexit, and yes they can be very slow, but at least they do have a wide selection. (You just have to be careful to match the OEM numbers yourself as they have quite a few errors in listings)

Prior to Brexit I was using and generally very happy with https://www.mister-auto.co.uk/ however they decided to bail from the UK market since January 2021 and despite still having a UK website they still don't operate here! :( It would be a happy day for us Citroen owners if they did open their UK presence again.
True, Mister Auto we’re even better when we had a choice!
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by Mandrake »

Mandrake wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 11:59 I've emailed Westeron to see what they can offer in terms of cost and delivery time while I'm looking at alternatives.
Ok got a reply from Westeron.

Accumulator and anti-sink spheres both in stock, new IHFS £50 each plus shipping of £16. (all inc VAT) A little bit more expensive than Autodoc but probably much quicker to get given they're in country.

Also says he has hydractive and corner spheres available for this Xantia, (£40 corner, £30 hydractive centres) although I don't need them just at the moment.

Weirdly, he's offering a £10 credit for sending him my old anti-sink sphere for "remanufacturing", however given that it would cost me more than that to send it I don't see how that saves me any money ??! :rofl2:

(Also I'm sure it's in a pretty sorry, rusted state)
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by jamescarruthers »

And remember with AUTODOC you can get hit with import charges although I think this is only over a certain amount.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by Armidillo »

Have you tried genuine? OK - I see that (like me) you don't have a Citroen dealer around the corner, but won't some of the remaining ones do mail order (Continental Cars in Sydney certainly will)?

I believe that Citroen now offers "premium" and "budget" (Eurorepar) sphere options, and that the Eurorepar spheres are made by IFHS. Don't know who makes the "genuine" Citroen ones.

I would ask the XM boys for more info - they discuss this sort of thing from time to time.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by Mandrake »

According to Doug at Westeron the two spheres he's offering me are IHFS and "are manufactured using the original Citroen toolling so a genuine sphere".

I read that as saying IHFS was the OEM sphere supplier for Citroen or at least one of them, and I've heard that said before. I've used IHFS for most of my Citroen sphere's in the last 10 years so I'll probably stick with them. Haven't had any experience with Eurorepar.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by aneesh84 »

Armidillo wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 15:01 Have you tried genuine? OK - I see that (like me) you don't have a Citroen dealer around the corner, but won't some of the remaining ones do mail order (Continental Cars in Sydney certainly will)?

I believe that Citroen now offers "premium" and "budget" (Eurorepar) sphere options, and that the Eurorepar spheres are made by IFHS. Don't know who makes the "genuine" Citroen ones.

I would ask the XM boys for more info - they discuss this sort of thing from time to time.
Last time I had dug into it and as per my understanding all citroen spheres are made by IFHS, both citroen as well as the eurorepar branding. Probably made in the same assembly lines and put into different boxes.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by aneesh84 »

Mandrake wrote: 20 Jun 2022, 16:36 Hi All,

Last time I bought any spheres was in 2014 from Citroen Services in Rutherglen - they used to supply IFHS spheres, had listings for the spheres on their website and it was possible to collect them over the counter.

Not anymore as far as I can see! Bought out by Cam Auto's and not doing Citroen stuff anymore, and certainly no listings like they used to have.

So where are people getting their spheres from these days ? Is it still even possible to buy them now that the youngest Xantia is 21 years old ? :oops: (Makes me feel old too! :lol: )

I'm just looking for an accumulator sphere and Anti-sink sphere at the moment, the latter in particular as my garage always grumbles about the rear brakes not working as well as they should be, that and the fact that the rear brakes seem to need bleeding periodically suggest the anti-sink sphere has popped and is bubbling nitrogen into the rear brakes, so a new anti-sink sphere could make quite a difference to the rear brakes especially given that it acts as a brake accumulator for the rear brakes.

Later on once the MOT is passed I may look at getting three new rear suspension spheres as well but can't justify them just now. (Front's are fine and are all the long life types)
Sorry to deviate from your question, but as per my understanding the anti sink sphere does not affect braking during normal operations. It acts as an accumulator for emergencies say when the hydraulic pump suddenly goes bad on the move or the engine turns off. So a bad anti-sink may not be the only cause for poor braking, as per my understanding. Of course if the spheres are leaking nitrogen that could be a reason for spongy brakes.
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Re: Where to buy Xantia spheres in 2022 ? (in Scotland)

Post by Mandrake »

aneesh84 wrote: 22 Jun 2022, 20:48 Sorry to deviate from your question, but as per my understanding the anti sink sphere does not affect braking during normal operations. It acts as an accumulator for emergencies say when the hydraulic pump suddenly goes bad on the move or the engine turns off. So a bad anti-sink may not be the only cause for poor braking, as per my understanding. Of course if the spheres are leaking nitrogen that could be a reason for spongy brakes.
My MOT tester has been complaining about the rear brakes being marginal for a few years now - even when I put a load in the back.

It got brand new rear discs and pads 2 years ago along with the callipers being scraped clean to ensure they are straight vs the disc, despite this it is still barely passing the brake test machine on the rear. (Although it feels fine to me in actual driving)

The only explanation I've been able to find is that I've found it does seem to get "air" in the rear brakes somewhat often - every few months I'm having to bleed the rear brakes due to the rear lifting under braking. Past experience tells me this is probably a failed anti-sink sphere as I've seen this on two previous Xantia's now.

I fitted all new spheres on this car when I bought it in 2014 but that was 8 years ago now! :shock: They've done well to last this long but the single layer ones must be getting long in the tooth now. I certainly notice the rear suspension is stiffer than it should be. (Albeit still a lot better than I'd be expecting after 8 years - perhaps due to low mileage)

The front accumulator sphere is getting pretty low now too. I don't have anything to measure it but the cycle time is relatively short - around 15-30 seconds and it can no longer lift a small weight in the boot after the engine is switched off from stored pressure.
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
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