Xantia Groaning

docbrown · Unread post by **docbrown** » 04 Apr 2005, 03:25

Hello New member have been reading for a while and hopefully someone can help me with my problem.
I have a 98 SXTD Xantia and have found that when I am turning the wheel at slow speeds or stationary I get this horrible groaning noise that occurs as the wheel is dead centre but the noise goes away once I turn the wheel more. It always does this groaning and is starting to worry me.
I've checked the LHM Level and it is fine and cannot think of what it can be. Any advise would be appreciated![?]

AndersDK · Unread post by **AndersDK** » 04 Apr 2005, 04:23

We had a Xantia owner from Scotland who described symptoms much like your Xantia does it.
The solution was a cleaning and lubrication (just a thin layer standard bearing grease) of the shiny rod on the steering ram (the servo cylinder itself).
As the rod is exposed to road environment it may be rather dirty - even light rusty on it's surface.

docbrown · Unread post by **docbrown** » 05 Apr 2005, 13:00

Thanks for the advice anders.
I took the car to a citroen specialist who said the noise was coming from the steering rack and he suggested changing the steering ram, however at £130 this is not cheap.
Can you give me a little more guidance on what part I need to clean and how I get to it, that way I can try to clean it and see if it makes a difference before spending money on a new steering ram.
If you have any pics that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance[:)]

jeremy · Unread post by **jeremy** » 05 Apr 2005, 18:49

Its the shiny rod that comes out of the ram. It also has a couple of pips going to it and sits parallel to the rack itself, Main housing (dirty bit) about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, ram smaller.
It should be clean and very shiny as its made of decent (possibly plated) metal and gets polished whenever the steering gets turned.
jeremy

PeterMann · Unread post by **PeterMann** » 06 Apr 2005, 07:59

Hydraulic rods are typically hard-chrome plated to give them a wear resistant and rust-proofed surface finish. The groaning part is probably the wiper seal, which prevents dirt being drawn in against the high pressure seal. I would set up a wick saturated with gearbox oil around the extended part of the rod, so that it continues to maintain a film of oil for 1 or 2 years. The groaning will be the seal stuttering on the dry surface, and this will shorten the life of the seal.