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Post by admiral51 »

I have seen This on ebay

i bought one off ebay from This seller and it has done my rears and accumulator sphere without any problems

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Post by Xaccers »

ThePriest wrote: Is there a way of cracking them off so they can be unscrewed without buying the special tool. I am on a very very restricted budget and the less I can sprend the better.
Here's the link to my post about the home made tool
http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=21850

For the rears, set the car on high, and support it with axle stands (with the rear wheels still on the floor, so you may have to use a jack instead - be very careful!) so should something go wrong, the car won't come crushing down.
Get as much weight as you can in the boot, if you have kids, overweight neighbour, large dog, washing machine, bung them all in.
The reason for this is that your rear suspension arms aren't held in place other than by the pressure they exert against the car, so if you don't expand them to keep them tight, they can spin and do damage.
Using your sphere tool, done up really tight, just crack the sphere's lose, basically enough to seperate the body of the sphere from the socket as that can rust together.
Don't undo them too much, you just need a small gap between the body of the sphere and it's socket.
Then lower the car into the axle stands and set the suspension on low (you can empty the boot now).
That will tilt the car, lifting the back up giving you plenty of space underneath. After a minute or so on low, stop the engine, and depresurise the system by unscrewing the 12mm bolt on the front of the pressure regulator (just to the right of the accumulator at the front) enough to let it hiss. Then do it back up, just nipping it closed.
Now you should be able to remove the rear spheres, but you might need the tool to help.

Replace the large rubber o-rings with the new ones, after dipping them in clean LHM.
I find it easier to seat the o-rings in the sockets, then screw the new sphere's in, less chance of pinching them.

If you're doing the anti-sink sphere as well, you'll need a 9mm flare spanner (someone correct me if the size is wrong).
The pipe to the A/S sphere is screwed straight into it, rather than a socket like the suspension or accumulator sphere, although it's held in place by screwing into a socket.
It can get rusted quite solid so can take a lot of force to break the bond.
First though, use the flare spanner to undo the pipe nut as much as you can (it's awkward as there's a pipe in the way preventing full rotation of the pipe nut.
Once it's a out a bit though, you can then use the sphere tool to crack the A/S sphere free.
Then, holding the flare spanner on the nut, unscrew the sphere and it will also screw itself free of the pipe.
When you fit the new sphere, it will come with an o-ring (or just use one of the old ones), even though the sphere's socket doesn't have the cut out for it.
Still use it!
This will keep from rusting up again, infact you should in future be able to remove the sphere by hand, again holding the pipe nut in the flare spanner.
You'll also need a new seal for the A/S's hole, sorry can't remember the GSF part number off the top of my head.
Re-fitting it you can use the same technique as unscrewing it, get the sphere started in it's socket so it's held in place, then a couple of turns on the pipe nut to make sure it's going in straight, and then hold it in place with the flare spanner and screw the sphere into place, which in turn will do the hard work of screwing in the pipe nut for you.
Then it should be eaiser to nip the pipe nut up (it doesn't need to be tight tight).

Now, hopefully someone will come along and tell you which order to bleed your brakes in, but again, that's dead easy too!
Hope this has helped.
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Post by red_dwarfers »

I don't suppose anyone here who has one lives in South Wales and would be willing to let me use it for half an hour? [/quote]

I use a couple of decent chain wrenches to do my spheres. I say a couple as my rear spheres were on so tight, that even with the system fully pressurised the cylinders moved :shock: so I had one around the cylinder, and another around the sphere. Done that last April with a pair of brand new spheres and they look like they've been on there for years now :lol:

Just a thought.
ThePriest wrote: BTW I just saw the Youtube vid, very god sleek and pro. nice work.
Thanks! :D

That would be my Xantia :wink: still a couple of minor bits that I want to change regarding pinpoint accuracy when i get around to it. I've got one or two more videos ready to edit, then things will have to wait until the drier weather.

:D How did you find it Roger?

If you ever have any suggestions for more videos, let me know :wink:
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Post by ThePriest »

Thanks that is a brilliant explanation. I had read the other post as well so I am confident I can do this. Good tip about the extra weight and you saved me one big headache as there are no new seals with the two new spheres that came with the car. So I will need to pop into a Citroen parts dept by the looks. Any idea of a part number for them?

Bleed the brakes? I hadn't thought of that. Do they need bleeding after this then?

Thanks also for the post about the tool. I had seen some but as I said if I can get away with a loan of one or make something up with some heavy duty tie down straps I would be far better off. As I said I am on a very very tight budget here.
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Post by addo »

I'm not convinced the brakes need bleeding after a suspension sphere change. They seem to self-purge of air after a bit of driving.
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Post by Xaccers »

Well, the rear brakes are linked to the rear suspension, and metal work is being removed, so maybe, maybe not.
Certainly do loads of citrobics after the change, and check your LHM level!
Actually, as a new owner of the car, bleeding the brakes might not be a bad idea anyway, gives you a chance to check the colour of the LHM in the system, and it may not have been done before.


Oh and I hope that the spheres have split rather than just gotten really really low.
Had one of Dex's get so low it couldn't return the lhm to the resevoir, so when I undid the sphere enough *POP* *SPLAT* and I recieved a shower of LHM!
If memory serves, Jim couldn't help grinning :D
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Post by addo »

The famous "Douche verte" as a friend called it! BTDT myself. :oops:

Brakes are a "dead leg" of the fluid lines so unless you manage to get air into that leg, it shouldn't need purging.
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Post by ThePriest »

Oh and I hope that the spheres have split rather than just gotten really really low.
Had one of Dex's get so low it couldn't return the lhm to the resevoir, so when I undid the sphere enough *POP* *SPLAT* and I recieved a shower of LHM!
If memory serves, Jim couldn't help grinning
So a suitabley tied off carrier bag strategically placed is also needed. :wink:
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Post by Xaccers »

ThePriest wrote:
Oh and I hope that the spheres have split rather than just gotten really really low.
Had one of Dex's get so low it couldn't return the lhm to the resevoir, so when I undid the sphere enough *POP* *SPLAT* and I recieved a shower of LHM!
If memory serves, Jim couldn't help grinning
So a suitabley tied off carrier bag strategically placed is also needed. :wink:
Actually, unscrewing it in a bag is a good idea anyway, saves spilling lhm all over the road as some will leak out even after removing a good sphere.
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Post by CitroJim »

addo wrote:The famous "Douche verte" as a friend called it!
:D I like that! Nice way of describing it :lol:

addo wrote: Brakes are a "dead leg" of the fluid lines so unless you manage to get air into that leg, it shouldn't need purging.
I always bleed the rears after a rear sphere change; so easy to do and in my experience, there is always some air to bleed out.
Xac wrote: If memory serves, Jim couldn't help grinning :D
I did :lol: Mind you, I've been victim of the "Douche verte" often enough. Remember the scrapyard Xac? :lol: :lol:

I discovered LHM is a great hair conditioner :wink: One good "Douche verte" left my hair soaked and it was baby-soft for days afterward :D
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Post by ThePriest »

Hello again all. Bit of an update for you. Things go slowly down here so not much to report except that the leak is sorted with the aid of some gutter sealant across the bottom of the windscreen between it and the plastic trim. The water simply flowed down behind it and straight into the air intake for the heater. Brilliant bit of design that :-\

And the rear spheres are now done fresh today. I bought a chain wrench from Machine Mart and used a jack and brute force (glad I have been pumping iron lately) to loosen them off. I did put the suspension down and waited a bit but forgot to release the pressure so had a fine spray across the underside but not too bad, just re tightened then released it and loosened again. But then discovered one seal had not seated right and was dripping so had to raise her up loosen drop her down, release pressure after waiting a bit I the removed the sphere to reseat the seal and POP SPRAY :idea: even though I had done it right it green slimmed me. Thank goodness for glasses. :shock:

Anyway now sorted and floats once more.

Next jobs are ABS sensor and heater (so I can turn it down/off) then I may think about looking at the air con.

Thanks for the help so far.

Roger
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Post by Old-Guy »

If I've got it right, the rear A/S accumulator sphere is also part of the rear braking circuit, which is (as Jim says) a dead-end beyond that point. If you were to change the rear pads immediately after changing the A/S sphere then I reckon you would probably purge any air - otherwise the brake lines will be full of dirty old LHM.

When I did all 6 spheres (12 years old!), I wasn't too surprised at the cloudy yellow LHM (with bits in!) that first came out of all the brake lines, followed by some air bubbles, before the LHM steadily got greener and cleaner. I bled about a litre of LHM from the brakes lines - mostly from the long rear lines.

Best sequence is said to be O/S/R, N/S/R, then the fronts (don't think it makes any difference which front you do first.

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