sphere removal

Post by **les** » 18 Oct 2009, 18:32

hello all i have the great joy of replacing the five spheres on my xantia are all five the same or are front /rears and accumalator different i have a removal tool on order steel band with small bolt type i have read the sticky on the subject had a real good look now up for a go at them any tips on the rears would help the reason i ask is that a local garage had the motor to do them but said they were the tightest they had ever had and would go no further afraid they would damage the hydrolic units regards les

Post by **CitroJim** » 18 Oct 2009, 18:52

Hi Les,

The spheres are not all the same. The front corner pair are the same and recommended is GSF (www.gsfcarparts.com) Part. No N45332. the rear corner pair is N45366 and the Accumulator N45304. It is very important to use the right spheres in the right places.

As for the rear sphere removal, you'll need a good tool and those with the bolt in the band may just be Ok for what you need to do.

Basically set the suspension on high and ensure the rear suspension is very heavily loaded and the wheels still in contact with the ground so the suspension cylinders are under full compression.

Ensure the car is SUPPORTED ADEQUATELY so if it should drop on it's suspension (more of a risk with a sinker) you are not going to sustain any injury. these cars can and have killed so I stress ADEQUATE SUPPORT at all times you are working underneath.

So, on high, engine running, heavy load in the back, apply the tool to the sphere and using a big hammer (4lb club is OK) apply hammer blows to the handle of the tool whilst you pull the tool handle to undo the sphere. You'll really need to lean on it but the percussion from the hammer will help. You are looking only to begin undoing the sphere at this point and need to aim to undo it about an eighth of a turn. It's going to be tough and will test your tool to the limit. I hope it is up to it. If not you will need a Pleiades tool. Bizarrely it is the rubber sphere seal that causes the spheres to be so tight and hard to remove. You are aiming to break the rubber/metal bond they have formed. When replacing spheres, only ever do them up hand-tight.

Once the spheres have cracked the eight of a turn, you'll find they'll screw off OK once the suspension is down on low and the system depressurised.

I stress again MAKES SURE THE CAR IS ADEQUATELY SUPPORTED AT ALL TIMES and when undoing the rears, make sure the suspension is so heavily loaded that there is no danger of the suspension cylinders rotating. If they do, you risk damage to their hydraulic feed pipes.

Good luck Les

Post by **les** » 18 Oct 2009, 19:07

hi jim many thanks for advice finding my way round this xantia with the help of the forum is there anywhere the hyraulic units need to be counter held while swinging on the spheres regards les

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 Oct 2009, 19:10

By setting the suspension on high and loading the boot with weight as Jim described, the rear struts are held firmly enough in place to be able to unscrew the spheres.

Post by **les** » 18 Oct 2009, 19:18

hi xac ok will try that in your experience have you heard of a garage going no further with this type of job guy there said he was afraid of damage to hydraulic units regards les

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 Oct 2009, 19:46

If they don't know about setting the car on high first then yes, I can imagine they saw the struts just turning and so stopped before doing any damage.
I've never used a garage to change spheres as they're so easy to do.
Actually, I've never taken any of my Xantias to a garage for work, even when Cassy's cambelt snapped or when her head needed changing.
OK I'm very lucky in that Jim lives just up the road and is a fantastic friend, but the best thing about Xantias (especially the TDs) is that they're so easy to maintain.

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 19 Oct 2009, 10:13

When you set the car to low, give it pleanty of time to lower, even when low it can still have pleanty of fluid behind the spheres..

A tip BEFORE you open the regulator screw to release the main pressure, pump the foot brake to help releave rear system pressure,

So to summerise, as Jim says, then have a jack under the subframe, lower the car to the ground and pump the foot brake a good few times, in reality with the good few ive done, Ive had to leave the car running in low for a GOOD 5mins to fully releave system pressure BEFORE opening the pressure screw 12mm nut...

With this, you should loose minimal amount of fluid, otherwise, I GOOD Ice Cream tub full can still be lost when removing the rears... however, you could be lucky, and just loose the egg cup amount that you should normally loose..

You can ALSO tell when they are loose enough, when you start unscrewing them the sphere should feel nice and loose IN ITS thread, and should spin off VERY easyily... if it wont, theres still a bit of pressure behind them.

Good luck!

Paul