help needed, lhm leak!

dan23ipswich · Post by **dan23ipswich** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:12

hey all,
im trying to solve my girlfriends problem with her xantia, the suspension is hard and there is no power steering at all and the brakes seem a bit soft, its not being driven at the moment as its too dangerous, basically i looked at the lhm reservoir tank and its leaking on the top, but i cant seem to find any where visible its coming from? sorry for my ignorance in this matter but i dont know nothing about this setup, any help and guidance will be appreciated, Thanks. Dan.

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:18

Whats the fluid level in the LHM tank ?

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:22

If you can tell us a lot more about the car itsself..

Model, Year, DERV, Petrol, we can help a bit more with lack of PAS and brakes..

The LHM on top of the tank is a weep from one of the RUBBER return hoses, NOT the two LARGE ones, but one of the smaller ones... This is not your main concern, nor be causeing the lack of PAS or springy brakes..

The Lack of pas would be Air getting into the system some where!

Paul

dan23ipswich · Post by **dan23ipswich** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:29

just went outside to have a look, and the flat metal disc on the indicator is just over the top red line.

dan23ipswich · Post by **dan23ipswich** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:30

sorry, the car is a 1998 1.9 tdi sensation,

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:34

Ok,

So the PAS is Driven DIRECTLY from the Pump, Check carefully the LHM FEED pipe, the larger thicker rubber pipe going to the pump, the can and do get brittle were they are attached to the pump and split letting IN Air but NOT fluid out...

If it is split, the first quick fix you can do is cut it down - CAREFULL when you remove it, it MAY act as a syphon, re fit it to the pump, then you'll need to put the suspension in to the LOW setting, then on the Pressure regulator attached TO THE GEARBOX, you need to undo the 12mm nut to release the system pressure WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING...

When you set the car to low leave her running for about 3 mins BEFORE you undo the 12mm nut, DO NOT REMOVE THE NUT, just undo it about 1 full turns..

Leave the engine running for about 2 mins to bleed ALL air from the system, then do it back up...

Paul

dan23ipswich · Post by **dan23ipswich** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:41

ok thanks alot i will have a look tomorrow, so would this be causing the car suspension to be terribly bumpy, like when you go over a bump it bumps a few more times?? also what would the fluid be thats coming out of the reservoir tank? is it because its been over filled in the past? once again sorry for the questions i drive german cars and dont have the same set up.cheers.Dan.

Post by **admiral51** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:43

Hi Dan and welcome to the forum

As a newbie to hydraulic citroens i found This Guide extremley helpful and informative
To check the level in the LHM tank the car must be put to its highest setting via the lever by the handbrake.
This lever has 4 settings High/Intermediate/Normal/Low and are marked in the above order with High being the one nearest the back seats.The float level in the dome on top of the LHM tank should sit between the 2 orange lines with the car in the High position.
You may have seen reference to Citrobics on the forum,this particular term is used to describe putting the car from Normal into High/Low/High/Low etc to purge the system of air(must be done with engine running) as air in the system will give problems with both PAS/Suspension and Brakes.
Do you get the Red Stop light on the dash?? this would show if the LHM level was low.When were the Spheres/LHM/LHM filter last changed/cleaned all have a bearing on how the car handles.

The good news is that although the above seems daunting at first its not going to be expensive to sort out,and youve come to the right place for advice.
If you can give more details of the car in question eg fuel/year/model etc the advice given will be more specific

Colin

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:49

admiral51 wrote: If you can give more details of the car in question eg fuel/year/model etc the advice given will be more specific

Colin

He has Admiral, Shes a 1998 1.9 TD, Sensation, so a Series 2 with 6+2 with anti sink..and NO Hydractive..

Paul

dan23ipswich · Post by **dan23ipswich** » 21 Dec 2009, 22:49

the car in question is a 1998 1.9tdi sensation, im not to sure when the last bits with the lhm were done on the car as we only picked it up on saturday as it was a cheap runner, i really do hope it isn't going to cost a fortune and hopefully i can get it done quickly as the other half is eager to have her own car,lol. The car has recently passed an MOT too.

Post by **admiral51** » 21 Dec 2009, 23:07

Sorry Paul im only a 1 finger typer takes me ages to post anything

Colin

Post by **admiral51** » 21 Dec 2009, 23:22

Hi Dan
Some bugger is going to type quicker then me now but he ho

Right you have 6 spheres on your car 1 on each corner front and back,1 accumulator sphere in the engine bay and 1 "anti-sink" on the rear of the car just behind the spare wheel carrier.As for expense the cost of the spheres is about £130 if you buy and change all 6 yourself.A LHM/Hydraflush change and filter clean will cost about £20.
Not sure off hand who is in your local area but it may pay you to run the car to a local forum member who can compare ride quality etc as to what it should be.
It does sound as if the Hydraulic system needs a good clean and probably the spheres changed.

PM sent.....

Colin

dan23ipswich · Post by **dan23ipswich** » 21 Dec 2009, 23:28

ok thanks for the information, and to answer ur earlier question the red stop light is indeed coming on, then it goes off after a minute, then when i go to restart it, it then comes on again, im from ipswich, im not sure if there is anyone around this way that i can compare with? cheers.
Dan.

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 22 Dec 2009, 08:06

Yea thats COMPLETELY normal operation for the red lights, they will always be on after ignition is switched off..

Under the bonnet, the regulator unit is bolted to the gearbox, its slightly hidden under the two Plastic Air pipes that goto the front of the engine bay to the intercooler, and has a green sphere screwed into it, on the front of it theres two 11mm studs that hold it to the gearbox, and a 12mm NUT, its the 12mm nut you need..

Inside the car, theres the height lever next to the gear lever, start the car, then lift the lever and slide it all the way FORWARDS to the lowest position.. let the car sink to the floor and leve it running for a minute.. then with the engine running locate the 12mm nut on the regulator and undo it by about a turn and a half... let the system depressurise, the STOP light and ! light should be on now... leave the engine run for a min or two.. stop the engine..

Inspect the MAIN Rubber feed pipe to the pump, you'll have Air Con, so the Main pump is ABOVE the altinator and easy to get too, as I said above take the pipe off and see if its split and letting air in, as they split here on the pump..

If split, cut it back a bit and re fit it, start the engine first let it run a moment, and re tighten the 12mm nut on the regulator unit... then move the lever in the car to the middle position.. let the car come up give it a moment or two.

If the rear has trouble comming up, then you have sticky levers that control the rear height control unit.. but thats another learning lesson. Lets get the brakes and PAS working..

Goood luck
Paul

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 22 Dec 2009, 08:14

hi Dan and welcome

the only way to check you fluid (LHM) level is start the car put the hight lever to the highest setting (fully back) wait for the car to rise up fully on its suspension till it stops, all this on level ground,

then check the yellow disc in the clear plastic dome on top of the tank is between the two red bands, (the yellow disc not the copper one),

this is the top disc of the two, as the lower copper one just shorts out the terminals in the bottom of the level indicator if/when the fluid level is to low,

Xantias usualy have fluid on/around the top surface of the tank, and most of the time its nout to worry about,

is the aux drive belt squeeling/slipping, dose the stop light go out once the engine has run for a couple of minns,

also if the car has lifted up to its corect ride high when driveing, and the ride is very hard, you almost certainly need to replace some/all of the spheres (green balls), unless the car is an ACTIVA/HYDRACTIVE,

in which case there can be electronic/trical faults

regards malcolm