C5 02 Estate Rear End Woes

[johnway]

Hi all,
Been a while since I had to seek your expert opinions but now I have good reason to again!! On a caravan trip this weekend I was horrified to spot that the new Michelin tyes which I had fitted last year were down to the casings on the rear wheels - half the tread had vanished from the middle of both tyres to their inside edges with the last 2 inches of width being badly scrubbed. It looks to me as though the rear wheels, when viewed from the back, are leaning out and are not upright - am I right in thinking I have a suspension problem here? If so which would be the likely culprit(s) : rear hub/bearing assemblies, rear suspension trailing arms or rear suspension struts ? Where would be a good place to source these parts? Many thanks,
Regards,
John.

[VertVega]

Do they look like this // --- \\
If it were a Xantia I would have said that it might be caused by the "white corrosion" of the rear arm
but I'm not sure about C5

---
Edit: As AndersDK wrote below, the rear arm bearings also cause similar. In mine when the bearings
of the rear arm failed there were also disturbing squeaky sounds, especially loud while driving over speed bumps.

[AndersDK]

Sounds like the standard hydraulic Citroen problem : worn out trailing arm pivot bearings.

Ask your Citroen dealer for a complete repair kit (each side) containing all the necessary bits :
roller bearings (x2)
axle seal (x2)
thrust cup washer (x2)
distance tube
possibly new longbolt & locknut

The job is rather straightforward, but there are a couple of pitfalls :
1) the lock pin securing the cylinder rod in the trailing arm may be rusted solid in the arm.
2) the (24mm hex) through bolt and nut can be a real challenge
3) the bearing races in thre arm must be pushed out from behind using a sharp edged spacer tool reaching through the trailing arm bore.
4) the brake caliper must be removed by heating the caliper body to some 100°C softening the bolt securing glue.

[johnway]

Hi VertVega & AndersDK,
Many thanks for your replies and guidance. Yes, my wheels look exactly as per your diagram - a lovely racing camber look but not good on the tyres and the rear end has been creaking and groaning for ages. Sounds as though I am in for some fun repairing the arms -I will try and source some reconditioned ones if possible - any pointers welcome. My local garage will be the first port of call - will see if they are interested in the job, they usually are but the first thing is to fit some legal tyres in the meantime. Fourtunately the spare can be sacrificed and I have a few part worn ones lying around which will get me out of trouble whilest planning the repair. Thanks again,
Regards,
John.

[yeomills]

Sounds like trailing arm bearings I purchased two sets from GSF for £94 in March. Decided to get a local independant to fit for £265.
Good Luck

[yeomills]

My local Citroen dealer quoted £950

[johnway]

Ouch !! Been to local garage - they are looking into the parts/repairs for me - spare and part-worn tyre being fitted for now so have time to track down the bits while thinking about this project and deciding which way to go. Past experience has ruled out Citroen dealer for a start! All the best,
regards,
John.

[citronut]

if you use a local indy citroen repairer, and they leave the callipers on the arm's (although they will need to come off sooner or later) whilst doing this job you should expect no more that two hour's a side,

if they attemp to remove the callipers it is quite possible to ad almost a day per side ,

obviously pluss part's i think the guy i did a set for last year sourced the parts at around 50 quid a side,

my local dealer tells me they dont even bother trying to salvage the old callipers, when doing this job, they just lop the lot off and fitt new callipers and fitting bolts,

were abouts are you,


regards malcolm

[johnway]

Myself and C5 are near the east coast of Essex. Estimate for the garage repair around £500 - £600 - phew !! The C5 has over 174K so I don't think it viable - the clutch is on borrowed time & sure to go if I throw money at the suspension. Having talked it over with the mechanic I figure I could buy a lot of tyres for the cost of the repair so as long as it is safe I am thinking of running the C5 as is and just rotate the wheels&tyres more often. I have been on the lookout for a good replacement C5 for a while so shall double my efforts in the meantime. Thanks for all kind replies and information.
Regards,
John.

[citronut]

i spoz they gsump the hourly rate in Essex garages what with the Essex girl syndrom and all


that sound extautionate to me


regards malcolm

pm sent

[johnway]

5 hours labour + VAT + generous allowance of £200 parts for £5-600 is not that bad if I was inclined to fork out for having someone do the job. Unfortunately at the ripe old age of 60 I am passed my best when it comes to tackling my own under car repair work. Oh well, if someone out there knows of a really nice 2002 - 2004 2.0 HDI C5 for sale, I am most interested. All the best, John.

[johnway]

Hi All,
Having put an old tyre on the n/s rear wheel and the spare on the o/s rear, I was delighted to discover that the C5 then refused to drive either backwards or forwards !! Further investigation found that the n/s rear caliper had bitten into the wheel - culprit identified as corrosion. Having had this problem with the o/s rear a while back, I remembered the advice given then on fitting new bolts as the old ones invariably snap! Well, after a lot of careful effort and elbow grease I managed to remove the n/s rear caliper despite siezed on disc pads and bent mounting bolts. The caliper's rear mating face looked like the lunar surface and the disc pad retaining bolt eyelets had all but disintegrated. Alarmed, I immediately set about removing the o/s rear caliper - this one came off without much of a fight but was in the same condition. New calipers and pads are to be fitted before anything else gets done. Mind you, now that I have the rear end in bits I might just have a go at the trailing arms refurbishment myself, after all. Never a dull moment. All the best, John.

[myglaren]

Well done - those callipers can put up an awful lot or resistance to being parted from the car. I'm procrastinating with mine, as usual

Do use something as a barrier between the calliper an trailing arm on reassembly, to inhibit further corrosion. A thin Mica or plastic gasket or even a good dollop of grease, anything better than nothing.

[johnway]

Hi myglaren,
Thanks for responding to my tales of woe - I have already purchased some high temp anaerobic sealant to hopefully stop the corrosion of the calipers, as per Mr Haynes. A tube of thread lock and a tube of copper grease are also at the ready for the disc pads, nuts and bolts. Thank goodness for the internet & eBay - being out in the sticks it would have cost me a fortune running around tracking parts etc. The Romford Citroen main dealer has agreed to post several items to me so I'm on winners so far. If I succeed in removing a trailing arm there is a local firm which specialises in supplying bearings so I may get lucky there too. All the best, John.

[citronut]

99% of the time it wont just be the bearings failed, because when the bearings break up the rollers chew up other bits, like the bearing spacer's, sp[acer tube and the seals,

and sometimes even damage the arm itself so much it can be re/used without a machine shop sleaving it,

read my thread here

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=35753


regards malcolm