The dreaded Xantia strikes again![V]
Leaking pipe to front strut, leak at bolt onto car body, LHM pouring out when turning steering wheel, want to fix it myself, anyone tried to do this before? Will it drive me mad?
I have bought the replacement pipe from the citroen garage but it doesn't seem to match the one that is already there. The union to the strut comes round from the other side or the strut and the other end well it's anybodies guess how it's going to fit on!
I read in another discussion that there are two types of pipe for the strut, is this correct, have I got the wrong one.
Hope someone can help[?]
leaking pipe to drivers side front strut
Moderator: RichardW
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aboutyeabig
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 26 Sep 2002, 04:47
- Location: United Kingdom
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Hi, when you say LHM pouring out, where abouts on the strut is it leaking from? Is it from the rubber pipe half way(or there abouts)up the strut itself? if it is, this is the leak off pipe and it returns fluid to the resevoir. just remove the old rubber pipe and the replace it with the new one, just follow the two 'tails' and push them onto the respective pipes. A good tip is to get a large jubilee clip to fasten the strute return pipe. The only othe pipe is the supply pipe to the suspension sphere itself and that should be an easy job to replace, not forgetting to loosten the pressure relief bolt on the accumalator first. It is possible that the citroen garage may have supplied you the wrong pipe.
Good luck
Paul.
PS DON'T PANIC>
Good luck
Paul.
PS DON'T PANIC>
I wonder if the reference to a "bolt onto the body" means you are refering to the metal feed pipe to the strut from the connector under the LHM resovoir, it goes behind the engine to the top of the o/s strut.
If so it is common to leak under that bolted bown quadrant clip on the inner wing.
Yes there are two pipes according to age but either can be bent slightly to fit. The local Citroen parts guys say, quite correctly, that it is near impossible to get the correct pipe into the original clipped position so you might as well have a length of pipe made up that you can bend and fix into place.
True story about this pipe....
In July 2001, just a few days before our hols this leak occured on my 1993 SX TD...enough for someone to point out the fluid leak where I'd been parked. I removed the fixing clip and could see a flat worn in the pipe with a slight oozing of fluid...but the hole was impossible to see...minute I thought.
I bought a replacement pipe from the dealers (who only carried the later one that would new bending to fit) but was struggling to find time to do this fiddly job before leaving on our hols. Amazingly I noticed the effect of releasing the pipe from the clip was to dry up the leak to nothing. I cleaned the area of leaked LHM and observed no more leaks over a couple of days. So I carefully fixed the replacement pipe to the top of the engine (with cable ties) and went on our long motoring holiday knowing at least I could tell the AA I had the pipe if it went!
Well can you believe it but here we are two years later and, untill last week, there hasn't been a drop of leakage. Now just enough has appeared to cause dry dust to stick to it.
I'm doing a major three yearly service at the moment and will have a good look at the option of getting exactly the correct new pipe in place or having one made up to run in a slightly different position.
Odd...how did a metal pipe seal itself???
David
If so it is common to leak under that bolted bown quadrant clip on the inner wing.
Yes there are two pipes according to age but either can be bent slightly to fit. The local Citroen parts guys say, quite correctly, that it is near impossible to get the correct pipe into the original clipped position so you might as well have a length of pipe made up that you can bend and fix into place.
True story about this pipe....
In July 2001, just a few days before our hols this leak occured on my 1993 SX TD...enough for someone to point out the fluid leak where I'd been parked. I removed the fixing clip and could see a flat worn in the pipe with a slight oozing of fluid...but the hole was impossible to see...minute I thought.
I bought a replacement pipe from the dealers (who only carried the later one that would new bending to fit) but was struggling to find time to do this fiddly job before leaving on our hols. Amazingly I noticed the effect of releasing the pipe from the clip was to dry up the leak to nothing. I cleaned the area of leaked LHM and observed no more leaks over a couple of days. So I carefully fixed the replacement pipe to the top of the engine (with cable ties) and went on our long motoring holiday knowing at least I could tell the AA I had the pipe if it went!
Well can you believe it but here we are two years later and, untill last week, there hasn't been a drop of leakage. Now just enough has appeared to cause dry dust to stick to it.
I'm doing a major three yearly service at the moment and will have a good look at the option of getting exactly the correct new pipe in place or having one made up to run in a slightly different position.
Odd...how did a metal pipe seal itself???
David