Help with hydralastic not working

[morto]

Hello all hope some one can help me i took my c5 for a mot today and the back hydralastic has gone to the bottom and wont come back up , the front seems to be ok ,, im firstly going to put some more LDS in the reservour but cant get any untill tomorrow as only Citroen sell it,, my power steering can be a tad noisy on full lock and i was going to fill it anyway, ive looked at the reservour and it does look very low but cant see any levels for min and max? if its not that what can i check next please? i can here the pump under the reservour trying to to do some thing..

Thanks
Andy

[morto]

i also noticed that the reservour was not pressurised? how do i do this guys ?

[citronut]

i dont know much about the C5's
but sounds like you have an Austin 1100 or the likes, as you say it has hydralastic

[morto]

Hydractive hydraulic suspension 3+

[qprdude]

Don't think you will see any fluid in the reservoir, unless maybe when the suspension is right down to service level. (I think a lexia is needed for that) Even at the low level setting, there is no fluid evident in my tank. There is only slight pressure in the tank I think, as there are electro-valves underneath to keep the pressure in the system. (Need expert opinion on this)
You don't give many details of your car , especially the year so it's probably difficult for the forum mechanics to advise you. Assuming that it is 2005> as you say it has Hydractive 3+. I think that is the year that Hydractive 3 was upgraded to 3+ on higher spec models.
As far as only Citroen selling the fluid, that's certainly not true. Many motor factors will have it, including some Halfords branches. Be careful what you are doing with topping up or you might end up with a load of fluid sitting in the undertray. Try searching the forum, there are a few threads about it. There is a Citroen set procedure for topping up anyway. Cleanliness is also vital. If you get any muck in the tank it could be a big problem.

I think some of the experts might advise that it's more likely to be the body height sensor thingy (technical term) than the fluid level.

[morto]

thank you for your reply,, its 2002 2.2hdi so there should not be much in the tank i get conflicting accounts as ive read if the level is to low it wont work correctly and it needs pressure or it wont work, the front is working so maybe yr correct and it might be worth me trying a body height sensor first..

[morto]

also went to halfords they dont sell it and Motor Factors EK Brakes and they said they dont sell LDS

[qprdude]

I just had a new strut fitted on the front offside and the fluid topped up and there is nothing showing in the header at normal height. I opened the top and there was no pressure in there. I think the pressure is after the electro-valve, which probably isolate the reservoir.

[morto]

front is working perfect so i think it could be iether the rear sphears or the self leveling height adjuster ,, can anyone tell me were the front one is please as its the same as the rear so i can change them around, also the pump seems to be constantly going on and off?

[myglaren]

thank you for your reply,, its 2002 2.2hdi so there should not be much in the tank i get conflicting accounts as ive read if the level is to low it wont work correctly and it needs pressure or it wont work, the front is working so maybe yr correct and it might be worth me trying a body height sensor first..

Mine is well overfilled but doesn't overflow when set on low. It was like that when I bought it and I have as yet done nothing about it.
qprdude has a much newer model so may not be the same. I have heard mention of overflowing.
The instructions I read a while back were to have it on the lowest setting and fill to the top of the shorter set of cutouts in the 'strainer' in the filler.
It should self-pressurise but the official way is to use the cap from an Eeziblede kit together with a bike pump. The required pressure is quite low, around 0.5bar IIRC but I have never bothered with this.

[citronut]

i cant see it being anything to do with lack of presurisation of the tank, as you say the front rise's

[morto]

thank you for the picture mate !! ive just a litre of LDS from cirtoen and its still no were near the top of the basket ,, ok iv jacked the back up and think ive found the culprit,, right hand side rear just below the spheare there is fluid leaking from the rubber so next job is to take the whole thing off and get to scrap yard .. see if i can put a pic up