New C5 (to me) problems!

[Dommo]

Hi all

I recently bought a facelifted mk1 C5 VTX+ with the 2.2 twin turbo lump, a fantastic engine so far...

Anyway - obviously it's a new car to me so there are a few issues I'd like to sort, firstly we noticed that the top of the drivers side strut and sphere is wet, as though there has been either a slow leak, or as though it has been splattered with oil and not cleaned off, see the picture below. It also seems like the high pressure hose is a bit too close to the sphere as it is touching - as can be seen by the line of oiley dirt:





Secondly, it has half of it's undertray missing - does anyone know if these are the same across the board? Ie will any C5 undertray fit? The part number for mine that I found on ServiceBox is 7103 CC - I can't find any on eBay and from Citroen they're pricey!

I'm sure there will be more, but here is the car I've bought for anyone interested:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162174328834

It has sat nav in the dash, hydractive + (sport switch), but no leather - I'm thinking of changing that at some point, but not just yet. Needs the above jobs sorting, and a new cambelt fitting before it gets into daily service.

Thanks for reading.

[Hell Razor5543]

Would this do?;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-C5-20 ... SweW5VPTdV

[GiveMeABreak]

First of all I would recommend that you clean up the area around the sphere - so you can tell if there is anything leaking - it could simply be general muck and oil spread. As far as the struts are concerned it is common for these to 'weep' a little - often causing the uninitiated MOT tester to go into fail mode - generally cleaning up gently around the are will again determine of it's a more serious leak. No sense in panicking unnecessarily. Check your LDS by putting the suspension to the lowest setting, wait until it has fully lowered then check that the fluid is between the a and b in the diagram below:

See how things go after you've cleaned up the areas.

Regarding the undershield - be warned, I tried a cheapy solution, buying one for my Mark II facelift from the bay of evil - from Poland (no offence) - and it was very poor quality. It was so bad, that it came apart in stages and created a horrendous noise as it started dragging on the road until it ripped off completely. Never again - a real hazard. Bite the bullet and get one from a breakers or splash out on a proper one - they are much more solid and will protect your car from the worst of stone chips and the like - consider the cost of an air con condenser / or water and salt getting into your electrics..... not worth the risk.

[lexi]

I am glad you mentioned those undertrays Marc, I have wondered about them for mine.

[white exec]

Good quality undertrays also include sound-deadening material (which that polythene item doesn't) which is important for a diesel - for both passengers and nearby pedestrians. OE trays not cheap, but are immensely tough in normal road use. Make sure all the securing bolts are used, to prevent droop and snagging. Nothing worse!

[Dommo]

Thanks for the replies guys, I had seen the Polish version but thought they mentioned "good" quality far too often to actually believe it! Typically it looks like the engine code I have has it's own undertray version, at a bargain £186.62:




I don't think there are many of the BTED4's up for sale at all let alone in the scrappers which is a shame!

Regarding the suspension leak I was planning on cleaning it up and seeing if it reoccurs, which I think is what I'll do. But does anyone know whether the hose should be touching the sphere or not? Seems very odd for it to be touching like it is. I hadn't checked the LDS level yet because I'd read horror stories of the tank being pressurised or something - am I barking up the wrong tree? I do however have 2 bottles of LDS from when I previously went to view a C5 (long story).

Thanks again!

[Hell Razor5543]

While the system DOES need to be pressurised for it to work (mainly to prime the pump, after the system has been de-pressurised), you can (with the suspension down to its lowest setting) safely take the cap off the reservoir (and, in fact, you should do so when any of the wheels are coming off the ground, such as when you replace a wheel). Drop her to her lowest setting, turn off the engine, and take a look. LDS should be between the lower and upper vertical slots (these are the level indicators).

[Paul-R]

I fitted one of the Polish undertrays to my MkI C5 some years ago after the OE one fell off at the front edge and ground itself into oblivion before I could stop in time.

Whilst I agree that the OE ones have sound proofing and are a superior quality the Polish one did the job of smoothing the airflow and giving rigidity to the wheelarch liners. I had to add extra self-tappers to the front edge but that could have been a problem of my car as part of the mounting plastic that is part of the radiator surround had been broken off years previously.

[GiveMeABreak]

I forgot to add that the Polish under shield didnt actually have the fixing holes in the right places either. The mech had to drill holes into the shield to match the fixing points and I also bought a bag of metal clips and fixings too.

I think because it was so badly copied and so weak, the wind gradually forced the plastic down more and more until it deformed and started to break up and scrape the road. When that happened it just flopped up and down and then disintegrated!

[Paul-R]

My Polish tray came complete with replacement clips and turnbuttons. I also had no problem with the position of the holes - except at the front as detailed above which may have been my own problem.

Maybe there's more than one source in Poland? Maybe one is a copy of a copy?