c16rkc's mad house
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- (Donor 2022)
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- x 693
Re: c16rkc's mad house
I don't know if this is the same as the 2010 C4 Grand Picasso. I did the same on that, I shall try to remember how! It was a right pain in the arse though.
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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Hi Michel, yes I think a lot of these brake motors are similar, the video (in my last post) I found was from a Renault Grand Scenic and looked very similar to my one in the C5 X7.
Nice to have confirmation its a right pain for you too.... that's exactly how I have found it
Nice to have confirmation its a right pain for you too.... that's exactly how I have found it

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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Oh dear... think I have a strut to change...
This was my first clue...
This car seems to want me to spend all my free time on it...

This was my first clue...
This car seems to want me to spend all my free time on it...

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- Donor 2024
- Posts: 2738
- Joined: 11 May 2022, 19:54
- x 885
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Typical woman, what did you expect?
Ryan
'99 Xsara 1.6 X (Red) with Sunkissed bonnet. T59 SBX
'54 Astra Estate 1.7DTI (Artic White)
'06 C8 2.2Hdi Exclusive (Aster Grey)
Champion of Where's CitroJim
Yes I ask the stupid questions, because normally it is that simple.
'99 Xsara 1.6 X (Red) with Sunkissed bonnet. T59 SBX
'54 Astra Estate 1.7DTI (Artic White)
'06 C8 2.2Hdi Exclusive (Aster Grey)
Champion of Where's CitroJim

Yes I ask the stupid questions, because normally it is that simple.
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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Today was the day
Last weekend I nearly got my electric parking brake fixed, I needed to finish the job today.
I had also ordered these clips, to replace the old broken ones.
So I jacked the car up... put parking brake in service position, disconnected the battery... and climbed under the car.
First I slid over the new brackets.
Then I unscrewed both the end caps on the parking brake... sadly forgetting to take a photo
Then I pushed the right (drivers side) cable all the way in, so that it would force the female threaded mechanism inside the park brake over, and push out the male threaded end of the cable on the other side.
Then I aligned the threaded end with the female thread inside the parking brake, and rotated it to thread it in.
Once I could feel it had threaded in, and was gripped by the park brake, I pushed the left side cable all the way in, and replaced the end cap. Then I replaced the right side end cap too.
Then I threaded the cables back into place, and clipped the new brackets into place.
Then I reconnected the battery...
Loaded dogbox.
Calibrated the parking brake...
...and this time it worked!!
I have fixed the parking brake
My Citroen doesn't like me
This was a slightly worrying sight, where was it coming from?
Following upwards I discovered all this yucky wetness on the strut gator...
Yep... I appear to have a leaking strut
But the level is OK, so it can't be all that bad. Better get it sorted though.
So this is where I'll lose all respect on here... Matt will shun me, hopefully Zel won't look in and see this... what I mean is I just don't have enough time to do any more of this work... I have other work on the house I need to do.
So the C5 is going to a professional garage for the strut replacement
But the last MOT mentioned a "misting" passenger side strut too. So I will also get them to replace that.
To save some cash I'll supply the parts, so tonight I ordered both front struts, two new spheres, a passenger lower arm to match the one I did on the right, two lower ball joints, two upper ball joints, two anti-roll bar bushes, and two sets of trailing arm bushes.
So after all that I am hoping that the front suspension will not need anything for quite some time!
Last weekend I nearly got my electric parking brake fixed, I needed to finish the job today.
I had also ordered these clips, to replace the old broken ones.
So I jacked the car up... put parking brake in service position, disconnected the battery... and climbed under the car.
First I slid over the new brackets.
Then I unscrewed both the end caps on the parking brake... sadly forgetting to take a photo

Then I pushed the right (drivers side) cable all the way in, so that it would force the female threaded mechanism inside the park brake over, and push out the male threaded end of the cable on the other side.
Then I aligned the threaded end with the female thread inside the parking brake, and rotated it to thread it in.
Once I could feel it had threaded in, and was gripped by the park brake, I pushed the left side cable all the way in, and replaced the end cap. Then I replaced the right side end cap too.
Then I threaded the cables back into place, and clipped the new brackets into place.
Then I reconnected the battery...
Loaded dogbox.
Calibrated the parking brake...
...and this time it worked!!
I have fixed the parking brake

My Citroen doesn't like me
This was a slightly worrying sight, where was it coming from?
Following upwards I discovered all this yucky wetness on the strut gator...
Yep... I appear to have a leaking strut

But the level is OK, so it can't be all that bad. Better get it sorted though.

So this is where I'll lose all respect on here... Matt will shun me, hopefully Zel won't look in and see this... what I mean is I just don't have enough time to do any more of this work... I have other work on the house I need to do.
So the C5 is going to a professional garage for the strut replacement

But the last MOT mentioned a "misting" passenger side strut too. So I will also get them to replace that.
To save some cash I'll supply the parts, so tonight I ordered both front struts, two new spheres, a passenger lower arm to match the one I did on the right, two lower ball joints, two upper ball joints, two anti-roll bar bushes, and two sets of trailing arm bushes.
So after all that I am hoping that the front suspension will not need anything for quite some time!

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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
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- Donor 2024
- Posts: 3619
- Joined: 25 Apr 2022, 09:03
- x 1729
Re: c16rkc's mad house
No respect lost at all mate! Knowing when to get help to get it fixed it something I probably need to get better at, no shunning going on here
I believe the X7 struts are still described ** as "unrepairable" when leaking, so complete replacement of each leaky one is the answer. Some debate here about them being a hydraulic ram rather than a damper (as spring and damping functions are all created by the spheres) so no need to replace in pairs - though if you'd an advisory that other side wasn't too healthy then fair enough about getting both done together.
** not entirely convinced "unrepairable" is actually true but no one has dug into and overcome that challenge as yet to my knowledge. It's a hydraulic ram, conventional hydraulic rams can be rebuilt, need of seal replacement seems odd to write the strut off. It doesn't seem that hard from my position of ignorance (as I've never tried it) so perhaps reality is "unrepairable" is true for reasons I just don't understand at present.

I believe the X7 struts are still described ** as "unrepairable" when leaking, so complete replacement of each leaky one is the answer. Some debate here about them being a hydraulic ram rather than a damper (as spring and damping functions are all created by the spheres) so no need to replace in pairs - though if you'd an advisory that other side wasn't too healthy then fair enough about getting both done together.
** not entirely convinced "unrepairable" is actually true but no one has dug into and overcome that challenge as yet to my knowledge. It's a hydraulic ram, conventional hydraulic rams can be rebuilt, need of seal replacement seems odd to write the strut off. It doesn't seem that hard from my position of ignorance (as I've never tried it) so perhaps reality is "unrepairable" is true for reasons I just don't understand at present.
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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Thank Matt, I never thought about the idea of rebuilding a strut.
Funny thing is I have paid less than £400 for a pair, which I thought was cheap. Hardly seemed worth messing about - I say this given similar hydraulic struts for my CL500 are £2,500 each from Mercedes, or £1,500 for Chinese clones on Alibaba...
Once you've got used to Mercedes prices, Citren prices seem pretty reasonable...
Funny thing is I have paid less than £400 for a pair, which I thought was cheap. Hardly seemed worth messing about - I say this given similar hydraulic struts for my CL500 are £2,500 each from Mercedes, or £1,500 for Chinese clones on Alibaba...
Once you've got used to Mercedes prices, Citren prices seem pretty reasonable...

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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 14003
- Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 09:47
- x 3130
Re: c16rkc's mad house
I used to teach PC maintenance years ago. One thing I tried to teach my students was when to recognise you did not know how to do something, and to step back and seek assistance.
James
ex BX 1.9
ex Xantia 2.0HDi SX
ex Xantia 2.0HDi LX
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.2HDi VTX+
Yes, I am paranoid, but am I paranoid ENOUGH?
Out amongst the stars, looking for a world of my own!
ex BX 1.9
ex Xantia 2.0HDi SX
ex Xantia 2.0HDi LX
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.2HDi VTX+
Yes, I am paranoid, but am I paranoid ENOUGH?
Out amongst the stars, looking for a world of my own!
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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
I think I'd actually quite enjoy doing all the front suspension, and I think I could do it, but I've been spending every free bit of time under the car lately (being an amateur I am rather slow
) - so I think it's time for a break from it.
I actually need to draw a line under the C5, so I can do the Mercedes, Jelly bean the C3, and also Lindsey's DS5 which has an airbag fault light on.

I actually need to draw a line under the C5, so I can do the Mercedes, Jelly bean the C3, and also Lindsey's DS5 which has an airbag fault light on.
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- A very naughty boy
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- x 7017
Re: c16rkc's mad house
That's a very posh table you have your laptop sat on Chris 
Good work on the parking brake and absolutely no respect lost for letting the pros do a job on the car... We all have busy lives...
I did the ultimate after all so I can't stand in judgement - when my Saxo needed work and I had no time to do it I went out and bought another car...

Good work on the parking brake and absolutely no respect lost for letting the pros do a job on the car... We all have busy lives...
I did the ultimate after all so I can't stand in judgement - when my Saxo needed work and I had no time to do it I went out and bought another car...
Jim
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Thanks Jim - the table is from a nest of tables we had in our living room. This year Lindsey decided she didn't like them any more...CitroJim wrote: 12 Nov 2023, 06:40 That's a very posh table you have your laptop sat on Chris
Good work on the parking brake and absolutely no respect lost for letting the pros do a job on the car... We all have busy lives...

...so now I have a handy set in the garage

I like old things!

Now that is a drastic measure....!I did the ultimate after all so I can't stand in judgement - when my Saxo needed work and I had no time to do it I went out and bought another car...
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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Cool DS5
So next we get to the DS5, with it's stylish curves.
I managed to fix the keyless go and remote locking, by simply bending the fins in the key fob so that the touched the battery properly. Its a common fault with these fobs, as you have to be very careful when you replace the battery.
But...
Only the drivers door keyless works...
So I have some more work to do figuring out why the rear doors don't work with the keyless fob - and the passenger front door too.
The other fault was a message on the dash pod saying there was an airbag fault...
So out came the Dogbox, and I scanned the car. This is what I revealed.
So it looks like the issue is the drivers side "side" front airbag. Might be the module itself, or might be a connector.
The airbag itself is in the drivers seat bolster, and it looks easy to source a used one.
Does anyone know would guess just slot in, or do they need some tiresome coding?
So next we get to the DS5, with it's stylish curves.
I managed to fix the keyless go and remote locking, by simply bending the fins in the key fob so that the touched the battery properly. Its a common fault with these fobs, as you have to be very careful when you replace the battery.
But...
Only the drivers door keyless works...

So I have some more work to do figuring out why the rear doors don't work with the keyless fob - and the passenger front door too.
The other fault was a message on the dash pod saying there was an airbag fault...
So out came the Dogbox, and I scanned the car. This is what I revealed.
So it looks like the issue is the drivers side "side" front airbag. Might be the module itself, or might be a connector.
The airbag itself is in the drivers seat bolster, and it looks easy to source a used one.
Does anyone know would guess just slot in, or do they need some tiresome coding?
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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 357
- Joined: 31 Aug 2023, 12:38
- x 98
Re: c16rkc's mad house
That sinking feeling...
After the success of the electric parking brake, I decided to tackle that front drivers side suspension strut at the weekend...
Lindsey went away for the weekend to spend some time shopping in Nottingham with her sister. So I was alone with the boys. I'd intended to do the strut Saturday, but then Lindsey threw in that I had to take Aston and Spencer to a kids birthday on Saturday... so that killed that idea.
So I took both hooligans out on Saturday, and they enjoyed crazy golf in some pirate themed crazy golf dark room... then some dinner.
So with that over... Sunday was my day
First I raised the suspension up fully.
Then jacked the car up, and removed the drivers side front wheel.
Bled the strut, and removed the line.
Removed the Sphere with a special tool I got from Ebay.
New Sphere and old...
Got the boys a painting project while I cracked on with things.
Undid the trailing arm top.
Released the drop link...
Removed the bolt holding the strut arm at the bottom.
Removed all the bolts to release the strut and trailing arm top.
The strut comes out downwards... and voila!
New strut ready to go in.
Much reassembling later...
But then that's when my luck ran out...
Oddly the header tank was still at the same level. I assumed that would change when the pump ran.
I lowered the car to its wheels, and started the car. Oil went everywhere as I had not realised the new strut bleed valve was open...
Turned engine off... Tightened bleed valve... tried again...
Car started nicely, but suspension did not rise, and fluid level did not drop.
I cycled the suspension up/down over and over, and the rear went up and down, but the front stayed low... did not budge a bit.
I did a BSi reset... no change.
I hooked up the dogbox... no codes... Well just U2005 which is supposedly a ghost code caused by dogbox.
Frustrating...
The dash still has no errors... so the car seems to not realise its not working
I checked the 10A suspension fuse in the glove box... thats OK.
I checked the 40A maxi fuse... that's OK too.
I also hear the suspension pump continue running for a short while after running the engine... so I think that is OK.
So I am puzzled... and the C5 sits sulking in the corner...
After the success of the electric parking brake, I decided to tackle that front drivers side suspension strut at the weekend...
Lindsey went away for the weekend to spend some time shopping in Nottingham with her sister. So I was alone with the boys. I'd intended to do the strut Saturday, but then Lindsey threw in that I had to take Aston and Spencer to a kids birthday on Saturday... so that killed that idea.
So I took both hooligans out on Saturday, and they enjoyed crazy golf in some pirate themed crazy golf dark room... then some dinner.
So with that over... Sunday was my day

First I raised the suspension up fully.
Then jacked the car up, and removed the drivers side front wheel.
Bled the strut, and removed the line.
Removed the Sphere with a special tool I got from Ebay.
New Sphere and old...
Got the boys a painting project while I cracked on with things.
Undid the trailing arm top.
Released the drop link...
Removed the bolt holding the strut arm at the bottom.
Removed all the bolts to release the strut and trailing arm top.
The strut comes out downwards... and voila!
New strut ready to go in.
Much reassembling later...
But then that's when my luck ran out...

Oddly the header tank was still at the same level. I assumed that would change when the pump ran.
I lowered the car to its wheels, and started the car. Oil went everywhere as I had not realised the new strut bleed valve was open...

Turned engine off... Tightened bleed valve... tried again...
Car started nicely, but suspension did not rise, and fluid level did not drop.
I cycled the suspension up/down over and over, and the rear went up and down, but the front stayed low... did not budge a bit.
I did a BSi reset... no change.
I hooked up the dogbox... no codes... Well just U2005 which is supposedly a ghost code caused by dogbox.
Frustrating...
The dash still has no errors... so the car seems to not realise its not working

I checked the 10A suspension fuse in the glove box... thats OK.
I checked the 40A maxi fuse... that's OK too.
I also hear the suspension pump continue running for a short while after running the engine... so I think that is OK.
So I am puzzled... and the C5 sits sulking in the corner...

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- Donor 2023
- Posts: 14003
- Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 09:47
- x 3130
Re: c16rkc's mad house
Try sealing your lips around the LDS reservoir port and blowing HARD (with the suspension set to high), just in case the pump needs priming. It only needs around 7PSI to prime it.
James
ex BX 1.9
ex Xantia 2.0HDi SX
ex Xantia 2.0HDi LX
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.2HDi VTX+
Yes, I am paranoid, but am I paranoid ENOUGH?
Out amongst the stars, looking for a world of my own!
ex BX 1.9
ex Xantia 2.0HDi SX
ex Xantia 2.0HDi LX
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.2HDi VTX+
Yes, I am paranoid, but am I paranoid ENOUGH?
Out amongst the stars, looking for a world of my own!