Ronin

:blink: I was up at Croxdale citroen the other day obtaining some parts for my brother in law's C5 and noticed the C6 in the showroom. I was told by the service manager that they haven't sold a single one yet and they dropped £3,000 off the launch price! It surprised me but when I thought about it and what it's competing against its no wonder. I know they are heavily discounting them now in order to get them out which means some will make it on the road and of course depreciation will hit it hard because of the subsidies. It's good news for buyers, bad for sellers eventually though. :rolleyes:

I agree with JD. It sounds like the bearings have a very small amount of play in them. It takes a long while for them to go and the results is undue pressure on the rest of the suspension system which can lead to all manner of problems and very big repair bills. If the rear wheels look like this: ///=====\\\ as you are looking at the rear of the car, then you need them changed asap. The worse the problems get, the worse the inward castor will be and the creaking noise will become unbearable over every bump.

Always, always get all 4 wheels balanced at the same time. Never take it for granted that the front pair are causing the vibration so eliminate the possibilty. Check all the tyres, are the front treads on both wheels the same depth? i.e. 6mm on one side, 3mm on the other side. Uneven tread can cause vibration even though the tires are perfect. Are the tyres the same make? It can make a difference, especially on the front pair. I once had a vibration nightmare on my Citroen AX GT, The tyre and exhaust centre I used balanced the front wheels, no difference. Balanced the rear wheels, no difference.! I took it back and while talking to the tyre technician as he was about to re-balance the N/S/F wheel I noticed clumps of dry mud stuck between the alloy ridges on the spokes. I commented on it and the technician removed the dry mud. He balanced the wheel and did the same to the O/S/F .... Presto, vibration gone! He would never have thought that the mud would have caused an issue and they don't often check unless its a 4x4 etc... It went down from 55grams to just 15 grams of balance weights. Moral of the story is never take things for granted. Take the time to check everything , even if it means taking one wheel off at a time, putting the spare on and pressure washing them. Many annoyances on cars have simple solutions.

Hmmm There are some things you can do. Manual check: Make sure that the child locks have not moved out of position, It may sound daft but a lot of owners forget about them. Check to see if the plastic link to the door handles is loose or broken. Use a small telescopic inspection mirror (Maplins £3.00) and a torch to check if you can't reach or see it normally. I've never tried this on a C5 but try using some pliers on the thick, stiff wire linkages and see if the move manually. Electrical check: Its always best to start methodically from the fuses and relays first and work your way through the wires to the solenoids. Check the owners manual for advice on the fuses, relays and central locking. There is often a few hints and tips regarding the electronics in it. It could be a terminal loose on the relay or the relay isn't position properly. Never take relays at face value that they are fully working because all the rest of the doors are working ok. For the cost of it, replace it with a new one. Check the wires into the cenral locking switch on the centre console. Have you fitted a new radio etc. that could have moved the wiring? Check the rubber flex that carries the cables to the door, is it split? This could be a sign that it has been caught and there could be a broken /split wire. Beyond all that I would have to suggest an auto electrician as they can usually find the problem a lot quicker and cheaper(in labour) than a regular mechanic when it comes to central locking. Try the basics above first though as I would hate to see an auto electrician charge you for something simple. Let us know what happens please m8. :rolleyes:

I have an Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 v6 as my second car. A lot of owners take the cambelts to 40,000 and beyond even though it should really be changed every 36,000, not becuase of actual wear on the belt but because a guide roller can go faulty causing absoleute disaster as most of the 24 valves impact. I've been lucky and do them both at every 30,000 myself now. She's done 68,000 now and no complaints. For the sake of 3 hours and £80, I think its well worth it. The C5 1.8 16v was done 18,000 mile ago at 90,000 but I'm considering DIY on that too when it reaches 140,000. As long as there is a Haynes manual on the horizon, i'll give it a go.

You can't really compare both cars. The nearest thing ford made in comparison to the C5 was the Scorpio. The C5 falls between two markets, family saloon and executive saloon. It has its own niche and does very well at both jobs. The C5 is totally different to my Alfa 156 even though they are similar in size. All I can tell you after driving many mondeo's in the past is it can't compete for comfort, roadholding, economy(depending if you are comparing engine choice too). The only thing that the mondeo has the edge over is parts cost and working on them yourself. I was always expecting more from what a mondeo offered and was left wanting. then the next model would come out and would be just the same feeling. Don't be under any illusion either that they are any more reliable than the C5 even though the C5 has it's foibles. Ask any mondeo owner how many front suspension bottom arms they have had replaced and you will get your answer. You may be a lucky owner but 95% aren't. I think my grandfather put into words best about fords and I quote : "ford owners think they are reliable because a part that keeps breaking cost just a few quid and forget about it, If they were paying quite a bit more like other makes then they would actually remember how bad they really are"! The bottom line is C5's have all the attributes of a luxury car for little money and when they do go wrong, they cost a bit more to fix due to complexity of them, thankfully this doesn't happen as often as people presume. It's often down to the gradual way the suspension starts to fail and can go unoticed if not checked regulary. Mondeo's have many, many well documented problems but cost next to nothing to fix in comparison. So your choice is: Do you want to drive to work in comfort or do you want to drive to work thinking this could be better, via the ford dealers to pick up yet another part of course? I've tried to be impartial as possible but experience has taught me well. I would also remember and this is know way meant to be taken the wrong way but.... The automatic version of the 2.2hdi is probably the worst combination of gearbox and engine in the C5 range. It was a big mistake IMO on citroen's part and should never have been mated together as it defeated the object of owning a diesel. It's like 6 speed gearboxes in all TD's! They waste the wide torque band a diesel naturally has and rely on raw bhp from the turbo boost instead. Trucks need lots of gears to handle 1000+ ftlbs of torque for pulling, not cars and was basically a gimmick. The magic 6th gear offered no performance or economy increase over a 5 speed in a TD with drivers often changing down to overtake, 5 speed you don't have to. The C5 2.2hdi manual is a rocket for what it is and much, much more economical + less to go wrong. I think you would find the manual would be a lot better to tow with, even better than the mondeo..... ask the caravan club! My advice would be to sell both and invest in a newer manual 2.2hdi, you won't be dissapointed. I wish you well in your choice.

Independant Citroen Specialist Centreville Garage Chapman Street Shields Road Chillingham Industrial Estate Heaton Junction Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 2XT Tel : 0191 276 3730 Fax : 0191 265 9995 A fantastic group of citroen nuts who have worked with citroens for years as main dealer techs etc. Usually about half the cost of official citroen dealers. Nothing these guys can't handle and very, very helpful and friendly. And Main dealer I use http://www.croxdale.citroen.co.uk/ Croxdale Citroen. Croxdale Service Station Ltd. A167 Croxdale Durham County Durham DH6 5HS t: 01388 814671 f: 01388 810902 The parts manager is very good and service manager is the best I know of, when buying a part he often gives little snippets of advice on how to fit it, something that haynes/ service manuals often fail to tell you... Example Xantia clutch clip took me 20 minutes to fit after he explained how to do it properly......It took me three hours the time before and many bleeding fingers and knuckles! Fitting a new fuel tank seal to a C5 he told me to get an extra pair of hands and run the tank virtually empty so the pump assembly wouldnt be as boyant. Now thats a gem of a bloke.

As far a I know m8 it means replacing the steering rack even though there is probably nothing wrong with the old one aprt from the noise! Citroen had knocking problems with the U/J on early C5 models, often a nip up which you have done was enough to abate the issue. Citroen made a new design for the linkage and the only viable way to get rid of the noise is to replace the rack with the new type. Now the good news, it won't affect the cars road holding and isn't dangerous the way it is at the moment. I can imagine how annoying it must be though. I have seen owners of Vauxhall Astra mkII have a similar problem when a plastic retaing clip fails inside the steering column (it was designed to move the steering away from the driver in a collision) the whole column drops by about 1.5 cm and cause the U/J to knock. They cant get a clip seperately and have to replace the whole column. So a quick fix came about. They seperated the column from the rack and wrapped a small amount of ptfe tape around the splines and re- fitted it. Did it work? Yes...... but I wouldn't even recommend even trying it on a car with airbags and other safety features m8. Sorry but I have never touched a steering rack on a C5 yet bro so can't offer any further advice about the difficulty level. Send a message to KFK who one of our brilliant citroen techs and see if he can come up with a solution m8 ok. ;) let us know how you get on.

I'm afraid you are going to have to be a bit more elaborate on your problem m8. Is it a replacement citroen head unit or another make? All I can tell you for now is when fitting an aftermarket model (mine was ministry of sound) I had to buy an ISO blanking plate to make it look right in the dash and an conversion adaptor for the arial I was lucky with the MOS head unit as it came with an ISO harness that plugs straight into the citroen plugs although the display on the top of the dash doesn't display or the column remote stalk wont work. these need a converter to work (which I wasn't bothered about really). There was also seperate bullet connector block that allowed me to turn it to ignition on only with the head unit from a the red wire to yellow instead. To my knowledge you can probably do this with the radio fuse in a different spare fuse holder socket on your C5 fusebox. I know for sure this works on the Xantia's by moving the radio fuse into the empty socket below its original location. I can't see why the C5 wouldn't have the same option. Check your C5 owners manual for confirmation on this.(I will look later at mine and post back ok) If its a replacement head unit from Citroen or a scrapyard etc. you will have to do: a. the fuse relocation as above then.... b. input the radio security code. Lockout will happen after a few attempts and you will have to wait a while to re-type it in. If it didn't come with a code then you will have to contact citroen with the make /model number and registration, expect them to charge you some money for this code. ;)

There should be a screw m8, its probably hidden with a fine coating of rust and brake dust. Two tools that come in very handy if the disc retaining screw is siezed on are an impact screw driver and a rubber mallet. Spray a little wd40 onto the screw, wipe off the excess and give the screw a bang (clockwise tighten mode)with the impact screwdriver and then again in (counter-clockwise loosen mode) to loosen off any rust etc. leave it for about 30 minutes for the wd40 to do its stuff. Go back to the disc and start to loosen off the screw with the impact screw driver "usually about 4 or 5 hits should do" remove the screw. Use the rubber mallet to tap around the disc to free it off the backing plate and Bob's your uncle. give all facing edges "alloy to steel etc." a good clean with with a wire brush to prevent any build up of corrosive reaction to between the two metals Make sure you use some copper grease on the backing plate, screw caliper bolts and back of pads when re-fitting. Bed the new discs and pads in gently for 200 miles and you should have no squeals and very good brakes for a long, long time. ;)

He probably can't type a reply anymore after a collision while not wearing a seat belt maybe???? ;) One of my pet hates amongst many: Not wearing seatbelts Women applying make up while driving Using mobiles while driving Kids not secure in the back of a car People who never check their lights regulary for knackered bulbs Drivers who wait until their tyres are thread bare until they get them changed. I can go on and on...... Great, drive how you want to, overtake to get one car ahead at the next junction... Pretend that your'e Lewis Hamilton with your ass on fire and the water bucket is back at home!!!!!! but please, please do it safely as possible for yourself aswell as others. :P

I agree with JD I dont think you have anything to worry about. Have you had any work done to the fuel pump recently? An increase in fueling can create more of the amount of smoke under load from the exhaust, its due to very small amounts of unburnt diesel entering the exhaust manifold and nothing to be concerned about. It doesn't really affect the fuel economy either. I would try what JD has suggested and it can only improve things and might even improve performance/ economy.

It could be a number of things but lets start with the simple and obvious things to check first. Check/replace the air filter and check the airbox for any obstructions from leaves etc. Also check the rubber air inlet hose for any splits, this can actually effect the air pressure sensor and prevent the boost pressure of the turbo from rising properly. Check that all the jubilee clips are secured. Now check and replace the fuel filter especially if you are not sure when it was last done. get hold of some electrical contact cleaner (Maplins) and take off each sensor connector block that you see one at a time, clean, spray and reconnect them making sure that the terminals aren't corroded (powdery blue/geen colour). Next, get hold of some diesel fuel injector cleaner fuel additive and add it to the tank on a re-fuel, you will notice an improvement if you have any clogged jets within 50 miles or so. I'm not to sure about the 2.2 hdi but the 2.0hdi had a few problems with the EGR valve, you could by-pass it and see if the performance returns then you have your answer. Sorry but I'm not too sure where it's exact location is. If any of that doesn't help then it is a little more serious and it would be advisable to get the car booked in to an independant citroen specialist for a fault code check on the ECU. 9 times out of 10 it's usually a faulty sensor that can be easily replaced. Worst case scenario you can expect is either a new fuel pump required which is easily replaced and located in the fuel tank and accessed from under the rear bench seat inspection cover..... Or its the turbo which is rare indeed. It could be a simple issue of bleeding boost pressure from a loose pipes leading to the inlet plenum chamber. I hope you get this sorted but let us know how you get on please. It helps other owners find solutions a lot easier. ;)

Yep exactly RB, the suspension is the only difference. Now I understand why citroen have stuck with it and so many citroen owners love it. Going off what my dad says "he's owned citroen hydro-matics for 31 years now" "It's a perfect suspension system and can last ages but thats the problem.... it's that reliable that owners forget about it until and leaves it open to neglect". The other problem is the fact that when something goes wrong, its gradual and can be left unnattended without a driver realising for a long time until it becomes more noticeable. The same can't be said for coil and springs really but thats the trade off. I know now which I prefer and can live with knowledge that it will cost a lot to fix eventually when it does start playing up. What is good is that we have that many C5's now in our family now that we can drive each others and compare notes. that way we tend to notice the subtle differences and get problems sorted before it costs a lot more. Maybe some of the guys who arent as lucky as me and my family should get together on the odd weekend and have a chat person to person, like a proper owners club. I am a member of the alfa romeo owners club and I can't tell you just how invalueable it is to run one. :D

I pushed my C5 hard the other day along a country road with a mixture of tight and long flowing bends just to see exactly how much roll it had. A nice steady 70'ish mph and I think I only touched the brake twice. My work mate was following me "or trying to" in his peugeot 407 2ltr. When we got to work he said how difficult it was to keep up with me and commented on how flat my car was through the bends! He said his pug was very twitchy at the back end and a lot of tyre squeal from the front which didn't inspire him with too much confidence. The C5 just flowed from corner to corner without so much as a chirp from the tyres. I honestly thought it was rolling a little but it was obviously me leaning instead lol. The seat doesn't offer much support maybe. That car is amazing for what it is and I would bet it would give my alfa romeo 156 a run for its money and thats saying something. I'm well impressed and so is my work mate Paul. His car is three years old now and due for a change so he went to the local citroen dealer, had a test drive of a new c5 2.0 ltr, loves it so much he is buying one in two weeks lol :D

http://www.teslamotors.com/ After reading a bit about this car I truly hope it takes off in a big way then maybe the bigger car firms will sit up and take notice. General specs are a two seater roadster that is based on the lotus elisse chasis. £78,830 but read on and you will see that its more than a viable alternative to most 2 seater roadsters in the porsche price range. Totally 100% electric 0-60 3.9 seconds top speed 125 or depending on your gearing option (150mph) = to 135mpg regardless of how hard you drive! = 248bhp 215 lbft torque 100% of the time at 2500 rpm 13,000 rpm redline 997kg = 250 bhp per ton range of 225 miles per full charge re-charge time is 3.5 hrs cost to run is less than 1p per mile £2.15 per full charge zero emmissions no filter changes, no timing belts to break in fact very little to go wrong. batteries last for 100, 000 miles and then can be changed in 2 hrs at a cost of £6000(most of which is safe disposal costs for lithium-ion cells brakes last up to ten times as long due to electric engine assisted breaking charges the batteries during engine breaking or going downhill clutchless 2 speed gearbox virtually silent. brushless electric motor that needs negligable servicing by lotus in norfolk every 12000 miles brakes/ tyres etc. can be done by any garage. Uses less electricity amps during charge than a standard pc, hdtv and sky box combined. more exclusivity than most high end cars with only 350 available in this country next year. Lotus handling and made under licence by lotus for this country. And it looks fantastic too! This is the future guys, I just hope the likes of citroen say "ok lets do a family car based on this for half the price" :D

Turn it into a track day car m8. No road tax needed. strip out the interior and install a fire extinguisher, roll cage, bucket seat etc. Remove any cat and replace it with a straight pipe. You could re-coup most of the cost by selling your interior bits on ebay/ autotrader etc. Trailers to transport it to the tracks are cheap to make with some guys converting old caravan chassis for as little as £50! A stripped out activa xantia should fly round a track and put one hell of a smile on your face, it will probably embarass a lot of bmw , scoobie track cars too..... go on, give her a new lease of life.... it's what she deserves...... why go out with a whimper when you can go out with a bang, pulling 6000 rpm at 120mph and ending in a cloud of smoke while mr. BMW "get out of my way" M3 hits the oil you just dumped and ends up hitting a tyre wall at 100mph wrecking the front end of his car that he uses for work!!!!!... Now that quality and comedy in the same moment ;) :D

These are apparently difficult to find m8. Ebay is a good starting point though. :D

Simplest fix first... Take your car down to a local tyre and exhaust specialist (not the big companies) and ask them to check the front wheel balance "often free to check" If its out, then it's usually between £4-£7 per wheel The early C5's suffered from an occasional knocking sound on the steering rack that manifested itself in the impression that the steering column was loose. I t was down to a certain metal U/J being used on a coupling between the rack and column. later C5's had the improved U/J . It can be annoying but not detrimental to the cars safety or performance. Some owners have found some home brew fixes "axle grease mixed with sawdust" being the wierdest one but I haven't tried any of them. The front anti-roll bar drop links tend to wear and give the impression of the car shaking it's fillings out over pot holes etc. A car will pass its MOT even if these are faulty as it's not an essential requirement to the suspension /steering check These drop links have always been a main issue since the early days of Xantia's. They aren't expensive at about £18 to £30 each. They arent that difficult to replace either but clamps, jacks and a little patience is required. Alternatively a good citroen specialist can have this done in an hour at a cost of between £40-£70 per side. Judgeing by the noises you are hearing and the excessive body roll you have, I would suggest getting the drop links checked out and replaced if neccessary.

Iirc the xantia hdi 110 has a lower ratio gearbox. The C5 hdi 110 higher ratio gearbox. It all contributes to the C5 feeling a bit slower on acceleration. Truth be known though there isn't much difference in the performance figures which suggests that it feels slugish in comparison because of the extra height and size of the C5. The gearing is taller which makes more use of the torque band but would give the impression of a longer period between gear changes, this gives a mental image that the velocity of the car is slower in comparison. So I wouldn't worry too much m8. Source: Parkers guide Xantia 2.0 HDi LX (110bhp) 5d 10.8 s 119 mph 110 bhp 1436 kg C5 2.0 HDi LX (110bhp) 5d 10.9 s 119 mph 110 bhp 1385 kg

Sometimes the 8mm hex can be chewed up from butchered attempts. Try a 21mm ring spanner on the outer edge of the sump plug or even better use both at the same time m8. Do not use a 21mm socket & ratchet, it will just chew the outer nut up!. Replacement sump plugs can be bought from Halfords complete with compression washers for a couple of quid, just give the registration of your car to the guy on the parts counter and he can then tell you the right one to use. :unsure:

I've never experienced a problem with the C5 spheres yet! lol But I have had to replace spheres on my old xantia. The ride was quite hard and bouncy "like a learner driver and kangaroo petrol". I don't remember any excessive body roll though. As Randombloke has suggested checking the anti-roll bar linkages is a good place to start m8. After reading your further comment regarding hanging on to the arm rest when negotiating a roundabout It does sound as if something is not working the way it should. I know my Dad's C5 which is the same as yours doesn't roll as bad as that even when pushed. It sounds more like a mechanical side suspension wear or fluid problem as apposed to a gas/sphere problem. I always start with the simplest solutions first. Have you checked the tyre pressures m8? I know you probably have but it's often a thing that people often miss. Another simple check that is worth doing and can save you a lot of time and money in fault finding is use a small 4 inch spirit level. I did this before on my xantia and was quite accurate in giving me a place to start looking. Does it roll more at the front or at the back of the car? Is it the same turning right and left? Think a lot about it, I know this is going to sound daft, but the C5 suspension will always try to level itself out as much as it can especially front to rear in a bend to avoid front end dipping or rear end drag. It does this very well in comparison to coil springs so you need to test the system to see if its working as it should Take a friend with you (while you concentrate on the driving at steady speed). Find a large car park of ind,est and tape a small spirit level on the the passenger door frame ( seat belt area) Make sure it is horizontally level when the car is still. Start to maintain a steady speed on circles right and then left, your passenger should notice the bubble move to the front or back. This will indicate if the problem is front or rear. Do the same on the driver side now. Keep the speed down and constant though, a bubble that is forced to it's extreme end won't tell you anything. keep a note of what speed you were doing on the left circle and match that speed on the right circle. I had a bit of masking tape above the spirit level and my passenger quickly marked the bubble position, it aided in the comparison later. Now try the spirit level on the centre console left to right and do the same test. does the bubble move more to the right or to the left at the same speeds. The object is to maintain a low enough speed while turning so that the bubble doesnt immediately get pushed to its outer edge. i.e if the bubble moves more at 10mph on a right turn but less at 10 mph on a left turn. The answer this gives you will tell you if its just a particular corner which would point to mechanical suspension issues. If its the same all over then that would point to fluid/sphere/ ride height issues. Let us know the results and then we can advise a bit futher m8 ok.

I get a very occasional loud click from the rear when going over a certain hump back bridge "if i'm hosest, a little too quick" I contacted my local dealer and spoke to the service manager. He said "does this happen when its a dry day but less when it's wet?" I thought about it and said "yes". He told me it was possibly the bolts/bushes on a rear bar. Sorry but I can't remember what he called it but if you look under the rear of the car its a bar that sits left to right below the rear silencer. It serves the purpose of stiffening the rear chassis. He said a quick fix was to wd40 the ends where it is bolted and make sure the securing bolts are tight. I have to say that I hardly hear it now and when I do, I know its time to have a quick spray, usually every 4 weeks. I'm not saying it's the same problem you are having but it's worth a try to eliminate another possibility. If it was noise all the time , wet or dry then it would be rear arm bearings! Another question though, do you play golf? Check to see if a rogue golfball has got into the spare wheel well. you'd be surprised how many times mystery noises have been acredited to this. Also check your spare wheel and jack etc. Is it all in place and free from knocking? Hope it helps.

An interesting question. I'd like to know for future reference... Maybe KFK or Iannez can shed some light on it or if they have the time , give a quick tutorial... Pleeeeeeaaase :rolleyes:

Welcome to the forums m8. There is a general consensus of opinion that the C5 rolls in the bends more than most sprung cars but if the handling is still good and the ride comfortable, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I know my Dad's C5 2.0hdi estate rolls a lot more than my C5 saloon but the road holding is superb on both. It's a matter of "faith versus bravery" really as the body roll on all C5 "apart from H3+ sport mode" takes some getting used to. The handling will surprise you, trust me on that. One day you will take a country road bend a little too fast and think "oh crap!" then amazingly appear to have made it with not so much as whisper from the tyres instead of the usual "hell have no mercy screach" from the usual ford or vauxhall. You will get out the car at the end of your journey and tap the roof and thank the car with an impressed smile on your face, I know I did lol! Please bear in mind though that a C5 is a comparatively huge car, especially the estate and can't really be expected to do the job of a sports saloon. Thus the seats wern't designed with much lateral support in mind. It's a shame really as it could do with it sometimes. Just keep an eye on the fluid levels and do a weekly check by adjusting the ride heights. If there is a problem with the suspension it will soon show up and give you enough warning that something is amiss. I hope this answers your question m8