bobtuck

...I seem to be in the wars with this bloody car lately! There's now a loudish tapping/slapping noise coming from the auxillary belt area. Had the wheel and wheel arch liner off and everything looks ok (aware of the crankshaft pulley issues so was looking carefully). I took the belt off and found some damage....a long thin strip (about 1mm) sheared off one edge plus a small chunk missing off the other edge....I also noticed that the alternator pulley is 'fixed' i.e. the pulley spins the shaft in both directions.....the old one only spun in one direction and freewheeled in the other. I'm pretty sure it shouldn't do this i.e. spin in both directions! This alternator, replaced late last year, was the subject of a prolonged and fraught saga described here (beware, it's a long 'un)... http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/20709-got-me-flummoxed/ ....I'm really not looking forward to dealing with this guy again but it did have a 12 month 'no quibble' (yeah, right!) guarantee with it......sooooo my question is....can anyone confirm that the alternator pulley should be the clutch type and freewheel in one direction? I'm pretty sure he'll argue that it doesn't matter! I'm almost certain that this is what's causing that noise. Also do you think it's safe to drive (no hard driving) the car in the meantime? Thanks in advance guys. Bob

The jury's out....I'll see how it gets on....it's sometimes 'damp' around the sphere end of the gaiter (where it meets the collar holding the strut in place) but not leaking exactly. I'll keep a check on the level. Something got lost in translation Paul....it doesn't leak out of the plastic vent pipe....but I think you're right, the piston seals in the strut must be letting too much fluid past. When I can face it again I'll replace them (I notice Haynes say it's do'able without removing from vehicle but I can imagine it being unnecessarily very awkward!). ...and as for that stupid bloody clip Citroen use's on that gaiter! I replaced it with two thick'ish wire twist's!! Thanks for all the help and advice guys I really appreciate it! :) Best regards Bob

Thanks Coastline.....yeah, it's just a small intermittent drip (when that strut is, or has been, moving)....probably a tablespoonful of fluid in all over a few hours. It aint dripping constantly. I was thinking it may be air in the system being expelled (through that breather?) causing it to take a little fluid with it. Mind you, that breather is in a weird place. It's vent aperture where the pipe plugs in is in between the clip so as to be trapped (comprised of two sides)?? Don't get it :( Cheers Bob

Thanks for the help guys. The strut finally arrived today (they sent the wrong one first time around - not hydractive +3)...got it all fitted back up complete with new pipe going to the center block (2 weeks without a car and out in the sticks is no fun!). As per the 'Haynes' guidance I found online I tried injecting 25cc of fluid into the gaiter only to get fluid piss**g out of the top of the gaiter where it's clipped (stupid bloody design) onto the body of the strut.....thinking about it now I probably chose the wrong vent aperture (the top one nearest the sphere) as that is the one between the two wire clips....where else could it go? - duh! Pressing on, I sent it up and down several times....topping it up to the bottom of the filler basket on the lowest setting....didn't want to play ball at first (air in the system?) finally it responded and started going up and down like a good 'un :) Now though.....Coastline help!!!! .....I've got a drip from the gaiter where it's clipped onto the body of the strut (where it dripped from before with the syringe mullarky) :( Anyone think this is just air being forced out along with a bit of fluid? I'm sure the gaiters positioned correctly on the strut and I've got the small plastic pipes going into the vent apertures the same as the other side. Is the plastic vent pipe between the two retaining clips the breather and the other one (positioned in the middle of the gaiter) supplying fluid? Stuck again! Bob

P.S. Now with 'Parts Gateway'.....seem very good, no hassle and quick quotes from their breaker network.

As it happened the union (rusted lump) at the other end of that pipe came off very easily. Could get at the seized union at the strut end now (whole lot off car). No joy. I had to grind and file where the union entered the strut for ages to try and weaken it's hold on the union bolt. In the end I had to rotate the entire pipe & union bolt to get it free of the strut. There's no way that's going on back on!....it will not rotate and seems to have seized itself into the small flared seal at the end of the pipe. Bugger, New pipe required! For future reference (if anyone else finds themselves in a similar pickle).....I've ordered the part - drivers side rear hydraulic pipe and unions No.5270 QQ (for hydractive +3 suspension....indicated by third sphere in middle of axle). Cost £36.42 incl. VAT. Speak to (Big)Mick, he's a great help. (Apparently, the non hydractive +3 suspensions, indicated by the lack of the third sphere in the middle of the axle, are smaller diameter and cheaper at about £13) On a side note beware of a breakers network company (in other words a middle man) called 1st Choice. Supplier of strut couldn't deliver in the end (said it leaked) but 1st choice were less than useless when it came to getting a refund. Premium rate numbers if you need to call them, they don't answer emails and don't respond to their web contact from.....BEWARE!!!! Got my money back by raising a dispute in PayPal...supplier settled immediately and refunded. All I gotta do now is find where the bloody bank have put it....shysters!! Bob

Thanks Parkesie. The other end looks worse! Just a rusted lump.....if I could get it off completely there's a pipe complete with unions on eurocarcare for about £17 (I'd need to check compatibility though theirs is 5270 QA but I think mine is 5270 QQ) ....but it's getting the bugger off! (not bothered about strut end as there's a s/h replacement arriving Wednesday). This is becoming very fraught :(

Well.....disaster strikes!.....I cannot, for the life of me, get that hydraulic union feed at the strut loose :( The steel union bolt is quite soft and being threaded into that cast alloy strut it feels welded in there. I've had everything I have on it...spanners, moles, grips.....even filed the flats down to get a 15mm spanner on....no joy!!! What I have now bears little resemblance to a bolt head.....a sort of mild steel, rounded off lump. HELP?? Bob

OK....sourced a s/h suspension strut (without sphere) for £50 delivered (1 day)...so not bad. All I need to do now is get that bloody old strut off, everything is seized and rusted up terribly! But I have another question.....is 27nm very hand tight (with a pair of grip gloves)? That's the torque listed in the haynes for the spheres (but how the hell I'm supposed to get a torque wrench on there is anyone's guess!). Opinions needed!!! Many thanks for your help and advice Coastline Taxis....you're a brick :) Bob

Thanks m8

Sorry....having a bad day/week/year.....it's a 2002, 2.2 HDI SX Bob

Hi guys, does anyone know where I can get a second hand rear (drivers side) suspension strut? Trawled Ebay without luck. Signed up and submitted request to an online breaker network.....no success so far. Went back to the car last week (parked up in town 30 miles away) to find the rear end almost on the ground....with a sizable stream of expensive LDS running down the car park :( Managed to get the sphere off (after three bloody hours) and found that the lip, around the top of the strut, that accepts the rubber washer and 'neck' of the sphere had corroded almost completely away. I'm 99.99% sure that this caused the seal to fail (sphere looks OK, no holes). I can't justify (or afford at the moment) the cost of a new strut....at least £150 I believe?.....as there are other issues, increasing in numbers, that mean it will probably have to go to the big scrap yard in the sky later this year (IF I can nurse it along thus far). Any thoughts? Thanks in advance Bob

One of mine once totally seized in......no amount of force would shift it and simply proceeded to bend the little pins in the 'male' socket....a good hot, penetrating spot of mig weld to the 'male' socket and 'female' nut and bob's ya uncle!

Hi all, Thought I'd pop in here and update you guys on what happened in this situation. Supplier (after much 'intense discussion' covering several weeks) supplied a correct 150 amp alternator last Friday. It was fitted Saturday and the issues I was experiencing disappeared. The voltmeter now goes immediately to slightly above midway....and stays there!.....no more wandering up and down as described :) Lights are definitely brighter too! He, the supplier, has arranged for the old unit to be collected tomorrow (Tues.) by courier. Once received he'll provide a £50 refund to my PayPal towards the cost of the refitting (got this in writing in Ebay messaging!). Tried to hold out for the full refit cost of £93....but hey, I'm happy he had the decency to go this far and I'm just pleased to see the end of this saga. So, thanks for the help and advice fellas, much appreciated. Bob

'lo Coast....I'm in the Teesdale area, 15 miles upstream of Barnard Castle.