Suspension!

[bobtuck]

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

[bobtuck]

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

 

Bob

[coastline taxis]

Sent you a pm

[bobtuck]

Thanks m8

[bobtuck]

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

[bobtuck]

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

[Parkesie]

Can you get the other en of the pipe undone with out killing it? Have the strut and pipe of the car to have ago at? Or just replace the pipe.

Best way ive found to get these sort of stuborn pipes off is with a pipe spanner and a libberal application of freeze spray before trying to turn it.

[bobtuck]

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 :(

[bobtuck]

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

[bobtuck]

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

[coastline taxis]

You seem to have it all in hand now.  crack on

[Parkesie]

Sounds like a fun day :)

[qman3428]

Paypal wont put it in your bank, they retain it until you buy something else then deduct it from that. If you want the money in your bank you have to log into paypal and make a payment to the banks account

[bobtuck]

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

[coastline taxis]

nope the metal pipe into the strut is the high pressure supply. The 2 plastic ones the bottom one is the low pressure return pipe and the other is just a breather. check to see if the 2 plastic pipes are on the right way round. if its just a small drip then i would leave it to see if it settles down and stops. if not check the pipes and ngaiter for splits

[bobtuck]

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

[paul.h]

I had a small drip (a lot less than you are describing) of lds from the lower end of a gaiter, replaced the gaiter thinking it had become porous or not seating fully. Then tried a tie wrap around it but in the end (a year later) I had to fit a new strut for it to stop so the seals in the strut may have been worn or damaged but fluid never came out of the plastic vent pipe - it should only be letting air in or out as the strut piston moves and the gaiter is compressed and vents it in to the axle. 

 

It sounds to me as if you have got the 2 plastic pipes connected wrong or the replacement strut is leaking. The other plastic return pipe at the sphere end is the one that is connected between the clip wires and should be returning lds back to the tank. From memory, with the gaiter fitted correctly the hole in the strut should be under the vent pipe connection on the gaiter. Also make sure the wire clip is not in the groove around the strut.

 

Was there any sign of lds on the replacement strut gaiter before fitting - if so yours may be worn so the supplier might give you another one ?

[bobtuck]

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