Maybe The Last Time, I Don't Know, Oh No..............

[PICASSOCONVERT]

2003 2.2HDi estate, 100,000 miles. Sprung a leak. Abandon ship!

 

I got back home yesterday from my habitual 3.2 mile round trip to see fluid dripping from the underneath of the car. Tasted like hydraulic fluid (only joking - it looked orange, so probably LDS). No sign of any fluid in header tank (coolant and brake fluid levels OK) and drips collected in jam jar are orange.

 

This morning put car on ramps and had a look. The leak is dripping from the cross member towards the driver's side where it appears (to my untrained eye) the pipes leading to the rear suspension are situated. Naturally, impossible to see from below and above what might be leaking. No sign of any leaks in the engine bay itself and the suspension still goes up and down as it should.

 

So does any kind soul know if there are any joints down the back of the engine which might have sprung a leak? If so, how do you get to them?

 

Maybe now is the time to scrap the car (called quitting while I am ahead)!

 

David

[MikeLane]

Hi David - have a look at this. There's areference to a chap in Sawtry (not tooooo far from you) who may be able to give advice.

 

http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citroen/topic/20425-hydraulic-pipe-leak/?hl=%2Bhydraulic+%2Bleak

 

ATB - Mike.

[Johndouglas]

If you haven't already registered, see http://service.citroen.com and you will be able to see all the pipe runs and joints on the relevant pages. Are you sure the header tank hasn't sprung a seam. They are known to develop splits. Maybe fluid has run down and is dripping off the lowest point.

[PICASSOCONVERT]

Hello Mike and John - thanks for the replies and the information.

 

I have decided to call it a day and have agreed in principle to buy a 62 reg Honda CR-V. I've decided I'm getting too old to crawl under cars! I have travelled quite a bit in CR-Vs belonging to friends and they seem OK (not as good a ride as the C5, of course) and not a bad tow car.

 

I am not trading in my C5 so if anyone wants it a small amount of silver across my palm will do the trick.

 

The details are:

 

Location - just off the A6 in the middle of Bedforshire (near Clophill)

2003 2.2HDi estate, manual with fixed towbar & 13 pin electrics.

MOT to 30 April 2016

Just under 100,000 miles

2 owners - me since May 2009

Service due in November - some early Citroen service history, lots of paperwork including all MOTs

 

Known faults: Glass part of tailgate does not open, climate control does not work, hydraulic leak (as referred to above).

 

I also have:

 

Haynes manual

French manual

Transverse roof bars (Citroen part)

Headlamp protectors & fitting clips (Citroen part with beam obscured for continental driving)

Temperature sensor (which fits in nearside door mirror)

Set of front discs (Citroen parts)

Set of front disc pads (Citroen parts)

Set of 4 glow plugs (Bosch) - in the unlikely event someone has 12" long quadruple jointed fingers and eyeballs on stalks to fit them

Dell laptop with Lexia installed

 

If interested send me a message via this forum. Sorry if this has turned into an advert in the wrong place.

 

If no takers the car will go for scrap.

 

I'l just dry my tears and say adieu.

 

David

[Johndouglas]

That's sad. We'll be sorry to see you go. Hopefully you'll get a buyer for your car and spares. Might help to add a picture of it.

[paul.h]

Hondas are supposed to be reliable so you will not need to join a Honda forum. So if you keep the Haynes and French manuals and the Lexia you can continue to help out the C5 owners on here, far better than watching TV.

[PICASSOCONVERT]

Hello Paul

 

Thanks for your comments. I hope the CR-V is reliable. Only driven it 12 miles so far and compared with the C5 the ride isn't as good over uneven roads, it doesn't feel as if it will accelerate as fast (eg for overtaking) and the load space is shorter (but I can still get my model plane wings in, so that's OK) and I can't go up and down at the traffic lights. At least I'll be happy to let my wife drive me round in it.

 

I will keep my bits and pieces (listed in post above), so if any forum member wants them in the near future they can PM me. I'm also happy to help anyone nearby (mid-Befordshire) with Lexia if required.

 

Just waiting for the tow truck to arrive to take it to the scrap yard. That will be the end of 16 years of Citroens (1 Xantia, 2 Saxos, 1 Xsara Picasso, and 2 C5s). My wife just swapped her trusty old Clio for an Astra so we're now totally non-French.

 

So, good luck to you all and your C5's. I'll look in from time to time to see what you are all up to. And thanks for all your help.

 

David