2008 Citroen C5 Exclusive Front Suspension Leaking Problem.

[JPW]

Slight amounts of fluid have been leaking for sometime and the garage have advised that the front suspension joints are showing signs of " slight misting " and whilst keeping the fluid level topped up the suspension works fine a permanent repair is inevitable. I have been told that the estimated  cost will be in the order of £1200/£1500 which is a staggering amount.

 

I would be grateful if anyone can tell me if this is a realistic price for this job or I have been given a SWAG ( Scientific Wild A***d Guess ) price.

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

Is your car the 2008 on C5 or the 2001 to 2008 model and which engine does it have ?

 

Where exactly is the lds fluid leaking from since you say suspension joints which I can only guess may be pipe connections on the suspension. If it is a suspension strut that is leaking or the steering rack that is leaking you need to specify. A leaking steering rack is common on the 2008 on C5 model needing a new rack or reconditioned one - new possibly around £1000 or reconditioned about £300 - see the C5 Technical section pinned Common Problems topic for details.

 

I suspect you have not been to a Citroen dealer for the estimate. I had a front strut replaced by our dealer on a 2007 C5 in 2012 and it was £442 including about 1 hour labour since it is a quick job. If you are only having a leak from a pipe joint then it would be far less than this.

 

For suspension work I would always prefer to use a Citroen dealer since they know the system and most jobs are only about 1 hour labour so you can not save much elsewhere if you are unable to do the work yourself.

[JPW]

Thank you for your prompt reply.

The first registration of the car was November 2008 and the engine is 1997cc. The suspension is Hydractive 111+.

 

The garage as described the problem as " Slight misting of oil from both nearside and offside shock absorbers " !!!!

There is no problem with the steering.

[paul.h]

I have put your car details in your signature, you can edit this if you go to your profile. This saves having to mention it every time you start a new topic.

 

Slight oil misting on the front suspension struts is considered normal on the C5 with hydractive suspension, the oil coming out of the seal where the piston goes out/in. You should be able to see it as a slight film of oil on the struts if you raise the suspension and then look through the wheel arches at the struts. Before taking the car for an MOT it is wise to wipe this off to avoid risking a failure, particularly if you use a garage who is not familar with the suspension. Misting should not be enough to need the lds suspension fluid to need topping up. If in the future you have the struts replaced the misting will stop but you should not need to replace them unless the oil loss down the struts gets bad.

 

If the lds fluid is needing to be topped up have a look at the steering rack where the steering column joins since the oil seals there can leak.

 

A new front strut seems to be about £230, part nos. 5271L5 and 5271L6. As an example http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5271L5-FRONT-LEFT-SHOCK-ABSORBER-RAM-CITROEN-C5-C6-/222249924753 . The labour to replace both together is about 3 hours, so you could expect a bill of around £700 at a Citroen dealer which is nowhere near the guess of up to £1500.

[JPW]

Thank you once again for your prompt reply and info.

 

I will progress my problem further and when resolved will provide info which may be helpful to others.

[JPW]

I forgot to ask if the oil seals on the steering rack are replacable ??

[paul.h]

On the technical section pinned common problems topic there is more info on the steering rack leak but it seems a recon rack is the solution people are using.