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I live in the US, growing up I never cared for the Citroens that were here, there were very few of them. But as I got older I realized why they are so interesting. Today I want a Citroen so bad, but we dont have that many here to chose from.
Hi! I live in Brazil and I really like Citröen's Xantia and XM, but here these cars are like a spaceship! Mechanics talk very badly and hate this kind of car, find it too much trouble and are difficult to fix. Channel like yours gives me a good help. Thanks!
I work in a place with a few more people, where we all rent a little bit of garage space. I work with Citroens and and they do sometimes too. But when it comes to hydraulics, they try to avoid that. And if it happens unintentionally, like when they change the clutch or a timing belt kit, and go for a test drive and during that few kilometers (annoyngly it happens pretty often) corroded pipe finally blows up and starts pissing LDS everywhere, or when the electric pump, that was shorting and blowing up fuses randomly for a long time, finally gives up, and you have to make it right, they always have questions. Sometimes those questions look stupid, but I dont hesitate to answer. It is interesting, as it really looks pretty simple system. Xantias with hydractive, antisink and active stabilisers (ACTIVA) have really complicated systems. And I can understand, that even BX, with emergency valve, pressure regulator and a little bit more stuff could look a little complicated for a newbie. But C5 I or II without hydractive ( I mean they still write Hydractive, but the ones without softening valves and without Sport button for suspensiom) - really extremely simple. Few weeks ago I needed a tool to check the pressures of spheres. So I made one from old BX pump, Xantia pressure regulator, old pressure gauge and few old pipes and connections. Used some rubber hose and an old LHM plastic can as a container for fluid. And it works. And it looks like some sci-fi or steam-punk spaceship system for my colleagues and for some clients. People nowadays want everything smart and electronic and that is pure simple analog hydraulics :)
Bear in mind that when you replace the spheres you've effectively renewed both the spring and shock absorber ,which on a "normal" car would probably take a garage 4hours and cost at least £100 per corner.
@@brys555 At least 500kkm lasting. Sometimes much longer, sometimes a little shorter. At least for BX, XMs, and Xantias. XMs and Xantias had rubber strut mount problems, but the cylinders hold up really nice. They start to leak to the drainage pipe sometimes and then the car starts to lower fast, but that is uncommon even these days. And after 300-400kkm they tend to leak to outside a little bit. But that is usually only minor leak, making the cylinder a little wet and muddy, but never dripping oil out. Xantia's rear cylinders give problems after 20years of soaking with water and road salt. The lip, or the wall, holding the rubber seal for suspension sphere, oxidises and collapses and the seal pops out, that gives a major leak, losing all the fluid in few minutes to few hours. It has more tendency for newer Xantias, its uncommon for pre-facelifts. For C5 I and II front cylinders - same story with front cylinders and same story wit rear cylinders - front ones hold extremely well and rear ones have oxidation problems. Also, they are sometimes leaking internally to drainage pipe. This is pretty common, comparing to Xantias and XM's. And it is much more of a problem for C5, because it raises much longer and slower with its electric pump. Also, XMs and BXs rear cylinders dont have oxidation problem. But BXs rear suspensiom bar-member has a problem, where those cylinders literally live in mud after long years of accumulating it in a basin, where it lives, with no drainage hole. So it sometimes corrodes through the side of the cylinder. That is also not common. Like all those Citroen models are uncommon now, because they are just too old. And the cylinders of C5 X7, made 2008-2017, are a real big problem. Front ones are usually leaking for any taken car, unless they were changed and some time or it has a real mileage under 200kkm. Rear ones little bit better, but not perfect too. There was a recall and part number change around 2011-2012, but newer ones also not perfect, just a little bit better.
@@TadVarn Wow, that's insightful knowledge. I'm not much of a fan of other models beside XM but I can confirm that you shouldn't expect major problems before 300kkm mark. I have one XM with anti-sink valves and it slowly gets lower after few days when I left it on normal riding height. However, it can keep position if left on upper service setting for weeks. That indicates some wear on the part of cylinders when they usually work. No other issues. That car has 317kkm on instrument and I can't tell if it wasn't "corrected" sometime in past. From what I have heard from other owners, cylinders sometimes get sweaty or, less common, start to be little bit noisy. I wonder what would it be in the next decade. Probably it'll become impossible to find replacement ones in future.
And THIS is the "hard to maintain" -excuse from PSA for cutting of the exellent hydropneumatic suspension off production?... It looked a LOT easier job than changing a wheel bearing!
wrong: manufactures do not care about the cost that the customer needs to be charged of! The manufactures care about PROFIT: A coil spring car is cheaper to produce and to develop! IF you want to sell products the price UP FRONT is the critical part. A C6 was even in GERMANY tested as excellent and better build that the compared BMW and Mercedes (5er/E300) - but never sold. Because the C6 was more expensive than a German car.
Have a Xantia X1 with only 69000km (maybe 45000 miles). I have to get the spheres replaced because of age - the suspension stiffened on the front axle. It's such a nice car. Both elegant and a little quirky. And technology that they really 'don't make like this anymore'.
The reason I love Citroen is because of that incredible suspension. Apparently it was too expensive and complicated to carry on fitting it ! I wonder if Peugeot was the fly in the ointment?!!?!!!
C’est triste que Citroën ait abandonné ce système Hydropneumatique. Heureusement qu’il reste des gens passionnés comme vous, pour entretenir ces systèmes qui n’ont rien à envier au nouveautés électronique. Le bonjour de France 🇫🇷
Citroen is no longer Citroen. They do what Peugeot tells them, and abandoning the legendary suspension was a Peugeot "cost-cutting measure", as always.
@@KHATTAB_705 la pompe hidraulique ne fonctionne pas ou tu a perdu l'huille hidraulique. Verifie le niveau d'huille LDS et aussi verifie si on entend la pompe au moment où tu actionne la bouton pour ajouster l'hauteur de la suspension.
@@redandrei90 merci cher ami mais mais j'ai tout vérifié j'ai vérifié la pompe hydraulique et le niveau de LDS et tout marche normalement mais la voiture ne monte plus
Farewell to the best car suspension system in the world! You can also view the official Citroen technician training videos for the suspension system on RU-vid.
Шикарная работа! Я стенд для проверки из домкрата сделал не давно. В будущем планировал подумать над заправочной станцией. Может чертежами Поделитесь ?))
Wonderfull vidéo, i am a citroenist 1/Xantia HDI90 2/Xantia HDI110 it is very difficult tou found a mecanician as you to refill the bowls in France i must change all the spheres at each time what a pity !! Thanks for your vidéo
Ситроен лучшая машина,я на нем ездил с 1988 до 1994года,до настоящего времени остается для меня лучщей машиной,супер, мягкость хода,комфорт и удобства!НОООООО,очень дорогая в обслуживании,а сейчас наверное не подлежит ремонту!?В 80е и 90е года это был ШЕВЕР автопроизводителя Франции!!!
I had a man (a trained Citroen mechanic I hasten to add) who used to regas BX's on the car. He depressurised the system on the accumulator then unscrewed the green "tits" on top of each sphere individually and screwed in a type of schrader valve to which his nitrogen gassing equipment screwed onto for him to pressurise each sphere. He had a Citroen manual which gave him the pressures needed for each model in the Citroen range. He did say that when the green plugs were undone that if LHM came out then the sphere was knackered. I know his work was good, he did a BX16 for my sister and it was still as comfortable as anything after 5 years.
Hello, I’m French Excuse me for my bad English I have a Citroen tool 4130-T and 4135-T. You have made yourself the tool to reload the spheres with the original cap? What are the dimensions of the ball plug seal? Thank
Wir haben immer Füllventile in die Kugeln verschraubt. Dann mit Stickstoff befüllt. Aber Interessant das befüllen mit der Konstruktion mit den Original Kappen
Very interesting, thank you. Where can we find a scheme (or a plan!) of the special part maintaining the cap of the sphere during the filling operation? And the device? Thank you.
super video and great workshop equipment .. My 2007 ENGLISH C6 has badly corroded spheres which amazingly are not leaking YET. how much is a sphere service if I sent my C6 spheres to you for a service .
Hi could you tell me what the right bar pressure the spheres of a citroen gs should be? I know the front should be filled to 55bar and rear 35 bar but what about the accumulator and what should bar be when tested
Have you experimented with xantia spheres on C5? I have but not with all. Wondering what is the max you can go on sides and middle before you get the error message inside 😜 but making it soft as hell
So sad they quit with production of Hydropneumatic Suspension. I will never understand why they did such a stupid move! Why to cut something special, the only thing what they had! This Suspension helped Citroen to become the most comfortable car brand in history. And today they don't have anything, anything!! No comfortable cars no unique design. Only shity toy-cars with this stupid slogan "comfort is the new cool" Idiots they throw away its comfort! They can't speak about comfort anymore. That progressive Hydraulic cushion is shit compared with Hydropneumatic Suspension.
And what is the interval for that job??? How many miles/kms do you have to do before you do that service? And how much do these 2 special tools cost??? I mean the pump and the one that you put the sphere inside... I m a vehicle tech and I m interested on buying a Xantia so I think I might need them to avoid extra costs of the crazy garages here in Greece...
Id like to see you fit a valve top a c5 sphere. Ive bought the kit from italy and have nitrogen bottle. Im likely to entrust this job to a mate of mine...grind off the refill nipple(whilst taking cover..!), tap the hole and fit the valve!
afaik it is not possible because the c5 spheres have sharp spikes inside so it breaks the membrane when all pressure is deflated, which means it ruins the sphere when removing the cap/nipple.
Le système hydraulique est nettement plus performant que tous les autres et facile à entretenir. C'est tout simplement scandaleux de l'avoir supprimé !
Es una herramienta utilizada en los Servicios Oficiales Citroen. No hay planos ni está a la venta. Hay otras opciones por internet, por ejemplo los tapones para esferas de la marca VALPEX 2000-9
Hello, I’m French Excuse me for my bad English what is the size of the seal of the sphere plugs ? I have a Citroen tool 4130-T and 4135-T. You have made yourself the tool to reload the spheres with the original cap? Thank
Tu n'a pas besoin de tout cet attirail pour gonfler tes sphères. Tu achète des valves Valprex Tecnosir sur internet, tu défait le boulon d'origine de la sphère avec une pince étau ( protèges tes yeux ) , tu visse la valve Valprex dont le filetage femelle est cylindrique SAE dès qu'on parle d'automobile et d'injection de gaz neutre. Ainsi il vous suffit de louer : 1 bouteille d'azote de frigoriste avec mano détendeur 200 bar entrée / 80 ou 100 bar de sortie AVEC flexible 1/4 SAE de 60 bar de service et 300 bar d’éclatement, comme ci dessous fr.zilok.com/location/229941-....html?l=147465 Le raccord 5/16 SAE du flexible se fixe coté bouteille et l'autre extrémité à la valve via un petit bidule à 4 euros facile à trouver par exemple chez Hardeman clim et qui s’appelle raccord union double mâle 1/4 SAE. L'étanchéité se fait par le profil même du raccord. www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=union+double+m%C3%A2le+1%2F4+SAE&_sacat=0 Bien qu'en frigorifie ces 2 matériels sont désigné 1/4 SAE ( diamètre interne du tube ) pour l'achat, tu aura dans la réalité, si tu mesure le filetage du raccord union, 11,1 mm X 1.25 ( 7/16 SAE ) ce qui va sur la valve Valprex comme dans papa maman. www.ryco.com.au/index.php?id=225
Et un poil de graisse cuivre sur les filetages des sphères évite le grillage au démontage suivant. Par contre, le remplacement des joints est impératif pour la durée. Pour les sphères arrière, le premier desserrage est impératif sous pression, sinon l'amortisseur risque de tourner en cassant le tuyau d'arrivée LHM, particulièrement sur les BX, un peu moins sur GS... Pour les bouchons, il n'existe différentes approches, y compris la pose de valves type Schräder qui vont bien à remplir avec un outillage classique et dont le pointeau peut aussi se démonter. L'outil spécial qui sert au remontage du bouchon d'origine est alors bien superflu. Les plaques et entretoises de laminage du LHM qui font partie du système d'amortissement peuvent aussi se remplacer. Sur ces sphères, tant que la membrane est intacte, il est possible de les faire durer. La pompe d'épreuve reste toutefois indispensable pour au moins tester la sphère. Si il reste un peu de pression, c'est rechargeable. Mais une bonne régle, c'est maxi la moitié de la pression marquée, et tous les 24 mois maxi pour être sûr. Une sphère qui pisse est percée, poubelle! Une sphère qui est restée longtemps déchargée a une membrane qui se marque et qui est affaiblie. Une sphère de plus de dix ans ne se récupère pas bien, sauf parfois sur DS ou les plus outillés pourront ouvrir les premières générations de sphères dont on peut théoriquement changer la membrane, voir clubs pour les pièces si dispo et courage... Pour C5 et autres, en principe rien ne change sinon le LDS à la place du LHM. Par contre, valise obligatoire pour la pressurisation dépressurisation et autres purges. Les circuits LDS requièrent la plus grande propreté et sont dits scellés 🙊
Alexis Pieltin Pas besoin de valise pour faire chuter la pression sur une C5, ça se fait très bien sans Lexia/Diagbox. Il y a des vis de détente pour faire chuter la pression pour celui qui n’est pas équipé d’outil de diagnostic. Pour récupérer une sphère il faut un minimum de 15 bar de pression sinon la membrane est détériorée
Le seul souci est que sur les sphères arrières ça ne vient pas aussi facilement et des fois il faut tenir le vérin sinon la goupille de maintien casse et le vérin bouge sur lui même
Vcs são de onde pois eu sou do Rio e não consigo quem trabalha com esferas do meu Citroen xantia break só a traseira ela está quicado muito vc manda seu contato
I just purchased a 2001 Xantia 2L HDI from an old timer who had it dry stored in a barn - It had a full Citroen service history and that’s what helped me with my decision - I think a good service history is key in any purchase of an older car - I have some work to do on the car as it’s been lying up for many years and I will replace all the spheres - great cars and If you find a good one it’s worth owning IMO - good luck
@@ramblinginmeath4950 Thank you for your reply, but when I went to pick the car up the dealer had sold it after giving me first refusal. I have now purchased a mercedes Vito!
Hola buenas yo e cambiado el conjuntor disyuntor por que tenia fuga de un desguace el conjuntor me dijo el del desguace que está ok y el problema ahora es que no sube la suspensión que podría ser los hdi se purgan solos aparte de ponerlos a bajar y subir, ¿ el problema es que no se ceba el conjuntor? Ayuda porfabor estoy desperado lo tengo en mecánico y yo sinceramente no tengo ni la más remota idea de mecánica ayudarme porfabor gracias de antemano un saludo.
Pásate por el Club Xantia España, todo apunta a que la bola del tapón de despresurización se ha salido. En ese foro te asesorarán para encontrar la solución.
I used to buy Citroën however since they stopped the hydropneumatic suspension goodbye Citroën. Brilliant suspension. What's in the sphere? Doesn't the diaphragm need replacing?
Hola buenas tardes .Es para mí un placer saludar. Me gustaría preguntar si alguna persona pudiera ayudarme a conseguir los tubos de la suspensión hidraulica de un xantia 3.0. V6 activa .gasolina .Por favor muchas gracias .
Stellantis psa a fait disparaître. Ce système extraordinairement efficace. C’est tout simplement un scandale lié uniquement à la rentabilité financière de ce groupe sans scrupule
Was gibt es sonst noch Gutes an diesem Wagen außer der Federung? Bei so viel Rost sieht es nicht nach einem Langzeitauto aus. Oft sehr innovative Technik bei PSA aber nicht zu Ende gedacht, daher aufwändig zu reparieren und zu früh defekt? Ok, wenn ihr euer Auto liebt, werdet ihr wahrscheinlich zu viel Geld und Zeit hineinstecken.
WRONG: Never tighten the sphere with a wrench, only with bare hands. In addition, this is an ancient way of filling the ball, which has long been suppressed by installing a valve on the ball, with ability filling the balls directly on the vehicle, eg. Valprex 2000 from TECNOSIR
Wir haben immer Füllventile in die Kugeln verschraubt. Dann mit Stickstoff befüllt. Aber Interessant das befüllen mit der Konstruktion mit den Original Kappen
