Citroen Garage in the Midlands

[vealg]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a good Citroen garage in the Midlands (preferably near Birmingham) please?

[Delvey]

Not used personally however good reviews on Google

http://www.marklightfootltd.co.uk

[myglaren]

Not used personally however good reviews on Google

http://www.marklightfootltd.co.uk

And a forum member.

[Bick]

Ive used Mark and he does a great job - just say the site recommended you

[oli_25_uk]

I would recommend Dave at Citroen Specialists on the Pershore Road in Stirchley Birmingham http://www.citroen2k.co.uk He's looked after all mine (GSA, BX, XM,CX, C6 and now C5)...

OLIx

[markysimon]

I would recommend Dave at Citroen Specialists on the Pershore Road in Stirchley Birmingham http://www.citroen2k.co.uk He's looked after all mine (GSA, BX, XM,CX, C6 and now C5)...

OLIx

I'm thinking of taking my S2 V6 XM to try and get the rough ride cured after already just replacing six spheres Anyone know how good they are on suspensions?

Mark W

[oli_25_uk]

Dave's an honest guy who's been working on Hydropnumatic cits for decades - He'll know what to do - or be able to point you in the right direction...

OLIx

[markysimon]

Dave's an honest guy who's been working on Hydropnumatic cits for decades - He'll know what to do - or be able to point you in the right direction...

OLIx

Thanks Oli, that's reassuring – I'm now booked in for Monday so finger's crossed!

Cheers – Mark W

[white exec]

Let us know how you get on, Mark.

[markysimon]

Let us know how you get on, Mark.

Finally managed to get there and was impressed by Dave's knowledge. He identified that the spheres sent by AEG were actually 40bar ones at the front which AEG had correctly identified as being for cars built just a couple of months after mine, which should've had 50bar. But he checked the ECU (was okay, adjusted the ride height, freed up a stuck height regulator... and the suspension/ride was improved, but not fully. Being very busy, I elected to take the car back home there and then and took it up with AEG who initially said he/we were wrong, but then investigated the IFSH (?) data and discovered he was right. They don't replace used spheres, but will give me a "good discount" if I take the car back to Dave and order the correct ones – which they don't have in stock "because we didn't know they were different". Frustrating.

Citroen Specialists were very reasonably priced and Dave pointed out a badly rusted front NS sill by the jacking point (not me, honest!) that I need to get a plate shaped and welded onto, and explained why the NS rearview mirror doesn't dip when reversing – new one needed. So I'll definitely go back there even though it's a 90 min drive.

[GiveMeABreak]

I don't have your VIN, but the XM V6 (ES9J4 Engine) built from RPO 7483 (5th May 1997) has the following sphere types and pressures, so depends when your build date was.

Identification	Vehicle Type	Diagram Reference	Suspension Unit ID	Membrane: D: Desmopan U: Urepan M: Multi Layer	Volume (CC)	Pressure (Bars)	Damper (MM)
Main Pressure Accumulator	All Models	1	96145672	D Or U	450	62 (+5, -32)	Without
Suspension Spheres (Front)	Saloon Estate	2	962900048	M	450	40 (+5, -15)	0,7
Suspension Spheres (Rear)	Saloon Estate	3	96222871	D	400	30 (+5, -15)	0,6
Front Suspension Regulator	Saloon Estate	4	96281798	M	450	70 (+5, -25)	1,25
Rear Suspension Regulator	Saloon Estate	5	96238950	D	400	40 (+5, -15)	1,25
SC/MAC Storage Battery (Anti Sink)	Saloon Estate	6	96198613	D	400	50 (+5, -15)	Without

Reference Diagram

[white exec]

Citroen list (Private Car Data, XM, 2001) front Hydractive corner spheres for Saloon/Estate V6
as 450cc / 40bar / 0.7mm
Saloon/Estates other than V6 listed as 450/50/0.8.

Citroen Parts show the same 450/40 spec for
3.0 24v 194
but for all other V6's
3.0 24v 200
2.9 24v 200
and 2.9 24v 170
the sphere spec is 450/50.
Citroen Parts do not show an RP date when spec changed.

40 bar will give a firmer ride than 50bar.
0.7 will give more movement damping than 0.8mm.

[GiveMeABreak]

The above table I posted is from Citroen data and corresponds specifically for the ES9J4 V6 from that build date I mentioned. I didn't put together the others - but looks like there was confusion from aftermarket suppliers again.

[white exec]

You're right, Marc. Many aftermarket suppliers make assumptions about parts, and that certainly includes sphere types. Capacity and pressure is only two-thirds of the story as well, the final bit being damping aperture. Lost count of the 'compatibles' suppliers who don't even list it, so lord knows what you might be getting from them. Citroen's Private Cars document (2001, covering XM, Xantia and Synergie) is invaluable for nailing exact specs, capacities, etc of the cars' systems, and part of a series covering other PSA models too.

[GiveMeABreak]

I agree Chris - unfortunately it's the same with many other aftermarket suppliers - their databases are so bad for parts and I do wonder what the unnecessary costs are in returns and wasted time delaying the jobs as a result. Always best to get armed with the kosher part numbers first and then one can always compare with the myriad offerings from other suppliers.