Original C5 spheres availability and center spheres replacment need

[myneur]

Hi, I'm looking for C5 sphere replacements.

I can't find any original ones. Only I.F.H.S aftermarket or similar.

1. Are the original C5 spheres already completely out of the market or do anybody still know about any source?

2. Do I need to replace all central spheres with the suspension ones that (they measured only the main ones in service)? Do they typically wear out at the same rate? Or should I insist on measuring all of them?

3. What is actually the purpose of the central spheres: I have 7 spheres in the C5. Are the central ones for the softer ride, so they are in use almost the same time as the main ones or is there an "anti-sink" sphere like on older models that might not be necessary to replace?

Thanks


The codes if necessary:
Front: 527635 OR 1638046780 OR 1619381480 OR 1638378080
Rears: 527290 OR 1638045680 OR 1619380080 OR 1638376880
Center front: 527633 OR 1638046580 OR 1619381280 OR 1638377880
Center rear: 527291 OR 1638045780 OR 1619380180 OR 1638376980

[GiveMeABreak]

The originals are all available from Citroen.

[myneur]

The originals are all available from Citroen.

The Citroën authorized service told me, that despite they are in the system, they are marked as "blocked" and they can not order them. I've heard (just rumors) that a factory line has been disassembled and what sells as an "original" from "EUROREPAR" is just repacked I.F.H.S.
https://eurofrance24.com/catalog/produc ... 638378080/
They definitely look like the I.F.H.S. by the shape end print. Not like the original I have in the car.

Do you have an example of the service that you know can order the real original with the 3-layered membrane or do you know how to do it?

[GiveMeABreak]

I'm just going off Service Box live data. If they are not available they are marked as NFP.

Eurorepar is a brand of Stellantis, and offer cheaper parts generally than original OEM versions. They do make frequent updates on the databases so can't see why they would waste time leaving the originals there. If they stopped producing the originals, then the corresponding part number would show as NFP and they would show a superseded part for non OEM or a cheaper version that may well be Eurorepar versions.

[myneur]

OK, thanks. And does anybody know answers to the other two related questions:

2. Do I need to replace all central spheres with the suspension ones that (they measured only the main ones in service)? Do they typically wear out at the same rate? Or should I insist on measuring all of them?

3. What is actually the purpose of the central spheres: I have 7 spheres in the C5. Are the central ones for the softer ride, so they are in use almost the same time as the main ones or is there an "anti-sink" sphere like on older models that might not be necessary to replace?

[Kees]

You can read the post i put on this forum.
But the center spheres provide the soft mode.
On the other hand i checked with a led, when this system is switched off.
The conclusion was, almost with every bump in the road the system switched to stiffer, also, when you break or accelerate.
At my car i disconnected the connector from the stiffness regulator and put a resistor 10 Ohm/10Watt in the connector.
So this means that my car is now constantly in the soft mode.
Greetings,
Kees.

[myneur]

So if I understand you correctly, there's no anti-sink sphere in C5 X7 anymore, and all 3 center spheres are for the softer ride.

Which post explains whether to replace or at least measure center spheres together with the main ones? I did not find any. I might be searching by wrong keywords though..

The reason for this question is that an experience of even authorized services seems to be already in decay and they seem to tend not to be motivated to work on parts they don't have experience with. The Citroën authorized service did not measure the central spheres claiming they need not to be replaced (when the main ones faded), but they also returned me a car with some other parts unrepaired, so I'm trying to double-check for the second try not to repeat it.

[GiveMeABreak]

OK, thanks. And does anybody know answers to the other two related questions:

2. Do I need to replace all central spheres with the suspension ones that (they measured only the main ones in service)? Do they typically wear out at the same rate? Or should I insist on measuring all of them?

If you are going to keep the vehicle, I would replace the lot as they are also used considerably and can affect the handling.

3. What is actually the purpose of the central spheres: I have 7 spheres in the C5. Are the central ones for the softer ride, so they are in use almost the same time as the main ones or is there an "anti-sink" sphere like on older models that might not be necessary to replace?

There are no anti-sink spheres on this system, they are not required. The anti-sink is handled by the BHI via the exhaust solenoid electrovalves which ensure the vehicle remains largely as it was withing a few centimetres.

The handling of the vehicle depends on the system working as intended and I personally would leave the correct spheres as they are and just replace them all so you are assured they are all new.

The vehicle's electronics look at the road conditions, the speed, steering wheel angle sensor for intended direction, the ESP system and determines the best mode for the vehicle and switches near instantly in and out of soft / hard modes as needed. Using the SPORT mode button just keeps changes the software parameters to allow a more firmer ride if required for a longer period.

If, like me, you live in a rural country area with very winding roads, you appreciate sport mode, especially where at higher speeds it really does stop a lot of the roll round the bends and responds very quickly to fast changes to the left and right. Making any changes to the system defeats the purpose of the system as intended in my opinion and the overall handling of the vehicle - not least for safety reasons in the event of potential loss of roadholding or trajectory / emergency braking etc. where all these systems come into effect to maintain vehicle stability.

It's another reason why you shouldn't use 'comfort' spheres as they were termed on an X7, as this would negate all the roadholding features of the vehicle.

[myneur]

Thanks. By the "comfort spheres" I guess you mean some custom modified spheres other than the replacement of the originals, right? I never planned such thing.

The last thing. Now when we can't order the real originals, does anybody know if there is a difference between the Eurorepar and I.F.H.S.? AFAIK they are the same, so it does not matter which ones to buy, right?

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, some people on earlier systems like the Xantia and XM, and even on early C5s used modified spheres to make them more spongey and this removed all the hydractive features.

I can't advise on the manufacturers of the Eurorepar spheres, but I suspect they may well have had to use an alternative supplier given that there haven't been any hydropneumatic / hydractive vehicles in production for at least the last 8 years, so specialist supplier contracts may have been changed.

More info here:

https://www.eurorepar.com/WR-en/p/4895/ ... on-spheres

They specifically state these are not exchange or reconditioned, but are newly manufactured and also give the same life of 10 years or 200,000 km for C5 and C6 vehicles specifically.

[Sloppysod]

The originals are all available from Citroen.

The Citroën authorized service told me, that despite they are in the system, they are marked as "blocked" and they can not order them. I've heard (just rumors) that a factory line has been disassembled ..........................

I had this back from the Citroen Parts Desk recently when I inquired about a full set of Spheres for my X7. Along with the email he attached and image showing only the center spheres, he said he couldn't find the corner ones on his system!! He didn't reply when I asked him was it back order or No longer available ?

-------- Original message --------
From: Stuart Harris <stuart.harris@fish-bros.co.uk>
Date: 03/04/2024 11:02 (GMT+00:00)
To: Parts Direct <partsdirect@fish-bros.co.uk>, Citroen Parts Dept <Citroenparts@fish-bros.co.uk>
Subject: Re: New Quick Citroen Parts Enquiry
Hi,
Parts are all on back order and does not list a price I can only see front and rear spheres please see image below for part numbers.
Thanks
Stuart Harris
Senior Parts Advisor
Fish Brothers Swindon,
Paddington Drive
Swindon,
SN5 7SB
Stuart.harris@fish-Bros.co.uk
01793 401103

[myneur]

… he said he couldn't find the corner ones on his system!! …

That seems they use an alternative system like https://www.catcar.info/ where they are missing instead of the original https://service.citroen.com/ where everybody can see all spheres including their prices. I just can't confirm the statement about the inability to order, because one must have a special role for that.

[GiveMeABreak]

Catcarinfo is useless - it's basically on old 2014 offline version and not official. a) To prove this, you'll find they don't list any new model from 2014! B) the data is 10 years out of date.

If that is a dealership / franchise Stu was referring to, then they will have access to official parts data too.

We use the official Citroen Service database for our parts, so I suspect that until they know for certain what is happening, or make a supplier decision, they will keep the original parts on there showing as available at present.

[Disaster189]

In Spain, the original spheres are not available for sale, and as you say, Citroen sells some from Eurorepair, which are a real piece of garbage, in the best of cases they last only one year, since the membranes are a single lip.

There is a guy in Spain who is dedicated to doing a conversion to be able to recharge the original spheres of your car with nitrogen if the membranes are in good condition. He makes thousands of spheres a year for many members of forums and communities here in Spain. I don't know if You could contact him and he can give you more information and maybe send some spheres, everyone who has tried them only says good things about them.

I installed them on my C5 a few weeks ago (the car has 410,000 km) but I have not yet been able to test it thoroughly, although when stopped the difference in rebound and comfort was noticeable.

https://www.clubxantia.es/d/90-kits-de- ... ia-xm-y-bx

[Sloppysod]

Ooops!! Looks like I did not read the webpage thoroughly enough, after going back in my history and what I thought was a Citroen Parts site was actually https://citroendirectparts.co.uk/ created by Fish Brothers Citroen of Swindon

I installed them on my C5 a few weeks ago (the car has 410,000 km) but I have not yet been able to test it thoroughly, although when stopped the difference in rebound and comfort was noticeable.

Thanks for the info, it would be great if you could share your opinion/verdict on the final result.