Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

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Trevor Weeks
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Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by Trevor Weeks »

Hello my name is Trevor and I live at Park Gate near Fareham, Hampshire and have always been a Citroen owner of many models but for the first time I have a problem that I can't resolve on my C5. I noticed a leak and found that at some point a hose had been changed but a jubilee clip had been used instead of the proper crimping tool, I changed the hose and fitted it correctly and replaced the pump as well. Bleed it all through but with no joy as the car remains a few inches from the floor. I am at a loss as to what to do next to get it going. The Citroen dealer will only charge £45 to put it on the tester for a diagnosis but I have no way of getting it to the garage. Just wondering if anyone has been able to resolve this problem themselves or have any ideas as I don't want to scrap it as it runs perfectly. Many Thanks Trevor.
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Post by addo »

Ey up, welcome to the serious and silly all mashed up together.

Have you checked the maxi fuses located in the engine compartment, usually under the relay slave panel?
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by myglaren »

Hi Trevor and welcome :welc:

Is there any noise at all from the suspension pump motor? If the pump has lost enough fluid while you were replacing the hoses then it may need to be primed.
The method is to have sufficient fluid in the reservoir and then attach a cap with a cycle tyre valve (Schrader valve) in it to the reservoir in place of the usual cap, then use a bike pump to slightly pressurise the system until it starts pumping.

The system should be under slight pressure all the time. IIRC the method is to have the height at maximum, fill to the correct level, replace the cap and lower the car to normal height, which should increase the reservoir pressure slightly.

I have a photo of the maxi fuses here somewhere and will add it when I find it.
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by myglaren »

Image

Look at this thread for more info on the pump faults and fuses.

I can't find the photo's I took. Perhaps I just imagined I had taken them.
The one above is from cloggz and helped me find mine.
Getting the fusebox out can be rather daunting as risking damage is a factor.
It is actually quite simple but you only find that once you have done it.
Ideally you need to disconnect the battery to avoid causing more problems, which is not as simple as one might think.

There's a guide here.
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by Trevor Weeks »

Thank you I will look at this today and get back to you.
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by GuzziG »

Firstly, thanks to everyone who contributed to “C5 suspension pump failure” threads that helped make my repair possible.
I had a pump failure where the maxi fuse 8 would repeatedly blow. No dash warning light and the electronics continued to work as if no fault, therefore assumed pump motor fail [there are several failure modes listed here].
Here’s how to change the pump motor in situ without specialist tools, laptop, or Citroen dealer “£895 plus system bleed plus module config plus labour plus Vat plus for Christ’s sake…” conversation.
1/ Get a good salvage pump assembly from eBay. Remove the 3x Torqs 10 screws that hold the motor to the pump. To unscrew motor spindle from cush drive you need to carefully remove the rear armature cover plate from the back of the motor [2x M7 bolts]. You will have to break the mastic seal but this can be redone later. Gently prize the motor away from the pump and jam the cush drive with a screwdriver. Using molegrips with aluminium or copper jaw protectors clamp the exposed end of the motor spindle and unscrew. It is a normal [anti-clock to undo] thread and is not tight.
2/ Remove offside front wheel and wheel-arch liner – partial access to inner wing needed only. Depressurise the header tank then unclip main feed hose inside wheel arch. Be prepared to catch draining fluid for reuse later [good luck with this!].
Unscrew 2x M10 nuts on inner wing then gently prize header tank away from pump. It can be placed out of the way without disconnecting power-steering etc.
3/ Remove 2x nut holding pump rubber mounts from underneath plus 2x bolts on upper side. The pump assembly can now be lifted and teased away from the inner wing no problem. The high pressure lines have plenty of give. Unclip all connectors and remove pump motor from valve body as above. Refit replacement motor, reseal mastic if required and reassemble everything.
4/ To repressurise the tank I used a household garden spray ‘cuprinol’ type bottle pump. Cut the wand off the hose and attach the hose to the return line spigot on the top of the tank. Replace the fluid and cap, start the engine and set the suspension to max [6mph] setting, then pump away! – works a treat. Once at max refit return hose. To get the air out of the power steering just drive some Fig8’s until it stops whining. Whole job took me about 6 hours. FYI the old motor had a seized rear bearing.
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by Stickyfinger »

You seem to be a most capable kinda guy.....I think you will be most welcome here thinking like that !....gj
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by citronut »

have you checked out if there are any DIS-LEXIA owning members local to you in the link,

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 19&t=29178" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Regards, malcolm.

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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by GuzziG »

Thanks for the link [and encouragment]
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by BX »

Thanks very much for that. Great when someone reports the solution to the problem and even better when one gives the full step by step instructions. These cars are basically simple devices. The electronics are seldom faulty but units and systems are often changed on the basis that if enough is changed the problem will go away. Problems with such as the com unit are usually mechanical, broken ribbon cable due to whoever installed it not counting turns or plain old wear and tear to contacts, the detent or the ribbon cable. These are usually easy to repair. Faulty speedometer units usually just need a metal pin to be fitted to a gear or to replace the motor with one from eBay. The dreaded trailing arm bearings usually need to be replaced once in the normal lifespan of the car. The trick here being not to spare the grease. On Bosch equipped diesels the weak link is the high pressure regulator and the low pressure pump. Failure of the lp pump often puts enough stuff through the system to either block the filter on the regulator or stop its needle from seating. The egr valve is easy to overcome in comparison to most vehicles. Unlike the older models like the xantia spheres seem to last forever. The return pipes also seem to be problem free unlike the bx. Clutches, flywheels, gearboxes, drives, wheel bearings etc seem to be longer lasting than most of the competition out there. Likewise wishbones, bushings, ball joints and steering components. The lifespan of droplinks depends entirely on the quality of the replacements you use.
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by Peter.N. »

Mine is just coming up to 200,000 miles and is mostly original apart from the HP diesel pump and trailing arm bearings which I did last year, its running in limp home mode though but will do 2800 rpm which is enough for me.

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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by Rochy101 »

Fantastic post just changed and up and running 4hr20 and 3 tea breaks thanks for the best ever solution to my biggest might mare over.
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by Stickyfinger »

=D> =D>
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by Sloppysod »

Great post, hopefully I will never have to follow your instructions, bit if I did I think I will know where to look.

Admin, - Could these instructions be pasted into the "Hydraulic pump diagnosis and repair" section of the Wikki?
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Re: Citroen C5 suspension failure problem

Post by GuzziG »

Hello again, been a while because my old C5 has remained fault free for 5 years/72000 miles - what a great car!
However, the pump motor replaced in 2014 [!] has just failed again [burnt out power transistor]. Managed to source another [by some miracle] from 24/7Spares UK [£75+£25p&p]. Same procedure but can now add that you don't need to split the case off the back of the motor to separate from the pump assy. You can use a small block of wood to hold a gap between motor and cush drive, then use a [desposable] 10mm spanner from a typical [IKEA] flat pack assy kit. They are steel and only 1mm thick - perfect to fit through the small gap. Also works for reassembly. Second motor now in and all good. Hopefully another few years out of it [these Stage 4 emission cars are fault free with the DW10 engine and should be held onto as long as possible!]
Cheers, GuzziG
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