Citroen c5 wheel alignment

[C5newbie]

hello all,

Ive got a c5 x7 2.0 Hdi with hydractive suspension. Can any tyre place do the wheel alignment on these cars or is it a specialist job? i.e. is it the same as any other normal car with the exception of the jacking procedure?

Just spent a bit money at citroen getting the height of the car corrected after previous owner incorrectly positioned a sensor after replacing some parts so don't want the tyre place to screw this up.

thanks

[Sloppysod]

Hi, you need someone who has 4 wheel tracking equipment as the rear suspension has adjustable tie rods. I had mine done at Kwikfit.
I suggest, spraying the tie rod adjusters with a freeing agent a day or more before, perhaps they could do it for you, it will make their job a lot easier, its worth the ask at time of booking. Saves crawling underneath too.

[myglaren]

I had mine done at the place who do the MOT and fitted the last set of tyres as my mechanic's compressor broke. Small independent place and they appeared to be very clued up and well aware of the need to put the car on high and remove the LDS reservoir cap when letting the wheels hang.
The tyres were scrubbing, probably due to a new steering ball joint.
£30, been excellent since then.

[GiveMeABreak]

Just make sure they use the right settings for the tracking - I know some places get confused with the model / engine numbers / years and make a right hash of it - or their manuals are out of date or just plain wrong.

Make sure you know your engine model and BHP.

[C5newbie]

Ah thanks everyone. I've used equipe in the past so will try them again and will double check if they do the full 4 wheel or not. thanks again

[jgra1]

hi newbie
what made you think the suspension was wrong? it just didn't 'sit well'?
how much for them to sort and any obvious noticeable differences?

thanks,
John

[C5newbie]

the front ride height was much higher than it should have been. Around 7cm higher or so I would say. You could really tell when parked in a car park next to say an SUV when the bonnets were almost same height You could easily see the suspension components between the wheel and wheel arch.
The front would still go up and down using the buttons but was always higher than the rear.

I knew the past owner had some work done to get it through MOT, drop links I think so my gut reaction was perhaps they removed a sensor and fit it back incorrectly. Citroen dealership cost £95 to diagnose and then set it correctly. Rides perfectly now.

[jgra1]

ahh good news

yes they are still adjustable by rotating a sensor on the anti roll bar (like their predecessors), a degree or two wrong there and it can make a big difference elsewhere!

[Cit fan 151]

Can anyone tell me where you can get the correct wheel alignment specs for your C5. Do they change between Series 1 and 2? Are they different for hydraulic compared to normal suspension. Are they the same for 19" rims as 17"?. Had an alignment done today on our 2012 C5 and it indicated on top of report "Citroen, C5 I, 2001-2004". Some of the database specs on it were much different to alignment report for fitting previous set of tyres - I think it was from a 2008 database. Given the variations, I think it would be easiest for me to hand over what the specs should be and see if they can align to those?

[GiveMeABreak]

To answer your question, yes, they are different between the MK I, MK II and X7.

Post your VIN up for the correct specs. And I would do yourself a favour and get the wheel alignment done at a proper garage if they can't get that right. Be aware the wrong specs can shred tyres in a few months! It happened to me at ATS on a MK II - had 4 new tyres and the wires were showing in less than 2 months! This was on their 'new' laser alignment machine - but it was calibrated incorrectly with said result and was out of action for weeks after my complaint.

C5 X7 (Hydractive Only) Checking Values (Front)

Tyres	225/60 R 16	225/55 R 17
“	-	245/45 R 18
“	-	245/40 R 19
Camber (not adjustable)	- 0°16' ± 0°30'	-0°17' ± 0°30'
Castor (not adjustable)	5°30' ± 0°30'	5°30' ± 0°30'
Pivot angle (not adjustable)	8°06' ± 0°30'	8°06' ± 0°30'
Tracking at the axle (adjustable)	-0°09' ± 0°09'	0°09' ± 0°09'

Camber dissymmetry: + 0°50' / - 0°24'Castor dissymmetry: ± 0°30'Pivot angle dissymmetry: ± 0°30'
Distribute the global parallelism value symmetrically, left wheel-right wheel.

C5 X7 (Hydractive Only) Checking Values (Rear)

Tyres	225/60 R 16
"	225/55 R 17
"	245/45 R 18
"	245/40 R 19
Camber (not adjustable)	-1°16' ± 0°30'
Thrust angle	0° ± 0°30'
Tracking at the axle (adjustable)	0°34' ± 0°09'

Camber dissymmetry: ± 0°30'

[Cit fan 151]

Thanks Marc. Yes, ours is the 3.0 HDI X7 Exclusive that you have mentioned. Agree, a proper alignment is crucial.

There doesn't seem to be an spec for Toe, but this appears on the alignment reports I receive? What is 'tracking at the axle', it doesn't appear on alignment reports? I notice that camber and castor are shown as 'not adjustable'. However, these values are usually different after an alignment compared to before, so I assume that adjusting Toe impacts on them as well?

[GiveMeABreak]

The camber angle can change slightly is if the height of the vehicle is changed - i.e. lowered slightly - so if you are detecting any significant variance outside of the permitted tolerances than you need to have it checked. There is a permitted range as you can see - so as long as it is within the tolerances you should be fine. If not then you might find it could be worn bushes or other parts of the suspension geometry.

[Cit fan 151]

The specs above give 'Tracking at the axle', but don't include Toe. The reports that I typically receive show 'Toe' but not 'Tracking at the axle'. Is there any relationship between the two?

[GiveMeABreak]

These are often written in different terms to what you'll get on a bit of paper - note the "Distribute the global parallelism value symmetrically, left wheel-right wheel." that I put under the tables. These differ for Metallically suspended and Hydractive vehicles, as well as wheels / tyres sizes and the values I listed are for a Hydractive X7 - but the best thing to do is check with a specialist and make sure they are reading the correct values for the correct vehicle with the correct wheels and tyres fitted.

Toe In and Toe Out are generally referred to the amount the wheels point in and out and referred to as 'wheel alignment' and 'tracking'.

[ozzdownunder]

Are the alignment specifications the same on a C5X7 2.2 L HDi 19' wheels, the same as the 3 L version ? Any information on the rear wheel adjustment or is not adjustable on the C5X7 2014 2.2L Hdi Sedan ? Tx