Hi, I've 'inherited' my husband's Xantia Exclusive which has been a much-loved, very reliable car. However, recently I had a green fluid leak from the passenger side rear wheel arch area. Before I could get it to the garage, a catastrophic loss of fluid resulted in the car being recovered by the AA. The local Citroen dealer said it was just a 'faulty joint' in a pipe and repaired it. Yesterday I noticed fluid again leaking from same place. This time they said the return pipe had blown off, and it was a pressure fault , and advised that a complex set of diagnostic tests would be needed to determine which of 6 (unspecified) possible things was causing the problem.
They also said that if they find which unit is faulty and replace it, it could have a knock-on effect on the other parts which could also fail, and that the total cost of all this could be anywhere up to £6,000!! meaning in effect that I need a new car.
Is this the end for my car??
Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated!!
Joanna
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Assuming that its a suspension cylinder return pipe that has blown off, I can't see that would be any more than a seal failure. It would require replacing the cylinder but I can't see that costing more than a couple of hundred pounds.
Most garages, even Citroen ones, don't see enough hydropnumatic cars to understand them. I would try and find a local independent garage that does. Someone on here may be able to recomend one. If not, put a post on the 'French car forum' there is a section for Citroens and a lot of knowledgable people on there.
They are a very nice car, especially the 2.1, it would be a shame to scrap it I have been running XMs with the same engine for about 12 years and have never had a problem I couldn't repair myself, yet.
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Thanks for that Peter, You've given me a bit of hope!
Jo
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I had very similar trouble with my VSX Xantia. The return line from the rear hydractive valve starts off in rubber then joins onto a hard plastic pipe above the rear subframe, right on the near side - the join relys only on friction between the rubber and plastic! Mine used to sink very quickly at the rear, so I suspect the hydractive valve was leaking internally, and this was in turn causing the return line to overpressure, and eventually the joint blew apart. I took it to the Cit garage and they refitted the joint, which promptly blew off again after 40 miles. I then refitted the joint with a cable tie around it, which lasted about 100 miles, then I put cable ties around both pipes and wired them together. Joint has stayed togther for 30k miles now :-)). This is extremely awkward to get to - although access is much improved by removing the spare wheel and carrier. You need to get a pair of long nosed pliers through the hole in the subframe whilst pushing the hose back on with the other. Fun, whilst the LHM is dripping on your head!
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Thanks Richard, that's very helpful!
Jo
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