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Front Suspension strut COLLAPSE
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Paschal   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 11:38am
Joined: Feb 09 2011
Member No: #375
Location: Meath
 Happy days again, looks like the front suspension really is the weakest link. I did'nt mind so much replacing both fron lower balljoints about a year ago nor even both front wishbones about a month ago but it really took the biscuit yesterday morning when the right front suspension strut got intimate with the bonnet. Anyone else had this problem? It happened when I was not going very fast thankfully and on a good smooth (no potholes) surface without absolutely no warning! Please comment
C6Dave   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 11:47am

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
 Have you got a picture of the top of the suspension leg?

It's hard to see how it could come up through the wing.

If it has fired the pyrotechnics for the bonnet then it looks like the end for another C6 I'm afraid.
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michaelb   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 11:48am
Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London
 fuuking hell.
Extant   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 12:30pm
Joined: Dec 13 2010
Member No: #317
Location: Monmouth
michaelb wrote ...

fuuking hell.



Nasty!

I'm begining to think I should take my car in to have the suspension given a thourough inspection.
Paschal   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 12:35pm
Joined: Feb 09 2011
Member No: #375
Location: Meath
 Actually thats what I thought when it happened looking out through the windscreen. I dont think that it has fired how would you tell.

Heres the strut! Anyone know how it's retained? Parts diagram even?
C6Dave   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 12:54pm

Joined: Oct 01 2009
Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland
 In the 'Doc Library' Here: - Click Here -

Just had a quick look at mine and there is a gap of around 2-3mm between the strut and the part shown orange in your pic so assume it's held below the wing

But not sure as after looking at the technical docs it comes as a unit complete so looks like a manufacturing failure
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Paschal   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 01:05pm
Joined: Feb 09 2011
Member No: #375
Location: Meath
 I thought that the lowest of the 3 grooves on the top of the cylinder was part of a retaining system maybe like a circlip? There is no connection (screw or bolt) between the cylinder and the big mounting block that is part of the strut assembly above the valance so whatever holds them together is in the wheel arch. I seems to me that the strut assembly has come apart letting the cylinder wander off on its own. I've been to the docs section but will follow your link again. Thanks
gmerry   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 01:15pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Hi all, a failure like that should be reported to VOSA or Irish equivalent. Plus a recall should be issued once the cause of the failure has been determined and appropriate inspection of any at risk parts completed.

Regards
G
travlician   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 02:03pm
Joined: Jan 22 2011
Member No: #350
Location: Paradera
 I recently took a suspension cyclinder apart to see if I could fix it's leak but in the end I couldn't get the piston out of the cylinder. In that process I also removed the circlip that's holding the cylinder in position, the one that obiously caused the problem described in this topic. Unfortunaltely I didn't take any picture of that part.

I did notice the circlip was somewhat oxidized and was worried when assembling the part back that this could be a weak point. I remember I left the hood open for that reason.

To check this is a lot of work, need to remove the suspencion cyclinder, remove the circlip that is under a lot of pressure from the foam/rubber above it. Meanwhile I'm still waiting for the new one (got it for 223 euros from france, new!) an runing the car only when needed with the slightly leaking one in, but after this story....
Leo   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 02:05pm
Joined: Apr 20 2010
Member No: #94
Location: Belfast
 Yes, potentially catastrophic failure and really does little for my confidence in the car. Must agree with Gmerry - this needs a thorough investigation by Citroen and the statutory authorities. Imagine that happening at speed with the car loaded up!

Leo
neal2175ds   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 02:20pm
Joined: May 23 2011
Member No: #487
Location: Suffolk
 WOW ! Thank god you weren't involved in a crash. I have never seen anything like it ... scary as hell!

I agree with the others this really does need checking out by the statutory authorities and Citroen. We all carry our families in these cars and I for one could not think of any harm coming to them because of poor engineering or a design issue. It needs checking.

Regards

Neal
travlician   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 02:26pm
Joined: Jan 22 2011
Member No: #350
Location: Paradera
 It seems Citroen was aware of problems with this part as its partnumber has been changed serveral times. It's 5271-J0 till org nr 11061, 5271-J7 from 11062-11648, 5271-K4 as of organr. 11648 and all have now been replaced by 5271-L8. It could be due to the leaking issues only but maybe they realised an issue with the circlip construction as well. Can we force Citroën to do a recall?
MattHwk   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 02:27pm
Joined: Sep 30 2010
Member No: #246
Location: Solihull
 Black Monday for all things C6
David K   
Mon Jan 09 2012, 09:20pm
Joined: Jan 30 2010
Member No: #42
Location: Scania
 This has been a pretty common problems with XMs in Sweden. But here it has been because of rust when moisture has coming in between the rubber sealing and the steal where the suspension strut is coming up in the engine room. But I don't think it has happened before the cars has been around 15 years old or so. Bonnets for XMs are pretty desirable here actually.
As you might know we have a very agressive climate for cars with a lot of salt on the roads during winter time, which is usually from November to March-April. But why it happens on Ireland is a mystery. And must be a production fault. I hope for our sake that it is a one off, and not something that will happen to all of us sooner or later.
gmerry   
Tue Jan 10 2012, 08:51am
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Hi, Scottish conditions are not unlike those in Sweden with salted roads December to March pretty common. Actually because it is slightly warmer, corrosion conditions could well be worse (look at what happens to brake pipes generally).

Regards
G
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