2003 Citroen C5 estate.....the end

[Dick Longbridge]

6 minutes ago, jamescarruthers said:

That’s what I thought until I used it and saw rust coming through about a year later! I wasn’t that impressed and will go back to acid based and then maybe bantam on top as a neutraliser. 

That's frustrating! Did you top coat it with something though? I read it's porous until  coated with a layer of paint. I'm wondering if my own efforts have been in vain now...

[jamescarruthers]

5 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

That's frustrating! Did you top coat it with something though? I read it's porous until  coated with a layer of paint. I'm wondering if my own efforts have been in vain now...

Yes, it got two coats of POR15 afterwards which I heard was good stuff. 
 

I’ve got a full bottle so I will give it one more go but in my book Vactan is now shit and just hype that we keep telling ourselves about. I may have done it wrong but I really don’t think so. 
 

I will likely use POR15 or Bilt Hamber rust killer and paint in future. 

[rickvw72]

Bilt Hamber all the way. There stuff really is excellent. I have a collection of stuff, but there again I need it...

[maxxo]

well that drive home from work has made me go hmmmmmmmm

so, normally leaving the car park it would seemingly get confused and upshift way too early and labour the engine

and jolting as well

 

however, it behaves as i'd have expected a healthy one to behave now

shifts when i'd expect it to, and smoothly!

goes right into drive the moment it's selected too!

quite concerned it may be damaged from the old fluid, wasn't expecting it to be this much better

[maxxo]

i'm seriously considering replacing the spheres, now the ride is good don't get me wrong

just feels a little firmer and more bouncy than it should

assume lexia needs to be used to depressurise the system fully and then they just unscrew?

acceptable just to replace the fronts at first?

[Cento16v]

2 minutes ago, maxxo said:

i'm seriously considering replacing the spheres, now the ride is good don't get me wrong

just feels a little firmer and more bouncy than it should

assume lexia needs to be used to depressurise the system fully and then they just unscrew?

acceptable just to replace the fronts at first?

Whereabouts are you?

I've been quoted £330 for all 10 of my Spheres on my Activa replacing by Westroen, which is cheaper than I can buy them for!

https://www.facebook.com/spheres897/

[Fumbler]

1 minute ago, maxxo said:

i'm seriously considering replacing the spheres, now the ride is good don't get me wrong

just feels a little firmer and more bouncy than it should

assume lexia needs to be used to depressurise the system fully and then they just unscrew?

acceptable just to replace the fronts at first?

Pretty sure that's normal on a C5, as this is from when the suspension system was being conventionalised of sorts. I'm fairly certain it's supposed to be firm, as I'm pretty sure you'll have the extra sphere per axle which'll firm up the ride at speed.

[Noel Tidybeard]

12 hours ago, maxxo said:

well that drive home from work has made me go hmmmmmmmm

so, normally leaving the car park it would seemingly get confused and upshift way too early and labour the engine

and jolting as well

 

however, it behaves as i'd have expected a healthy one to behave now

shifts when i'd expect it to, and smoothly!

goes right into drive the moment it's selected too!

quite concerned it may be damaged from the old fluid, wasn't expecting it to be this much better

stop trying to overthink things and just enjoi!

[myglaren]

On 20/04/2021 at 21:24, dollywobbler said:

Add speed humps to that list. I keep forgetting that the C5 isn't like the GSA. The older car sails over speed humps like they aren't even there. The C5, doesn't. It annoys me that in its final years, hydropneumaticness was really falling short in the comfort stakes. Can I honestly say mine rides better than the Rover 75? I'm not sure. Seats are better though...

Daughter had a very nice 75 Connoisseur and we swapped cars frequently.

Loved the 75 but was always impressed with the superior suspension in the C5 when I got it back.

Despite it being inferior to the GS, BX and Xantia. 

[maxxo]

22 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

stop trying to overthink things and just enjoi!

i really enjoy driving it round corners very quickly

it handles extremely well

[maxxo]

22 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Pretty sure that's normal on a C5, as this is from when the suspension system was being conventionalised of sorts. I'm fairly certain it's supposed to be firm, as I'm pretty sure you'll have the extra sphere per axle which'll firm up the ride at speed.

it's not a h3+ so i just have the standard 4 spheres and the simple system

i have been looking at comfort spheres, as comfort is the most important part of a car for me

[Fumbler]

25 minutes ago, maxxo said:

it's not a h3+ so i just have the standard 4 spheres and the simple system

i have been looking at comfort spheres, as comfort is the most important part of a car for me

Still sounds like normal C5 activity to me. If you want proper floaty comfort, see if you can catch a ride in an XM, GS or BX.

[jamescarruthers]

Comfort spheres might be an expensive experiment that you could regret!
 

I know yours isn’t H3+ but I’m pretty sure they are generally considered a bodge for full Hydractive cars that have broken hard/soft mode. 

Aren’t comfort spheres just a recipe for ending up on the bump stops? You get some more softness and travel, then run out of travel in some situations which won’t be pleasant. 
 

Unless you are buying from Citroen, your replacement spheres likely won’t hold pressure anywhere near as long as your originals have.

By all means go for a sphere replacement, but be careful with these new “saucer” types as I’m not sure any aftermarket can match the originals. 

If you want to talk spheres, I think Westroen are good and have also heard good things about AEP. But they will of course want to sell you their aftermarket type unless Westroen do actually recharge the original saucers  

 

 

 

[maxxo]

2 hours ago, jamescarruthers said:

Comfort spheres might be an expensive experiment that you could regret!
 

I know yours isn’t H3+ but I’m pretty sure they are generally considered a bodge for full Hydractive cars that have broken hard/soft mode. 

Aren’t comfort spheres just a recipe for ending up on the bump stops? You get some more softness and travel, then run out of travel in some situations which won’t be pleasant. 
 

Unless you are buying from Citroen, your replacement spheres likely won’t hold pressure anywhere near as long as your originals have.

By all means go for a sphere replacement, but be careful with these new “saucer” types as I’m not sure any aftermarket can match the originals. 

If you want to talk spheres, I think Westroen are good and have also heard good things about AEP. But they will of course want to sell you their aftermarket type unless Westroen do actually recharge the original saucers  

 

 

 

that's a concern, see i don't mind replacing them every couple of years that's absolutely fine

i suppose my main reason for wanting to change them is to see if the ride changes

i had an idea of buying a pair of front spheres and doing them myself (can't do the rears myself unfortunately) and seeing if that makes any difference

obviously after 18 years and 150k they won't be as new, but from taking a look online they don't seem that expensive to buy

that's one of my issues with this car is genuine parts seem somewhat hard to get hold of

are X7 spheres the same? i doubt it

[maxxo]

autobox wise, it's still not perfect and still hates the cold, but hates it an awful lot less than before so that's good?

sometimes it decides a good old jolt when shifting from 2nd to 3rd is a genuis idea, always done it, just less of a jolt now

obviously it could do with a refurb

so what am i going to do? absolutely nothing, i reckon i could get a good while out of it yet and i will just see what the situation is like whenever it decides to get worse

or fail to proceed with a loud bang and ATF everywhere, no doubt in lane 3 of a busy motorway at rush hour

either way i'm sure it's fine

HEY IT'S VERY SMOOTH IN PARK!!!

nah it's alright really, just going to need work in the next 100k or whenever, which i'll do and probably spend a few grand on it cos it's not worth it and i like it

[dollywobbler]

Having recently driven a Xantia with comfort spheres on the back, don't go there. Horribly floaty, pitching like a dragster even under gentle acceleration. 

I do wonder if my C5 needs new front spheres, as it is a LONG way from GSA comfortable, especially over speed bumps. But, the strut Citroens were always a bit iffy compared to the earlier versions. Even my XM could be a nightmare over badly broken town roads.

[maxxo]

5 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

Having recently driven a Xantia with comfort spheres on the back, don't go there. Horribly floaty, pitching like a dragster even under gentle acceleration. 

I do wonder if my C5 needs new front spheres, as it is a LONG way from GSA comfortable, especially over speed bumps. But, the strut Citroens were always a bit iffy compared to the earlier versions. Even my XM could be a nightmare over badly broken town roads.

i get a no to comfort spheres then, i really don't want to lose the C5s handling as i adore absolutely throwing it around, handles better than it has any right to!

it's weird mine is absolutely fine over speed bumps, sure you feel them but i don't usually slow down for a lot of them....certainly better than a sprung car

i'm extremely tempted just to wack a pair of front spheres on it and see what happens

badly broken roads at low speeds can get quite rough, however weirdly it seems to ride better the further into a journey you are

was going 60ish over some undulations yesterday and it was very bumpy, more so than a sprung car which makes me believe spheres a bit shot

need to have a go of a GSA etc to see how it compares

it's hard to describe the ride in a C5 (well mine at least) most the time it floats along beautifully, other times it feels like a softly sprung car

does also seem to sink a fair bit overnight, good 15 seconds or so of rising when i shut the door first thing

[beko1987]

Both my Xantia and xm (and the XM got the once over by citrojim and declared to be good and we tested the spheres too) hated broken road surfaces, they just couldn't dampen it. 

Speed bumps at 45/50, no problem. Cornering far too fast and stay perfectly level and flat, not a problem. But potholes and where the top dressing crumbles away and I find my xsara better at hiding that, but equally it crashes over any and every hole (when empty) , so swings and roundabouts. 

Put something heavy in the boot. Mine never worked better than when loaded up with people or stuff. 4 big paving slabs then drive a familiar journey. Sometimes the system needs weight to work, and driving it around empty doesn't provide that. Smoothest trip I ever had was moving house with the XM, totally over laden with stuff. 

[dollywobbler]

Big speed humps, it's fine. It's the sharper ones it really dislikes. The GSA barely notices them, but there's an actual BANG when I make the mistake of trying to go over them even half as quick as the GSA.

[maxxo]

16 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Both my Xantia and xm (and the XM got the once over by citrojim and declared to be good and we tested the spheres too) hated broken road surfaces, they just couldn't dampen it. 

Speed bumps at 45/50, no problem. Cornering far too fast and stay perfectly level and flat, not a problem. But potholes and where the top dressing crumbles away and I find my xsara better at hiding that, but equally it crashes over any and every hole (when empty) , so swings and roundabouts. 

Put something heavy in the boot. Mine never worked better than when loaded up with people or stuff. 4 big paving slabs then drive a familiar journey. Sometimes the system needs weight to work, and driving it around empty doesn't provide that. Smoothest trip I ever had was moving house with the XM, totally over laden with stuff. 

I find it weird how the C5 manages to handle so well with just the basic h3 system

it's the big speed bumps with a sharp rise and fall it doesn't like, very much like a sprung car in that situation

i agree with it being loaded makes it ride better, usually it's just me and i don't weigh that much

it's a weird and very interesting system, going to keep an eye out for some spheres (and the weird removal tool) on the C5 group as if i can get a pair for £50-60 i'll just give it a go and see what happens

 

[maxxo]

12 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

Big speed humps, it's fine. It's the sharper ones it really dislikes. The GSA barely notices them, but there's an actual BANG when I make the mistake of trying to go over them even half as quick as the GSA.

those rubber ones mine doesn't like

the little sharp ones it's pretty decent, more gentle ones i don't bother slowing down for

i'm going to do some tests with mine, it does look like the rear is sometimes just slightly too low

mind you i managed to utterly ruin a xsara picasso by putting lowering springs on and it rode far too firm, C5 is a vast improvement from that

[maxxo]

over a month and 3k miles into this now

apart from it feels like theres zero preheat during pretty cold starts there is nothing to report

literally 100% reliable

fuel eceonomy seems better after the AFT change (guage under reads slightly)

auto wipers behave absolutely fine right up until they go mental and french

auto lights are excellent, don't come on too early and behave how i'd want them to

i wish there was a display for the set speed of the cruise control

the ride is excellent, and this co incides with the utterly superb handling

i am satisfied, more so than i was with the picasso

this is a keeper

[Cento16v]

Even our 2012 and 2015 Peugeot's have shit Auto wipers so don't worry about that 😂

[Matty]

My laguna 2 had shit auto wipers as well. As does my e46 beemer. Conclusion, auto wipers are shit 😁

[Floatylight]

Look at this C5, apparently fitted with coilovers... 🤣🤣

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/172542938093041/?ref=facebook_story_share

[maxxo]

52 minutes ago, Floatylight said:

Look at this C5, apparently fitted with coilovers... 🤣🤣

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/172542938093041/?ref=facebook_story_share

aside from the stupid advert that actually looks alright for the money

shame it's a manual, i may have bought it otheriwse

cos ya know, i kinda want a second C5

thinking maybe a very early V6 exclusive, or a HPi.....but would have to go manual with that

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, Matty said:

My laguna 2 had shit auto wipers as well. As does my e46 beemer. Conclusion, auto wipers are shit 😁

I've only ever driven one car with decent auto wipers, a mk8 spaceship civic

i love how in a typically french way there is zero adjustment for them

of course, losing intermittent

i love how they behave so much that i think wow these are good and leave them on auto

suddenly!!!

few seconds later

wipers: PANIC *FULL SPEED*

rain: slight drizzle

me: ffs

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, Cento16v said:

Even our 2012 and 2015 Peugeot's have shit Auto wipers so don't worry about that 😂

must be a french thing

[Matty]

Dunno but I have a feeling they are all designed for use in countries where rain is consistent. Not England. Especially not east lancashire. Fucks sake, the weather round here still confuses me, so I feel sorry for the poor wipers trying to second guess it 😆

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, maxxo said:

over a month and 3k miles into this now

apart from it feels like theres zero preheat during pretty cold starts there is nothing to report

literally 100% reliable

fuel eceonomy seems better after the AFT change (guage under reads slightly)

auto wipers behave absolutely fine right up until they go mental and french

auto lights are excellent, don't come on too early and behave how i'd want them to

i wish there was a display for the set speed of the cruise control

the ride is excellent, and this co incides with the utterly superb handling

i am satisfied, more so than i was with the picasso

this is a keeper

Happy 60th, old timer 🤣