Do-it-yourself Citroen C5 hydraulic cylinder repair

• Like
• I do not like

The boot on the rear left hydraulic cylinder has torn. I decided to change the seals at the same time, because the right cylinder slightly snotty.

I don’t have a hole, so I drove the rear onto the boards, put the blocks under the jacking points, the suspension down - voila, the rear wheels are in the air. Disconnected the terminals from the battery. I unscrewed the plug from the LDS tank, unscrewed the rear axle pressure relief fitting, the liquid does not flow - there is no pressure.

Ambush number one. The cotter pin, exactly on the cylinder where the boot urgently needs to be changed, has soured tightly. After reading the forum, I realized that it is easy to break it off, and then it is problematic to knock it out. I doused him with VDshkoy, meanwhile taking up another cylinder.

Here the situation is the opposite, the leaking LDS soaked both the cotter pin and the stem stop, removed them by hand. Disconnected the tubes, removed the clamp, removed the rod from the piston along with the boot. Now you need to remove the piston. The adjustable pliers helped, inserted the jaws into the piston, pushed it apart and slightly turning it began to pull the piston outward.

Important: the pressure relief fitting must be open so that air can enter inside, well, substitute the container under the cylinder - gr. 50 liquids. Further, looking inside the cylinder, I saw the following: closer to the edge there is a rubber O-ring, then a groove, then a double seal - a rectangular rubber ring with a plastic ring inside. I took out all this with the help of a thin wire and laid it out on the table for study.

Ambush number two. The new seals are really smaller in diameter! That is, you can put the distant cuff, then having contrived to place a plastic sliding seal in it, but the piston does not climb there!

Video (click to play).

Well, let’s push it with a mounting, after having lubricated everything, within our powers, but who can guarantee that this damn plastic ring will not slide inside the cylinder? Hence the conclusion - it is necessary to use some kind of mandrel, according to the diameter of the piston, but for this it is necessary to collapse the sphere.

Two hours of heroic efforts were crowned unsuccessfully, the chain wrench, which, by the way, unscrewed the front spheres without problems, was killed in the trash, and the sphere was not even a millimeter. I did not use a chisel to destroy the sphere, because its replacement at this stage is not provided. In general, you cannot get close to the cylinder from the other end. I had to stretch new cuffs - a barbaric occupation. For your information, the plastic ring stretches very easily, and it is extremely reluctant to restore the reverse size, it is important not to overdo it, but the rubber rings had to be pulled from the heart. But how will the seal behave after such executions? I think in the future how I am going to change the spheres, I will change these cuffs again, since they are inexpensive, controlling the process from the other side.

Okay, the cuffs are installed, they are lubricated, we begin to insert the piston, it goes tight, the piston pushed the assembly firmly into the cylinder. Then we collect everything in the reverse order, lubricating the tip of the rod, which is inserted into the lever, with graphite grease. First we put the boot on the rod, then the rod into the cylinder and the tip into the lever. Cotter pin, pour 25 gr LDS into the vent of the boot, insert the tubes and fasten the clamp.

The clamp is fastened with one click with two pliers. First, it is put on the first step, then the sliding pliers are inserted into the clamp so that one sponge clings to the end of the clamp, and the other clings to the bent ends of the wires. With other pliers we press these ends against the sliding pliers and pull them onto the second step. Ready! I could not make a photo, tk. both hands are busy, and time was pressing.

I return to the left cylinder. The cotter pin does not want to be removed in any.Gently, with precise blows of a weighty hammer on the protruding end of the cotter pin, holding it with pliers, it is possible to knock it out. Hooray!! However, if you are going to tackle this node, water it with VDshka in advance.

Then I had to knock the head of the rod out of the lever with a chisel. Then I disassemble the cylinder and assemble it by analogy with the previous one, not forgetting to make fun of the new details: scare3:. I lubricate with LDS and the piston fits tightly, but by hand. Interesting! I take it out back - all the rings sit, as expected, in their places. And then vague doubts begin to torment me.

Ambush number three. I disassemble the right cylinder again. It's easy when the movements have already been worked out. I pull out the piston. Oh God. The front ring has been cut in half, and a narrow strip has been cut from the far plastic ring. Nightmare. I had to install old seals. I inserted the piston, took it out, checked it again, inserted it. Hence the conclusion - no edits! The piston must be inserted by hand. However, one cannot be 100% sure that the plastic ring did not pop out.

I collect everything as it was, I put the boards close to the wheels. Do not forget to tighten the union and add fresh fluid to the reservoir!

I connect the battery, open the door, the pump starts humming, trying to understand what the sensors are showing to it. We start the car, the suspension is up, we pull the blocks out from under the thresholds and slide off the boards. Further, the suspension several times up and down to expel air. All OK.

I will now observe how the “new” cuffs behave.

if the cylinders do not flow and the boot is torn, it is better to change only the boot;

if you change the sphere, this is a convenient moment to change the seals;

the back spheres are much more difficult to unscrew than the front ones (I could not), you need a GOOD key;

before repairing for several days in a row, spill the VDshka in the area of ​​the heads of the rods and cotter pins;

do not forget to grease the heads of the rods and the seats in the levers with graphite, this will save you a lot of time and nerves in the future, well, or the next owner of the car.

• Like
• I do not like