Citroen XM Forum

High speed runs are my enemy lol!!

Any visible corrosion at a single one can be a test failure.

Fair comment John and I have encountered MOT garages that take this line, although my current preferred tester is a little less scrupulous for better or worse!! With regards, Matthew T. PS. It was good to see you recently albeit for such a brief period and thank you again for the wheel!!

If the corrosion doesn't affect the structural strength of a pipe, it should pass.

A very difficult point to argue and win with a MOT man who has already declared it defective.

In the case I quoted I did not want to cause the XM owner problems or cause me to have return if the MOT man stuck to his decision.
So I got the garage owner to examine the condition of the pipes with me.
I was only there because the garage felt unable to repair Citroen hydraulic pipes.
I suggested that I thought the MOT man had been a bit cautious probably through not seeing many Citroens with hydraulic suspension.
I offered to cut out and joint the larger, more important feed pipe and we would examine the suspect area in detail then decide on the second pipe.
With the piece removed and cut through the corroded area it was clearly surface rust and the pipe was sound.

John

Initially I would have thought as well that you can guess right when you see surface rust or worse. But I recently changed some pipes on my CX, some looked healthy enough but just broke unexpectedly by touching them. So as John says, it's a difficult area bearing in mind that most pipes rust behind the rear sub frame and therefor invisible for anyone.

Having said that, this is what I used on my CX :

http://www.burton2cvparts.com/remleidin ... -6704.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's only a temporary repair but I don't feel like changing all the pipes what I will do some time in the future. I fixed the pipe in sity because my flaring tool was useless on that spot. On the CX there are places where it's impossible really to get to as well.

Where I been pulling this XM apart (taking all the pipe work off now nearly done) those pipes under the car do need to be rerouted into a safer spot. like into the exhaust arch, like a few have said they are better left expose to the air than to cover them
What you think john worth the trouble of rerouting pipes

Would be worse in the exhaust tunnel as the metal would be getting baked from exhaust heat, more so on petrol engines. Last thing you want is lhm getting any hotter than it needs to.

If you wash things out and rinse the underside often enough then it shouldn't be a problem. You could also coat the underside in a thick oil or grease.

A fairly well boxed-in plastic duct would be sufficient to protect the pipes, and would work well enough if mud and water could not get in, and the pipes were waxed.

An angled-ended duct could, I guess, be fabricated from some rectangular plastic electrical trunking/duct, pvc solvent-welded, and with a removable lid/cover.

Easier to get one made of a mild steel and paint it or stainless if possible. Plastic will always give way over time much easier than decent metal. It's why the originals fail.