Citroen XM Forum

I think the Dutch are refurbished, they are asking you to send the old one to them, and you will get the €80 deposit back

Southerneruk wrote: Sun Jul 26, 2026 9:18 am Every thing is the same, apart from the height, when you measure the depth of the strut hole, this is where the problem is, normal drive is OK, but when you put the height adjuster up to high the strut piston is very close to popping out, this is why the longer strut is needed,

I don't really follow you. The strut rod will dictate the maximum height the car can lift to. Even if the strut top was a few mm higher it would just limit the maximum height by that much.

Can you please post images of the strut top at normal and maximum ride height.

I find it odd that anyone would go to the trouble of having brand new strut tops manufactured and not have the height set correctly. The height is set by the lower section being peened into the upper section at the correct depth.
That is a production issue, which if incorrect could easily be sorted, by setting the lower tube a bit further into the upper casting before peening.

Under the bottom of the bell to the baseplate on the original one it is 25 mm, the replacement one is 35 mm

Southerneruk wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2026 11:39 am Under the bottom of the bell to the baseplate on the original one it is 25 mm, the replacement one is 35 mm

I assume this is to the bottom of the skirt, which as we have already covered serves no operational purpose, it is only there for the dust gaiter to clip onto.
Citroen extended this skirt to afford a greater grip surface for the gaiter. It was found that gaiters unclipping isn't due to the skirt length, but when the rubber tears the skirt goes out of round, so releases the gaiter.

These units are made as two components: the upper cast section and the lower Metalastik, tube/rubber/baseplate section.

This means that with appropriate machining the two components can make the four unit types required.
Hydro-pneumatic, left/right (3.5mm feed pipes)
Hydractive left/right. (10mm feed pipes)

The lower tube section is inserted into the cast section to the correct depth and then swaged into a machined groove to lock it in.
Left and right sides have the tube and casting rotated 90 degrees to each other, but are otherwise identical.

The suspension strut rod connects to the cast section by use of a taper and lock-nut.
The only relevant measurement is the one from the top of the baseplate to the top of the casting. I cannot see this being incorrect, as it would be resolved pre-production, by adjusting how far in the lower tube is inserted before being swaged into place.
I believe the tube inserts all the way into the socket, so adjusting the tube length at it's upper end would set the correct depth to the base-plate automatically.

If you show images of the strut top and sphere in position at normal ride height and maximum height, we can see if there is an issue.
As long as there is clearance between the sphere and the scuttle all will be well.

The attachment shows how these are made as separate components which are then swaged together to form a unit.

Between those 2 white lines there is a difference of 10mm between old design and new design the height puts it very close to the bonnet, it also makes the hole for the strut suspension to fit into 10 mm deeper

When they stop making these struts, Citroën advice was to use the strut and strut top from another model that was still being made at the time

Just found out they are the strut mounts to the Xantia models

I have read somewhere (but can't remember where) that Xantia and XM strut tops are also incompatible because the angle of the strut relative to the mounting plate is different (allowing for the sphere orientation being rotated 90 degrees). I don't think that this is the best solution when reconditioned (and possibly new) XM strut tops are readily available.

That in the picture is the original shape strut mount, the replacement as 10mm height difference

There is no way Xantia strut tops will fit an Xm. Even if the baseplate has the same bolt pattern, the cast piece is reversed and the angle of sphere fitment is different.






Given that 3Rg already make Xantia strut tops, one would have thought they would know if they can fit Xm, before going on to make Xm specific ones.

I see your measurement difference, but that might be simply down to the the rain guard being a different shape to the original. Can you please measure and show an image measured to the top of the casting and how close the sphere is to the scuttle flange at normal and high setting.

If there is indeed a height difference that's rather poor. Has anyone else found this, if so, have they reported back to Meca-Place?

I wonder if the baseplate and Metalistik section are being used from the Xantia units and inserted into Xm castings, although I thought the baseplate was different between XM and Xantia.

If the height is different you could shim the baseplate down.

What we need is a company to make anew Metallastik section which can be inserted and swaged into existing cast sections. The old tube can simply be cut out on a lathe.
Even bolting them in with radial bolts would work.

It looks like the mech at Citroën Freeborn is right it is the same shape
how about the fixing down 4 boltholes

Xantia front suspension
XM front suspension
Xantia strut mount