Citroen XM Forum

spitroen wrote:Offers. It's started leaking fluid from front wheel arch. Mot nearly up. Taxed till end of July. 2013.

Strut return hose? A very simple repair...

tell me how and what to do please Jim?

spitroen wrote:tell me how and what to do please Jim?

Just like this Tony

Pop the wheel off the affected side and look half way up the back of the strut. You'll see a runner foot clipped on with a rubber pipe going off from it. This is the strut return pipe and likely you'll find this pipe is perished either where it joins the foot or where it connects to a rigid pipe. It can bleed like a stuck pig...

Repairs are rarely successful but new ones are still available from dealers under part number 95 050 399

A very easy job to change it..

I had to do one recently, and apart from the clip, it is very easy. It does look more serious than it is too. Shocked me when I first came across it, but new pipe fitted and all is well.
The old one was very cracked all the way down the pipe. It was shot.

A tip for clipping them back on:
Fit the cup to the strut with the steel clip loosely in the right place, hold in place temporarily with 2 large cable ties just above and below the steel clip (but around the broad bit of the clip.
tighten to cable ties until the cup is compressed, and the clip can be latched with a pair of long nose pliers.
Cut off the cable ties.
Or you could just use a cable tie instead of the clip...

That's an excellent tip

xantia_v6 wrote: Or you could just use a cable tie instead of the clip...

Better to use the clip if you can Mike..

I must admit I use the pukka clip tool. Cost me about £15 years ago and a very good investment really.. It fits most of the clips you find around the car and allows them to be easily reused...

Hey thanks guys. But the leak isn't coming from there. It's behind the window wipers somewhere and the fluid trickles down a hole above the driver side wheel arch?

Ohh then that will be a rubber return hose thats split then.. easy again. Remove the scuttle and the brake valve is in there.. one of the two rubber return pipe would of split.. there should be enough extra to cut back and push back on

its the same on xantias..but installed differently

spitroen wrote:Hey thanks guys. But the leak isn't coming from there. It's behind the window wipers somewhere and the fluid trickles down a hole above the driver side wheel arch?

I had the same experience for a couple of weeks. Turns out the LHM bottle I was secreting in the space normally reserved for the headlamp washer bottle, had been pierced by the wiper mechanism and was dribbling LHM.

Rubber button on the end of the brake valve is another LHM leak source in the front scuttle.

John