Sphere gas leakage

[BXMad]

I’ve had BXs since the mid ‘80s and have undertaken all the usual maintenance on them including changing spheres. However I have a situation where my diesel Estate seems to remove gas from its rear spheres!

I replaced all 5 spheres with new AMTEX ones in early December and noticed an improvement (though not as soft as my saloons). However a few weeks later, the rear was noticeably jumpy and the tailgate rattling again. As I don’t have a means to check sphere pressure, I replaced the rears with another new set of AMTEX (which I had bought previously last year to use on another BX). Again there seemed to be a slight improvement but by end of Jan, the rear suspension was back to its jittery self.

As I understand it, gas can only escape from within the sphere itself and then out through the fluid. So does this imply that I have (unluckily) fitted two sets of new spheres which were both low on pressure? Is there any way the car could be responsible for the apparent leakage?

[Tim Leech]

Welcome aboard , I would find it unlikely you have had two bad sets of rear spheres, what are the rear arm bearings like on your car? do the wheels sit nice and straight or do they lean in at the top?

[rmattila]

Water in LHM and temperatures below zero?

Height control stuck in the maximum/minimum position?

[Tim Leech]

Height control stuck in the maximum/minimum position?

Thats a point, if the height isnt correct it will interfere with the ride.

[Defender110]

Unfortunately I can't help with your question it is a strange one and like you have said if the suspension is good when you first put the spheres on and then gradually go down hill it would appear it may well be suspect spheres. If your height corrector was set wrong I'm sure you would have noticed the incorrect ride height. I wonder if damaged rear arm bearings could have any impact on sphere life expectancy.

Anyway welcome aboard nice collection of BX's you have there including several rarer diesel autos, what condition are they all in runners or projects and why haven't you been on here before now?

[citronut]

hi and welcolme

if fitting rear sphere's did not give the desired affect, i would be looking at rear arm bearings, or sticking hight corector/linkage,

it is very unlikely new AMTEC spheres wuold loose there gas,

were abouts are you as there are a couple of members if not on here but on the FCF, who have sphere test rigs just to possibly proove the worth of you spheres


regards malcolm

[BXMad]

Thanks for your prompt suggestions and warm welcome.

I haven't checked the ride height accurately but just by looking at it in comparison to my other BX's, its 'about right'. Incidentally, I've found that the front HC clamp seems to be the one that slips on the torque bar - perhaps due to the oily environment there...

When I changed the spheres, I changed the fluid to the red flushing variety and cleaned the filter/tank and realised that this would have a slight effect on the suspension. Its done over 1000 miles since the change so probably time to replace it with its normal 'alien green' variety.

I've also repeatedly done the 'Citroen exercises' by raising and lowering the suspension many times just in case some dirt was trapped somewhere. This appears to have had no positive impact.

The trailing arms look OK - not cambered out, no nasty creaking/clonking sounds. Also the bearings appear to be OK as the 'new' spheres worked OK to begin with. The only way to tell would be to remove them but it seems unlikely both have gone at the same time - though I recall a BX I stripped for parts gave no signs of bearing failure until I removed the arms!

So I had sort of reached the conclusion that it could only be dodgy spheres. GSF seem OK about swapping them but it would be useful to know what the pressures are when I fit the new ones!

I got my first BX (a nice metallic red TRS) when I lived in Bahrain in '86 but now live near Chesham in Bucks. So if there's anyone around here that can assist with checking sphere pressures please let me know.

[rmattila]

There's one mode of sticking of the rear height corrector, where the rear slowly rises higher and higher when the car is driven, and slowly sinks back when the car's not moving. Might be difficult to notice if not specifically looked for, but makes driving a very annoying experience.

[scarecrow]

There's one mode of sticking of the rear height corrector, where the rear slowly rises higher and higher when the car is driven, and slowly sinks back when the car's not moving. Might be difficult to notice if not specifically looked for, but makes driving a very annoying experience.

That's what mine does. The crusher should fix it!

[MULLEY]

Hi, you've said you purchased brand new spheres, did the have a date stamp on them to show when they were made? The reason i ask is that the one's i got from gsf have a date stamp on thm, so when i rung them up to say have they got any front one's in for a 19d, they said yes, i asked them to check the dates on them, the youngest was 4yrs old & the eldest was about 7. I asked them to order me some brand new one's which they did, they checked the dates & rung me back to make sure i was happy which i was.

Thats why even a new sphere that's never been used, over time they do lose pressure unfortunately, so perhaps you've just been unlucky?

Try Westroen, they do mailorder or if you collect they'll fit them for free & they give you a 3yr warranty rather than the usual crap 12mths you get from non oem one's, even citroen only offers a 2yr guarantee.

[Defender110]

Mathew when you take your car into Westroen do they remove all your spheres and test / re-pressurise them before refitting?

[MULLEY]

Hi Kevan,

yup, they have a pressure tester to prove that they are low on gas, so its none of this funny business with a couple of pushes down on the car with the usual bs mate. They do do that, but always check the pressures. The chap is extremely helpful & has lots of info on all the various types of spheres.

I've not had a single problem with any of their spheres, apparently genuine citroen bx one's are becoming rare. From memory & you'll have to check, i think they only ever re-pressurise genuine one's rather than non-oem one's, but tbh i can't remember.

They always check the pressure because if its too low they know not to bother even attempting to re-pressurise them as they'll already be damaged. They've even got an oscilloscope device that they pop inside them to check that the diaphram is ok. They de-rust & re-paint them, & before fitting the spheres they just double check the pressures to ensure that they are upto spec.

Dead handy as they are in your neck of the woods, give them a bell if you want more info & tbh at £30 each they are similarly priced to gsf etc but come with a 3yr warranty which in my book is a real bonus & gives peace of mind.

[BXMad]

Thanks for the tip re the height corrector. I'll watch out for it as my other Estate has a problem with it staying tail up for a while after I have had it in the high position.

This evening I bit the bullet, swapped the spheres from my saloon and the Estate has now been restored to that of the car it came off! I hope it remains like this and will keep an eye on it over the coming weeks.

By the way, the dates on the first set of 'new' spheres were 31-08-10 for the rears and 20-05-09 for the fronts. The other 'new' rear ones I fitted were dated '07; the ones on the car now are '07 at the front and '05 at the rear. All are AMTEX.

I had thought about making one of those tools to measure pressures so this experience now makes it an essential piece of kit.

[Brian]

BX Mad Wrote:

I had thought about making one of those tools to measure pressures so this experience now makes it an essential piece of kit.

Sending PM..