Rear arm bearings and rear calipers

[94xm]

Hi,

Im fairly new to actually worrying about my girlfriends bx but having driven it im a touch conserned.
It survives on no maintenance and very rarely gives us anything to worry about...

I have read about the rear arms bearings wearing, and at the same time have noticed that the rear wheels have a fair amount of negative camber on them too, the car is coming up for the 1/4 million now and we have never touched them. It doesnt creak or show any signs of stiffness on the back suspension but it has started making a knocking noise, fairly loud fron the rear susp. After looking it seemed to me the exhaust may be hitting the rear anti roll bar, but all the exhaust mounts are good and the exhaust has not moved,so does as the rear arms wear cause the anti roll bar to move down?

Is it an expensive job to have them done, as it passed its last mot not too long back and given the mileage is surviving on mostly luck. The rear tyres seem to have worn out very quick too but the rear spheres are newish with plenty of bounce

The other problem is after treating it to a rare oil /filter change and new front brake pads, the rear ones gave me a problem. The single bolt that hold the pad is siezed in the caliper and i cant move it out. It has a nut on the back of it which i took off but does it also screw into the ally caliper?

Are the bolts available as i think it may destroy it to remove it.

Thanks for any help.


cheers
Mark

[tom]

Clonking from the back end can be caused by the tailpipe hitting the back bumper. On hatchbacks this can be due to the mounting having rotted off the boot floor but if you have checked that then It won't be that. The anti roll bar is not the cause of your problems (yet.) It will be when you come to changing the rear arm bearings. There are two bolts on either rear arm which can be a swine to get out. Clean them and anoint them with lots of loosening juice for about three days then get a good 13mm six sided socket to remove them before removing the rear arms. Bearing replacement is well covered on these forums so have a poke around for hints and tips. Bolts are available for the rear calipers but the bleed nipple is a regular problem and can shear off. Most people use a close fitting socket and regular applications of the blowtorch to persuade them to come out. If you are sentenced to doing rear brakes anyway, you might as well do this. Citroen still list the long bolt but you may get it from GSF or ECP. Replacement of the bearings will transform the car's behaviour. The steering will be more precise and the car will be much more stable so it is worth an afternoon's work to do it.

[jeremy]

I don't think the thin pad retaining bolt is threaded into the caliper - if it was the nut on the back would function as a locknut which would be strange practice.

My recollection on removing the ones on my TD Estate many years ago is that it felt to be very soft and springy - not a tensile bolt - and so easily broken.

You shouldn't need to bleed the brakes after changing the pads - if you change the LHM then you should pump the old LHM out of the calipers.

The caliper is made in 2 parts - and the recommended procedure for handling it when changing the disc is to remove the pads, replace the thin bolt and tighten it before removing the caliper securing bolts. This is to prevent the caliper coming apart.

[RichardW]

The through bolt, cover plate and spring is still availble from Citroen for not much money - it is the same as the Xantia. The bolt is not threaded into the caliper but it can be a right PITA to remove. I had to replace the brake pipes on my previous Xantia (OK OK I know, but the calipers ARE the same!), and in the process remove the calipers to clean off the rust and fit new discs. I think it must have been parked in the sea at some point as the calipers were really bad looking. The bolts were going nowhere fast. I took the calipers off the car, cut through the bolts (then I had to saw the pads in half to get them out they were so bad), then cut the bolts back flush with the caliper and finally drive them out with a big hammer! Despite this poor state some careful work with plus gas and blowlamp saw the old pipes and bleed nipples freed off, and somewhat surprisingly the calipers worked fine afterwards. If you want to avoid removing the brake pipe, I would cut the thin bolt, then remove the caliper securing bolts and take the outside half of the caliper off the car (take care to retain and not damage the seal between the 2 halves!). Clamp the inside half to the rear arm, and drive out the inner half of the bolt. Get the outer half in the vice and clean it up and drive the bolt out, and carefully work the bleed nipple out. Then reassemble with new fitting kit, new pads (and maybe discs) and away you go.