Help - The Dragster Look

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MULLEY
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Help - The Dragster Look

Post by MULLEY »

Yup, arse in air, front down on bumpstops.

Normally as soon as engine fires up, the front lifts up no bother.

However, the other day it just wouldn't rise up, so i topped up the lhm (fdv does weep a bit) & still no joy. The STOP light wasnt illuminated before adding the lhm. So did a bit of citraeobics, the rear went up & down & the front stayed down. Eventually with a creak & a groan the front went up, hurrah.

Now i know that the driver side strut is a bit noisy & needs replacing, is there a particular reason why the front nosedives & why its so difficult to get raised back up?

Cheers
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN

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mnde
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Post by mnde »

Hmm, height corrector linkage sticking maybe?

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Aerodynamica
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Post by Aerodynamica »

Hmm, yea strikes me as sludged up height corrector. Or a single bit of shit temporarily blocking the dash pot inside the corrector.

I rebuild these correctors on every new Cit I get and they're always full of shit no matter how well cared for!

The linkage is flexible and so this makes the jammed corrector syndrome worse as it just flexes instead of activating the corrector.
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Post by Aerodynamica »

-maybe an LHM change or Hydroflush?
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Post by mnde »

God yeah, Hydraflush has worked wonders with my GSA.

I know it has better properties as a cleaner rather than a Hydraulic fluid.

But going from being flat on the deck within a few hours... to still having both ends semi-aloft the next morning is a massive improvement, not to mention the general ride.

Graeme, if you weren't so far away I'd ask you if you'd rebuild the correctors on my cars :lol: I must take a closer look at the helpful guide someone posted on here a while back. Are you saying it's still possible that they can have crap in them even after a refill with Hydraflush and copious Citaerobics?

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Tim Leech
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Post by Tim Leech »

My TRS does the same thing sometimes, if i put it up to max then drop it down to normal height it settles down, has only done this since the front corrector was reset due to it sitting to low so I guess now its sticking?
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Post by Aerodynamica »

Are you saying it's still possible that they can have crap in them even after a refill with Hydraflush and copious Citaerobics?
-yes, Hydraflush can't deal with the old LHM that sits in the end-pieces of the correctors as a large relative volume of that sits below the level of the little end-to-end dash-pot and never gets connected to the return circuits. However the bits of grub can occasionally get drawn up to block the dash-pot. Well, this n not to say the Hydraflush doesn't 'get to' it but even if it could break it down, I doubt the particles would be able to get to the return circuit. Even if they could they need to pass through the dash-pot to get there!

It doesn't help that different Citroen models had the corrector orientated differently such that the dash-pot sometimes was at the 9 O clock position and sometimes noon - making the dash pot more prone to gunge on some models only. The BX front is actually about the 2 O clock position due to the corrector mounting being angled.

I'd be happy to overhaul them for you Mark if you were happy to post them? If you're happy to pay postage. And I can do a photographic record of all the bits repaired/overhauled to keep in the car's folder!

Give it some thought - obviously you have to be happy to do the removal of the correctors from the car - sorry is it the BX or GSA? The GSA rear one is easy to remove if a bit fiddly where the pipes are concerned, the G series front is very easy to remove the pipes but the mounting bolts are very hard to remove as they're facing away from you in a 2 fingers-sized space! (you can remove the front one complete with its whole mounting bracket but this necessitates redoing the anti roll bar pre load.)

BX front corrector is easy to reach its mounting bolts and 2 of the pipes but both the bleed return from the dash-pot and the HP supply pipe are tricky but no worse than the GSA rear. The BX rear looks very easy with only the exhaust rear box using up elbow space!

Rebuilding the correctors must only be done after the LHM has been changed!
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1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Cheers for the info guys, i suspect that an overhaul is beyond my mechanical limitations, so i'll just have to put up with it :(
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN

I'm not just a username, i'm also called Matthew.
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Post by Aerodynamica »

I say try the long term hydroflush method!
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MULLEY
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2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

I have got 5litres of some sort of hydraflush stuff, i'll have a look in the garage to confirm exactly what it is. Depending upon what i have, can i add it to the pre-existing LHM, or do i have to remove all the lhm to replace it with the hydraflush fluid?
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN

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Post by Aerodynamica »

You're better to replace the LHM (though even doing so there'll still be about a litre of it that will stay in the pipes) but you can mix them.

Trouble is that it would dilute the hydraflush so that its cleaning effect will be greatly reduced.

Try to change all of the LHM tank contents for the 'flush and run it for a week doing citaerobics every day and it'll start getting to work after that.
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2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

The stuff i have is called hydraurincage, is that the version which i can add to lhm or do i have to run it neat?
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN

I'm not just a username, i'm also called Matthew.
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Post by docchevron »

It's still hydraflush mate, run it neat.
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
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MULLEY
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2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

I thought there were a few different types of hydraflush, some work best neat, others can be added to lhm & some can be run for quite a long period rather than just a few thousand miles? Anybody know anymore detail on this?
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN

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Post by Aerodynamica »

IIRC Hydraflush of any type is the same stuff as LHM without the green dye and with detergents and things added - Some folks say you can leave it in for as long as LHM - but i'd tend to give it a year maximum since it might have dislodged a lot of grime that I'd be keen to get out!
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CX 2400 Pallas LPG
2CV6 dolly (SORNed)
Mk1 Xantia 1.9TD SX

'c'est hydropneumatique'
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