Old spheres - p****d off!

[kiwi]

A retailer testing a sphere Erm, computer says NO

I got lucky and because of that extra bit of service they get more trade and recomendations from me.

For me what ever way it goes it is either cost of fuel or the cheaper alternative of courier. So even buying new has its drawbacks its a pain in the perverbial ordering something to find it dont work because you still got the Courier cost to pay Not so bad if you know the person the other end will be testing it beforehand. Like I said good customer practice something the world is thin on the ground for these days.

I see where your coming from Mulley regarding recharging and again I got the same problem, it has been more through word of mouth and information gained from this and the aussiefrogs forum I have been able to track down someone who can recharge the spheres.

In someways now having this source has saved a BX from being used as salvage for the other. Sad but true and the info of the recharging has been passed on to a couple other Xantia owners in my area.

Good idea though compiling a public list I know for one in NZ we sorely need this info.

Crosses over a bit to this post as well.

http://bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11528

[rob-81]

Just to update on this, I spoke to AEP direct on Saturday. They were very reluctant (an understament) to replace the 2003 spheres, stating that they'd "sold loads and never had any come back". He did say that they had a 2 year warranty though. I fitted the spheres on Saturday and they weren't as bad as I feared. They were certainly softer than the ones I took off but not as soft as the ones on my estate. When I get the estate back (I've lent it to a friend for a few days), I'll swap them over and see. If the new ones are not as soft as the estate ones, I'll return them and insist on some replacements. I'm disappointed that a company that have a pretty good reputation for supplying parts has not met my expectations but we'll see.... I'm going to tackle the rears next weekend and see what they're like.

[jonathan_dyane]

If the spheres you fitted were original TZD Turbo spec, they should not be as soft as your estate, the TZD Turbo was fitted with the same spheres as the GTI 8 valve to give a more sporting (ie poorer) ride.

At the weekend I fitted some 16 spec spheres to my fathers TXD Turbo, which despite being new old stock still held the correct pressure. They were OE spheres mind...

[rob-81]

Thanks for that Johnathan. I choose 19D spheres for the front of the TZD - I value comfort over a more sporty ride.

My sphere tool arrived this morning. I'll fit the rears at the weekend and then will hopefully have a better idea of the overall ride.

[Aerodynamica]

I've had good experiences with recharging spheres - the CX fronts were recharged 3 years ago and are still soft as a pillow - I believe that they were supplied to the previous owner by Pleiades and hence, must have been recharged before. Given how old and reliable they seem to be I'd say get them recharged instead if you can get it.

I replaced the rear pair with new ones as they were massively underdamped and I believed that they were possibly the wrong spheres for the rear. Also, CX spheres are time consuming to change out

I also had the brake accumulator recharged at the time - I tested it the other day out of curiousity and it's still bang full of pressure.

Recharging winz. And you can (with great care) choose to alter the pressure to change the spring rate (not more than 10% for the BX though!) I took the CX fronts to 80bar instead of 75bar and the effect was immense softness at the front. The higher pressure I suppose also allows it to last a bit longer too.

Your best bet is to find a Citroen indie garage as they're most likely to still have the refilling equipment.

[rob-81]

Thanks Graeme. My local specialist doesn't recharge anymore but the next nearest one does (I think). I guess too, as they are IFHS spheres (and therefore multi diaphram?), they'll be good candidates for succesful recharging. Anyway, I'm determined to get this car riding properly....