LHM Cleaner???

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:08 pm

Saw this on trademe

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 12.htm?p=2

Your citroen's hydraulic fluid, LHM, resembles an intense 'neon' green.

The dish in the foreground shows old and contaminated LHM extracted form a recently purchased Citroen CX. Another picture shows the corrosion it caused to this car's hydraulic reservoir.

During the course of time your Citroen's hydraulic system gets contaminated with gunge, minute particles of metal, water, rubber........, LHM eventually looses its effect as a lubricant and mechanical components such as valves, pumps, etc. wear out before time.

Citroen recommends the use of 'Total' Hydraurincage to clean your car's entire hydraulic systems of accumulated dirt and deposits. It may be used full strength for full effect, or mixed with LHM already in your car.
It can be left in the system for as long as 5,000 km before it needs to be drained and replaced with fresh LHM.

Remember to change the LHM every 30,000 km! I can list 2L quantities of Hydraurincage but fluid will be in 'plain' containers

So erm anyone heard or used this stuff before?

ellevie · Post by **ellevie** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:57 pm

Variously known as Hydroclean, Hydroflush, Hydraflush, Hydrorincage, and Hydraurincage.

Widely available in UK eg from GSF p/n N98106 @ £14.90 + vat for 5 liters.

I tried it but can't say for sure if it made much of a difference.

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:54 pm

I think the drink looks like something that would appeal to David Rutherford...

DLM · Post by **DLM** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:54 pm

I'll vouch for that comment - hydraflush cleared up the horrible steering on a car I work on, but made absolutely no difference to its sloth-like rising at the front (almost certainly shagged pump and probably struts too). One of the world's slowest risers after refilling too.

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:02 pm

That glass looks like it has a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster in it

(Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.. )

Seriously, I use it and recommend it, not the drink but Hydraflush.

In France, it seems, there is a product called Hydranet 2000 that is a cleaner that mixes in with the old LHM to do much the same job. It appears to be similar to paraffin...

DLM · Post by **DLM** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:58 pm

It appears to be similar to paraffin...

Like a lot of cleaners, flushers and additives that are more expensive than they need to be. Though of course, 5l of Hydraurincage/Hydroflush comes out cheaper than LHM ...

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:21 pm

DLM wrote: Like a lot of cleaners, flushers and additives that are more expensive than they need to be. Though of course, 5l of Hydraurincage/Hydroflush comes out cheaper than LHM ...

Yes, I noticed that last time I bought a 5L can from GSF..

Some are now advocating running lightly used hydraulic Citroens on Hydraflush all the time.

This is a rather long but absorbing thread on Club-XM all about Hydranet 2000 and the permanant use of Hydraflush in place of LHM. Give yourself about an hour to read it all

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:41 pm

Permanent? Is that wise?

I am registered on CXM but don't go over there much... any chance of a summary?

Post by **docchevron** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:55 am

Summary:

If you use the car once a year, to go to the MoT station and back, hydraflush is fine to keep in it.

If you use the car alot, it's a bad idea.

The End.

ellevie · Post by **ellevie** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:49 pm

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 9:42 pm

stuart_hedges wrote: any chance of a summary?

Basically, Hydranet 2000 is a cleaner you add to the old, dirty LHM before you change it. The suggestion is around 100mL. You run it for a while with that in the reservoir and then drain, clean the filters and refill with fresh LHM. So really you are doing the same as you would with Hydraflush but it's quicker. I guess this appeals to the garages as they don't have to call you back in a thousand miles to drain the Hydraflush and refill with LHM. It'll be cheaper for the customer too.

Some XM folk claim it has wonderous properties and makes the whole suspension softer, particularly those with Hydractive XMs. they also go into the benefilts of flushing with hot Hydraflush..

A sub-thread also spoke of some garages mixing petrol or diesel with the LHM to achieve the same result as with Hydranet 2000.

I agree with you Doc about leaving Hydraflush in on a permanant basis. It is advised to leave it in for no longer than say, two thousand miles and obviously there is a bloody good reason why. After all, you'd not run your engine on flushing oil on a permanant basis and I think the same argument applies to Hydraflush. It's formulated to do a specific job and that's not to use as a substitute LHM for the next 36,000 miles.

My final comment is that Hydraflush certainly got my Activa working well hydraulically after neglected LHM changes and filters that looked like they were wearing fur coats. Previously very sluggish to rise and fall, it's now normal but results were not instant.

Charlotte · Post by **Charlotte** » Sat May 03, 2008 11:02 am

Hydraurincage is excellent stuff, and has solved many a problem here at Medway Citroen.

But the clue is in the title - rincage. It's a rinse though. If old ladies left their blue rinse gunge in their hair permanently they wouldn't have hair (or a scalp) for long. Same sort of thing, you don't leave shampoo in your hair, or toothpaste in your mouth, or kettle de-scaler in your kettle.

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Wed May 07, 2008 6:59 pm

Charlotte wrote:Hydraurincage is excellent stuff, and has solved many a problem here at Medway Citroen.

But the clue is in the title - rincage. It's a rinse though.

Do you achieve that by draining and refilling just the reservoir or by bleeding it through all the lines too?

Charlotte · Post by **Charlotte** » Fri May 09, 2008 1:22 pm

This is going to sound horribly un-tech, because I am horribly un-tech...!

Well, we pull off a pipe (not just any pipe, a particular one, but I don't know it's name) and run the car so all the LHM is drained, then re-fill the res with Rincage (putting the pipe back, obviously) and run the car for 1000 miles, then the customer brings back the car and we reverse the process. It gets rid of blockages and stuff, I can only really describe this in Charlotte speak - it keeps BXs happy

Phil and Remy always stress "no more than 1000 miles!!!!" and never to run it exclusively on rincage - it completely knackers it. Technical term, that. I don't know what it does, but Phil usually has horror story items to show me when I ask these sort of questions, so I will ask tomorrow when I'm at work and if there is some kind of mutated BX part that he shows me, government health warning style, I'll take a pic and post it

EDIT: Can anyone see a sad face in the nasty LHM bowl? Or is it just me?