C2 struts

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Hi Guys,

has anyone had a C2 strut apart before. This one has been knocking over large/sharp bumps since we got it .... Everything is tight as a drum and I can't find anything loosen/broken anywhere. I noticed last week when it was backed out of the shed, it was groaning from the front corner ..... Hmm..... Strut mounts? Do the struts "fall" through the bonnet on these like Xm's and Xantias?

I figured I might be able see the condition of the strut mount if I whipped the nut and big washer off...... You can "just" get to it with a 21mm open end spanner (luckily its not tight).

strut1.jpg


Once you have this off .... there is then an "impossible" to get to 19mm nut .... A claw foot socket might do it (I never needed one of them before). Infact I don't own any tool that could get to this.

strut4.jpg


anyone owning cheap crappy tools means you don't mind, er, "slightly" modifying them.

strut2.jpg


strut3.jpg


This isn't great .... but surely that's not the cause of the noise ? Does anyone have an exploded diagram of what is contained in these struts? This thing is tight as a drum checking it in everyway I can think of.

seeya
Shane L.
 
If it is tight at the bottom, knocks are either the drop links or the top bearing (usually passenger's side). It's like the DS3 but with a less stiff set up. Watch what you are doing or you'll spoil the camber off set. I have the DS3 and C3 sheets somewhere and I'll have a look.
 
Here we are - top bearing is shown at https://catalogs.ssg.asia/citroen/?...SSU5HIEZST05UIFRPUlNJT04gQkFSfHxzdXBwbGllcj09

To do the job, you'll need something to prise apart the gap in the hub that holds the strut, and a set of spring compressors. The whole strut is removed and then disassembled to replace the ball bearing, which can get dirty. If the dirt abrades enough the bearing has side play and knocks.

I'll PM some more when I find it.
 
bearing ..... hmmm.... that's one odd looking bearing. I'm sure it makes sense when you have it apart. I'm guessing you can't check for side play in the bearing as it always has the springs compression force against it.

Sounds like fun. I don't even own a spring compressor. All of my cars have always had proper suspension :)

Oh this is the drivers side .... .that usually doesn't wear.... and the strut has about 65,000kms on it. strange :)
 
It's a thin ball-end thrust bearing, and takes the spring pressure and allows free turning to steer. Item 9 in the pic. The other bits are probably OK.
 
The official mechanics handbook -
 

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excellent. I'll need to order in strut mounts and bearings. I'll need to do that over the next few months. It looks like the suspension can't "fall" through the bonnet looking at that exploded diagram, so its safe in the meantime :)
 
No, it won't blast upward. Drop links are cheap, wear out, and are hard to test. Start by changing the one on the offending side. Usual suppliers.
 
seasink said:
No, it won't blast upward. Drop links are cheap, wear out, and are hard to test. Start by changing the one on the offending side. Usual suppliers.
Click to expand...

I'll unbolt and remove that droplink and see if hte noise goes away before i start buying parts :) I noticed the plastic rivets that hold the plastic inner wheel well in don't pull down tight. Its possible the plastic liner rubs and makes creaking noises... :confused:
 
There's a video at

He's changing the strut only. In real life do the bearing as well after all that trouble. It's the thin dirty thing in the video.

To watch--
1. The strut is held in the hub by friction. The grip is released by spreading the split at the the back.
2. Restrain the drive shaft so you don't lose your diff fluid.
3. Note refitting the spring and stuff on top of the shocker.
3. The method to retain camber at the top cap.
 
Here is a post I did on the C3 site.


The usual suspect is the bush in the center of the rubber shock mount. It breaks free of the rubber and the whole assembly can move up and down (a little bit). It cant fall out because of the retaining cup on top, but it does bang when you go over bumps.
An easy way to check is to grab the top retaining cup (#2 in that parts web site diagram), while the wheels are on the ground and try and turn the cup. If you can turn the cup, at all, the bush has broken away from the rubber mount. Have a look at my tutorial.
Use Seasink's parts web site link as a breakdown guide, the hand book is a bit misleading.
Part #6 (suspension stop) stops the shock shaft from spearing through the bonnet if the bush were to separate from the mount! There is a shoulder below the thread of the shock shaft that the stop engages onto.
Be warned that there are (well, were, when the C2 Club site existed) pictures of the shock shaft puncturing the bonnet because this cup was missing! Aftermarket shocks had been incorrectly installed! They didn't realize that said part needed to be "recycled".
Warning: as it says in my post and that parts web site, there are 2 types of mounts. There are locating pegs embedded in the mounts and they are in different positions!! One type for the early model cars and one type for the late model cars. As it says in the parts web site, note your RPO number and order accordingly. There are NO left or right hand mounts, they are the same mount for both sides.
At the 4:20 mark of that video you can see that this car is a post RPO10157 vehicle! The pin that the guy points to is off-set.

The ONLY part of the suspension geometry (front or rear) that is adjustable is toe in for the front! Despite the fact that there are other holes in the fender and you can put the pins of the suspension mount around 2 ways, the pins go to the OUTSIDE only!!
You can get the suspension geometry checked, but there is nothing that you can do about it if it's out!!

The video; there is no need to remove the knuckle from the shock absorber if you are just replacing the shock mount. However getting the entire shock assembly out is difficult if you don't remove the knuckle (the whole assembly is too long), BUT it can be done. Have a look at my tutorial. I removed the knuckle from the ball joint and levered the lower arm down.

Note; the drop links will not come off if you have one wheel on the ground and the opposite wheel in the air. I.E. only one side jacked up. The sway bar will be twisted and there will be tension on the drop links. Jack and stand both sides of the car off the ground at the same time.
 
that's amazing. Thanks for the detailed reply. When I get a chance I'll whip the droplink out and go for a drive .... if the noise is still there I'll move onto the strut.
 
That means driving with no sway bar. Not nice. I'd just replace the link, on the ground that they don't last forever anyway and they aren't expensive from aftermarket suppliers. If it turns out to be good keep it as a spare.
 
seasink said:
That means driving with no sway bar. Not nice. I'd just replace the link, on the ground that they don't last forever anyway and they aren't expensive from aftermarket suppliers. If it turns out to be good keep it as a spare.
Click to expand...
I only need to drive down any local road ... they are so full of pot holes I would know instantly if that is the issue
 
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You'll be able to tell if the ball joints on the drop links are worn by either disconnecting one of the joints and/or "jiggling" the link.
Give the retaining cup on the top of the shock above the fender a twist! If you can twist it, the shock mount will need to be replaced irrespective of the condition of the drop links.
 
I thought that once. I have a couple of old links here (one from a DS3 and one from a C5) whose replacement cured knocks, but I can't fault them by any kind of movement, either on the car or in a vise.
 
Pictures of the two I replaced on a C2. It had a nasty knock from the drivers side.
 

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wow thanks for the clear piccie that explains easily how it works. Did they rotate smoothly and exhibit no other symptoms? These struts have only done 65,000kms ... so hopefully they are still like new!
 
Depending on how much dirt and dust has got up there, 65k might be a good lifetime. I changed one of mine at 50k.
 
The bearings aren't supposed to come apart like that...but they do. There is very little holding them together. A very small lip of rubber. Most of the time you can wash the bearing out, re-grease it, put it back together and they run just fine.
There are three components there. The strut mount, the bearing and the spring cup. The bearing breaks down into the upper and lower races the rubber cage and the balls (although, as I said, it's not supposed to come apart).
Check the spring cup for excessive herniation of the rubber from the spring or if the rubber is split.
Again, this car is a late Mk1 (2005) or a Mk2 (2005 or later) as the locating pin in the strut mount is off-set.
 
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