Xantia strut mounts

forumnoreason

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About 3/4 years ago I became aware of the front strut mount issue in series 1 cars, the delamination of the mount rubber from casing and subsequent tearing through bonnet. I replaced mine with Elastomer mounts from Lithuania. Changing a tyre this morning luckily with the bonnet up I noticed the mount flapping around. Holymoly, it had done the self destruction trick. I now am completely skeptical about this product as I cannot understand how it could fail so dramatically. So tomorrow the old one is going back on if I have time to sort it.
 
Ouch! That is really disappointing, as there doesn't seem to be much alternative for most of us.

My Series I turbo CT went off the road some years ago when it failed rego due to a failed strut top. Luckily it was modern type so didn't bend the bonnet. It had also just blown the head gasket (almost no compression in cylinders 2 & 3), so it got parked. Rats have now chewed wiring etc...
 
About 3/4 years ago I became aware of the front strut mount issue in series 1 cars, the delamination of the mount rubber from casing and subsequent tearing through bonnet. I replaced mine with Elastomer mounts from Lithuania. Changing a tyre this morning luckily with the bonnet up I noticed the mount flapping around. Holymoly, it had done the self destruction trick. I now am completely skeptical about this product as I cannot understand how it could fail so dramatically. So tomorrow the old one is going back on if I have time to sort it.
Not good news "forumnoreason", if you recall, I too got 2 replacement McPherson top mounts from that guy.for my XM.
John
 
it might be a case of not having sufficient material in the bump stops in place ( as they disintegrate) or (as well...) Australian temperatures just cooking them. bit of both or they're a joke.
 
Years ago, I had one go through the bonnet, while I was parked, about 5 minutes after a long drive.
I cobbled a repair to get it home.....
To fix it, I took it out, reassembled the fractured rubber with shoe glue, then welded a ring into the top retainer so the rubber was pushing onto it and couldn't go through.
It worked fine for several years.

Yeah I know, it's a rough bush fix, but hey it worked.

I was and remain astounded at the stupidity of the design that relied solely on the rubber in shear. I hope someone at Citroen got tortured long and slow over that.

It's amazing how we still see really stupid design get through into mass products from big long established companies that should know better.
 
Years ago, I had one go through the bonnet, while I was parked, about 5 minutes after a long drive.
I cobbled a repair to get it home.....
To fix it, I took it out, reassembled the fractured rubber with shoe glue, then welded a ring into the top retainer so the rubber was pushing onto it and couldn't go through.
It worked fine for several years.

Yeah I know, it's a rough bush fix, but hey it worked.

I was and remain astounded at the stupidity of the design that relied solely on the rubber in shear. I hope someone at Citroen got tortured long and slow over that.

It's amazing how we still see really stupid design get through into mass products from big long established companies that should know better.
Bob, don't you mean someone at Peugeot. Citroens aint Citroens anymore!
 
There are two reasons why I don't own an Xantia more. The front strut issue and the fact you have to check and gas the rear spheres every two years, whether you think they need it or not. Both will let you down when you least expect it.
 
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1381839672182576&set=pcb.5287474881326858

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1381839592182584&set=pcb.5287474881326858

It really is unforgiveable that such a design could even be permitted. These pics show the problem didn't stop with Xantias .....

Certainly affects XMs. I might add that the poms on FCF are very enthusiastic about Elastomer for Xantia and Xm strut tops - they really do seem to be the only game in town, and are contributing to keeping significant numbers of these cars on the road.

I really hope that forumnoreason's problem is a one-off, and not an indicator of problems to come. OTOH - I am awe-struck at Bob's quick fix. Who knew that shoe glue was such good stuff!!

BTW - couldn't access the facebook stuff - just says "Sorry, this content isn't available at this time".
 
The shoe glue wasn't to take the load.
It was to stop the fractured rubber from collapsing into smaller bits.
The load went onto the new ring in compression instead of shear.
 
Lucky for us later Xantia owners that Citroen eventually saw the error of their ways and redesigned the mounts to 'fail-safe' design !

For reference, I've done about 250 km in 5 different Xantias, build dates ranging from Jan. '97 to Jan '99, all with the later design mounts......without failure. I've also always kept my front spheres in good order.
 
my car is 97 so even though its Series 1 it has the improved mounts, so I actually bought relacement mounts to replace mounts that didn't need replacing and the replacement mounts are possibly worse than the mounts they were replacing. Ha!
 
Don't be fooled! The later ones fail - one of mine went at about 210,000 km and 15 years old. The design change doesn't stop the rubber cracking etc. - just protects the bonnet.
 
G'day Alec, have you nutted out what the most significant contributing factors etc. are that lead to the later 'fail-safe' design mounts still tearing at the flexible member?

Ideas I've come up with so far (but not necessarily in order of significance) are these factors:

1. Age in years ? ;
2. Age in km ? ;
3. Frequent/prolonged exposure to climatic extremes (hot/cold) ? ;
4. Frequent/prolonged exposure to extra high under bonnet temps ? ;
5. Frequent/prolonged exposure to high shock forces when driving on stuffed front spheres ? ;
6. Frequent/prolonged exposure to sustained unevenly distributed twisting-stretching forces as would be imparted if the car is parked with the front wheels left on a significant steering angle ?

I think we can all agree that the design of the mounts left a lot to be desired in terms of their longevity. I suppose though, as when using any design, a good understanding of it's usage limitations has gotta be a huge part of getting the best out of it. It's just a bit of a guessing game as to what those limitations are isn't it !

Maybe Citroen could've dedicated a page in the owner's manual to this.....that most of us either wouldn't have followed or not even read in the first place !
 
I'd go with a lump of rubber being twisted back and forth for a long time under intense stress in heat and cold finally tearing because it was a shit idea to begin with.
 
A shit idea that is an integral part of the design that makes the Xantia one of, if not THE best overall driving hydropneumatic Citroens ever.

Perhaps actually a great idea, that could've benefited from some better decisions made in the design and manufacturing processes.
 
Faulty Design !
Manufacturing department just followed the design provided to it.
A good design is manufacturable by the intended processes, equipment, materials and workforce.
Any potential manufacturing difficulties must be anticipated and a good design will tolerate some manufacturing variation.
No...... it's just bad design, which should have been picked up by the design review panel, or prototype testing.
Can't really blame the designer without knowing what constraints were placed on him at the time. Responsibility rests with the team management that failed to see it.
 
It's not really faulty design or manufacture. It does create an inconvenient problem in old age, but these cars (Xantia, XM) were not intended to have a service life of 20+ years and beyond. By and large, these parts made it through the intended service life of the vehicle and upgraded parts were made available to address an original deficiency. I have one NOS XM strut mount and that was available up to the late 2010's, a period that exceeds even the legal obligation to provide parts in AU. I wish it was a different design and easier to address, but if I choose to own an XM or Xantia this far out from manufacture, that's a cross I have to bear. By rights. my XMs should have been recycled by now, just like my Xantia.
For the Xantia, you can buy aftermarket mounts by the Italian outfit Birth. Check eBay.
 
aha. Now how about a top radiator hose for an aircon rhd CT turbo? Where can I lay hands on that part?
 
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