Xantia V6 steering pipes.

[almostfrench]

G'Day folks,
I'm chasing the short metal pipes that go from the pinion to the ram on a Xantia V6 steering rack.
The part number is 95668996.
One of mine is leaking.
As far as I can tell, they are a conventional flared end like ordinary cars brakes.
Thanks in advance,
Chris

 

[Ken W]

You will have to find a wreck that you can salvage some from. Have you replaced the bushes on the power steering ram? These wear out and flex the pipes until they split!

Cheers Ken

 

[almostfrench]

You will have to find a wreck that you can salvage some from. Have you replaced the bushes on the power steering ram? These wear out and flex the pipes until they split!

Cheers Ken

Thanks Ken!
I figured that a local hydraulic specialist should be able to make some new ones to pattern.
I'm demonstrating my ignorance now by asking which bushes are we talking about here?
Are these internal in the ram, or the bushes that support the ram in the car?
It's SO hard to see what's going on in there.
The chaps working on my car are more familiar with Peugeots rather than Citroens.
Is the setup pretty much the same as a Peugeot 405/406, with only the source of high pressure oil being different?
I have attached a pic of the leak. The right hand one is the culprit!

 

[Ken W]

When the pipe or pipes crack, they usually leak as a gusher and you can lose a lot of LHM very quickly. Was yours doing that?

Those unions have to be done up very tight to seal well. If if is just a weep from the pinion valve, they might be able to loosen it then tighten if back up tight to get a better metal to metal seal. I find I have to use a pipe spanner or a crows foot adaptor to be able to get enough torque onto them without danger of rounding the hex.

You can tell if the bushes that hold the power steering ram onto the steering rack are worn by getting someone to move the steering wheel with the engine on and seeing if there is any movement of the ram on the bush at the end where the pipes attach.

I have just managed to replace the bushes on my 16V Xantia with the rack in situ, but in the Activa that has all the hydractive kit up near the rack, I had to take the rack out of the car to be able to get the large torx bolt out that hold the ram to the steering rack so the bush can be replaced. You need to use some sort of loctite on that bolt so it won't come undone all by itself later.

Cheers, Ken