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Tue 11 Dec 2001 15:05

Citroen rear suspension arms - Andrew

At 137,000 miles I had my radius arms repaired with bearing kits etc -price £160. 20,000 miles on I'm told they need repair or replacing again! How many miles could I have reasonably expected the repair to last under normal load usage? What should I now expect to pay if the parts are less ie GSF charge £21 + VAT for a kit.

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Tue 11 Dec 2001 15:57

Re: Citroen rear suspension arms - David W

Andrew,

I wonder if this was the first set of replacement bearings fitted? 137,000 miles is quite good. They seem to fail at anything over 80,000 miles/10yrs old.

There is absolutely no reason for the new bearings to last a much shorter period than the original set. If they really have failed again in 20,000 miles either they were poorly fitted, poorly lubricated or the seals were not effective.

We have one pair of arms that were fitted with new bearings when on a GTi hatch and then covered 14,000 miles. We then moved them onto a TZD estate for a further 12,000 miles and they are just about to go onto another TZD and I expect them to outlast the use of that car. A decent pair of rear arms is worth more than a whole car!

Why do you think the bearings have failed again?

If you bought the bearing sets I guess a fair charge to replace them might be £100 or so.

David W
BX Section
Citroen Car Club

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Tue 11 Dec 2001 17:02

Re: Citroen rear suspension arms - Andrew

The history is not too clear cut! I remember creaking sounds on the left arm round the 100,000 mile log. For some time I used to spray WD40 onto the swivel points and that stopped the creaking. Around 110,000 a "friend" replaced the original arms with a set from a scrapyard. These were quiet until February 2000. The WD40 kept things quiet again until, in May 2000, I decided to have a refurb job done at 135,000 miles. The engineer who sleeved and inserted new bearings said the arms were "rough" but generally "they usually are". Today I went to see him and he was astonished that the arms were noisy. (Incidentally the sound this time isn't a creak, it is a cracking sound like something catching and then forcing its way round an obstacle as the car is bounced.). He has undertaken to replace them at a market figure but believes the arms may have worn too far for a further kit - in fact he is blaming the wear of the arms for letting water in at such a short mileage interval. I have offered to let him see the original arms which I have kept to see if they can be refurbished.

As you may know, Ive just had the cylinder head done at £350 so this is an extra blow. (Different engineer) And the reason the coolant kept going down after that repair - one of the jubilee clips on the short hose above the clutch casing hadn't been tightened! - So much for relying only on pressure testing the cooling system!

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Tue 11 Dec 2001 21:50

Re: Citroen rear suspension arms - David Woollard

Andrew,

It is true a badly worn arm can have the bearing housing damaged allowing water ingress to the new bearing. If so shame you weren't given the option to discuss this at the time of first repair.

The ultimate answer is a complete exchange arm from Pleaides (01487 831239) in Cambridgeshire. They machine the damage from the arms and fit inserts prior to the new bearings.

Thing is their arms are about £150 a side and you need to add a new wheel bearing to that as well because they come without. To fit a couple of their arms, w/bearings and labour will take you over the value of most BXs. But it is the ultimate quality answer if you have the cash.

David

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