2009 broken front spring

Yesterday this site seemed to be down so I proceeded as best I could on my own

I was just driving out of my drive when the nearside front spring collasped the bumper was toaching the floor so I had to remove it to drive the car into the garage! The remains of the spring was sitting on the disc. What a stupid design if that happened on the road through a fast bend just thing what chaos would ensure. There should be a catchment for the spring when it breaks!

Anyway monroe


show how to remove the spring easily. Only it was not easy - I could not get off the round strut out of the hub housing without hammering it down and through the circular hole in the clamp with WD40 around the base of the strut. Haynes suggest a chisel in the gap. I tried prybars but the clamp seems too strong to widen. Some tips here https://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/ci ... oval-tips/. Any tips here would be appreciated because I need to remove the other side this weekend.

While removing the strut the gearbox began to leek. Why did it do that? Have I damaged the shaft seal or did the driveshaft come out slightly? I would have thought they would have been fixed in not pushed though I cannot see any retainer.

Now finally what is the correct spring code for my car it appears to have 1 YELLOW + 2 BLUE markings.

Elsewhere on this site

FRONT SUSPENSION SPRING
REFERENCE 1 GREEN + 2 WHITE
5002LJ

onepound wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:40 am There should be a catchment for the spring when it breaks!

There is but you had to take the car back during the initial recall. It's a two piece cup that clamps around the shock strut. They only applied the recall to very specific cars but the problem was endemic. You can buy the "safety cup", the part number is 5031A4 and 5031A5 (one for left one for right) but in your case it's a bit late.

onepound wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:40 am While removing the strut the gearbox began to leek. Why did it do that? Have I damaged the shaft seal or did the driveshaft come out slightly? I would have thought they would have been fixed in not pushed though I cannot see any retainer.

You have pulled the drive shaft out too far and some oil has escaped. No there is no retainer. Unless the spline has damaged the seal it's unlikely you have done any damage. Wash the area with de-greaser and see if it's still leaking.

onepound wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:40 am Now finally what is the correct spring code for my car it appears to have 1 YELLOW + 2 BLUE markings.

Elsewhere on this site

FRONT SUSPENSION SPRING
REFERENCE 1 GREEN + 2 WHITE
5002LJ

The colour code only means something to the car and spring manufacturer. If you are not going to buy the spring from Citroen, then there is no guarantee the spring rate is the same as the OEM. It is also possible that the other spring will fail. The best way to guarantee a consistent rate between the left and right side and you are not going to buy OEM, is to buy two of the same springs at the same time.

Ozvtr Thank you for the information.

Ozvtr wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:39 pm

onepound wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:40 am There should be a catchment for the spring when it breaks!

There is but you had to take the car back during the initial recall. It's a two piece cup that clamps around the shock strut. They only applied the recall to very specific cars but the problem was endemic. You can buy the "safety cup", the part number is 5031A4 and 5031A5 (one for left one for right) but in your case it's a bit late.

https://peugeotcitroendsparts.com/produ ... 031a4.html £56 yikes!!!!! maybe cheaper elswhere - I dought Citroen would be nice enough to give me a pair.

You have pulled the drive shaft out too far and some oil has escaped. No there is no retainer. Unless the spline has damaged the seal it's unlikely you have done any damage. Wash the area with de-greaser and see if it's still leaking.

okay I will check that.

The colour code only means something to the car and spring manufacturer. If you are not going to buy the spring from Citroen, then there is no guarantee the spring rate is the same as the OEM. It is also possible that the other spring will fail. The best way to guarantee a consistent rate between the left and right side and you are not going to buy OEM, is to buy two of the same springs at the same time.

Yes I'll definitely change both though the spring failure might be due to the previous driver hitting a curb or something as far as I can tell from damage to the tire wall when I changed them a month ago. I've already changed both the rear springs - nearside spring had broke on the rear and now front same side.

Its just at autodoc there is a selection of spring codes so if I knew which on fitted my car it would be good. Unfortunately my version of sedre only works with XP which I have not got!

You should always replace springs in pairs. Having two springs with different characteristics may badly affect the car's handling.