Replacing Spheres

And it's WD-40 because it was the 40th formulation they tried before getting it right.

/How sad that I remember this sort of crap

A couple of final points of inf required before I venture into the unknown.

My car is a 1996 2.5td.....How many spheres are there. Am I correct in saying that there 2 + 1 anti sink on the back, same on the front plus the accumulator sphere giving a total of 7.

If the anti sink spheres art flat would that affect the ride.

And finally, when removing the anti sink or centre spheres do I use the same procedure i.e loosen them half a turn with the suspension on high before lowering the car or do I carry out the full operation (centre spheres) with the suspension in the low position.

As soon as the blizzards stop I will be making a start. I have e-mailed Pleiades a couple of times regarding a removal tool which Noz said he had but I have not had a reply

I am sure someone will come along that knows more about the 2.5 than me. I'm not sure about the anti sink sphere, but if it does have one the procedure for removing it is very different from the others. The centre suspension spheres are fixed to a bracket so no problem with them turning. And no, the anti sink sphere does not affect the ride. The most important for a soft ride are the centre ones.

Peter.N.

When ordering replacement spheres it's important to get the right ones. The centre spheres, front and back, are the hydractive spheres and as Peter said, are the most important for ride comfort. They have no dampers fitted to them as the damping mechanism is in the valve block into which they are screwed.

The anti sink sphere has no effect on either the ride or the anti sink system, its purpose is to provide an emergency pressure supply to the rear brakes in the event of hydraulic failure. The accumulator serves the same function (plus others) for the front brakes.

The anti sink sphere is tucked away in a most inaccessible position and is not worth bothering about unless you are feeling masochistic.

Derek

This post has been edited by DerekW on February 22, 2008 11:48 pm

I only recall seeing 2 spheres on the back, one on each side. Are you saying that there is a third sphere between these 2 and the same on the front, plus the anti sink. I'll need to get the car up on the ramps and have a look I think

Hi jackyboy,

On your 2.5TD you should find the following spheres:

Regulator sphere - mounted in front of gearbox, behind radiator, below battery box
Front wheel spheres - Engine bay at top of each strut
Front Hydractive sphere - Underneath car, centre of chassis, in gap between two chassis rails.
Rear wheel spheres - end of each rear strut
Rear Hydractive sphere - Bolted to the rear circular crossmember, roughly central behind exhaust, maybe even behind exhaust heat shield if fitted
Rear anti-sink sphere - Mounted on top of nearside chassis leg, behind large bracket, behind last silencer box

Thats 8 in total.

cheers

noz

There is one for each wheel, which you have seen, the centre one is above the exhaust / spare wheel carrier on a bracket fixed to the subframe. If you have an anti sink sphere its around the same area, only not very easy to get at.

Peter.N.

Sorry Noz, you obviously type faster than me.