Diravi Issue

Hi

A friend of mine disassemblied his (92 V6 auto) DIRAVI, and after replacing o'rings for the rack only, he didn't service the hidraulic system, he reassembly everything and the steering after engine starts, goes all the way left, beeing impossible to steer by hand. Can you help him? Is there any difference between S1 and S2?

thanks
Caique

Hi Caique,

When you say he disassembled the DIRAVI do you mean the steering column inside the car or the steering rack in the engine bay?

If he dismantled the steering column then you must be very careful when you reassemble it. The cogs (toothed wheels) on the DIRAVI mechanism must be aligned properly. To do this, insert a welding rod (long thin piece of circular steel 4mm in diameter) through the little hole in the aluminium casing closest to the steering wheel. As you push the welding rod downwards rotate each cog until the hole in the cog lines up with the welding rod and keep pushing through. Continue this procedure until all of the holes on the cogs are lined up and the welding rod passes through the holes all the way to the bottom. Fit the bottom casing whilst the rod is still in place. Once the DIRAVI mechanism is fully assembled the remove the welding rod by pulling it all the way out. Plug the hole in the casing with the little rubber bung.

Now point the car wheels straight ahead. Slide the DIRAVI unit over the splines on the stub shaft which sticks through the bulkhead. Now connect up all the hydraulic pipes (if they were disconnected before).

If the car pulls slightly to the left or right the fine adjustment is carried out on the part of the steering column shaft accessible through the wheel arch. Slacken the 13mm bolt on the joint between the upper and lower shafts. Turn the steering wheel through 180deg to gain access to the opposite bolt. now turn the to phalf of the shaft relaive to the bottom half. The direction depends on which direction the car was pulling in. Retighten the bolts.

Job done.

Please let us know how you get on.

Cheers

noz

Hi Noz

Very good info about the column, but the problem is the rack, the hydraulic piston that moves the wheels, you can see in the second picture, named 1(A )2(B ): http://cxportugal.planetaclix.pt/mecanica/diravi/diravi.htm
the chamber 1(A ) is fully extended and 2(B ) retracted, rang Martin and he (very kind) explained that it can be a non centered rack/pinion. Lets wait for the end of this history.
By the way this friend offered me one non working DIRAVI, and I'm concerned to refurbish it, how much can cost? whats the average skills needed? Martin (Pleiades) told about 250$.

cheers

Caique

This post has been edited by cmacedo on March 17, 2009 12:57 pm

Hi Caique,

If your friend only repaired the rack itself but did not touch the Diravi unit then the problem must be at the rack.

There are two hydraulic connections to the rack. Could it be possible that he connected them round the wrong way? This would cause the symptoms you describe.

cheers

noz

Norrie

he changed positions of the pipes, just to make sure and exploded a rear cilinder pipe(didnt see yet) , will tell more later.
Is possible to remove the rack from the car without removing the engine?
If working only on the rack I think its possible!?!?

Caique

If I may comment on this. Yes, the rack can be removed without taking out the engine. I know as I have been there But you have to lower the sub frame. It's quite labour intensive.

Hi Jan

Can you explain how to do? there are lots of pipes in the way, any help appreciated.
cheers
Caique

How's Japan now a days?

I am sorry for creating the impression I have done the job myself.　I was there when my dealer did the work on my 1995 XM Exclusive, but that was about 8 years ago.
Of course a myriad of pipes need to be disconnected. Sorry that I can't be more specific.

As you may already know, Japan has been hard hit by the world wide economic crisis. Many people have been laid off and have a tough time making ends meet. But the Nikkei index has been gradually rising the past couple of days and there is hope.
The weather is lovely and the cherry blossoms will bloom soon

This post has been edited by Jan-hendrik on March 20, 2009 12:45 am

Caique,

broyty here may have some information for you:
http://club-xm.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2942&st=10

Hi Caique i will post the removal procedure in the self help section for you
cheers

Mick

This post has been edited by broyty on March 20, 2009 10:36 pm

Mick

thanks!!!
next step is to buy a rebuild kit, still available at dealer? where to buy?

Caique

I don't want to discourage you and your friend in your attempts to rebuild the steering rack, but this may turn out to be a hell of a job. When the rack on my previous XM I mentioned earlier sprang a leak, the dealer, backed by Citroen Japan, said they had no way to rebuild it and the only alternative was to replace it. Reason being that the diravi is a precision instrument manufactured to very tight tolerances and that any malfunction involves testing with special instruments and necessitates special set up calibers and tools provided by Citroen only. Service personnel in this part of the world were not provided with training and equipment to do this work as it would not be cost efficient. Overhauling this steering rack doesn't look like a job for the back yard mechanic, but if you have nothing to lose - well, what the hell

I see no mention of a rebuild kit available from Citroen but a replacement steering rack appears to be still available - at a price - of 1192.84 GBP plus usual VAT or whatever. I presume that the local price will be at about the same figure (perhaps more in Israel or any other places which charge huge import duties and taxes)