Meanwhile, everyone knows that a normal maintenance Citroën DS, CX, BX, XM or whatever 'hydraulique' is just as reliable and tough as a classic Mercedes diesel.
Only such a Fransoos usually requires more loving care. The BX from photographer Sylvia Scholder - it's her fifth BX - gets that love and care.
And with that love and care is also the occasional cleaning of the hydraulic spring system.
At Citroen specialist Berben in Ulft, they are pragmatic in this: You maintain the system by keeping an eye on the LHM level, and you can keep the muscles of the system supple by having your 'hydraulique' regularly 'gym'. And you do that by dragging the height selection lever a few times through its grid.
But in the long run, such a hydraulic is a bit more difficult to get out of the springs in the morning, the phenomenal spring behavior becomes less. Then so much dirt has accumulated in the system that a kind of hydraulic infarction occurs. Dotting won't help.
What does help is draining the system, by flushing, cleaning the filters and filling the system with a special flushing oil. And that oil may be a blessing for a kilometer or 5.000. Then he can get out and the system receives a fresh dose of LHM
In the meantime, that job has been done with Sylvia's BX, and the faithful 1400 has been reborn.