Hi all
could a reasonably competent diy owner change the spheres on the rear of a Xantia 2.1 td. Ride is very harsh, car sinks at the rear on starting then rises to normal. I would be working under the car using ramps and was wondering of potential pitfalls, such as is the system under pressure, and are the spheres easy to get off.
very grateful for any help
charlie
2.1 td Xantia spheres
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Kowalski
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Changing Xantia spheres is well within the abilities of any DIYer, all you need are the correct tools. The most difficult part of changing spheres is usually loosening them, there are special tools available to unscrew them but a chain wrench will do the job (a strap wrench is usually not up to it) but if you don't have either a chain wrench or a special tool, a hammer and chisel will shift even the hardest to shift spheres.
1: Drive the rear wheels of the car onto your ramps and set the suspension to its highest setting.
2: Loosen the rear spheres by NO MORE THAN a quarter of a turn.
3: Lower the suspension to its lowest setting, and depressurise the hydraulics. On the pressure regulator (the object that the sphere on the front of the engine screws into) there is a 12mm nut that must be slackened by a couple of turns but NOT removed (with the engine stopped).
4: Unscrew the sphere and remove, remove the original 'O' ring.
5: Put the new 'O' ring into it's seat in the hydraulic unit (it's better to do it that way than to put it on the sphere) and screw the new sphere into place, only tighten it hand tight.
6: Tighten the nut on the pressure regulator, start the engine, raise the suspension and check for leaks.
7: Bleed the system by raising the suspension to its full height and back down to its lowest setting several times.
8: Top up your LHM level if required.
1: Drive the rear wheels of the car onto your ramps and set the suspension to its highest setting.
2: Loosen the rear spheres by NO MORE THAN a quarter of a turn.
3: Lower the suspension to its lowest setting, and depressurise the hydraulics. On the pressure regulator (the object that the sphere on the front of the engine screws into) there is a 12mm nut that must be slackened by a couple of turns but NOT removed (with the engine stopped).
4: Unscrew the sphere and remove, remove the original 'O' ring.
5: Put the new 'O' ring into it's seat in the hydraulic unit (it's better to do it that way than to put it on the sphere) and screw the new sphere into place, only tighten it hand tight.
6: Tighten the nut on the pressure regulator, start the engine, raise the suspension and check for leaks.
7: Bleed the system by raising the suspension to its full height and back down to its lowest setting several times.
8: Top up your LHM level if required.
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RichardW
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"3: Lower the suspension to its lowest setting, and depressurise the hydraulics. On the pressure regulator (the object that the sphere on the front of the engine screws into) there is a 12mm nut that must be slackened by a couple of turns but NOT removed (with the engine stopped)."
As it's a 2.1 it will be post 95 and therefore antisink, hence you must complete this operation with the engine <i>running</i>. Might be a challenge with a 2.1, as access to the bolt is hardly likely to be good!
When undoing the anti-sink sphere note that there is a pipe screwed into the back of it which must be undone first, and for which you'll need a pipe seal, rather than a normal sphere seal.
If the car is hydractive there will be 4 spheres in total to tackle.
As it's a 2.1 it will be post 95 and therefore antisink, hence you must complete this operation with the engine <i>running</i>. Might be a challenge with a 2.1, as access to the bolt is hardly likely to be good!
When undoing the anti-sink sphere note that there is a pipe screwed into the back of it which must be undone first, and for which you'll need a pipe seal, rather than a normal sphere seal.
If the car is hydractive there will be 4 spheres in total to tackle.
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stevecritchlow
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A few points from experience of changing mine. Firstly be careful going under the car to work on hydraulics, as it can drop low very quickly. If you have access to a pit this is by far the best option, otherwise make sure you use a good pair of axle stands.
Some people, citroen included, tell you to crack the shere off 1/4 turn under pressure. this to my mind, is very dangerous, and when i changed mine I found no need to do this. the fist job is to spray all the narrow hydrtaulic supply hose fittings to the sphere liberally with WD40. While your under there take a minute to clean and spary the height corrector and check the plastic linkage to it which often breaks. Next depressurise by lowering the suspension to its lowest point and then lossening the hydraulic bleed at the front of the car. Although the pressure drops quite quickly, my advice is to wait five minutes at this stage as there can still be enough pressure in the system to give you a face full.
After theat, make sure the first thing you do is remove the hydraulic supply pipe, if you forget before turning the sphere you'll find these break very easily. Then turn the sphere off using an ouil strap, or a good pair of mole grips around the knob on the end of the sphere.
Easy really, but take your time and wear googles!
Some people, citroen included, tell you to crack the shere off 1/4 turn under pressure. this to my mind, is very dangerous, and when i changed mine I found no need to do this. the fist job is to spray all the narrow hydrtaulic supply hose fittings to the sphere liberally with WD40. While your under there take a minute to clean and spary the height corrector and check the plastic linkage to it which often breaks. Next depressurise by lowering the suspension to its lowest point and then lossening the hydraulic bleed at the front of the car. Although the pressure drops quite quickly, my advice is to wait five minutes at this stage as there can still be enough pressure in the system to give you a face full.
After theat, make sure the first thing you do is remove the hydraulic supply pipe, if you forget before turning the sphere you'll find these break very easily. Then turn the sphere off using an ouil strap, or a good pair of mole grips around the knob on the end of the sphere.
Easy really, but take your time and wear googles!
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by stevecritchlow</i>
Next depressurise by lowering the suspension to its lowest point and then lossening the hydraulic bleed at the front of the car. Although the pressure drops quite quickly, my advice is to wait five minutes at this stage as there can still be enough pressure in the system to give you a face full.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I'd go one step further than that - on a model with anti-sink or hydractive 2 (or both) it's vitally important that the suspension be given ample time to depressurize BEFORE you turn the engine off and open the bleed screw.
Hydractive 2 models also seem to take longer to depressurize. (My guess is that is because the oil must flow through the damper valves in the hydractive blocks, also there is an extra sphere to drain)
As soon as the bleed screw is opened, there is no longer any pressure left to hold the anti-sink valves or hydractive valves open, which means that any pressure still left in the suspension can't escape.
On my Hydractive 2 Xantia I've found by far the safest and most reliable way to depressurize it for sphere removal is to run the engine, set the height lever to down, and wait about 3-5 minutes with the engine still RUNNING, which ensures the anti-sink valves and hydractive valves stay open.
Then try wiggling one of the rear suspension spheres and if you can rock the whole cylinder easily the rear is depressurized.
Now the engine can be turned off and the bleed screw opened. Even a small amount of remaining pressure can make a sphere nearly impossible to unscrew...
Regards,
Simon
Next depressurise by lowering the suspension to its lowest point and then lossening the hydraulic bleed at the front of the car. Although the pressure drops quite quickly, my advice is to wait five minutes at this stage as there can still be enough pressure in the system to give you a face full.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I'd go one step further than that - on a model with anti-sink or hydractive 2 (or both) it's vitally important that the suspension be given ample time to depressurize BEFORE you turn the engine off and open the bleed screw.
Hydractive 2 models also seem to take longer to depressurize. (My guess is that is because the oil must flow through the damper valves in the hydractive blocks, also there is an extra sphere to drain)
As soon as the bleed screw is opened, there is no longer any pressure left to hold the anti-sink valves or hydractive valves open, which means that any pressure still left in the suspension can't escape.
On my Hydractive 2 Xantia I've found by far the safest and most reliable way to depressurize it for sphere removal is to run the engine, set the height lever to down, and wait about 3-5 minutes with the engine still RUNNING, which ensures the anti-sink valves and hydractive valves stay open.
Then try wiggling one of the rear suspension spheres and if you can rock the whole cylinder easily the rear is depressurized.
Now the engine can be turned off and the bleed screw opened. Even a small amount of remaining pressure can make a sphere nearly impossible to unscrew...
Regards,
Simon
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citroencharlie
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