arrrrghhhh xantia height corrector

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erez
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arrrrghhhh xantia height corrector

Post by erez »

Hi!
I lost my front height corrector, and a new one in israel cost about ALOT.

can you please help me find a cheap site that is able to send to israel citroen parts?
thanks, Erez
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Mandrake
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Re: arrrrghhhh xantia height corrector

Post by Mandrake »

erez wrote:Hi!
I lost my front height corrector, and a new one in israel cost about ALOT.
You *lost* it :?: :wink:

Or do you mean it's not working ? If you describe your problem in more detail you will probably find that it can be fixed without replacing it, as height correctors are simple and rugged devices...

Regards,
Simon
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Post by citronut »

and very seldom go wrong,usualy they just need the linkage lubing,or at worst stripping down and cleaning,also idf its a rear one and it seems to have stoped working it could just be the nylon link droped of
regards malcolm
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Post by BernieLugg »

How much is a lot?

I have a front Xantia Height Control Unit - BNIB and never fitted, dunno about postage to Israel, but it cost me £40 GBP which is what you can have it for plus the postage if you want. Make sure it is this bit thats packed up of course as they seldom break.

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Post by Mandrake »

citronut wrote:and very seldom go wrong,usualy they just need the linkage lubing,or at worst stripping down and cleaning,also idf its a rear one and it seems to have stoped working it could just be the nylon link droped of
regards malcolm
The link can drop off on the front too, but is less likely.

I'm pretty sure what makes it come off is when the balljoint on the end of the link that connects to the spring/plate unit is unable to tilt freely, for example being tightly packed with dirt and crap off the road, it jumps off when the suspension moves over a large dip/peak in the road.

This happens because the rollbar end of the link moves in an arc, while the spring end moves in a linear motion - thus the link tilts in operation.

I tried putting a small o-ring under the edge of that cup on the front height corrector on my car to try and take up the slack in the cup (yes, it was a silly idea in hindsight :oops: ) and to my annoyance the link popped off within a few minutes of driving.

After putting it on again, it popped off once again after a few minutes, and I then realised that the o-ring was preventing the link from tilting freely and removed it, and it was fine. Presumably when the cup gets packed with dirt and the dirt goes hard, the effect is the same.

The reason why this would happen more often on the rear height corrector is that it is far more exposed to buildup of dirt and crap off the road, whereas the front one is protected by the suspension chassis.

When people get the rear link popping off they often assume that its because the linkages or height corrector is "seized" but the more I think about it, the more I don't think thats the case.

The height corrector "seizing" shouldn't cause the linkage to pop off at all, because you still have the spring unit between them, and under normal operating conditions the spring unit will move and the height corrector will stay stationary (due to the internal hydraulic damping) when the car travels over a dip or bump in the road anyway.

Only a long term error in height will cause the height corrector to physically move after several seconds, and even then only by a couple of millimetres.

Only if the spring assembly seized up would it put enough strain on the link to make it pop off, and that doesn't seem likely from what I've seen of it.

So I theorize that the real reason for the links popping off is the cup at the spring end of the link getting clogged up so that it cant tilt freely, and possibly coupled with a bit of extra slack on the balljoint due to normal wear.

Has anyone had a link pop off where the balljoint was clean and free to tilt ? (I bet not, unless it had a lot of slack) Maybe what really fixes the problem is not all the greasing, but simply the cleaning of the balljoints and the immediately surrounding area...

Regards,
Simon
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
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erez
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Post by erez »

thanks for the replies!

we striped it completely and cleaned it, but it's dead.....
not working at all, anyway in israel it costs about 280 USD.
this is what i call ALOT!
anyway, we had put a used one for about 180 USD.
i also replaced the front spheres to a new spheres from a company called IFHS? something like that, and it's not as it used to be, the ride is much more stiff than before, the old spheres were citroen original, but one sphere had died during the weekend.
do you guys know about this company?
because in israel there are only two kinds of spheres, original that costs about 130 USD each !!!!! from the dealer.
and the comapny i mentioned "IFHS" (i think) that costs about 44 USD.

thanx!
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Post by mezuk04 »

Cant say i have any technical expertise to offer but i thought the difference in price for the two brand of spheres (Citroen and other) is quite significantly different and therefore would have to wonder about the quality.

How long ago were these 'cheaper' spheres on the car until one of them had failed??
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Post by dnsey »

I've used IFHS spheres in the past, and have found them perfectly satisfactory.
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Post by erez »

the old spheres were citroen original, and they did about 25K Km.
the new ones are the cheaper. and less comfortable.
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Post by mezuk04 »

So the new ones havent failed then?

Is it at all possible that the replacements are not suited for your spec car?
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Post by erez »

on the box and on the spheres themselves it's written xantia
but i need to ask you this,
what is the preesure recommended for the rear spheres and for the front spheres, xantia 2.0i automatic.

right now i have 40 at the back and 50 at the front.
the back is a BX spheres.
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Post by mezuk04 »

Well i couldnt go as far as telling you if those are correct or not as i just aint that clued up with that, but i think if you have a Bx sphere on the Xantia i would personally (but dont quote me) assume its wrong, i just cant see a sphere that was designed for a bx many many years ago able to go onto a newer car since in general things with the suspension would have improved etc etc, though im sure some of the regulars can tell you for certain.
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Post by Clogzz »

Pressure for the front is 50 bars, and 30 at the rear for the hatchback.
The estates use 40 at the back.
It's not just the pressure that matters, there's also damper and bypass size.
If one front is hard with a new sphere, it's possible that the new sphere is flat, new from the box, as it happens.
Front spheres must have 3 dimples near the plug, otherwise they're bootleg ones.
Beware of driving with hard fronts, the strut top may break and bend the bonnet, and cause an accident.
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erez
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Post by erez »

ok, understood.
but, it's not hard as "flat sphere hard" it's just not comfortable like the original ones, beside, my rear 40 spheres is very soft and very comfotable, although it's suppose to be 30.

can anyone tell me what is the deal with the comfort spheres?
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Post by Clogzz »

Talk of comfort spheres in this thread, 2 pages:

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=17443
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