Xantia 1.9TD hydraulics query

Mad Ax · Post by **Mad Ax** » 10 Apr 2006, 13:59

Hi guys, noob here, had a lot of problems with an "auction purchase" 1.9TD Estate, but finally got it MOT'd and roadworthy, just got a few more little niggles to sort out before I have a happy car

Firstly - the hydraulics worked OK when I picked the car up, but it failed the MOT due to lack of damping. I replaced all 6 spheres, and the ride is now much improved. However, the front suspension sometimes sinks when I turn off the ignition. Is this correct?

It's not really fault, IMO, but I was pretty sure that a 96 xantia shouldn't sink, front or back..?

Also, if the suspension is on the lowest setting and I raise it up, it takes a while to respond. Is this normal? Sometimes 30-40 seconds before the front starts to rise, then the back follows.

When rising, the front end comes up in bursts. It'll go up half an inch, stop, then go up another half, stop, etc etc, at about 1 second intervals. If this is normal then fine, but I wondered if it indicates a more serious fault in the hydraulics.

Finally, the rear suspension often seems to be too high. Looking at it yesterday, I think it sits either at the highest or lowest setting, and nowhere in between. I guess I need to lube up the adjuster mechanism underneath, right? Or does the height adjuster need adjusting? (There's something in the Haynes manual about resetting rear ride height).

Also, can someone tell me what the ride height positions are actually for? OK, the highest is for changing wheels, and the middle is for normal driving, what's the lowest setting actually for? And the one between normal and maximum..?

Cheers in advance

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 10 Apr 2006, 14:55

Working backwards as you have asked the most technical questions to begin with...and Im not technical

Minimum height is basically to depressurise the system and the one just above normal ride height is if you need to raise it up a little more for ramps and rough uneven terrain and such and I guess you can also drive on it....although it has been recommended not to do so although I was coming down the A1 at 70mph ish and never realise I was in this setting and cant say i noticed a difference in the safety of the handling.

I cant say the exact measurements regarding the height settings but I just went by eye and its certainly better than what it was before....mine was riding high by about 20mm each end after the ends were lowered by eye (rear arch panel sorting covering the top of the tyre) this seemed to stop the car dropping and on occasion springing up when first started so this might be causing your drooping and popping up.

Probably worth WD40'ing the height adjusters over a couple of days and see what the difference is.....adjusting is fairly easy in itself....covered a lot so will be on the search section.

After the sphere change and accumulator aphere change i noticed the car does the up an inch, sec, up an inch, sec, up an inch but then this would only do it when i changed the heights and since i dont change the heights very often cant say it bothered me or was something that concerned me.

How often does your Accumulator sphere at the front end tick??????

When on its wheels mine can take a good minute to wake up and sometimes wakes up when i plonk myself in the seat or press down on the ends....others on here also experience this but aslong as it picks itself up eventually it doesnt concern me as it was only done for Citroebics and DIY

Is the Anti-Sink sphere working??? Was it an Anti-sink sphere that was fitted???? as you say all 6 were recently replaced.

For the others: How quick does the car sink after turning off the engine?????

Post by **Peter.N.** » 10 Apr 2006, 14:56

How long the suspension stay up is largly a matter of the overall condition of the hydraulics, but as long as it drives OK I wouldn't worry about it.

Your suspension height and rise time could well be due, as you suggest, to sticking height corrector linkage. A few applications of WD40 to the linkage over a few days should help

The suspension positions are generally the following : lowest, to enble loading of the of the luggage compartment with ease if necessary, also to de pressurise the system for changing spheres etc. Next postition : Normal ride height. Next up : high position for driving through water etc. Highest : Emergency extra high suspension position, not to be used except in emergency or it will damage the drive shaft boots. Also used for checking the hydraulic fluid level.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 10 Apr 2006, 14:57

Sorry mezuk, you obviously type faster than me!

Mad Ax · Post by **Mad Ax** » 10 Apr 2006, 16:45

Cheers guys, at last a helpful citroen forum

FYI all spheres were changed, they were from Westroen and were all labelled so I'm hoping they were all the right ones. The anti-sink at the back seems fine, and since changing the accumulator virtually never ticks at all tbh - obviously it must do at some point but it's so infrequent I don't notice it.

I'll have a look at adjusting the rear height at the weekend, see if that improves the driving position and keeps it more on the level

Barbarian · Post by **Barbarian** » 11 Apr 2006, 06:34

I have noticed that my car goes up and down quicker when i rev it! If i set to max height it starts to go up slowly but if rev the car it goes up much faster and its same when lowering it, although the front end goes down much faster than the back end.

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 11 Apr 2006, 08:01

Would obviously like to just point out incase that dont forget when undertaking any work make sure the car is 'FULLY' supported!!!!!!

I personally feel safest when its up on car ramps, so when doing the rear of the car make sure the rear is on the ramps and also maybe worth putting some axel stands in place ready for the worse case scenario...i have them just underneath ready to catch a car.

Always sh!t myself when getting under the car

Mad Ax · Post by **Mad Ax** » 11 Apr 2006, 08:51

I religiously use axle stands when working under a car - I once had a Mini fall off a jack because I couldn't be bothered to use an axle stand. Fortunately I was well clear at the time, but unfortunately the axle stand was right in front of the car, and it put a huge dent in the front valence. Only a week after it had come back from a full respray

Still, could have been worse - it could have been my legs!

Thanks for the advice, guys