height adjustment

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metgreentd
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height adjustment

Post by metgreentd »

hi all
im going to attempt adjusting the front ride height on my 95 xantia 1.9td this week i know about the clamp on the roll bar needing loosening and the small movement needed to affect an adjustment but my question is i have been told that adjustment can be made by loosening the bolt where the height adjuster rod rod attaches to the adjuster itself then moving the adjuster rod back or forward to suit then clamping it back up, this would on paper appear easier anybody done it this way or am i bieng told a croc again?
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Post by CitroJim »

You've been told a croc. It might appear to work but the height corrector range will be limited and it won't work as intended.

The only way is to move the clamp around the anti-roll bar.

WARNING. Make sure the car is well supported when playing with height correctors. The car can suddenly drop and kill you.[/i]
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

It might work . I have no idea.

But its VERY easy to loosen the antiroll bar clamp and turn it the single or 2 mm either way required. The point is to still have the clamp that tight you need a small hammer to tap it into the new position. Get it too loose - and its like the height gets all over the place ...

The usual warnings applies : have the cars weight on wheels on ramps. At least 10" space under the car to be sure YOU are not squashed if the car comes down on you.
Best is of course doing the job over a pit.

BEWARE of exhaust fumes :shock:
People often forgets about it. You adapt to the smell and the CO comes creeping on you - there are really no other warnings than the smell of the exhaust fumes. Its like a flick of a switch - and you are down like a shot deer :shock:
Just had another of these CO toxic incidents, this time in my own neighbourhood. The young son to one of our neighbours - finished last year as a farming machine mechanic - went down working on a car while looking for a MOT emissions issue. Luckily his mate heard an unusual sound of equipment and the body falling, and got the engine stopped and called for help.

As he was teached on the school : he is now fitting the workshop exhaust suction hose everytime he is working 'live' on an engine :idea:
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Post by Xaccers »

That's what I like about the ramps Jim and I can use, they're in the open, surrounded by woods :)
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citronut
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Post by citronut »

when the car is set at normal ride hight the maual hight adjuster or its links are not in direct contact with the hight corector self adjuster link,as the H/C link should be alowed to move freely,so if you adjust it by moveing the adjustment you mention you will upset the self adjustment
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Post by deian »

i agree with citronut... the linkages in the height corrector that actually cause anything to happen is all down to [a] the height lever rod anti roll bar ... the work together in the same linkage without one affect the other

it's actually quite a complex looking thing but really quite clever and neat... take a good look at the linkages and work it all out, i did this when i was working on my old xantia and i had the corrector setup quite well because i had worked out when the [a] interferes with or vice versa

but as you are working on the front one space may be tight to see how it all works... can i ask why you are adjusting the front height?

if it seems low, remember that when u get in you add weight to the car which will move the anti roll bar and open the height corrector therefore adding height, which in my experience is a little higher than what it was before u got in and u then get the correct height... but thats just my theory, i could be totally wrong.
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Post by citronut »

when you add wheight to the car the system will compensate and keep the car at the correct ride hight,allbeit it was right at the start,but in saying all of that the hights do not go out of adjustment on there own,it may seem like it but its usualy caused by somthing like sticking linkages,so the first thing to do is lubricate all of them and make sure all the moving parts actualy move were they are ment to
regards malcolm
metgreentd
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height adjustment

Post by metgreentd »

i am adjusting the ride height because i have replaced all the bushes and ball joints etc at the front and stupidly disconected both the roll bar drop links at the same time which i am told is a no no and will upset the ride height which lo and behold on reassembly the car is now rather high at the front.i have checked the linkages for any bent or misaligned bits as the local specialist told me to do but can find no such problems.the car rises and falls as it should on the lever and the adjuster does not seem to be stuck.i have been told as a rule of thumb the distance between the wheel and arch should be four fingers mine is about 8.the car will be on the ramp in a few days so will have a proper look.thanks
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Post by jeremy »

Someone help me on this one as my knowledge of Xantias is limited. Why or how can disconnecting both ends of the anti-roll bar from its droplinks at the same time cause any damage to the height corrector linkage?
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Post by CitroJim »

jeremy wrote:Someone help me on this one as my knowledge of Xantias is limited. Why or how can disconnecting both ends of the anti-roll bar from its droplinks at the same time cause any damage to the height corrector linkage?
I don't think it can :?

before suspecting ride height problems a quick and dirty check can be carried out by observing the car from a distance side-on on a flat stretch of road.

If the sills look level the ride height is more or less correct. Some do look high at the front at first glance.

I suspect replacing the drop liks etc. has just tightened everything up to be correct.
Jim

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Post by deian »

jeremy wrote:Someone help me on this one as my knowledge of Xantias is limited. Why or how can disconnecting both ends of the anti-roll bar from its droplinks at the same time cause any damage to the height corrector linkage?
good question, they only twist under tension if one side it twisting? this is getting complicated...

anyway... there are some drawings posted here somewhere regarding the ride height from the haynes manual and citroen (although a bit long winded)

again, take a close look at how the linkages work together, are you sure one link hasn't slipped under another causing it to be stuck ar intermediate ride height?
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Post by AndersDK »

On Xantiae you dont have any bendable steel linkage possibly suffering from a loose fit ARB. There is only the short plastic linkrod, which will pop off and possibly snap in one of the ballcups.

From other threads this linkrod should be less than £2 as genuine spare.
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Post by jeremy »

Thanks guys - This means that metgreentd's problem at the moment is probably not one of adjustment but seizure or damage to the linkage. Seizure of the height controller would seem to be the most common candidate.

There are detailed instructions posted in numerous places on here.
jeremy
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Post by nick »

AndersDK wrote:BEWARE of exhaust fumes :shock:
People often forgets about it. You adapt to the smell and the CO comes creeping on you - there are really no other warnings than the smell of the exhaust fumes. Its like a flick of a switch - and you are down like a shot deer :shock:
Just had another of these CO toxic incidents, this time in my own neighbourhood. The young son to one of our neighbours - finished last year as a farming machine mechanic - went down working on a car while looking for a MOT emissions issue. Luckily his mate heard an unusual sound of equipment and the body falling, and got the engine stopped and called for help.

As he was teached on the school : he is now fitting the workshop exhaust suction hose everytime he is working 'live' on an engine :idea:
That's one advantage of diesels, they do still put out a bit of CO but far less than petrol engines.
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Post by jeremy »

Didn't catalysts make suicide by CO poisoning virtually impossible? - You may die but its from boredom than poisoning. Eventually you will succumb to CO2 - which won't poison you but simply exclude the oxygen.
jeremy
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