height corrector

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 22 Sep 2007, 19:38

i'm having problems with my rear height corrector on my xantia 2.1td estate, it has a new plastic link fitted and the linkage is free but sometimes it just refuses to go up or down, i had an embarrassing moment when getting the rear tyres replaced ,the fitter asked me to put the car on high setting to remove the wheels but the car refused to go up or down so he thought he would jack it up and change them anyway and yes when he dropped it back down it went straight to the floor jamming both jacks underneath

i ended up jacking it up from under the tow ball to get it off the jacks and drove it to work with the rear on the floor, it did eventually come back up by it's self, as the linkage is free do you think it's maybe a case of taking it apart and cleaning it all out or should i just give it a miss and fir a new one.

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 22 Sep 2007, 23:18

Seems the corrector itself is sticking or jamming.

Might be a good time investing in a new unit. They ARE servcieable in terms of freeing up the bits from rust and lubing them up.
The HC device itself is also possible to service. There are no other service parts available (not even necessary in most cases) than the outer and inner rubber end caps and retaining ring.

Its like a dirty/rusty sticking drumbrake mechanism, where most parts can be rescued by cleaning and lubing every single bit.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 23 Sep 2007, 06:46

When you fitted the new link, did you lubricate the linkage? That's the usual problem.

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 23 Sep 2007, 11:47

yes lubricated the link it all moves fine, if i move the lever it will eventually lift up but it takes a long time to do anything probably something like ten minutes.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 23 Sep 2007, 20:51

what colour is the LHM (citro blood) and tank filters, you might find it just needs a clean and run on hydraflush for 1,000 miles, as dirty filters can/will make the system very slow to respond
regards malcolm

slim123 · Post by **slim123** » 23 Sep 2007, 21:40

I'm with Anders on this one, it's new height corrector time I fear, I allways say that with a Xantia it's not if it's when as they all go eventualy.

Popped over to see the Pleiades boys on friday, there was a bench full of them all re-coned and ready to go, they rekon that the Xantia rear height corrector is just about the most popular part sold, I asked about the front height corrector and they said "very rare to sell one"

Regards
Slim.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 24 Sep 2007, 08:23

i have never replced a H/C, i find just stip them down give them a good clean and blow out usualy sorts them, its usualy down to a load of sludge which collects in both sides at the bottom cloggs them up and slows/stops the flow of citro blood
regards malcolm

Post by **CitroJim** » 24 Sep 2007, 16:18

citronut wrote:i have never replced a H/C, i find just stip them down give them a good clean and blow out usualy sorts them, its usualy down to a load of sludge which collects in both sides at the bottom cloggs them up and slows/stops the flow of citro blood
regards malcolm

Agreed,

My front HC never worked properly from the time I got the car ( a good 6 months ago), causing the front to ride high and for it not to come back down again from the high setting on the lever unless you went right down to low and then back up again. A good exterior clean/free-off and hydraflush and new LHM has finally got it working properly again but not immediately. Yesterday in fact it started working well. I only realised when the ride improved considerably and the car sat lower at the front!!!

Access to the front HC on the Activa is, as the BoL might say, very poor.

Post by **RichardW** » 24 Sep 2007, 16:47

The part that operates the manual correction is only connected to the lever by a spring. If the pivot point for this seizes up, it can stop the car responding to the manual lever, even though the automatic correction works (been there!). I managed to sort it by giving the manual pivot a good plus-gassing, then working it to and fro with a pair of gas pliers till it freed up. Manual adjustment then returns.

I was pleased to find that on my new car the HCs had been lubricated in the past and were working OK

G4EIY · Post by **G4EIY** » 24 Sep 2007, 21:39

Also, don't forget to remove and replace all the little disks, after cleaning all the crud that collects between them.

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=13442

LOAC · Post by **LOAC** » 25 Sep 2007, 17:12

If you buy a "new" one, watch out. The rear HC on my Xantia was faulty and I got it replaced at the garage. However, it took two trips!

The first time they swapped in a replacement, it was also faulty, so was the second and then the third! That day they ran out of time and spare HCs, so they had to fit a second hand one from a scrap car.

Had to go back the following week for them to finally be sure they had a HC that was ok and have it fitted.

LOAC

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 25 Sep 2007, 19:07

LOAC wrote:If you buy a "new" one, watch out. The rear HC on my Xantia was faulty and I got it replaced at the garage. However, it took two trips!

The first time they swapped in a replacement, it was also faulty, so was the second and then the third! That day they ran out of time and spare HCs, so they had to fit a second hand one from a scrap car.

Had to go back the following week for them to finally be sure they had a HC that was ok and have it fitted.

LOAC

why did they have so much of a problem just replacing a H/C, as the H/C its self very seldom gives any problems at all, so they sound like a great garage
regards malcolm

davethewheel · Post by **davethewheel** » 26 Sep 2007, 19:08

i wouldn't mind having a go at serving the existing one as i'm sure it's probably just blocked up with crud, can anyone explain how to do this and are there any parts available that i will need

LOAC · Post by **LOAC** » 01 Oct 2007, 12:51

citronut wrote:
LOAC wrote:If you buy a "new" one, watch out. The rear HC on my Xantia was faulty and I got it replaced at the garage. However, it took two trips!

The first time they swapped in a replacement, it was also faulty, so was the second and then the third! That day they ran out of time and spare HCs, so they had to fit a second hand one from a scrap car.

Had to go back the following week for them to finally be sure they had a HC that was ok and have it fitted.

LOAC
why did they have so much of a problem just replacing a H/C, as the H/C its self very seldom gives any problems at all, so they sound like a great garage
regards malcolm

The HC that was on there would not respond at all, it was totally jammed up. Then the replacement HCs were faulty out of the box, not the fault of the garage. I think the problem with the HC is if you live in an area where they put a lot of salt on the roads. This can lead to rusting and seizing. I keep my new HC well greased now, esp after winter!

LOAC

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 01 Oct 2007, 13:09

no not realy as all the moving parts of the hight corector are sealed inside the dust covers and the diaghrams, there is absolutly no way for road crud to get in, the usual thing which siezes on XANTIA H/C is the external linkage, the H/C itself only moves the very slightest amount when working properly
regards malcolm

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