A few Xantia questions

[Toby_HDi]

Recently bought a 2000 Citroen Xantia 2.0 HDi on an X plate. Have a few questions

1. How do I change the front fogs? Have tried but can't seem to get access

2. Can I fit cruise control to it? By this I mean can I take the whole setup from a scrap Xantia and transplant it to mine?

3. How many spheres are there in the suspension system and how do I change them?

4. Are there any clear lenses available for the front headlamps? Have found the lights quite poor. Maybe even projector lenses so I can fit Xenons?

5. Can I put a set of clocks in with an oil temp gauge? Mine doesn't have it and wondered if it was possible.

Just trying to sort a few things out on the car and need some help on the above. Any help would be appreciated.

[CitroJim]

Hi and welcome Toby

1. Tricky. I have a MK2 myself but have never been there (yet )

2. Doubtful. Crusie control was only available I believe on a few petrol models and unlikely to be compatible with an HDi.

3. Depends upon the spec. If it is standard Hydropneumatic, you have 6, accumulator, anti-sink and four corner (suspension) spheres. If yours is Hydractive (denoted by a sport/comfort switch on the dash) then you'll have an additional two Hydractive Centre Spheres. As regards swapping them, check them first. The accumulator is the most important and it's health can be gauged by listening for the "regulator tick" from the hydraulic pressure regulator down at the front of the engine. On idle you should hear the regulator tick at regular intervals as the pressure regulator cuts in and out to maintain a constant 170 bar pressure. The tick interval will depend on the health of the accumulator sphere and should be greater than 30 seconds. A good one can extend to many minutes and you can get bored waiting. If it is ticking at 30s intervals or less, then replace the accumulator sphere without delay.

The corner spheres can be tested by bouncing each corner of the car (with engine running and on normal height) and feeling the suspensinon to be soft and well damped. Note that the front is much harder than the rear but you should still be able to push the car a fair way down with ease. The rear should feel very soft. Don't push down on the tops of the front wings though. You'll bend them!

Front sphere replacement is a doddle, the rears not quite so as they need to be "cracked" off under full system pressure. Do some searches in this forum and all will be revealed. Note that rear sphere changing entails getting under the car and for this the car must be adequately supported. If the car suddenly falls in height with you under it and you don't have adequate support, the outlook for your continued good health is not good. They can KILL.

4. Try some new bulbs. Go for some extra bright ones like the Philips VisionPlus. You think MK2 lights are bad , try the lights in a MK1 Xantia. I've seen brighter candles

5. It might be. My Activa has one and I'd like one in my 2.1TD. It has the sensor in and wired (for the engine ECU I think) so if the 2.1 has then it's a good bet the HDi has also.

In the meantime, have a look at this. It is good bedtime reading and will give you a great understanding of how the hydraulics work

http://www.tramontana.co.hu/citroen/guide/guide.php

[Stempy]

Easiest way to the fog lamps is to remove the headlamps and go in from the top, while you are at it rewire the headlamps with some thicker cable and get a set of Osram silver stars.

[Toby_HDi]

Cheers fellas.

Never found the osram silverstars to be much good. Probably me being used to the Xenons I had on my Vectra.

Anyone else got anything to add?

Cheers

[Toby_HDi]

Cheers fellas.

Never found the osram silverstars to be much good. Probably me being used to the Xenons I had on my Vectra.

Anyone else got anything to add?

Cheers

[jgra1]

Hi Tobi,

recommend thicker wires/relays on headlamps, tested it the other day and guessed 10-15% increase.. not bad for starters..

Stempy's fog removal approach should work, otherwise get bottom engine shroud off and go up under bumper (with car on full height and axle stands, ramps etc!. .. fogs are screwed into bumper with 3 screws for each, then they come out from behind..

the bulbs are removable by twisting the holder in the fog lamp, without taking the lamp off car.

The fogs also have a height adjuster, so you can aim them better and use as driving lamps on full beam, well sort of... they light up the verge quite well...

If your glass is broken I have both sides, haven't tried taking the glass off the light yet tho..

John

[Toby_HDi]

Cheers again. Can someone point me in the direction of how to do the thicker wires/relays for the headlamps. Is not possible at all to get projector units for them so I can legally fit a HID kit?

Another question about the spheres. My car is a MkII so has Anti sink, however sometimes it does sink when you switch engine off. Is this the accumulator sphere? Or the anti sink valves? I listened for the clicks as someone mentioned and they seem to be coming quicker than 30 secs.

Anyone know about the cruise control? Thats the thing I really want to sort atm as would make my life so much easier.

[CitroJim]

Another question about the spheres. My car is a MkII so has Anti sink, however sometimes it does sink when you switch engine off. Is this the accumulator sphere? Or the anti sink valves? I listened for the clicks as someone mentioned and they seem to be coming quicker than 30 secs..

It is certainly time to replace your accumulator sphere Toby. It's not at all difficult but you do need a good sphere removal tool although often a good webbing strap wrence will do the job. Forget using an oil filter removal tool as they never work. The best tool is available from Pleiades (www.citroen-hydraulics.com) although a good substitute can be made from a length of 1 inch box section and a hoop of threaded rod the same diamater as a sphere. Xac will tell you how to make one.

To swap the accumulator, raise the front of the car on stands (adequately supported) and set the suspension on low. Switch off and depressurise the hydraulic system by turning the 12mm presure release stud on the front of the pressure regulator body half a turn anti-clockwise only. Do not remove the stud completely or you'll loose a spring and a small ball bearing. You should hear a hiss and a rush as you open the pressure release stud.

Using a suitable tool, unscrew the old accumulator. Be prepared for some LHM spillage. It may be quite a lot more that you might bargain for if the sphere is really flat. Clean up and if not on the neck of the sphere, recover the rubber sealing ring from the sphere mating face on the pressure regulator body.

Take a new sealing ring, lubricate with clean LHM and place the ring in the groove on the mating face (do not place the ring on the sphere neck or it will not seal properly). Screw the new sphere home HAND-TIGHT only. Do not use any kind of tool when replacing the sphere. Hand-tight is perfectly adequate and any tighter may make the sphere very, very hard to remove subsequently.

Do up the pressure release stud and start up. Allow the sustem to come up to pressure, set the suspension high, top up the LHM reservior and check for leaks. Job done.

If that does not cure your sinking fully, there is another thread in this forum dealing with sinking rears.

[jgra1]

Cant help with cruise, Anders has a solution for a TD I think..

Headlamps, the way I will try, unless told better is to run 1 beefy wire from Battery positive terminal or similar, to somewhere near the rear of LH headlamp, then split into two wires..

Run each of these then to a seperate relay (one for main and one for dipped).
The power output from the relays then gets split again into two (now four wires) and goes to both main bulbs and both dipped bulbs, using a spade terminal on each of the four wires..

The relays also need earthing to somewhere conveniant from the earth pin, finally , the switching leg is simply a wire from the original LH headlamp feeds/spades i.e the main feed for relay 1 and dipped feed for relay 2

I think that's right... there is probably a much neater way of doing it tho

[DickieG]

2. Can I fit cruise control to it? By this I mean can I take the whole setup from a scrap Xantia and transplant it to mine?

In a word no, cruise control was only offered on 2.0 and 3.0 petrol automatic Xantia's.

As far as the headlamp issue, are the lights correctly aligned? i.e are they pointing at the floor?

Interesting hearing your thoughts on the Xenons fitted to Vectra's. Having driven a considerable number of Vectra's factory fitted with Xenon's I found that the area five yards ahead of the car was very bright, but beyond that pitch black!

[Toby_HDi]

2. Can I fit cruise control to it? By this I mean can I take the whole setup from a scrap Xantia and transplant it to mine?

In a word no, cruise control was only offered on 2.0 and 3.0 petrol automatic Xantia's.

As far as the headlamp issue, are the lights correctly aligned? i.e are they pointing at the floor?

Interesting hearing your thoughts on the Xenons fitted to Vectra's. Having driven a considerable number of Vectra's factory fitted with Xenon's I found that the area five yards ahead of the car was very bright, but beyond that pitch black!

Cheers, that might just be the answer that makes me sell it. Could really do with it on long motorway runs. No their pointing ahead. It was not offered on 2.0 HDi VSX or Exclusive then?

The Vectra's Xenons were retrofitted by myself on mine so were adjusted accordingly, they do use the smallest projector unit possible though. They were pretty good imo even with a big dirty V6 up front

With regards to spheres, where can I get them and how much am I looking at? Is it worth replacing the rest rather than just the accumulator?

[CitroJim]

With regards to spheres, where can I get them and how much am I looking at? Is it worth replacing the rest rather than just the accumulator?

GSF (Amtex) spheres have always been OK for me. Personally, I'd replace them all if you plan on keeping the car. They are considered a consumable and should be swapped every three years or so in any case. Over time the nitrogen gas diffuses through the diaphragm.

For the benefits new spheres give, they're not expensive.

[Xaccers]

DIY Sphere tool - lamposts at the ready!

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=21850

[paulbx]

If its your first Hydro pneumatic Citroen be aware of the above when putting on ramps / jacks!


paulb

[Toby_HDi]

If its your first Hydro pneumatic Citroen be aware of the above when putting on ramps / jacks!


paulb

It is indeed. Any tips? Anything to be aware of?