A few Xantia questions

[CitroJim]

A very good point that you raise Paul, regarding the handbrake.

Note that you should only chock the back wheels AFTER the desired height is reached as the wheelbase changes markedly as the car goes up and down on the suspension and chocks can prevent it from rising and/or falling due the the rear suspension being unable to move freely because of the chocks. This is why these cars have the handbrake on the front wheels.

The main thing is SAFETY and the fact that you must NEVER venture underneath an unsupported hydropneumatic Citroen. ALWAYS use good axle stands even for the most trivial of jobs and never trust the car to stay at a set height on its own, especially if you get anywhere near the height correctors.

They can kill. End of.

[Toby_HDi]

A very good point that you raise Paul, regarding the handbrake.

Note that you should only chock the back wheels AFTER the desired height is reached as the wheelbase changes markedly as the car goes up and down on the suspension and chocks can prevent it from rising and/or falling due the the rear suspension being unable to move freely because of the chocks. This is why these cars have the handbrake on the front wheels.

The main thing is SAFETY and the fact that you must NEVER venture underneath an unsupported hydropneumatic Citroen. ALWAYS use good axle stands even for the most trivial of jobs and never trust the car to stay at a set height on its own, especially if you get anywhere near the height correctors.

They can kill. End of.

So whats the best way to go about jacking them up and supporting them and doing work underneath?

[CitroJim]

So whats the best way to go about jacking them up and supporting them and doing work underneath?

This is, surprisingly, not quite so simple as it seems

To jack up, set the suspension on high and wait for the car to rise. Then, depending on the end you want to work under, slip axle stands under the sills on the jacking points (between the "pips" on the bottom of the sills, they are hardened here). You will invariably need a trolley jack with a wooden buffer just to bring the car up a little higher to get the stand in. Always jack on the subframes and never on the bodyshell. Once on the stands, I generally let the car come down to the lowest suspension setting. This will lift the wheels clear of the ground and gives a little more working height underneath due to the nose-up or tail-up attitude the car assumes.

A good idea if you want to remove wheels is to slacken the wheel nuts before lowering the car. A good test of the handbrake is undoing front wheelnuts against it. All but the very, very tightest will yield against a good handbrake.

Then chock the wheels still on the ground. Rock the car on the stands for confidence and after that you've safe to venture under.

Bringing the car off the stands can give some funny results due to height correctors getting confused, especially on an Activa.

Start by removing the chocks, starting up and setting the suspension on high. Allow the car to fully rise. If the stands are still tight under the sills, use the trolley jack to give a little more height. Remove the stand on the side you have jacked up. If you cannot get the opposite stand out, jack a little higher until you can. Else use two trolley jacks, one on each side. Using two jacks is essential on an Activa.

When you let the car back down on the jack, do it very slowly and don't be surprised if despite the suspension being on high setting, the car drops right down to the low setting. If you let the jack off very quickly and there is a stand still in place on the other side, it can put a nasty twuisting load on the bodyshell. If it does fall right down as the jack lowers, just wait 20 or so seconds for the height corrector to get it's act together and rise the suspension up.

Return the car to normal ride height.

Some like to use ramps. Personally I don't but if you do, don't try driving up on them. You are likely to ground something. Instead, have a very good trolley jack that will raise the car up high enough to slip the ramps in under the wheels and lower the car down onto them.

Finally, if you are jacking up a dead Xantia and you cannot use the hydraulics to jack, be aware than a Xantia is a very heavy car and takes some jacking.

Hope that helps Toby. Sorry for making what seems a very simple job sound incredibly involved That is the beauty of these cars. They keep you well amused...

Keep the questions coming, we here are always very happy to advise on any aspect 8)

[Toby_HDi]

Cheers Jim, thats a great help

Don't really have any other questions really other than the ones already floating about. Will probably think of something soon though lol.

Is Anders the best person to talk to about cruise control? If so I'll drop him a PM

[jgra1]

hi Toby, Jim..

I like to put car at highest suspension, then drive onto ramps.. you get loads of space underneath (the end your working on - only) and if anything were to go wrong, the car - even on lowest suspension, wont get near you..

Anders fitted Cruise to a TD, an aftermarket system.,. not sure if its possible with HDi, should be

John

ps. sorry should say, the way you suppport your Xantia depends really on what you need to do under there..