Fitting BX speres to the xantia front end.

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davek-uk
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Post by davek-uk »

The springiness of the spheres is down the the gas compressing whereas the fluid doesn't. Therefore, high pressure spheres compress more than low pressure spheres - remember it is the gas pressure in the spheres that is quoted in the sphere table. The ride comfort is a combination of sphere pressure, sphere volume and of course the damping.

Don't forget "normal" suspension movement - things like drop links, bushes and bearings can have a huge effect on how freely the suspension moves. Try good quality, greased, drop links for an immediate effect...
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Post by Stempy »

citrov6 wrote:thanks, might put xm on see how it drives
Or you could always try DickieG's trick of putting non HA spheres on a HA model, he say this works a treat.
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Post by citrov6 »

hmm might do that then :)
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Post by Mandrake »

Stempy wrote:In fact. estate rear corner spheres have no damping apertures as the damping is taken care of elsewhere.
Errrmm.... no :lol:

Rear suspension strut spheres do have damping valves in them...without them the suspension would be an uncontrollable wallowing mess...

Are you sure you're not confusing that with the hydractive sphere, which has no damping valve in it ? In the case of that sphere there are two damper valves built into the block the sphere is screwed on to...

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Post by Stempy »

No, I'm just talking about the spheres specific to the Estate variant. IIRC someone on this very forum fitted the estate spheres to a saloon and did indeed end up with a wallowing mess.
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Post by addo »

I have removed, regassed and refitted the original spheres to my estate. Well, one of them - the other blew during regas as it had been left too long, and was at 10 bar.

They definitely had dampers in them. Had I a little more time, I'd remove one for a photo.

Genuine Cit spheres have another code on them that matches the stamping number on the damper assembly.

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Post by Stempy »

Ok that's Aus 2 England 1 then, much the same as the cricket :roll: :D I stand corrected, just going by the sphere specs that I have to hand.
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Post by citronut »

on the chart i added to this topic it shows all XANT estates have no damper, maybe a missprint

as i have always seen dampers on the ones i have removed/replaced,

the only sphere/s i know have no damper is the accumalater,

but i aint had the plesure of H/A rears as yet

regards malcolm
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Post by davidc »

Just looking at this thread perhaps someone can advise. My Estate rides like a truck yet have regassed spheres, good rear arms, new accumalator and overhauled regulator etc but still rough as. Today in desperation I checked the sphere numbers and found they aren't on the sphere chart mentioned here! The numbers are front - 96199318 rear 96239028. All are chevron stamped. Anyone know the story behind these numbers?
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Post by citronut »

i belive the problem with regassed spheres is you cant tell the condition of the bladder inside, and the price of brand new after market spheres like AMTEX from GSF, regassing old spheres with unknowen comndition of the bladderjust dose not seem viable,

but saying all that if the hight corrector linkage's are paror fully seized this will stop the suspension responding to the road surface and anti roll bar movement, which stops the ride hight automaticly adjusting

regards malcolm
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Post by addo »

There seem to be plenty of regassed CX-era (and newer) spheres here. I think if people let them go too long in a significantly deflated state, it's when they get stressed.

For modern Citroën spheres of physically identical shape, I suggest they are in fact the same sphere differently denoted at the point of processing (gassing, stamping, painting). In other words, the same diaphragm can take from 75 bar to 30 bar, depending on where it fits to the system.

A service like regassing, is probably significantly lower in profit margin than equivalent new boxed parts. It's probably lower in net environmental impact, too. I also like the slight effect it has on local employment when parts are reconditioned, rather than replaced with imported copies...
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Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

on the estate it does help to check your tyre pressures regulary as well
if they are on the high side they with an empty boot they will make the ride significantly harder.

the only other option is to carry something heavy in he boot, maybe the misses if she's heavy enough....lol.

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Post by citronut »

addo
in the UK brand new spheres are quite cheap now, all be it not genuine dealer ones, and i belive age is a factor in the spheres internal condition as well as being run very low or flat,

regards malcolm
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Post by Pleiades »

Hi All.

I have been following this story and as you know, I do know something about spheres.

When spheres are made, the diaphragm seals against the metalwork a bit like a tubeless tyre, the first bit of pressurs loss (I belive) is down to this diaphragm not seating too good. Now after the sphere has had a couple of years use the diaphragm has bedded into the metal and formed a much better seat / seal, when re-charged the sphere has a longer second life.

The diaphragms dont deteriorate the only damage that the diaphram can get is from being slammed against the top of the sphere, this happens when the sphere is at low pressure.

The important bit about re-charging is to inspect what you are charging, we allways inspect the diaphragm using a borascope, this way we can reject the bad ones and guarantee the ones that we sell.

To keep on re-charging spheres and one day you will have no other choice! the spheres do need to be charged at about every 3 years, this will ensure that the diaphragm does not come into contact with the top of the sphere and even works out cheaper than new ones.

As far as fitting BX spheres to a Xantia, well if you want a softer ride then go ahead, it will do no harm, the spheres are both at 55- so the weight to spring will be fine the difference is the damper, the BX damper will give a softer ride, whereas the XM sphere will give a harsher ride.

Regards
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Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

Martin,

thank you that confirms that it can be done, would it possiable to draw from your expert opinion and ask which model BX spheres could be used in an xantia 1.9 TD estate please without resorting to confusing charts to look up which set of spheres it might be?

Or is the answer any of them ranging from the BX 1.4 petrol to the 1.9 Turbo diesel BX?

their must be a safe range surely the 1.4 BX spheres may not cope with the work imposed on them in a 1,9 diesel???

thanks in advance Nigel.
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