Accumulator Sphere

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acrowot
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Accumulator Sphere

Post by acrowot »

I am trying to fit a new accumulator sphere to my Xantia, I have run the engine lowered the suspension switched off engine undone (1 1/2 turns)the bleed screw on the accumulator, no hiss or fluid discharge, is this normal?
TIA John
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

On my BX there is sometimes a quick hiss when I undo the screw but if the accumulator is knackered I dont think this would be noticed. There should not be any discharge of fluid from the screw - all it does is open up a drilling in the regulator allowing pump output oil to return to the reservoir, taking the air with it.
If you are in any doubt that the system has depressurised properly just try moving the height control to a high position. If there was any substantial pressure the car will rise until the accumulator depressurises to the brake pressure.
Jeremy
acrowot
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Post by acrowot »

Thanks for your reply jeremy, would the bleed valve have to be left open to do this test?
acrowot
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Post by acrowot »

Thanks for your reply jeremy, would the bleed valve have to be left open to do this test?
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

Leave it open - all you are trying to do is to satisfy yourself that there is no residual pressure in the system to avoid a drenching and possible injury when you remove the sphere.
If there is residual pressure the sphere will seem tight. Once you have loosened it it should unscrew by hand easily. When loosening the back spheres it is necessary to crack them undone with pressure in the system and a load on the suspension and when I did mine I needed a tool to remove them the initial 1/8th of a turn, I then depressurised and they came off by hand.
A little LHM will escape when the sphere is removed. If the sphere has collapsed about 1/2 litre will fall out in your face and down your arm. If it (or any of the others) are nearly gone the fluid will gently spray out under light pressure as the 'ball' expands gently and displaces the fluid. Not a bad idea to have a bowl handy to collect the fluid and a rag to prevent it spraying everywhere while it drains. (I found I had a gentle green fountain spraying one of my neighbours cars when I did a suspension one once!)
Not a bad idea to consider how you are going to turn the sphere before you get under the car. Most oil filter wrenches will break. some use chisels, and one contributor has even drilled through the sphere and put a rod through to turn it!
When you replace it you should take care to get the seal in the groove round the neckof the socket. Take care not to dislodge it when trying to get the sphere thread to take. The new sphere should only be done up hand tight.
Of course you must make sure that the car won't fall on you when you remove the sphere or are working underneath it. - ie it must be supported on axle stands and I always put a wheel ramp loosely under the front of the sill or somewhere similar to catch it should it fall.
I'd rather be alive and able to look at the damage!
jeremy
acrowot
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Post by acrowot »

Thanks jeremy will try again in a day or so, I am changing the cambelt at the moment, took me some considerable time to remove the upper read cambelt cover,did not know were the second bolt was,the one on the rear side of the cover, this was a beast to remove.
John
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Post by acrowot »

Changed the accumulator sphere now,made easy by making the tool described elswhere in this newsgroup,many thanks to the author.Before I changed this sphere I was getting the clicks every 10 seconds now I do not seem to get any clicking except when raising or lowering the suspension is this correct?
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Post by JohnD »

A useful tip which I find works very well when removing a sphere is to put a plastic carrier bag over it before turning. Any LHM remaining in the sphere falls into the bag.
akojic
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Post by akojic »

Question to acrowot: Have you notice any difference in braking before and after accumulator sphere is changed and also any difference in posible car sinking after turning off engine?
Thanks
acrowot
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Post by acrowot »

One of my reasons for changing this sphere was an attempt to improve the "Feel" of the brakes when I applied them they came on strong and then eased off then needing further pressure from my foot this kept repeating, changing the sphere has improved this no end and I can now live with the brakes in this respect. I also have brake judder when braking from speed, I think it has also reduced but not removed this judder, more testing is required in this respect. From the service record which is not FSH I notice that the brake discs have been changed on two previous occasions so perhaps the previous owner had problems with this judder. 95600miles on clock.
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Post by robertgillatt »

Two disc changes sounds good for 95K. I'm on my 4th set at 170K. Partly the asbestos free components and partly the phenomenal power of the Citroen brake system. I also had judder resulting from a warped disc after the first change. After changing the first set and surprised at the short service interval I decided to treat the second set to the merest feather touch and adjusted my driving style. The Xantia's smooth ride helped a lot. Anyway, I know it sounds counter intuitive but I believe that the warping was partly due to not using the brakes firmly enough and allowing preferential wear to become exaggerated. The third set went 55K with no trouble and the 4th are fine after 40K. The rear discs are original!
The fading and diving sound familiar too. In my case I changed the front spheres and accumulator as she was getting a bit bouncy anyway. Problem solved.
akojic
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Post by akojic »

Accumulator sphere was changed under warranty (no charges) yesterday! No more judder when braking. Perod between clicking increased up to 30sec. It seems that LHM is still being returned to tank much more than it is normal. Fast sinking rear end support this thought (I guess). Rear end is down after 25 - 30 minutes, front end after 1.5 hours. Year or two ago, car was keeping hight for 5 or six hours. At the end of the day, when it was down it looked or have had horizontal line (rear and front ends were paralel to ground). Now rear end is closer to ground (such situation might be seen on old BXs not serviced well.) Is it because of corrector failure or something else might be false? Any help is welcome
1.8i from 1993, 5 sphere hydropneumatic system!
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