Can someone tek 5 mins to .......

The Seasider · Post by **The Seasider** » 20 Jul 2010, 22:38

find the part Number for the Suspension adjuster.....(the bit that goes between the lever between the seats & the height adjuster)

I KNOW the lever between the seats & the height adjuster are NOT connected ...(Coz I can see the "LINK" hanging loose under the car)

or better still post an exploded diagram of said linkage (just so I can get it straight in me head!!!)

Oh!! Sorry .... Xantia 2.0 Hdi 99 "T" plate...

Thanks guys

Keith

Sl4yer · Post by **Sl4yer** » 20 Jul 2010, 23:03

Here you go:

James

The Seasider · Post by **The Seasider** » 21 Jul 2010, 08:30

GREAT!!! ....Thats what I'm after ... THANKS!!!!

(I'm assuming I'm after part No 6) ..Eerrr Am I ???

Sorry to sound THICK here but those of you who read my previous posts will know the background to this car .......

Question....

As I said the Adjuster lever (between the seats) is NOT connected (THICK BIT COMING HERE!!!) ....what or HOW does the suspension go up & down ...coz it does this quite randomly

e.g. this morning I go out to the car & its sitting on "High" I drive to pick up my grand-daughter (bout 3 miles) by the time I get there we're on "LOW" I spend 10 mins with my son (getting grand-daughter ready for school) ...go out to car & its still at "LOW" I start the engine & UP SHE COMES......

I should say here I'm a Heating & vent Eng (so I know about Pressures & spheres ect) what I CANNOT get into my head is the "Control Interface" part of things..

E.G. The adjuster (between the seats) is not connected ...OK.. but whatever position the Suspension WAS in when it broke shouldn't the car just STAY at THAT position ???

OH RATS!!!!! Someone give me a Gas Boiler to strip down ... THAT I understand !!!!!

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 21 Jul 2010, 09:15

Seasider, excuse any explanations of the obvious. Looking at the height control valve as a Control System with two inputs:

The dog-bone connector (item 6) provides actual suspension height input from the centre of the anti-roll bar. The spring mechanism and the inherent lethargy and hysteresis of the hydraulic system provides the necessary damping.

The height control lever provides (via the linkage that is flapping in the sea-breeze) the base height reference input.

Logically, the suspension should be stuck at whatever height it was when the connection broke - BUT your whole rear height corrector mechanism is very stiff and probably full of rust and dirt (probably why it failed in the first place!) so as the suspension goes up and down, friction moves the reference point between the two limits.

By reconnecting the dog-bone, you've actually created the problem by providing one of the two system inputs while the other (the 'fixed' reference position) is 'floating'.

To add to the complications, it sounds as though your 'anti-sink' sphere and/or main accumulators, which between them provide a pressure reserve for the hydraulics (brakes and suspension), are getting a bit tired. So the suspension sinks more than it should. But don't worry about that until you've sorted the height control.

It's perfectly normal for the suspension to go up and down a bit when you start up; you've put some load in the car (occupants), the suspension compensates taking fluid and pressure from the accumulators. When you start the engine, the HP takes a little while to bring the system first up to minimum pressure (STOP light on) and then up to within normal operating limits.

Oh, and your not being THICK, it took me a while to get my head round the basics of the Xantias hydraulic system and I'm still struggling with some of the finer points. I've started writing a Guide to Xantia Hydraulics but only the first section, the accumulator, is finished. The definitive The Citroën Technical Guide by Željko Nastasic´ and Gábor Deák Jahn is comprehensive but a bit of a heavy read as it covers various different models and variants.

It won't all work properly until you've freed-off the rear height corrector mechanism and re-connected the control rod, and then bled the rear brakes - common system with the rear suspension, but crud and old fluid get trapped in the dead-end to the calipers, but can get back into the main system to cause trouble.

I could go on, but work calls....

Best of luck

Guy

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 21 Jul 2010, 09:40

Another helpful picture?
This shows the manual height adjustment lever o the pair of height correctors.

It may be the main longitudinal control rod (item 3) is bent or even fully
disconnected so leaving the rear height corrector (RHS) to fend for itself?
Seen this before where a car has been driven over a kerb etc before fully
lifting up.

Andrew

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 21 Jul 2010, 09:50

Betting money would say the main connecting rod has come uncoupled off the
rather bizarre spring at part 4. The way this all connects is not what you'd
expect just from looking at the illustration or for that matter a complete and
connected one - heaven knows what Citroen were thinking but anyhow the
ultimate effect is to have this acting onto the main control pivot of the rear
bracket mounting to act onto the corrector valve (item 1 in the very first
diagram posted by Sl4yer).

The range of adjustment is minute and I've spent ages in the past tweaking
this on a Xantia estate to get the heights to act correctly at both ends! The
smallest amount of movement of the main control link from the middle lever
of the car at part 4 will vary the control of the height corrector.

The first unnecessary issue altering the effectiveness of this whole set up
is the stiff/seizing up linkage in the main rear bracket after all the road
slime/crud is thrown up onto it - free this up (taking previously mentioned
precautions on safety) so it all works smoothly and the setting up on the
control rod linkage will be far easier - otherwise your fighting it and work
will be self defeating.

As Old-Guy mentions this set up is complicated by the variability of the twist
of the bracket (first diagram item 4) on the anti roll bar.

Andrew

The Seasider · Post by **The Seasider** » 21 Jul 2010, 11:19

Andrew, That Pic was VERY VERY helpful mate ...(See Below)

the RED circle is where its come loose ...& I have a "Thing" like in the GREEN circle just hanging down.....

SO, I'm assuming we re-connect it ...give it SHED LOADS of WD leave it over nite & things "SHOULD" return to normal ?????.....

As the front doesn't "DO" owt either I assumin that the same thing has come adrift there as well....

I CAN see the rear but the front is "A Female Dog" to "See" .......I'll have to wait until my mate comes off his holidays & get it on his 4 poster to see clearly .....

Either way it don't LOOK like a MAJOR job to fix .....

Unless of course, YOU know different

Keith

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 21 Jul 2010, 11:47

The Seasider wrote:the RED circle is where its come loose ...& I have a "Thing" like in the GREEN circle just hanging down.....

SO, I'm assuming we re-connect it ...give it SHED LOADS of WD leave it over nite & things "SHOULD" return to normal ?

Hi Keith - you got it - setting the lot back up and fine tuning may be faff but
ultimately you probably don't need any new parts, just reconnection of what
you have on the car. The height corrector mechanisms will respond OK to
cleaning and lubricating and should operate freely/smoothly by hand when
the small nylon dogbone is disconnected off the anti roll bar clamp brackets.

Whilst access from a 4 post lift will be safe and easy the wheels need to be
on the floor and the body supported at the desired height so the anti rollbar
clamps are then at the correct positions to then set the selector lever's
adjustment. Not easy!!

At the current time the one thing I wouldn't adjust are the two clamp
brackets on both anti rollbars as there's likely these are still at the factory
setting unless one has corroded and bent or even snapped it's arm off. The
adjustment will be left on items 4 on the main selection rod.

Andrew

The Seasider · Post by **The Seasider** » 21 Jul 2010, 13:34

AWESOME Andrew..... the man with the 4 poster (Gary) is back from Spain tomoz .....it will be "up in Th'air" ..by lunchtime tomoz......

y'Know things like this NEVER cease to amaze me ....

I go & spend the wrong side of £12K on a Range Rover & at MOT time it cost Thousands to get it thru ......

I spend under £200 on this it WALTZES thru its MOT & to fix it, it costs NOWT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it uses hardly any fuel (With the Rangie I'm lucky if I get 12 MPG round town!!!)

MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!... anyone facy a L322 Range Rover Sport ??? .....

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 21 Jul 2010, 14:29

I see you're now getting 'the charm' of these great cars! Better still is how a
properly fettled one can drive. Newer and expensive doesn't always do the job
any better! Let's hope the faff of setting the car up correctly will be painless
for you tomorrow then!

Andrew

The Seasider · Post by **The Seasider** » 21 Jul 2010, 17:06

Oooohh!!!!..................Things have moved on a pace here Andrew ....Its Sunny here & in the 70's ... so sitting lookin out of the front lounge window at the BLACK BONNET & BLACK BUMPERS I took it on meself to go down to the local Parts shop & get some White paint....

BIG tin of white spray paint (Right colour code) ... £4.99 (I got 3!!!!)

BIG tin of white "Plasticoat" spray paint ....£2.99.. (I got 2!!)

Out came the Maskin tape & newspaper & OFF I WENT !!!!!

I had a serious think about that bonnet in Hull .... Problem I saw was WHOEVER fitted the Mk 1 bonnet ALSO FITTED the Bumper .....therefore to make the Mk2 bonnet fit i'd have had to get the Mk2 Bumper as well (Coz of the Bonnet catches !!!!)

5 tins of spray paint seemed FAR EASIER than replacing the damned bumper & bonnet.......

Anyways ....................Bonnet & bumper are now WHITE ( I'll NEVER WIN the Sprayer of the year competition but Hey Ho I have a TOTALLY WHITE CAR NOW!!!!)

I'll dig out some pics of Gordons listing on Flea-Bay & some I took this afto .. & post em up later ...

Keith

The Seasider · Post by **The Seasider** » 21 Jul 2010, 17:32

[/img]

BEFORE!!!!

AFTER!!!!![/img]

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 21 Jul 2010, 17:49

I quite like the Mk2 with a Mk1 front end.

Not too bad a spraying job by the looks of it.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 21 Jul 2010, 17:55

superloopy1 wrote:Looks strange to see a MK2 car with a MK1 frontend

Hang on; that'd be what a mk1 is!?

The 'T' reg may give the game away though my pal owns a V plated
mk1 V6!

The ride heights are all out at both ends unless it was deliberately
on the high setting to sort the bumper painting?

Andrew

The Seasider · Post by **The Seasider** » 21 Jul 2010, 19:12

andmcit wrote:
superloopy1 wrote:Looks strange to see a MK2 car with a MK1 frontend
Hang on; that'd be what a mk1 is!?

The 'T' reg may give the game away though my pal owns a V plated
mk1 V6!

The ride heights are all out at both ends unless it was deliberately
on the high setting to sort the bumper painting?

Andrew

Whoa Here fellas!!!..... Thats the way it ALWAYS SITS!!!! ...What are we saying here (That this is a Mk1 with a HDi Engine ????) ....I didn't think they (cit) fitted a HDi in the Mk1..... DID THEY ?????

Utterly confused now !!!!1