Just Bought a 96 P Reg Xantia VSX TD - suspension question

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PjGuitarWales
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Just Bought a 96 P Reg Xantia VSX TD - suspension question

Post by PjGuitarWales »

Hi..my first post so please be gentle.

I bought the car as it has wonderful history and has obviously been looked after. I really wanted a XUD engined car as my father has alot of experience of these engines and felt that it was a good way to go.

Its an estate as Im a musician for a living.

There is absolutely no manual with car. Can someone fill me in or direct me to some information regarding correct choice of suspenson height in different scenarios? There is a button in front of the lever too.

Im not sure how long its been standing or what it needs doing to it to fettle it but it now seems to have evened out and goes up and down on command, at first it was a bit unsure and elevated unevenly from back/front.

If you push down on the boot it bounces back.

Im told the garage changed all the spheres.... and there is evidence of this and certainly reciepts proving so. Despite this, it is ticking a bit and seems to move if the brake pedal has been held for sometime.

Praying I havent bought a dud as the car is in lovely condition has been looked after mechanically and I am very very taken with it. It has four good tires, an mot to may and runs well. Its on 112k wit the cam belt done at 90k.

Loving what I have seen of the forum so far I hope you can help. Im hoping Ive got a good workhorse and a comfortable family car for my two daughters of 4 and 2.

There are a few other niggles Id like advice on but thought it better to focus on the suspension to start.

Very best regards
Pj Williams
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Post by KennyW »

Welcome to the forum Paul,

What position is the lever in which is psoitioned beside the hand brake :?:

There are 4 suspension heights on display
Position 1 (nearest the engine as you sit in the drivers seat) is low and is used only for working on the car and pressure has been released.
position 2 is normal ride height ,
position 3 is intermediate
position 4 is high.
I think the button you refer to in front of lever is hydraactive suspension other guys on the forum will confirm or otherwise.

You describe your suspension" it bouces back" Is the suspension hard or soft in feel when you did this.

Hard suspension means it bounces back quickly like a sport spring suspension and that indicates the spheres require changing.

soft suspension means it is returns smoothly and slowly.

Kenny
C5 x7 2.0 HDi 160 hp Estate exclusive, the newbie
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Post by PjGuitarWales »

Thanks for your speedy response! :D

The lever is currently on the lower of the two running positions.

It was soft not short or hard... but i cannot say that it was a slow resonse as such but not 'loose' either.

There seems to be some lhm(?) green oil getting out onto the top of the resevoire, we wiped it clean at the garage and having driven it back some has collected again.

I just went out to show a friend the car as he had been helping me hunt for something. I had it set high as i wanted to clear the kerb here and get it on the side till it is propely taxed. I started it and set it to a normal ride height and it steadily went down. As i shut it off when i thought it had finished it sank a little further quickly as i put my weight in the car.

Cheers again
PJW
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Post by Sid_the_Squid »

Hi, welcome to the FCF,
Sounds like you have your car in the 'normal' position, and for 99% of driving thats where you want the lever to stay, going over floods and obsticales is the only reason I can think of for driving on raised, or high settings.

Dont worry about the car going up and down as you get in and out, it will do that, with the engine running, and possibly for a short time after the car hight will auto correct depending on weight being added or subtracted.

If car is 'ticking' in less than 30 second intervals from the pressure regulator it could probably do with a new regulator sphere, often neglected by garages during sphere changes.

Being a VSX you have Hydractive suspension (v2 on a Xantia right?) keeping things simple this means the suspensions has two modes of operation soft (Default) and hard.

The mysterious button by the hight lever does sound like it would be a 'sports mode' button for the suspension, I'll let someone more technically capable explain exactly what that does, but the kindergarden explination is it means the suspection ecu will switch the suspesion to 'hard mode' at the drop of a hat or the slightes courner.

You'll find that some people here have strong feelings towards Hydractive suspension, some in favour, some against. I personally am very much in favour, as I think you'll be once you get used to how it works, and how it can benefit your driving experience.

Theres plenty of friendly knowledgeable people here, who I'm sure will come along very soon with no end of advice and information.

oh dont worry about a little lhm weep from the tank, its harmless if not a little messy.

Picture of your car would be cool if you have a chance.

:)
Gone to the dark side.

Past Citroens
'99 Xantia HDi Exclusive
'99 Xantia 3.0 V6 Exclusive (Green Goblin)
'02 C5 Hdi 110 LX Estate
'98 Xantia 1.8 sx auto with LPG
'00 Xantia Hdi (110) forte
'97 Xantia 1.9D sx
'93 Xantia 1.9D lx (my first) R.I.P
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Post by PjGuitarWales »

Thanks for your resonse sid.... your v6 sounds like a beauty and a beasty :)

I understand about the polarised views of the versions of suspension as everyones experience and context must vary greatly... looking forward to hearing about it all.

I will try and post a piccy as soon as poss.. the link to autotrader is now down it was up at 795 i got it for 7 as i pointed out some wear on the discs and that the air intake trunking was broken clean off upstream of the filter which has now been rectified with some duct tape till i get to the scrappy.

only other issue is the rear passenge side door window doesnt work... it seems to have had some rust tidly patched on the inside of the car on that door area just below the seat but its tidy and doesnt bother me.

they have done a lovely job cleaning and valeting it which is nice considering some of the cars i have seen in my hunt. It would seem obvious to me that if you want to sell something you do your best to make it look right but alot of garages seem to be oblivious.

please excuse my lack of grammar or capitals... my two daughters are running wild round me and im trying to type like a demon.

the car has some other interesting buttons on the dash.... one which has a snow flake... another which has a cross and two arrows.... and another next to that which is worn off. i noticed a warning sign flicker on and off when it was first started... it had been stood in a classic car dry storage shed and was flat. it hasnt done anything since.

ive been hooked on citroens for years this is my first chance to own one. Quite chuffed.... hope that the experience doesnt prove to be marred by any difficult issues with the suspension.

Sorry for waffling just trying to fill in the gaps.

I have probably paid over the odds a little but the engine sounds so sweet and has had good attention. The previous owner has taken the trouble to keep reciepts and has written/scrawled around the engine bay when things have been done/maintained/changed. I needed to buy something as things at home arenot conducive to long car hunts as the missus is very poorly with an incurable disease and we have two young girls. I have already spent some weeks searching and faffing and it had to come to an end soon... i was so taken with the overall car and the attitude of the salesman that I went with a gut feel hopefully not a mistake my dad and i went over it all obviously but i felt a leap of faith was needed.

Best regards
PJW
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Post by PjGuitarWales »

the ticking is fairly slow with long intervals... perhaps not 30 secs though. i noticed just now when letting it down the ticking did speed up considerably.
PJW
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Post by Sid_the_Squid »

IF your happy with the car thats all that matters, price is such a relative thing, a good TD can be hard to find.

The snow flake button is your AC, the cross with two arrows sounds like it might be the switch to disable the rear electric windows, stops the kids playing with them ;)

Ay the V6 sure is a beasty, fantastic car, not the fastest I've owned but definatly the best, I was thinking of selling a couple of months back, but I really cant bare to part with her dispite the fairly expensive fuel habits (27mpg).

Regulator sphere wise, with the engine ticking over and the suspension on normal you should get >30 seconds between ticks. the 'ticks' may be preceeded by a slight ratteling sound, then a pronounced tick which ceases the rattle.

As for warning signs you'll always get the stop light & another, cant remember right now so used to seeing it, on startup for a few seconds whilst the car builds up pressure in the suspension.
Gone to the dark side.

Past Citroens
'99 Xantia HDi Exclusive
'99 Xantia 3.0 V6 Exclusive (Green Goblin)
'02 C5 Hdi 110 LX Estate
'98 Xantia 1.8 sx auto with LPG
'00 Xantia Hdi (110) forte
'97 Xantia 1.9D sx
'93 Xantia 1.9D lx (my first) R.I.P
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Post by andmcit »

It may help you unearth the oddities of the car getting hold of a handbook
as the Citroen way is sometimes a tad different than other cars!

The handbooks regularly turn up for little money on ebay :

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trks ... Categories

or alternatively check out the scrappy.

BEFORE you do that though it's always worth undoing the drop down tray in
your driver's footwell beneath the steering column with a small button simply
turned by hand through 90º and sometimes you may be lucky to find the
plastic wallet with not only the handbook but the maintenance record.

Finally - have a word with Old-guy on this thread to sort the pipe/handbook
and other issues (worn switch):

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=31843

The worn switch may be alarm reset which is only really used when a new
battery is plugged into the car and the siren sounds with flashing lights -
this will reset the alarm when the ignition is switched on simultaneously.
Wouldn't expect it to be worn though so more likely the windows isolator.

Happy Citroening and I hope the car does everything you want it to!
Andrew
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Post by demag »

Hi Pj,

A bit of misting on top of the lhm reservoir is not unusual. From your description it sounds quite nice. The button by the height lever opens or closes some valves under the car, this has the effect of stiffening the suspension when cornering, braking, or accelerating. Driving normally, say on a motorway shouldn't make any difference to the feel of the suspension. If your set up is the same as the Xm, a warning light will show on the dash when in sport mode.
Dave
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Post by andmcit »

Check the tightness of the feed pipes onto the head of the LHM reservoir as
these can get dislodged and split where there's work on it or nearby. There
are some particularly small (shoelace) feeds that can be missed amongst
the clump of pipework that hangs out there.

Andrew
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Post by PjGuitarWales »

You guys are the best thanks again will keep reporting progress and would be happy to absorb any other info or advice from yourselves and other users as it comes. Will hopefully get the chance in the next few days to investigate the various points outlined by yourselves and will post my findings.

All the musician and musical equipment forums i have experienced in the past are full of people flaming each other and puffing their chests up this is so refreshing!

Its so teasing.... the citroen is not taxed yet and its sat outside the house now beckoning me to drive it lol I had quite a shock when i filled the tank to the brim ready to work out the mpg. Thats alot of litres.

Have to empty the old astra out bless its cv joints :( sad to see her go. I dont want to risk the investment of sorting the problems but her next owner will do so thats his call.

will tax the xantia when the cover note comes and hand the mitsubishi colt ive borrowed from my dad back to him. Ive been very grateful for it.

anyone got a "light 15" for sale my dad has a yearning lol

will have to work out why the steering wheel buttons arent working the radio at some point, and get the tach workin but they're way down the list. haha

cheers again.... im listening with open ears :)
PJW
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Post by admiral51 »

Hi PJ
Just to confirm what you have already been told the snowflake button is the A/C switch.
The button with the X and 2 arrows is the isolater switch for the rear windows.With this button pressed in the buttons on the rear doors will not operate the windows although you can open/close them from the buttons by the handbrake.As for the rear passenger window not working it could be an iffy switch but bear in mind that if the switch located by the handbrake has a dodgy connection then the door switch wont work :)
The button on the dash by the X and 2 arrows is the alarm ultrasonic(interior movement) disable button.
The switch at the front of the height control lever is the "sport" button and all this does is shorten the response time the car switches between soft and hard mode.
Have a look in the members only area and look for the Activa stickies and Jim has put up a good explanation of how hydractive works.. will put a link up in a bit.
To test that the system is working run the car for a few mins so that pressure builds up.Switch off,remove key and shut doors.After 1 min try to push the car down front and rear,should be solid or very litttle movement.Open door(leave open) and then try same test..should be like a "normal" car.

Edit Here is the Link third post down :)

Colin
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Post by andmcit »

I forgot to mention earlier why there are different height settings through adjusting the lever near the handbrake. Basically this hails back to the Ds days where the event of changing over a punctured tyre was made totally painless by selecting the maximum high setting and then supporting a jack under the car which when levering to the opposite extreme then lowers the car right down to minimum height and in doing so the wheels lift off the floor - brilliant! Mind - don't get under the car or let next doors cat as it'll be a very tight squeeze... :(

Basicaly the extremes are called workshop settings and the minimum drains the full hydraulic system's pressure (1500 psi) so the car can be worked on - the opposite is true for the maximum height where the system is fully maxed out - there's no suspension movement but ground clearance is maximised for fording rivers/stones/snow etc at slow speeds!

Again brilliant! How boring life must be for Ford etc drivers... ;)


What is your speciality as a musician?

Andrew
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Post by PjGuitarWales »

Well my main instrument is the guitar, but I also play the piano and sing, play bass, play some violin etc.

Just try to cover all basses really so that i can be called upon by pretty much any type of band to stand in at a gig at short notice. I do have bands that i play with on a regular basis too, doing weddings and pubs.

The majority of my work is teaching the guitar and other stringed instruments in schools as a peripatetic teacher. I also do private lessons and travel out to peoples houses.

Have to try and do a bit of everything to earn a living at this really.

I have to carry quite a selection of equipment to gigs and recording sessions hence the estate.

Funnily enough I found some videos/animations on the net showing the tyre changing stunt on a ds.... fab!

A guy locally here in north wales has a ds which comes out on nice days... never had the chance to speak to him but been seeing it and lusting after it for years.

My dad had a bx gtd as a demonstration car in the late eighties/early nineties. I was smitten then. My travel sick mother said it was the only car she had never felt ill in .........which left us all gob smacked as she really is a nightmare on a long car journey.

Funnily enough I had a lesson tonight with a guy whos dad is something of an autoracing expert and spanner wizz and he was telling tales of some very big names transplating this citroen suspension into their rally cars to amazing success years ago. Makes you think. Hes a bit of a tinkerer to say the least.... has a vw polo racer running a vr6 engine on twin weber 40's firing done by snapon socket onto crank driving a dizzy from something obscure... serious horses. 'Threw all the nasty electronics away' he says lol
PJW
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Post by Old-Guy »

I'm reluctantly breaking an identical car (in green). If you can't find the small parts you need in a scrappy, PM me and send them to you - cost you the postage and a modest sum for the parts.

If the handbook is truly missing and not in its storage tray above the driver's right knee, I've got a rather damp-wrinkled spare.

Pity you're in North Wales - but if you have a gig that takes you along the M5/M4, I'm about 20 minutes from the Severn Bridge.
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1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
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