xantia suspension

imperial21 · Post by **imperial21** » 26 Aug 2010, 21:27

Hi all i am new to your fine forum !
I have had my 1999 xantia exclusive HDI a few months now which i think is great but a bit of a money pit !
What i want to know about is the suspension
How long should the car take to rise in the morning ? i wait about a minute or so ?
Also when i am driving the xantia,say i stop sometimes the rear of the car will lift up again, is this just the self leveling suspension working properly ?

some of the money i spent on the car includes having the rear spears replaced and the accumlator spear replaced and the height corrector thingy un seized !
Thanks for any thoughts

Post by **myglaren** » 26 Aug 2010, 21:59

The car will occasionally adjust it's ride height and this is naturally more noticeable when stationary. Unless it is extreme then it is nothing to be concerned about.

They need not be expensive to maintain, depending on how much you are prepared to do yourself.

The spheres are fairly cheap - average about £25 each, and some are dead easy to fit, others require a bit more skill, knowledge and elbow grease.

The height correctors aren't bad as long as you are properly prepared, the method is on the forum in some detail.

As with any other car, there are some things that are difficult and/or expensive, and lots of things that are reasonably easy.
The thing about Citroens is the way they differ from the majority. Can be a problem until you are familiar with their ways.

Post by **xantia_v6** » 27 Aug 2010, 08:25

How far is the suspension dropping overnight? is it dropping at both front and rear? It should not really be dropping at all, thus you should should not have to wait for it to rise.

The rear end rising while stopped seems fairly common on hydroactive cars, but is not a fault as such. It is apparently caused by the rear brakes holding the car while the front creeps forward a few mm, the geometry of the rear suspension causes the rear end to drop a few mm, causing the height corrector to pump more pressure into the rear suspension, then the back wheels creep forward a few mm, and the extra pressure causes the suspension to rise.

It should stop doing it if you either put on the handbrake and release the footbrake when stopped, or press more firmly on the footbrake to keep all wheels firmly anchored while stopped at the lights.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 27 Aug 2010, 11:39

These cars can be expensive to sort out initially but once you have everything in good order they can be very reliable.

The suspension characteristics vary from car to car according the the condition of various parts of the hydraulic system, providing the suspension rises and it drives OK I wouldn't be to worried about what else it does.

Peter

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 27 Aug 2010, 13:26

hi and welcome

you say the work you have had done so far is/was expensive, can i ask how much the work has cost,

were abouts are you in the sunny south

regards malcolm

imperial21 · Post by **imperial21** » 27 Aug 2010, 15:09

Hi All
Thanks for your replys,you have put my mind at rest, i am off towing with my caravan tommorrow and was a little worried !

As for work i have had done as i said i had both rear corners & the accumilator spear changed,and the heght corrector changed that cost £180. i was nearly going to do it myself as i looked at the price for the parts at gsf but the rear spears sounded hard to change and i did nt want to break the small rear rear pipes in the back of it.
I have also replaced the clutch,

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 27 Aug 2010, 16:13

rears are easy, you just have to start them off coming out with the car on high and axle stands to protect you.
Once they've turned a bit, depressurise the system and screw them off like the fronts.

imperial21 · Post by **imperial21** » 01 Sep 2010, 19:02

Hi all back from my holiday,the xantia towed like a dream but after reading your replys i wonder if my anti sink sphere on the rear is faulty as the car always sinks a bit when switched off almost straight away is sinks an inch or so,over night it drops to the floor is that bad ?
Which sphere is it ? how easily is it changed ?
Thanks

Post by **CitroJim** » 01 Sep 2010, 19:18

They really are great towcars...

Despite it's name, the anti sink has nothing (or at best a very peripheral role) to do with sinking. It is in fact a rear brake accumulator to provide a reserve of pressure for the rear brakes when the anti-sink valve is closed.

The normal cause of sinking at the rear, bizarrely perhaps, is flat or weak rear corner spheres. These can go flat on a Hydractive car and you can barely be aware as the centre sphere does the lions share of the comfort work; the corners acting as dampers.

So, I'd swap those and do the anti-sink whilst you are there as it is, because it has so little obvious effect, so often overlooked by garages.

It does have a minor role in preventing jolts on door opening and helping to prevent the slight sink you sometimes feel on startup.

The main accumulator must also be in tip-top nick to prevent sinking at the rear too.

It's a bit beyond this thread but the anti-sink relies on the anti-sink valves closing very promptly and sharply as main system pressure falls. If spheres are weak it all tends to become a bit unravelled and the anti-sinks can be very slow to close.

We use this to our advantage when depressurising the system for maintenance. If you leave the engine idling whilst you open the bleed valve, the pressure will fall and the anti sink valves will stay open long enough to depressurise the corners and the hydractive spheres. Opening the valve has the exact same effect as a flat accumulator.

Stop the engine before depressurising and with good spheres, you'll find the valves click shut very rapidly and often this leaves full pressure in the corners and a nice douche vert when you release the corner spheres!

rapid sinking can also indicate a large internal hydraulic leak. What's your tick rate like and can you successfully do the "sit in the boot" test?

Briefly, switch off, sit in the boot, feel the car sink and if the system is good and the accumulator is good, there should be enough pressure reserve to correct the height back to normal after a delay of about 20s.

imperial21 · Post by **imperial21** » 01 Sep 2010, 21:13

Hi
cheers for that answer, as i said earlier i had 3 spheres changed on the rear, the invoice says 2x rear (the pair off the wheels) & accumilator. i know there is still one old one left on the rear i will look tomorrow and see which was nt changed