Xantia Niggles Part 2

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Stepto1
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Xantia Niggles Part 2

Post by Stepto1 »

Right, here goes. Changed front discs and pads this weekend for Bendix new ones. Brakes feel great now. Turns out one of the pads was jammed solid. Destroyed the disc but all better now.

While I was at it I changed the accumultor for a new one as the pump was kicking in every few seconds but seems better now. The problem is this. The new sphere came with the same seal as suspension spheres and this did not look right. I checked and the old sphere, which came off very easily, didn't seem to have a seal either. Fitted sphere with the seal supplied and it leaked. Removed seal, refitted and no leaks. I'm confused to say the least! The car now rises and falls much quicker and smoother and the steering feels better. The weird thing is that the ride is much firmer now. I'm finding bumps in the road that weren't there before but on the flip side, it seems to ride flatter and less floaty. How come?

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Post by Xaccers »

Did you fit the o-ring to the socket then screw the sphere in, or did you put the o-ring on the sphere and screw it in?
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Post by Stempy »

Sounds like you left the old seal in it's rebate when you removed the sphere then fitted the new one and ended up with two seals, hence the leak. The old seal must still be in place and doing its job.

Is yours a hydractive model? i.e. does it have a suspension soft/sport switch?
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Post by Stepto1 »

Thanks guys. So how come the sphere came with the larger, flat seal and not the small internal one? Have I got the right one? My car just has six spheres.

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Post by Stempy »

As far as I am aware all spheres, including the acc, use the same seal which should be pressed into the rebate of the relevant strut/regulator before spinning on the sphere. The exception being the anti sink sphere at the rear which connects via a pipe and flare nut and uses a small tubular seal fitted over the end of the pipe. In both cases it can be easy to miss the old seal if it stays in place when the sphere is removed.
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Post by citronut »

i never use the new seal supplied with new aftermarket spheres, as i feel its to soft compaired to a genuine seal, i re/use the old one as long as corosion has no eatten into it, (never had one leak yet) and always smear the matting surface with citro blood before screwing the sphere into place,

the only other format seal i have seen is a round section type,

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Post by CitroJim »

I reuse seals all the time.

I have a pile of them about 2 inches high now :roll:
stepto1 wrote:he weird thing is that the ride is much firmer now. I'm finding bumps in the road that weren't there before but on the flip side, it seems to ride flatter and less floaty. How come?
That's to be expected and normal I'm happy to say. With well regulated line pressure you are now discovering that the Xantia suspension is not necessarily that soft but is beautifully tight and compliant and giving a really well controlled ride.

The floaty, bouncy ride previously was all down to varying line pressure as a result of a flat accumulator with peaks and dips as other components called for pressure and dropped the main line pressure as a result. The accumulator acts as both a reserve of pressure and a smoother - like a big electrolytic capacitor in a power supply circuit.

It can get so bad that it can lead to intermittent closure of the anti-sink valves whilst driving and this can lead to really quite wonderful bouncing and general boat-like behaviour. Xantia doing a good Tigger impression...
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Post by Stepto1 »

Ahhhh! Is that why if I braked hard before and kept my foot on the brake and then released it the back end would sink? I really like the ride now. Combined with the new brakes it feels much more sporty, as much as I hate that word! I think the Citroen bug may have bitten. I'm doomed!!!

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Post by CitroJim »

Stepto1 wrote:I think the Citroën bug may have bitten. I'm doomed!!!
Welcome to our world Stepto :D

Owning a Citroen is a bit like Hotel California - you can check out any time you like but you can never leave...

Look at me, I bought a Xantia barely six years ago, simply because I urgently needed a towcar and a Xantia happened to be available. Look where it's taken me.... Back then I didn't even know what a Xantia was...
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Post by Stepto1 »

Ha! My background is in Land Rovers, 4 x 4's and kit cars. I swapped an old Fiesta for mine as I drive from Nottingham to Plymouth most weekends. The previous owner paid 50 quid for the Xantia then left it outside for years and didn't use it as it had a few problems. It's a great car now. Trouble is that I'm now thinking petrol turbo or v6! Old habits die hard!
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