Front end is too high

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Xantic
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Front end is too high

Post by Xantic »

I have done the 3 finger test on the Xantia and it's more like between 4 and 5 fingers which is too high, so a couple of questions.

I have said in other posts that the car seems too bouncy especially on the front.
If the front is too high i presume this would give the effect of it bieng bouncy on the front.
Before i spend out on front spheres would this have to be corrected before fitting new spheres on the front or would flat spheres possibly be the cause of it riding too high.

I don't mind spending on new spheres but will it still ride high and still have to be adjusted.
It would be a pain if after changing the front spheres this was the case as i have no means to adjust the front..At this moment i don't have 1 set of ramps yet alone 2.

Any thoughts on this anyone.

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Post by Xantidote »

The ride height is controlled by the ride height corrector (front & rear), and is unaffected by the condition of the corner spheres.
Martin

1995 Xantia TDLX (deceased :( )
Xantic
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C5 2.2 Diesel exclusive auto.
x 11

Post by Xantic »

I thought that but if it was say35 to 50mm too high would this give me a bouncy front end...What im getting at is should the heigth be corrected first.
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Post by Xaccers »

Yes, correct the height first.
Cassy's rear was a bit too low which made it hard.
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Post by myglaren »

Xac wrote:Yes, correct the height first.
Cassy's rear was a bit too low which made it hard.
Oh dear Oh lor', just wait 'til Malcolm spots that!

Talk about walked right into it :twisted:
Xantic
Posts: 347
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BX Diesel 1.7
C5 2.2 Diesel exclusive auto.
x 11

Post by Xantic »

So is it worth just changing the front spheres for now without doing an LHM change.. I wont have time to do the lhm change until the end of the month.

Also when changing the front spheres what approx quantity of lhm fluid loss am i likely to have, I will make sure i buy enough then to top up..I know this is hard to calculate but should i buy 1 ltr or 2 ltr..

Is there any significant difference if doing a fluid change to fill with hydraflush for 1500 miles and then proper lhm or would it be ok just to change straight to new lhm, Time is a factor thats why i ask.

Sorry to be a pain but although i love the Citroen they are new to me.

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Post by Xaccers »

Definitely hydroflush, it doesn't take long to do.
Gently clean the lhm tank filters too with a cheap small tooth brush and an airline if you've got it.

The BoL covers replacing the LHM/Hydroflush quite well.

You shouldn't lose much changing spheres, it depends how flat/burst they are.
If they're very flat, they don't have enough pressure to push out the LHM when the car is set to low, this results in a douche vert when you remove them as the nitrogen balloon is then able to expand, spraying out the LHM.
If the membrane has actually split, then the sphere will be full of LHM, which will dribble out when removed.

Talk nicely to your local tyre places and ask if you could quickly borrow their flat hydraulic ramp, get underneath and see how loose the dog bones are, if they're loose replace them.
Give the linkages from the height corrector a good spray with grease.
If they'll give you enough time, you can see about adjusting the height.

The only sure way of knowing if your spheres need replacing is to have them pressure tested.
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Post by Xantidote »

Sorry for brief reply last night.

Xac makes good point about checking looseness of dog-bone - no point resetting height corrector, only to have to replace dog-bone soon afterwards. I'd check and replace if either end of dog-bone moves around much on the nipple. I think to do this you'll have to jack car to take the load off the suspension.

4-5 fingers suggests to me the front is about 1" too high. I checked the height on my TD using tape measure to check against the figures in Haynes, and the 3 fingers test (front) seems a good guide

My TD was 1" too high when I first bought it 12 years ago, and Citroen mechanic reset the front in 1/2 hr, having all the gear of course. You must heed all the warnings on this forum about not going under the car to play with height adjustment, without having the car properly supported, else the car will crush you. I was new to the Xantia, and didn't begrudge the garage's cost at that time. Interestingly, I had a slight vibration problem at the time, and the mechanic said that with the car being too high, the vibration could be because the driveshafts were running at more of and angle/offset than should be. Turned out he was right :D Vibration subsequently disappeared.

When you clean the filters, take care using any airline, to avoid holing the filter mesh. I used soft brush and petrol, gentle airline pressure. I syphoned most of the LHM out of tank before removing tank. Was glad I'd covered clutch/gearbox with newspapers & rags to catch spillage. Handy hint from an earlier posting: have the bottom half of a 2 litre milk container to hand, to place the tank's mass of connecting pipes into.

It's cleaning and filling with hydroflush which takes the time. Draining the Hydroflush out, and replacing with new LHM is straightfroward. Just bleed the system until the clear Hydroflush changes to bright green.

5L of Hydroflush from GSF is enough to do the flushing. I assume it contains some detergent properties.
Martin

1995 Xantia TDLX (deceased :( )
Xantic
Posts: 347
Joined: 20 Mar 2009, 16:15
Location: South Wales
My Cars: In the past French ones
54 reg C5 Estate vtr
Picasso 2.0 HDI
X reg Xantia 2.0 Hdi
V reg Xantia Exclusive 2.0 hdi
BX Diesel 1.7
C5 2.2 Diesel exclusive auto.
x 11

Post by Xantic »

Ok so whats a dog bone..lol..
Thanks for all the help so far..I couldn't get near Cardiff today to get spheres as the rugby is on and i have enough of sitting in traffic all week in work,
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Post by MikeT »

Xantic wrote:Ok so whats a dog bone..lol..
It's the short, white, plastic link that couples the roll bar to the height corrector and resembles the shape of a dog bone.
Xantic
Posts: 347
Joined: 20 Mar 2009, 16:15
Location: South Wales
My Cars: In the past French ones
54 reg C5 Estate vtr
Picasso 2.0 HDI
X reg Xantia 2.0 Hdi
V reg Xantia Exclusive 2.0 hdi
BX Diesel 1.7
C5 2.2 Diesel exclusive auto.
x 11

Post by Xantic »

I thought it was but at the risk of making myself look thick i thought i would ask..Cheers

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Post by Xaccers »

Handy tip for removing the LHM resevoir.
once you've got the pipes/filters out, and the two nuts off the back, get a pry bar or wide flat screwdriver and slip it in under the resevoir then twist to pop the spike that jutts out the bottom from it's grommet without spilling any LHM, so no need to syphon, but you might need to move the airbox out the way to give a clear view.
1.9TD+ SX Xantia Estate (Cassy) running on 100% veg
1.9TD SX Xantia Hatchback (Jenny) running on 100% veg for sale
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DIY sphere tool
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