Xantia front suspension height

bigbossa · Post by **bigbossa** » 17 May 2011, 11:50

Hi all
Got my self a N reg 1.9 TD Xantia done about 87,000, turns out the front suspension was fairly hard and the front ride height looked kinda high to me. Well the local Citoren "specialist" ( used to look at my BX back in the day ) reckoned it was the Spheres.We had a bit of a discussion about the height corrector sticking etc...what worried me at the time was that he forgot that there was a corrector in the front of a Xantia. Anyway I went with what he suggested and changed the spheres , yes the suspension feels a softer now but the height is still high ..I guess about a hand and a half from the top of the tyre to the wheel arch. The mechanic said not to worry about it , but it does bug me. He sprayed the corrector with a motorcycle chain lube, said it might rectify itself.
Any suggestions ? BTW the LHM tank seems to be overfilled.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 17 May 2011, 12:18

Step 1: ditch "specialist"

Step 2: investigate why the front is too high which is what is causing the ride to be too firm.

You'll need the car up on full length ramps or over a pit.

Follow the manual control rod forward to the height corrector linkages.
Out of the actual height corrector (barrel shaped object) is the control arm.
It has a square hole in the middles. The manual linkage has a pip out the side of it which fit into the square hole. With the lever at normal setting the pip must be in the centre of the hole and not against the edge.

Also check the plastic dogbone is tight, if it wobbles then replace it.

if its still high then you'll have to adjust the clamp on the anti roll bar.

bigbossa · Post by **bigbossa** » 17 May 2011, 12:27

Hi Xac
Thanks for your reply , do you think I've just wasted my money on the new spheres then ?

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 17 May 2011, 12:50

Hi bossa -

Its a common misunderstanding that Citroen suspension spheres have anything to do with the rideheight.
The suspension spheres only influences the ridecomfort.

I believe its all back to the early BLMC Hydrolastic system, which did in fact sunk down with bad rubber spheres.

But the the Citroen hydraulic suspension is far more sophisticated self-levelling independant of the pressure in the spheres, because of the cylinders, which are controlled exactly by the height correctors.

Back to your quetion : new spheres will no doubt give you a softer ridefor a longer period.
LHM cars are supposed to have the spheres checked and possibly re-gassed every 2.nd year by a Citroen garage.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 17 May 2011, 13:09

the very first thing you should check/free off before you make any manual adjustments,
is the two turrets which have a spring wound around each one, and there are two turrets at each of the hight correctors and if they are not regularly lubed will seize up,

which in turn will stop the suspension settling at the hight you select or automaticly adjusttingselfleveling its self,

the only way to free the turrets fully is remove them from the car/system,

as they need to be floppy loose,

just blasting them with a thick grease will almost certainly not work,

regards malcolm

bigbossa · Post by **bigbossa** » 17 May 2011, 13:16

Thanks AndersDK
Think I'm gonna have to borrow some ramps and check it out myself. Looks like there has been some work done ,looking at the mot it had some work done to the anti roll bar/ball joint . The "specialist"had a look at the height corrector while I was there and reckoned the dog bone was still on, if it was loose is another thing he was adamant that the spheres needed changing . Now he's saying we will have to look at the corrector/roll bar

Hi Malcolm sorry just saw your post ..thanks

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 17 May 2011, 13:24

DIY servicing on Xantias is normally the best way to ensure things are done and done properly.
Most jobs are simple enough to do at home, even the suspension/brakes/steering which has an unfair reputation for being complicated when it is actually a damn sight easier to deal with than springs/master cylinders/vacuum pumps etc.
We're here to give you as much help and advice as possible, and some members even go as far as lending a helping hand with the work itself.

Now a seperate and extremely important point given the age of your car.
Strut tops. They rust through eventually and normally give you a bent bonnet, but could go when driving and I dread to think of the result.
They're the black things at the top of the front suspension which the spheres screw into.
Set the car on high, get a torch and thoroughly check them (from the wheel arches especially) for split rubber coating, rust, and holes.
There's a thread on speared bonnets that is worth reading after a stiff drink.

Also, never ever go under a hydraulic suspension car unless it is secured by axle stands or similar. They can drop which tends to leave you pancake shaped.

To check the lhm level set the car on high and with it still running look at the clear dome on the tank.
The orange disc should be between the two red rings, but if it is above then that isn't a problem, it just might slosh a little out if you drive vigorously.

bigbossa · Post by **bigbossa** » 18 May 2011, 17:07

Well today turns out the front suspension has gone hard again !!? Mechanic has gone home . will wait to see what he has to say. Basically he said yesterday when he changed the spheres he had corrected the hard front and anything else ie the height was something else.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 May 2011, 17:11

Start the car and tell us how many fingers can you fit between the top of the front wheels and their arches and the back wheels and their arches.

Also, with the car running, sit on the front of the car so it sinks.
It should then rise back up.
When you get off it should go higher and then return back to normal.

Repeat the same for the back and tell us what it does.

bigbossa · Post by **bigbossa** » 18 May 2011, 17:34

Xac wrote:Start the car and tell us how many fingers can you fit between the top of the front wheels and their arches and the back wheels and their arches.

Also, with the car running, sit on the front of the car so it sinks.
It should then rise back up.
When you get off it should go higher and then return back to normal.

Repeat the same for the back and tell us what it does.

Hi mate
Yeah the front I can get 8 fingers and the back 1 ,sitting on the front its very hard and it does not go down. The back is soft and goes down , rises but does not lower
I expect there was nothing wrong with the spheres that he changed

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 18 May 2011, 17:56

were aboutws in West Sussex are you, im in St Leonards on sea East Sussex,

regards malcolm

bigbossa · Post by **bigbossa** » 18 May 2011, 18:00

Hi Malcolm
Yeah mate , Im in Pulborough West sussex

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 May 2011, 18:12

8 fingers!

That's fully high!

If you set the car on low do both ends sink?
If so, when you go back to normal does the front go back up to 8 fingers?

Could be the front dogbone or antirollbar clamp has snapped.

Do the spheres he fitted have any numbers on them?

bigbossa · Post by **bigbossa** » 18 May 2011, 18:18

hi mate
Thanks for your reply,unfortunately I have to go out now. I do know the spheres he got say BX DL 55 bar. Be back later .
Yeah when in low both ends go down, infact yesterday the car went lower withe new spheres after a while . now its still high after a couple of hours. it was like this before the change

Thanks

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 May 2011, 18:33

No problem.

I'd say the issue is going to be between the antiroll bar and the height corrector, most likely either the plastic dog bone between the auto-height corrector linkage has popped off or the metal arm of the clamp on the arb (which the other end of the dogbone fits on) has snapped, or the clamp is loose enough to slip, while the now disconnected auto-height corrector linkage has gotten stick in the high position.

Has the car had any arb work done such as the bushes replaced?