Steering pulling to one side...

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JamesQB
Posts: 375
Joined: 13 Aug 2003, 18:01
Location: North Wales, United Kingdom
My Cars: Citroen Xantia 1.8 - I miss this car a lot.
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Steering pulling to one side...

Post by JamesQB »

Me again!! [:D][:p]
I just can't get enough of this forum, so I'm back again. Seriously though, there are so many knowledgeable people here, I can't help but come here for advice.
The Xantia 1.8i 16V '96 is giving more trouble. Latest work I've done on it is cure a leak from the high pressure LHM pump to accumulator by changing an O-seal and yesterday cleaned up the front brake pads, calipers and bled them too (still have the rear to do) which I'm doing because the brakes seem to require a fair bit of pressure before they bite and they seem to bite hard every now and again while pushing on them, so it's a general low amount of braking while slowing down that suddenly becomes fierce for a split second then reverts back to (overly) soft braking. Perhaps it's just me. Haven't tried the car since doing the front yesterday, so I'll have to see if it's helped at all. Calipers were freely moving, but serviced them anyway. Pads were filthy with rust powder so cleaned them up to look like new. Discs are heavily rimmed (worn down where pads touch) and have caused the pads to take the shape of the rims...
Anyway, that aside, there's more! [xx(] The back end refuses to rise properly in a variety of settings unless the height lever in the car is moved about a bit, I gather the height selector valve at the back needs some attention, so if I can get under it safely propped up, I'll try cleaning it, etc and hope it doesn't need replacing (approx. cost for one anyway please anyone?), also the back end is very slow to fall when choosing a lower height setting. The front drops quickly but the back takes longer to start falling and the actual falling itself takes a while, slowly sinking, is this linked to the faulty height selector valve or something entirely different? (front and rear suspension spheres look very new and service history from a Citroen garage included with car points at these being replaced, don't think rear anti-sink or accumulator spheres have been changed though - car is not hydractive).
Also, while trying to get the car to successfully get to the height I'm selecting inside the vehicle, it will sometimes seem to reach the correct height but the accumulator won't stop clicking every second or two, as though the pressure is being lost immediately. Changing the height to something else, allowing it to settle and then putting it back to the original height I was trying for seems to stop this and the clicking stops.
The car is at the correct height visually in normal ride height mode and is level and springy, but the rear end seems to be a bit hard over bumps, in fact, the entire suspension seems more bumpy than I'd expect (been in a variety of Citroens from Xantia to ZX and they're smoother, you barely realise you're going over bymps at all... [8D]. This seems strange since the suspension sphere's are new and there are no leaks, haven't changed fluid but have topped up to keep it at the right level and done the Citaerobics.
Lastly, the steering is pulling to the right when driving along. It was far worse when the rear tyre had a slow-puncture but that's been cured and all tyres are now at correct pressures but the right pull is still there. Tracking appears fine and a look at the track-rods shows they haven't been touched in a long time if ever, they're also the same length each side. I have never found a garage that does the tracking properly and normally do it myself but I don't have the contraption I built here to do the measurements, but I don't think it's out, is it? What are the other common causes of steering pulling to one side and is it easy to check?
Anyone brave enough to take this lot on?!
Have fun, and thank you for listening. [;)]
James
MW
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Post by MW »

I think you can ease the height valve with a bit of WD40 and a little bit of exercise. Though it's a pity nobody told me that in advance, because a couple of years ago I shelled out £150 plus for a new one from my local Cit garage. Make sure the car's properly chocked first, though!
Come to think of it, the rear height system is intimately connected with the rear braking system - if one doesn't work, the other may not be up to much either. That couldn't be contributing to your steering prob, could it?
I seem to remember someone saying that frequent clicking often means the accumulator sphere's shot. Is that right, guys?
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

Right - the easy bit first - prices - download the price list from the GSF site or look up individual prics on their mail order system.
Dont know much about Xantias but have experience of BX and sorting those problems.
When lightly loaded your back brakes don't do very much. If your front brake discs are worn the performance will be affected while the new pads conform to the shape of the disc with local overheating of parts of the pads when they contact high spots. New discs are cheap - and certainly on the Bx very easy to change.
Assuming your struts move freely - NO creaks and groans at all as the car rises and falls and also that the spheres are good the most likely cause of a generally bad ride is that the car is not riding at its correct height. This may be that the correctors are sticking or alternatively there isn't sufficient pressure to raise or keep the car at the correct height. Often the problem is simply that the corrector linkage is seized - and it can generally be cleaned and lubricated.
To test the spheres get the car to its normal height with the engine running. You should be able to push down on each corner of the car. If it won't go down - sphere's gone. If all is well if you ush down on the back the car should sink and after about 1/2 min rise up again. This means the height corrector etc is working properly. You should be able to do the same on the front but as its stiffer you may not get proper results.
The anti- sink is controlled by a valve not the sphere. The sphere is to prevent a loss of brake pressure and a sudden drop of the rear of the car is driven off rapidly after a couple of days and probably can be discounted for this purpose. Search this site for full details.
20 secs is a bit fast for an accumulator and may be a sign that the sphere is weak. I wouldn't have thought it would interfere with the operation of the rest of the system. Its irritating and may shorten the pump life eventually and should be attended to eventually.
Jeremy
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

James -
First off - like Jeremy writes - ensure the height controllers linkages moves freely and are lubed. You MAY end up unscrewing and overhauling the rear HC to solve the problem completely. This is done within a couple of hours - not as frightening a job as it sounds.
Next thing to do is to ensure you don't have air in the rear suspension - and that air does NOT keep getting in the system. Air in the hydraulics is known to cause all sorts of frustrating problems.
Check the hydraulic pump feed hose - if surface cracks - it's likely to leak - admitting in air by the suction of the pump. It may simply be loose fit on the pump/reservoir studs - or the hoseclamp has a non-press point. In severe cases the reservoir plastic filter assembly may be cracked.
With above points solved/assured - it's Citaerobic time - to vent out any air in the suspension. This will for sure nicely soften up the rear suspension - considered the new spheres fitted allready. If not - the rear suspension arm's pivot bearings should be suspected. A very common problem.
All these things cleaned up - it's time to attend to any high ticking rate on the regulator. If you suspect the accumulator sphere - but still have a "feeling" that the problem could be elsewhere - then simply swap the accumulator sphere with one of the (known good newly fitted) front spheres.
If the ticking interval now gets into the minutes range - you know it's time for a new accumulator sphere then. Also a good accumulator sphere should feel good on the suspension - by the simple pressing down testing.
NEVER attempt driving the car with the accumulator sphere fitted as a suspension sphere though [:0]
If you can't get the ticking interval slow - then it may be the regulator itself leaking. On the accumulator mounting base (on regulator) - you see a tiny bracket holding a stell ball valve. This valve is known to leak. The steel ball may simply be reseated in it's seat - by a good dap - using a soft metal rod & hammer on the ball. Using a dap of grease hold the steelball in place.
But check first the pressure release screw is closed.
At this point - you should have solved all known problems usually found on the hydraulics & supension. If you still encounter problems - suspect leaking front struts. This may be checked by observing any flow from their attached return hoses (in wheelarches) - with engine idle & normal height selected. Only slow dripping is acceptable - any constant flow is a sure no-go.
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

Forgot your steering problem [:D]
Have engine idle - normal height.
Then grip on top of the front tyre - and try rock the car sidewards as hard you can. Any slack/wear in suspension joint will show then. Also a possible slack in wheelbearing would show.
Lift off wheel one side at front - then try rocking (hard !) sidewards on tyre. Any worn steering joint will show.
If all is good - then consider adjusting the tie rods - easy done. the side the car pulls towards - needs to have tierod screwed out a bit. It's some trial & error before you hit spot on. The tracking is VERY cumbersome to check. But usually the behaviour of the car is a telltale :
If the steering lacks the common self-straightening aid leaving a curve - then toe in is too wide (positive).
If the steering have trouble keeping the car straight - then usually the toe in is too narrow (negative).
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