Xantia HDi Estate Spheres and fluid loss

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paulstow
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Xantia HDi Estate Spheres and fluid loss

Post by paulstow »

I just got the car from ebay and am generally very pleased. A couple of points I could do with your collective advice on though.
The ride is very bouncy - I guess this implies the spheres need doing. Stationary, the car seems to sit high at the front and low at the back if that gives any clues.
Also, on startup it takes around 15s for the stop light to go out, accompanied by the front of the car dropping in height, often with an associated clonk. Is this the front spheres again, or maybe accumulator sphere as well?
Whilst a long way from home, I lost hydraulic pressure and power steering. Drove for a few miles to get a top up of the green blood - needed about 4 pints - then got home by repeating the procedure. Made it home in 100 mile bursts between looking for motor spares shops!
I haven't had it apart yet, and everything is covered in plastic trim, but fluid is clearly coming from the front right side. Are there any known failure points to check for ( the Jags are known to fracture the high pressure steering pipe at high mileages ).
Many thanks - Paul
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

Hi Paul,
Your first job is to find and correct the leak.
On most Xantia's the HP (High Pressure Hyd Pump) is located low down on engine's (at car's) RH side.
As you could drive the car with this leak, I take it you had working brakes, and thus it can NOT be a pressure line burst. My first suspect then, would be the large dia rubber hose feeding LHM from the reservoir to the pump. Next suspect would be a similar large return/overflow hose from the PR (Presure Regulator), which is located low down on engine block, and has the main accumulator sphere attached.
It has been reported though, that the pressure line feed from the HP (rigid steel pipe) may leak from the union on the pump. Also the pump body itself may develop a crack which leaks, which means you have to find a s/h replacement pump. This is quite easy to reckon with engine running.
Once this problem sorted, you're on to the suspension system.
Wrong suspension height is never caused by sphere problems. The speres provides the spring element only.
Note that a wrong suspension height VASTLY detoriates the usual soft ride.
This means you need to have a look on the HC (Height Corrector) and it's mechanical linkages, down under in the vicinity of the antirollbar. Either the HC itself may be stuck or the linkage is dry.
Once you arrive to a normal suspension height with car parked and engine idle, you're ready to mess around with any possible sphere changes.
paulstow
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Post by paulstow »

Hi Anders,
thanks for your reply. The leak is indeed my first priority, so it's good to know the first places to start looking - hopefully it will be easy to spot.
The car appears to ride at normal height when the engine is running ( haven't measured anything but it looks ok ), but goes low at the back and up at the front when stopped. I'll take a look at the ride height adjusters, but I'm not convinced the problem is there.......
Cheers - Paul
paulstow
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Post by paulstow »

To update everyone, I found the leak was coming from the anti-sink valve, which lives under the hydraulic fluid reservoir and is a pain to get at and undo/refit all the pipes. I replaced the valve and two front spheres so I now have no leak and no bouncy ride.
I notice now that on start up the red light goes out after 3 or 4 seconds rather than 10 - 15 seconds as before. Is this normal, or does it suggest the accumulator is packing up?
Also, after working ok for a few days, sitting in traffic this morning the car seemed to be adjusting it's height all on it's own - just a little drop sometimes. Does this suggest some air has got into the system or some other problem??
Cheers - Paul
RichG
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Post by RichG »

I had the front anti-sink valve go on my Xantia when it was about 3 years old. It wet itself all over the garage floor! When I started the car it looked like a Green Niagera Falls underneath. I found another person on the internet who had the same problem but Citroen, Slough denied that there was a problem and refused to reimbruse my costs.
I understand that the leak is from a drilling that is plugged when the valve is manufactured. As I had mine replaced by the Citroen main stealer, before I discovered this forum, I did not get to see the valve.
Richard
mpcole
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Post by mpcole »

Interesting...
Had exactly the same failure myself a few weeks ago (5 year old car
). The screw in plug had become loose and caused the green O ring to fail. I only managed to get the thing to stay screwed in by winding PTFE tape around it (and replacing the O ring). Replaced the whole valve a week later to be on the safe side
wrinklet1
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Post by wrinklet1 »

Paul,
The STOP light should go out at about 3 - 4 seconds and the rear of the car can go up or down a little when at traffic lights, its just the self leveling part doing its job
paulstow
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Post by paulstow »

Thanks for that. The movement whilst the car was stationary was a little worrying as I hadn't noticed on my older Xantia.
I've bought a pair of rear spheres anyway, and will probably try struggling with these over the weekend now there's no football to watch :(
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