height corrector

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espzetec
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height corrector

Post by espzetec »

ok, i've read much abouit this infamous height corrector not workign correctly due to ingress of dirt or falling apart.
can someone tell me where to look for this cos my rear suspension just is not correct. also what do they look like???
cheers
alan s
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Post by alan s »

What is your rear suspension doing to make you suspect the height corrector?
FWIW, here's a pic showing a rear height correctr.
Image
Alan S
espzetec
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Post by espzetec »

the back is higher than the front! it goes up and down ok, but the car is not level.
nice picture. is the hight corrector that round thing? (i've only had the car 3 days so im not sure)
alan s
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Post by alan s »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by espzetec</i>

the back is higher than the front! it goes up and down ok, but the car is not level.
nice picture. is the hight corrector that round thing? (i've only had the car 3 days so im not sure)
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Yup, the round thing is the height corrector but if you look at the left hand side of the pic you'll see a clamp attached to the sway bar; that's the adjustment for the rear height of the car. There's a lot of info regarding height adjustment (from memory on a BX this should be set at around 165mm from the centre of the rear crossmember) but the car HAS to be either over a pit, on a 4 post hoist or on ramps to do it or to put it bluntly, it will literally kill you as it can collapse on you.
Do a search on this forum for more info.
Alan S
espzetec
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Post by espzetec »

so to look at the hight adjuster, caqni just climb under the car? or do i need to jack the car up and support it? can i just take the round adjuster thing off? how would i go about this, and what do i do when i get it off? also that sway bar bit, is that whats causing the problem if the adjuster is not to blame? I know i have to change my accumulator sphere as its completely shot. could this correct the problem also?
alan s
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Post by alan s »

<b>Whatever you do, do not get under any Hydraulic Citroen without it being either properly supported, on a hoist or over a pit. Otherwise it WILL kill you, no risk!!</b>
The adjustment on the sway bar is used to raise and lower the cars height. It is loosened, and then swivelled on the sway bar either up or down which will set the height up or down. You need to have the cars engine running at the time and the lever inside set to normal ride height.
The accumulator sphere or any sphere for that matter does not have any effect on height adjustment.
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Post by RichardW »

Unfortunately, your height corrector linkage doesn't look anything like that, as the Xantia one is very different[:D] THe corrector itself is pretty simlar though.
No, do NOT crawl under the car without making sure it is properly supported on stands or ramps. The suspension can and does collapse and will squash you. Especially if you are 'investigating' at the time[:I]!
I think you will find that the linkage has dropped off yours (a short plastic jobby on the Xantia) and the corrector is getting pushed into too high a position. Drown the big coil spring in WD-40 and try and work it backwards and forwards to get it going. Then reconnect the link if it's still there, and not knackered. You might be lucky and it will work. If not you'll have to strip the corrector off and see if you can fix it on the bench, otherwise it will have to be replaced. Take careful note of which pipe is which if you do take it off, as it is easy apparently to confuse the feed and return lines, which doesn't make the suspenion work too well either....[xx(]
espzetec
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Post by espzetec »

you mention feed and return lines. does this mean i need to isolate the hydrolics in some way before carry this out? i presume if i just pull off the pipes, fluid will flow out?
what is the connector and what exactly am i stripping (i feel really thick!!)
alan s
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Post by alan s »

Doh!!
Whenever I hear the words Height corrector, my brain always says BX no model was mentioned so a wrong assumption.
Mate, in all honesty, I would suggest that you look at getting someone to look at the car for you before you really cause the car or yourself some serious damage. If you know the basics of the systems they are really simple, but it would take pages to describe in detail, so why not go to the top right hand side of the page and click on "Search" and from there read some of the past postings relating to height correctors and hydraulic systems before you go any further.
Regardless of whether it's a BX or a Xantia, it will be a fairly simple job to rectify the problem but if you start shooting in the dark as seems to be the case at present, it could turn major real quick.
Alan S
espzetec
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Post by espzetec »

dont get me worng, if i know what im lookign for i can do the job myself. im in to my cars and all that but its only been a couple of days since i aquired the car. Do i take it thaqt its not the same task as a bx?
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Post by tomsheppard »

Xantiae have a plastic link to the HC which pushes the piston in and out to correct the height. It fails often. First thing to check!
Jon

Post by Jon »

Ok
From my understanding of this Topic, theres a problem with the rear height on your Xantia. As Richard quite rightly points out this is most likely to be a problem with the plastic link having become detached, or the big coil spring (which is part of the black metal bracket to which the height corrector itself is attached)being seized.
Before you think about removing or replacing the height corrector, I suggest that you follow Richards instructions with regards to the linkage and the spring. <b>This work should be carried out with your car safely supported on jacks/axle stands.</b>
If the spring is totally seized, or the linkage is broken then you might have to think about replacing the height corrector itself. This is supplied new complete with the linkage and black metal bracket/spring.
espzetec
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Post by espzetec »

nice one, does anyone have any pictures, or top tips for me?
espzetec
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Post by espzetec »

well, there has been a change to this situation ow. the car opertaes normally (goes up and down when i move the lever) but in normal ride height both the front and rear of the car is too high! i would say about 4 inches between the tyre and bottom of arch. is this too much or am i being paranoid.
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