Xantia TD Suspension woes

[RohanC]

Boy Iam i glad to find this site!

I have a Nissan 200sx as a fun car, every bit of knowledge i have on them has been reamed from the Owners Club forum..

Anyway, hello, and please help

My Xantia is having the issue described here: http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... php?t=5256

But i think i have more than one issue...

Both front sphere are prety solid, so i am guesing the accumilator sphere has gone too. I intend to replace this as well. I have just replaced the drivebelt, but it hasnt got any better.

I think i also have a LHM leak near the Hydraulic pump. Is a frothy mix in the resevoir a sign of a leak?

I say i am unsure... because i seem to have a serious diesel leak as well It only did it a little when i bought the car. I just just cannot work out where its coming from though Its enough to make little pools of the stuff onto of the head near the injectors, but its also all over the hard pipes coming out of the pump, and of course, all done the front of the block. I have replaced the diesel return pips (do they just push on? should i have put some hymolar around the pipe joins?)

Finally, whilst doing research on this (countless hours) i found a link section on a site that did refurb spheres for a Tenner! Anyone know where i can get them that cheap?

The tax is due in the end of April, so i dont want to spend very much on her, as i suspect it wont get through another MOT.

Thanks for reading, and hope for some useful info on how i can get her fixed

Rohan

[RohanC]

Ahhhh, i just remebered the other related issue....

If i put the suspension in LOW mode, i leave it idling, set it to high and:

1, It takes about 2-3 minutes before it even starts rising

2, When it finally decides to rise up, it does it in lots of little steps. It rises quite fast, but its quite jerky, until it gets to the last 80% of travel, then it rises smoothly

[mezuk04]

Ive just bought 2 front spheres and at just under £50 from the gsfcarparts website and for the life and warranty they come with i dont see the point in having refilled ones and obviously the job they do..well worth the money

[RohanC]

I see what you're saying... but 4 spheres at that price isnt far off what i paid for the car. May also outlast the car if the MOT goes horribly wrong!

I think i have found the link.. saw it on the http://www.bx16v.com/ links section.

http://www.cv-joint.com/Parts.html

&

http://www.cv-joints.co.uk/

Just emailed them, will report back. Still need to work out why the brakes are b****xed, and the diesel leaking everywhere tho

Having to do an 80 miles commute in a 200sx, that returns < 25mog is a tad expensive

[Mandrake]

Both front sphere are prety solid, so i am guesing the accumilator sphere has gone too. I intend to replace this as well. I have just replaced the drivebelt, but it hasnt got any better.

I think i also have a LHM leak near the Hydraulic pump. Is a frothy mix in the resevoir a sign of a leak?

Most definately. If you look into the top of the resovour tank while the engine is running and you see frothing, you have an air leak at the pump.

It can only be either the hose going from the resovour to the HP pump, or the pump itself. Usually its the hose, and it should always be checked first as a pump is rather expensive...

Check both ends of the hose are tight (you shouldn't be able to turn it) and if necessary replace the crappy original clamps with jubilee clamps.

Also check for cracks or splits in the hose.

This amount of air getting into the system can cause all kinds of strange symptoms, so I would suggest sorting this problem out first. There should be absolutely NO frothing or bubbling in the tank when there are no air leaks.

Regards,
Simon

[Mandrake]

Ahhhh, i just remebered the other related issue....

If i put the suspension in LOW mode, i leave it idling, set it to high and:

1, It takes about 2-3 minutes before it even starts rising

Although air leaks on the pump probably will slow down the lifting a bit, 2 to 3 minutes for this can be normal.

Is it an anti-sink model ? Is it Hydractive 2 ? What year ?

Anti-sink models have a two output pump that uses 6 pistons for the power steering but only a miserable 2 pistons for the suspension and brakes. If you fully depressurize the suspension (lever set to DOWN for a couple of minutes or more) it can easily take 2-3 minutes to lift up again, especially to maximum height, this is pretty normal.

Anti-sink models rely on the fact that they don't lose much pressure and therefore don't have much topping up to do under normal circumstances.

2, When it finally decides to rise up, it does it in lots of little steps. It rises quite fast, but its quite jerky, until it gets to the last 80% of travel, then it rises smoothly

Does it jerk at the front or the back, or both ? If its at the front the front struts may need lubricating (try a forum search for advice on this) if its the rear suspension the rear trailing arm bearings could be on the way out - although that is usually accompanied with groaning sounds..

Regards,
Simon

[Homer]

Both front sphere are prety solid, so i am guesing the accumilator sphere has gone too. I intend to replace this as well. I have just replaced the drivebelt, but it hasnt got any better.

I think i also have a LHM leak near the Hydraulic pump. Is a frothy mix in the resevoir a sign of a leak?

If you are getting air in the system this will give you similar symptoms to a flat sphere. As has been said it's most likely the pipe between the pump and the tank, a leak anywhere on the high pressure side would not get air in. That is provided you have enough LHM in the tank.

Once you sort the leak you will need to raise and lower the suspension a dozen or more times to bleed the system. You may also need to bleed the brakes.

[Harlequin]

my used to go up in jerky steps - and wobbled from side to side as well


£20 for a mechanic and he spent 3 hours udner it , cleaning , lubricating and adjusting and now it glides up and down smoothly with the correct ride height all round.

[RohanC]

Glad i have found such a friendly forum Wish i could find a friendly garage in Hampshire that will do 3 hours work for £20 as well!

I will check the low pressure pipe tonight it its not stupidly cold.

Its a 95 year, so i am pretty sure its an anti sink model. Also GSF said it was the 2 & 6 piston pump (that was shortly before i nearly fell off my chair when they told me the price!). The jerking seems to be from the front only.

I guess all that air could be the reason the brakes are worse when its cold as well.

Thanks again, its cheered me up a little. It made me really late for work this morn (had to turn round and get the other car after 3 or so miles the got stuck in traffic) and i was contemplating cutting my losses and scrapping her.... as the whole no brakes thing has made me loose confidenc. However, i can certainly stretch to buyng a new jubilee clip

Besides, its not really the cars fault, but bad/lack of maintenance.

[jeremy]

Get the reservoir - pump hose sorted - may need the ends cutting off and fitting with the right size jubilee clips or something. If its gone porous which can happen it won't leak LHM but draw air in as its under vacuum. For diagnostc purposes you can replace it with a section of clean garden hose. (Thanks Anders)

Once you have done this you can start checking the rest of the system. Do Citroebics to clear air and gas from most of the system (not the limbs going to the brakes but with luck these won't have air in them) (Citroebics - raising and lowering the car fully) then you need to check the accumulator. This is a highly scientific test involving accurate measurement!

Start engine, set to normal height and let it get to that hieght and settle for a couple of minutes. Stop engine, turn off engine and sit in the boot! car should sink and then rise again after about 30 seconds. If it does so then the accumulator is good - If you get out in fact the car should rise quite a long way then drop again after 30 secs. - this is correct.

You have the 2 outlet pump, the majority of its output is for the power steering, and the smaller output for the brakes and so they are heavily reliant on the accumulator (a store of high pressure LHM) to function properly.

If after the removal of the air leaks and proof of a good acumulator the brakes are still not good then they may need bleeding - instructions are on this site - and you don't need to pump the pedal - the pump does all the work for you!

A new accumulator is the same proice as the other spheres from GSF - but its a different sphere with no valving in its neck.

[mezuk04]

Have to admit my car has always been a bit slow at lifting itself from the very low (service) setting, leave it a few minutes and come back its up to maximum height however to speed the process up a bit i found if i plonk myself in the drivers seat then it starts to lift a bit quicker so i wouldnt worry about the speed in which its lifting

[RohanC]

Nice one Jeremy & I love the citorbatics terminology!

Mez, the reassurance is good! I thought it might be a related fault, but glad its not another problem.

If i get this fixed, ill just have to work out where the diesel leak is coming from. Shame i cant see it leaking at a standstill. I may give the engine a wash down with the Power Washer (after bagging up the electrics), and see if i can spot it when the engine is clean. Hopefully it just a fuel line union that i can pick up cheaply....

[Harlequin]

with my 1.9TD pug , i had a leak from one of teh metal fuel pipes

[RohanC]

You mean the fuel line it self was split! Yikes!

I did notice last night that the one from no3 cylinder was touching the head, which worried me Perhaps if i put a bit of paper inbetween the head and pipe i will be able to tell if its worn through...

[Harlequin]

no , the leak was from one of the metal fuel pipes from the pump to the engine itself.