Xantia back suspension query

[vince]

Hi guys,

Firstly HOORAY finally a nice dry day 8) Ive got to take my hat off the Xantia which has behaved really well considering it has been dragged into serious daily commuter duty and hasnt been touched since before christmas. Well done car and thankyou.

Ok, here come the questions:

When i start the car the rear end takes a while to raise, then drops a little and comes back up shortly after. I have always thought this to be normal but am sure ive read somewhere that this shouldnt happen?...mine is a 96 VSX.

I tested the rear accumulator today using the sit on the rear bumper method and see if it corrects itself. It did, as did the front too The engine was running all the time so pressure was being kept topped up by the main accumulator. Would this disguise a tiring rear accumulator sphere?

Secondly, a silly question but opinion seems divided.
When topping up the LHM, do you use the orange umbrella as the level indicator? or the brass disc beneath it? Ive always tended to use the brass disc but it seems in hand with vehicle colour procedure to use the orange umbrella....which one is right?

Cheers dudes 8)

[KevMayer]

I've had a problem on my Activa where the suspension drops at the back after around 1 minute of driving away from cold and, up till then, the rear end is in hard mode.

It sounds like yours is dropping once your rear electrovalve eventually switches. The extra softness of the middle sphere drops the rear end then the height corrector lifts the car again.

If it's only a short period then I wouldn't worry too much. If it stays hard for a while, like mine has been, then it may be worth doing something.

This has been discussed previously and the cause appears to be the rear electrovalve sticking in hard mode for a while.

I've not been happy with this at all. So, yesterday, I applied Mandrake's solution.

This involves removing the rear electrovalve and lengthening a small spring on the pin inside.

This is the link where Mandrake describes his sollution.

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... highlight=

I did the work yesterday and I've been for a couple of drives today. I pulled away from cold and the suspension was soft at the back. Just as it should be. Hopefully I've cured what for me was a major niggle.

My Activa would eventually go soft and ride correctly, but, if ever I took anyone for a spin, I always had to explain why the ride was so bumpy for the first minute. Now, fingers crossed, i'm sorted.

I didn't follow Mandrake's sollution to the letter. I baked my electrovalve at 75 deg C for 15 minutes..lol

p.s. If you can't find it...Mandrake did his at 70 deg C for 10 minutes

[DickieG]

When i start the car the rear end takes a while to raise, then drops a little and comes back up shortly after. I have always thought this to be normal but am sure I've read somewhere that this shouldn't happen?...mine is a 96 VSX.

The car shouldn't do this but its very common with Hydractive Xantia's, I believe its due to a sticky rear Hydractive block and or a delay in the rear anti-sink valve opening.

I tested the rear accumulator today using the sit on the rear bumper method and see if it corrects itself. It did, as did the front too The engine was running all the time so pressure was being kept topped up by the main accumulator. Would this disguise a tiring rear accumulator sphere?

In a word yes, the teat should be done with the engine turned off, run it to build up pressure then turn off to test residual pressure in the accumulator.

By the way this test only tests the accumulator on the engine, the rear accumulator is a pressure reserve for the rear brakes only.

Secondly, a silly question but opinion seems divided.
When topping up the LHM, do you use the orange umbrella as the level indicator? or the brass disc beneath it? Ive always tended to use the brass disc but it seems in hand with vehicle colour procedure to use the orange umbrella....which one is right?

The orange umbrella is correct.

[CitroJim]

I've not been happy with this at all. So, yesterday, I applied Mandrake's solution.

My goodness Kev, you're doing some cracking stuff First the ram repair and now this! Top work!

How easy was it to get the valve apart after a gentle bake? I ask as I have a leaky one on my V6 and want to explore repairs. Simin intimated that it was still pretty tricky after heating...

[vince]

Thanks guys...

Richard, you know the £30 fix it kit for hydractives advertised on CCC, will that fix it? I thought of fitting one to make sure i never develop problems in the future...

Will look into mandrake's solution but im still a novice when it comes to DIY'ing these cars.

[KevMayer]

hello Vince,

That kit is a few diodes which you fit to replicate the action of the diodes already fitted, one to each electrovalve. If a diode fails, the electrovalve won't stay switched and your suspension will be firm and bouncy because it won't switch to soft mode. But, your problem doesn't seem to need new diodes yet because your electrovalve is switching and staying switched.

Hello jim,

I removed the whole middle sphere/block/electrovalve as a unit and put it in a vice.

I used a good quality adjustable spanner on the small hexagon at the return pipe end and the electrovalve came off the block in one piece.

I then baked the electrovalve. After 15 mins in the oven I quickly put the hexagon of the large end in a vice.

I tightened my adjustable to give a good fit on the small hexagon and eased the spanner down. There was a sudden crack and that was it. The electrovalve undid sweet as a nut.

I think the small hexagon should be a 17mm but all my 17mm spanners still had a lot of play so I decided to use my trusty 12" adjustable. It gave a much more positive grip. I didn't want to end up rounding the hexagon off.

[CitroJim]

Richard, you know the £30 fix it kit for hydractives advertised on CCC, will that fix it? I thought of fitting one to make sure i never develop problems in the future....

I fitted one of those kits to my first Activa. Simplicity itself and it does what it says on the tin It is unlikely to fix your present problem Vince but it'll certainly guard against diode failure in the future and to a degree, protect the Hydractive ECU if a diode fails. If you're not confident with a soldering iron, diodes and chopping into looms then the unit is perfect.

[vince]

Most definately im not confident with soldering chopping looms etc just yet.

I have just written a job list for the Xantia this morning which involves some DIY'ing.

Im going to have a go and re learn my redundant skills....i used to do alot of my own mechanics back in the day but time has passed and so has my confidence.....

Ive got a rocker cover gasket to do but im edging towards booking it in for that job....?...seems simple enough though

[CitroJim]

It'll be good to see that job list Vince...

Well, you know, the old skills will soon come back Start on the little jobs, build your confidence up and then move on to the more challanging ones. You'll do it and save a packet in the process. Remember we're all here and between us there's hardly a job one or the other of us have not tackled...

The rocker cover gasket is a nice, easy one to start with. It looks a bit tricky but once all the indiction piping is out of the way and the inlet manifold stub removed, it's all straightforward then. Not a bad idea just to check your valve clearances whilst the rocker box is off...

In no time at all you'll have the confidence to take electrovalves apart!

[Xaccers]

Trick to the rocker cover, lift it up slightly, then slide it along so that one of the indents on the back lines up with the inlet manifold.
If memory serves, it also needs to be tilted so the back edge is higher than the front, you'll see when you do it, makes the job much easier.

[vince]

i will PM you the list Jim, its nothing fantastic but some things i want to get done before the shows kick in this year