There’s one other thing about my Xantia that’s bugging me just a tad these days, and I’d like to run it by you guys and see what comes back. It’s the hydraulics you see…
History:
1. I got a replacement second hand hydraulic pump fitted in late December 2003. That’s all fine. It runs quieter (and less often) than it’s predecessor, which failed in a very leaky fashion. The suspension was starting to feel very hard long before that pump failure, and just prior to the failure the car was taking longer and longer to rise when starting cold (thus overworking the pump and wearing it out I assume). Post pump replacement, the ‘rising’ was back to what seemed normal, but the suspension was still very hard. So I thought all of my spheres and LHM had to be done next.
2. Then I discovered Citaerobics on this forum about a week and a half ago, so I tried that, giving the old girl a good 7 up/downs for good measure. Phwah!
And to my amazement I found that the overall feel of the suspension improved quite noticeably. More amazing still, it seemed to improve yet further over the next few days of use. I was delighted (Thanks AndersK whose post showed me the light).Ok, so now I’m almost happy. The problem is, I think I still have to replace at least the accumulator sphere, and maybe tinker with some other bits, and definitely replace the LHM because it’s TOTALly filthy. Hah, nice pun.
Here’s what I think is unusual about my hydraulics…
1. When starting cold the rear of the car nearly always rises completely before the front even budges. The rear rises smoothly from start to finish of motion. The front of the car rises in steps (about 4 or 5), and when it reaches the top the pump stops pumping for a moment, and then it starts again. The pump runs for about another 2 or 3 minutes before it gradually settles into a normal ‘ticking’ behaviour pattern.
2. Sometimes when returning the suspension setting to normal position from lowest position, the front of the car rises (in steps), but the rear doesn’t budge for a long time, and then it slowly rises (smoothly). Both ends of the car go up and down simultaneously when moving from lowest to highest, or highest to lowest, or highest to normal. I haven’t tried anything in particular with the intermediate position.
So guys, how much of this is abnormal behaviour, and what should I replace or adjust first?
