suspendion

keith254 · Unread post by **keith254** » 18 Feb 2010, 23:57

I have a 1999 2.0 HDI TD Exclusive Xantia 110 bhp
I am having problems with the steering and suspendion :-
The steering is hard and soft to turn at times, a secondhand pump was fitted

the suspendion rises and falls at any time both front and rear allow mostly front. it sinks very quickly at times and takes about 1 to 2 mins to raise, it can be a soft ride one minute and start bouncing the next.
there is flushing fluid in it at present now for over a f/night, yes it has slightly improved.

Mech, said that when he took out the hydro/fluid it was two different fluids ,two different coloures and a lot of gung came out.

A front height corrector has been fitted
A hdi pump was fitted { recond one }

I am at my third, mech with this car and no further forward.
I have had two prev, xantias over a pertos of 9 years with trouble free driving, I am now very sorry I let my last one go to a friend who is delighted with it.
HHHH eeeeelp

citronut · Unread post by **citronut** » 19 Feb 2010, 08:41

hi Keith and welcome

it sounds like something has been put in the hydraulic tankl that should not have been, (brake fluid??????)

how did the machanic tell there were two diferent types of fluid in the tank,

were abouts are you

regards malcolm

Unread post by **xantia_v6** » 19 Feb 2010, 17:51

Some of the symptoms might indicate air being sucked in an pumped. Maybe time for a temporary fitment of some clear hose in the main feed and return lines to the tank to look for air bubbles?

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 19 Feb 2010, 18:23

If there is any suggestion at all that "foreign" fluid has been in the system then it's absolutely necessary to fully drain it, clean the reservoir and filters and refill with Hydraflush as soon as possible.

The usual contaminant is Dexron ATF and if so then as long as it is got out quick and flushed, no long-term harm should result.

Brake fluid is another matter. Not sure the rubber components will like it very much...

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 19 Feb 2010, 18:37

Looking at your symptoms, I'd be inclined, if V6's clear hose suggestion does not reveal the problem, to concentrate on the pressure regulator as it looks like you're suffering a loss of pressure at times.

Did the mechanic replace the main accumulator sphere? A totally flat one can cause all sorts of funny issues. It is easy to check the health of the accumulator; listen for regular ticks from it. The ticks should occur at intervals of 20 seconds or more. If it is ticking like a ten-bob watch then either the accumulator sphere is dead or there is a massive internal leak present in the system, draining pressure.

As yours is an Exclusive, you have Hydractive suspension and one cause of high pressure loss can be failure of a stiffness regulator electrovalve. This can be proved by forcing the car to stay in hard mode by removing F8 in the engine bay fuse box to disable the Hydractive soft mode. If this improves the tick rate and stops the intermittent sinking, check the electrovalves for excessive leakage. Sometimes they give themselves away by making a "flushing toilet" sound when switching from soft to hard mode.

Unread post by **citroenxm** » 19 Feb 2010, 19:30

If the steering has a stiffish and lumpy type feel, it can ALSO be the UJ joint, just above the pinion valve!

Even with a heat shield they still get warm and can try out the lubrication.. Id look here if you have fitted another pump with no real differences.. unless theres obvious air ingress from a split pipe etc..

Ive changed 4 UJ's now on 4 different cars.. 3 Xantia's, and one an XM.. prevented two from completely sizing, a Xsara, and mums Xantia hdi... so these are also a common failure. The PAS is driven directly from the HP pump and should need system pressure to operate - more like a conventional PAS setup, even though it uses the same pump..

Eliminating leaks or air intake is first priority..

Paul