Xantia groan

colski · Unread post by **colski** » 17 Oct 2010, 11:33

I own a 1999 xantia hdi 110. The front of the car can sit higher than the rear when left for a few hours, but my problem is, when I start it the front drops down along with this terrible groaning noise , its really embarrassing if someone is walking past! Ive owned 2 xantia's now and they've both done it! Anyone know what it is? Thanks

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 17 Oct 2010, 11:51

My TD hatch used to do this until the accumulator sphere was changed....

how recently has yours been changed?

red_dwarfers · Unread post by **red_dwarfers** » 17 Oct 2010, 11:58

The front struts on the Xantia aren't lubricated by deliberate leaks in the system. Pull down the gaiters and stick a bit of LHM or grease onto them, that should sort you out.

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 17 Oct 2010, 11:59

red_dwarfers wrote:The front struts on the Xantia aren't lubricated by deliberate leaks in the system. Pull down the gaiters and stick a bit of LHM or grease onto them, that should sort you out.

or that

maybe mine was just a coincidence

colski · Unread post by **colski** » 17 Oct 2010, 12:06

I had all six sphere's replaced this year. I thought it might have something to do with the front struts, so I shall give that a go, thanks.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 17 Oct 2010, 12:14

Richard W swears it's a resonance of fluid through the suspension feed pipes.

To me, it sometimes sounds like shiny metal on rubber.

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 17 Oct 2010, 12:18

mine was a farting sound, most embarrassing

colski · Unread post by **colski** » 17 Oct 2010, 12:49

Chris570 wrote:mine was a farting sound, most embarrassing

Haha, you've got it! Was trying not to use that word but yes sounds like the car has trapped wind!

Unread post by **RichardW** » 17 Oct 2010, 13:53

addo wrote:Richard W swears it's a resonance of fluid through the suspension feed pipes.

Indeed...

I'm pretty sure there were some official Citroen 'fixes' to try and resolve the problem (such as putting rubber blocks behind the offending pipe) - none of which really worked. It seems to be worse on cars where this is a bit of leak off in the system that drops the pressure quite quicklt after shut down - this means the anti sink valve can beat the height corrector, and the height correction takes place just as the pressure rises again when you start up. Mine does it 70-80% of the time, but then I lose the pressure out of the rear quite quickly....

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 18 Oct 2010, 09:03

mine was doing it just a few seconds after you got out the car as it corrected down. this was before the ACC sphere blew though.

lubricating your struts certainly won't do any harm and will probably improve the ride if they're dry. So its a good place to start...