Xantia stiff rear suspention

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 30 Mar 2011, 17:36

Hi

I have a Xantia 2.0 16v make year 2000. The front suspension is soft and OK, the rear was a bit stiff so I replaced the spheres ( all three of them to new ones ) but it is still stiff. The clearance between the front wheel arch and the top of the front tire is about five fingers , and the clearance between the rear wheel arch the top of the rear tire is about two to three fingers. Is that normal ? Anyone knows what can be the cause to the stiff rear suspension. If it is on an importance I checked that the car height control works ok in all four lever positions

Thanks
Zohar

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 30 Mar 2011, 19:04

The ride height is too high Zohar and that will affect ride terribly.

I suggest you begin by checking the height correctors are working normally and that they are well lubricated and free of corrosion..

The first test at the rear is to sit in the boot with the engine running and feel the rear suspension go down under your weight. After 20 seconds of so the height should correct back to normal. Same when you get out, the rear should rise high and then fall to running height.

If this fails then your height corrector is not working correctly and will require inspection.

Does the car rise and fall correctly on the manual height lever?

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 30 Mar 2011, 19:52

Hi Jim
Thank you for your good advices. The height of the front suspension is higher than the rear suspension but the front suspension are smother, if you push down the front of the car while the engine is running the front bounces once if you push down the rear it will not bounce even once. Yes the car does rise and fall correctly on the manual height lever. Are the clearances I mentioned in my previous post look OK ? Regarding the test you suggested I know that if you push down the rear of the car after stop pushing it will rise more than ride height and then it will fall back to the ride height , I didn’t if under load it will go down and then corrected back to normal , I’ll check it and post the outcome. But the height correctors can there be another source for the problem ? I see a minor leak in the pressure regulator can this be the source for the problem ? Where do the fornt and rear height correctors located. Are there cases that the height correctors should be replaced, or they can always be fixed ?

Thanks
Zohar

Unread post by **myglaren** » 30 Mar 2011, 20:07

Zohar, in abeyance of Jim's reply, have a look throughthis thread covering the cleaning and refurbishment of the height correctors.

It is fairly exhaustive but additionally a couple of members have recently discovered that the correctors can become badly contaminated internally and ARE repairable without too much difficulty.

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 30 Mar 2011, 20:40

Hi Steve

Are the rear and front correctors linked , what I mean is if the rear corrector is not functioning OK will it affect the front corrector or the front suspension and vice versa

Thanks
Zohar

Unread post by **myglaren** » 30 Mar 2011, 21:28

No, as far as I am aware they function independently.
Which is why one can give problems while the other behaves normally, as appears to be happening with you.

The only 'link' is with the manual height selector that forces a desired ground clearance.

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 31 Mar 2011, 07:32

Hi Jim

I sat t in the boot with the engine running at firs the rear suspension went down under and after 20 seconds or so the height corrected back to normal although I think it was corrected a little bit more than the normal height. When I got out, the rear almost immediately raised high and then fell to running height. Does this mean that the rear height corrector is OK

Thanks
Zohar

Xaccers · Unread post by **Xaccers** » 31 Mar 2011, 10:29

lancia58 wrote:Hi Jim

I sat t in the boot with the engine running at firs the rear suspension went down under and after 20 seconds or so the height corrected back to normal although I think it was corrected a little bit more than the normal height. When I got out, the rear almost immediately raised high and then fell to running height. Does this mean that the rear height corrector is OK

Thanks
Zohar

It means it's working and the "dogbone" hasn't popped off

From the number of fingers above the wheels your car is, I'd say it's riding slightly high which probably explains the stiff ride (being slightly low can also do the same).

Now, it could be:

1) The linkages between the dogbone and the height corrector could be sticking, holding the car artificially high.

Car on high, axle stands under the rear jacking points, car on low to lift the back up so you can get under, engine off, height lever back to normal.
Check that the plastic dogbone is tight and doesn't wobble. If it does visit your dealer and buy a new one (or two incase the front one needs swapping too) then swap them over.
Undo the two bolts holding the height corrector (barrel thing with rubber cap on the end and 3 metal pipes) and wiggle it free from the horizontal linkage taking care not to damage the pipes which you may need to remove so take note of which one goes where. Once it's free, see how loose the linkage is. It should be extremely floppy. If it's not dowse it with plusgas/brake cleaner and then spray it with lubricant and work it until it is loose. Refit the height corrector, making sure that the ends of the linkage's spring go either side of the square hole in the control arm of the HC.

2) The manual override bar ends have slipped and are holding the car high.

While the car is up on axle stands at the back and the height lever set to normal, check that the pip that sticks out from the top of it's linkage is bang in the middle of the square hole in the HC control arm. If it needs adjusting slacken the 8mm bolt that clamps the connector on the end of the manual height rod and slide it up and down until the pip is in the right place. Then check how her height is off the axle stands.

3) The clamp on the other end of the dogbone has slipped around so the height corrector thinks it's level when it actually isn't

If you've done 1 and 2 and everything is hunky dory with them, then it's time to adjust the clamps (unless anyone can come up with another solution as this should be last resort as it's a pain in the wotsit).
You need the car up on full length ramps or over a pit so you can work safely underneath with all 4 wheels level.
I've done the rear in the following manner:
I removed the connector from the end of the manual height rod so that it couldn't interfere.
Follow the dog bone to the clamp on the anti roll bar, you'll see it's held in place by an 11mm bolt, slacken this.
Now I found it really hard to adjust the height despite the linkages not being sticky, but using a couple of tools I was able to adjust the linkage to get the height right (a second pair of eyes to tell you it's right is handy) which then pulled the clamp round into the right position.
Tighten it up, sit in the boot and let it adjust, get out, repeat a few times and check the height.
If it's still one finger between the top of the wheel and the arch, then refit the connector on the end of the manual control rod, making sure the pip on the linkage lines up with the middle of the square hole in the HC's control arm, and the job's done.
If the front is now high, repeat the proceedure at that end, but unfortunately I can't give you any specific details/tips as I've not needed to do that end.

You MUST do the adjustment using full length ramps or a pit. Do not attempt it by just going under the car, it will drop down and crush you.

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 31 Mar 2011, 12:36

“From the number of fingers above the wheels your car is, I'd say it's riding slightly high”

Do you mean both front and rear are high or only the front ?

“I was able to adjust the linkage to get the height right”

How can I know when the height is right ?

Thanks
Zohar

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 10 Apr 2011, 10:25

Hi

I don't know if it is related but after stopping the engine if I push the rear of the car downwards it immediately sinking in compare to the front of the car that when pushing it downwards after stopping the engine it will bounce back to the riding height. Does this indicate that the rear anti sink sphere is failed ? Although it is new it was manufactured on 2004 ( the manufacturing date is stamped on it ) . I don't know if a sphere has a limited shelf life . Can a failed anti sink sphere stiffen the rear suspension ? The pheres are I.F.S.H

Thanks
Zohar

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 10 Apr 2011, 17:56

See my reply in your other post!

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 12 May 2011, 06:09

I have new observations, the height lever has two position to rise the car, first I moved it to its first position and I waited till the car stopped to rise, then I moved it to the next position ( at which the car height is maximal ) , the car should have raised more but it didn’t , it stayed at the same height. When I moved the height lever back to the normal riding position I observed the following. First the front of the car lowered , it looks like it lowered in three leaps and fast, what I mean three leaps is that it lowered and stop for a very short while, lowered and stopped for a very short while, lowered to the riding height. The rear lowers slower and uniformly till it reaches riding height. Is this behavior normal ? what can be the cause that the car does not rise any more when moving the manual height lever from its first rising position to the second rising position ( at which the height is maximal )

Thanks
Zohar

Xaccers · Unread post by **Xaccers** » 12 May 2011, 07:37

Yes it is normal for an old car to have no visible difference between high and intermediate due to worn parts such as the dog bone, slightly moved anti roll bar clamp, worn bushes, slightly clogged height controllers.

The jerky front could be due to dry rams.
Pull down the rubber gators and lube them with lhm. I use spray on white lithium grease.
The gators can be difficult to put back on but you must reseat them properly.

lancia58 · Unread post by **lancia58** » 14 May 2011, 11:54

Can a defective rear SC/MAC valve be the cause for the stiff rear suspension ? Is there a way to verify if the SC/AMC valve is defective ? Can it be overhauled ?

Thanks
Zohar

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 14 May 2011, 19:16

lancia58 wrote:Can a defective rear SC/MAC valve be the cause for the stiff rear suspension ?

if the rear goes up and down normally under the influence of the manual hight lever Zohar, the SC/MAC (anti-sink) valve is working perfectly.

The only valve that could cause stiff rear suspension is in the case of a Hydractive car (VSX, Activa and Exclusive only) where the electrovalve has failed.