Very bouncy Activa

zz9 · Unread post by **zz9** » 27 Jun 2011, 22:43

Taking CitroJim's advice from the other thread and posting issues here. (I don't think I'm going to be able to get to the Citroen meeting in July, and my Activa, bought on ebay for £163, is very tatty paintwise. I'd be embarrassed to turn up!)

Anyhoo...

My Mk1 Activa has a rear that has been getting bouncier and bouncier, it feels like it just has almost no rear movement at all, and while the front rises and falls the rear does not appear to move.
It also has a leaking rear Activa ram but as CitroJim says I don't think this has anything to do with the ride. On smooth roads it still corners on rails.
See http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2870/imag0272r.jpg Activa ram.

I think the rear spheres are the likely cause, and if not they almost certainly need replacing anyway. It is just time and money that have stopped me doing them.

I have seen Activa spheres on ebay which say they fit Activas "1993-1995"
Mine is late 96. Would they fit?

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 27 Jun 2011, 22:58

It is most likely spheres, there are 10 of them on the Activa, the car really does benefit from its spheres being spot on.

You ideally need all your rear ones checking for pressure and replacing where needed. It would also be worth checking to see if your Activas sports diodes are working correctly, if its stuck in sports mode then it will be much firmer than it should be.

However if the rear is not moving, if the ride height is in low or high them it will be very firm and bouncy. This is most likely a seizing height corrector or the dog bone clip has popped off.

Also, since the Activa didn't arrive until very late 1995 I would be a little dubious about those spheres.

Citroening · Unread post by **Citroening** » 27 Jun 2011, 23:03

zz9 wrote: (I don't think I'm going to be able to get to the Citroën meeting in July, and my Activa, bought on ebay for £163, is very tatty paintwise. I'd be embarrassed to turn up!)

Bit O/T...would be good if you could, and don't worry that it's tatty paintwork - the fact is that it would be there! Mine's no show car really...

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 28 Jun 2011, 05:57

Yep, fundamentally it sounds like a seized rear height corrector. You can't do anything until the rear is properly going up and down both under the influence of the height lever and when sitting in the boot.. There are loads of threads on this forum that speasks wise words on how to deal with them. That has to be the first job.

Have a good read through the Activa Buyers Guide to fully check out the suspension.

Spheres for a normal Hydractive Xantia are fine on an Activa. I run Hydractive estate rear corners on mine.

The only two specials that you need made are the Activa accumulator and the Activa Balancing sphere. Pleiades can make those up for you from an anti-sink and accumulator sphere respectively.

Activas are critical of spheres and it pays to have access to a pressure tester so you can keep and eye on them and replace only those that need replacing.

That rear ram is not too bad yet but it's a perfect candidate for repair

I'm sure once you have gone through the suspension checks in the buyers guide more questions will follow. Fire away!!!

zz9 · Unread post by **zz9** » 28 Jun 2011, 14:12

Thanks for that. I think I'll start by replacing the standard rear spheres and seeing what happens. Either way they'll need replacing sooner or later and if that's it then great.

At least I managed to fix the heater fan so the aircon works. That was about the only noticeable fault when I bought it but as I was gearing up for a major rewiring job I found it was a lose connection on the actual fan.

davoxx · Unread post by **davoxx** » 28 Jun 2011, 22:37

that is one rusty sphere

Xaccers · Unread post by **Xaccers** » 28 Jun 2011, 22:40

Blimey I hadn't actually looked at the photo until now!
My goodness if the other spheres are that bad I'd say they're all originals and most likely need replacing!

Don't forget the soft ride comes from the hydractive spheres, and the hard (as in properly working but firmer than soft) ride is provided by the corners.

When you replace the rear spheres, don't forget to loosen them slightly with the car on high to hold the struts in place so they don't just spin, and good luck!

zz9 · Unread post by **zz9** » 29 Jun 2011, 02:09

All the spheres at the back look like that....

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 29 Jun 2011, 06:21

The external condition of a sphere is no indication of it's goodness or otherwise but if they look like that then they have been there for a while and could certainly do with being tested if nothing else...

Some Activa spheres are hard to get to, particularly the Activa Balancing sphere, and a good sphere tool will be needed. They also have to be loosened under pressure which makes the job more interesting (and messy!)

This thread on sphere changing is a good one to read, especially for the rears as they need a non-intuitive technique for their removal.

zz9 · Unread post by **zz9** » 29 Jun 2011, 16:51

Jim
You say in the How To thread that the suspension must be on high when removing the old spheres to avoid damaging the cylinders. My rear suspension doesn't go up that far when on high, just a little bit higher than normal ride. Would it be better to support the car on axle stands and let the suspension fall by itself?

DickieG · Unread post by **DickieG** » 29 Jun 2011, 17:40

zz9 wrote:Jim
You say in the How To thread that the suspension must be on high when removing the old spheres to avoid damaging the cylinders. My rear suspension doesn't go up that far when on high, just a little bit higher than normal ride. Would it be better to support the car on axle stands and let the suspension fall by itself?

Whilst your suspension should go higher, if it doesn't it shouldn't make any difference for removing rear sphere's as the purpose of raising the car on high is to lock the cylinder in position so that it doesn't twist as you undo the sphere so simply keep an eye on it to make sure it stays put, having the weight of the car on the suspension is all that's normally required, getting up higher simply gives you more room to manoeuvre.

If you have the wheels hanging down without weight you will more than likely have the cylinders twist which will in turn twist the hydraulic pipe and snap it, then you'll have a whole pile of 'poo' to deal with!

zz9 · Unread post by **zz9** » 29 Jun 2011, 17:56

So put it on ramps then.

I am always very mindful of getting under a Citroen.

(I read of a case many years ago of someone who hated their neighbour and decided to cut their brake pipes one night. The postman found his body in the morning...)

stevenc75 · Unread post by **stevenc75** » 29 Jun 2011, 19:19

zz9 wrote:The postman found his body in the morning...)

hahahahahahahaha!!!!

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 29 Jun 2011, 19:55

zz9 wrote: I read of a case many years ago of someone who hated their neighbour and decided to cut their brake pipes one night. The postman found his body in the morning...

Nasty. You mean to say it was a hydraulic Citroen and he cut what he thought was the brake pipes and instead went through suspension piping?

This is why we're always careful to state very clearly that before doing any work under a hydraulic Citroen it must be very firmly supported.

In the case of cracking off rear corners on high, I'll always have axle stands under the car but just clear so that all the weight is on the rear wheels but if the worst happens and it does fall the stands will catch the car as it comes down.

Xac will tell of a time when we were levelling is Activa and for that you need to be right under to adjust the roll linkages whilst the engine is running and the suspension is at normal height. The car was up on ramps and the clearance was quite adequate but even so, when I felt the front begin to dive whilst I was under and adjusting I made a very, very rapid exit. Xac says he never saw me move so fast in my life

Even for the most trivial of job I always ensure the car is very firmly on stands.

zz9 · Unread post by **zz9** » 30 Jun 2011, 00:04

It was an AA man who told that story and I think it was an Austin Princess, which had hydrogas suspension.
I'll have to have a good look at the car. And find my sphere tool which I have around somewhere.

French Car Forum

Very bouncy Activa

Very bouncy Activa

Re: Very bouncy Activa