Diesel Xantia timing belt.

[aerodynamica]

Well that's the front height corrector out, reconditioned and back in.

Not as easy as I thought it might be to remove and refit!! It's easy to loosen everything but actually removing it is hard. I removed the stubborn pipe using a mole wrench - It wasn't as stuck as I thought just enough to round the hex with spanner.

The height corrector came off it's spring/lever assembly and upon disassembly, it was absolutely full of thick lumpy black gunge never seen anything this bad before. The LHM 'trapped' at either end of the H corrector is collected by leaked LHM around the main slide valve. It is then used as a damping medium by the need for it to be squeezed through a thin hole from one end of the corrector to the other then the valve is being moved away from the neutral point. Returnting is indamped via a bypass port with a disk at each end (bit like a sphere damper but the disks are not fixed) but where did this crap come from??

So anyway, the damper was gunged right up and the gunge had to be removed and the valve cleaned meticulously inside and out. I resorted to using carb cleaner for the damper - it's too small a hole to blow with just air. Anyway finally freed it all up again. 8)

I noted that the Height corrector on the Xantia is the same component as on all previous Citroens after the DS, but the damper I'm talking about was different in that it seemed to have a plastic stopper instead of the brass one I'd expected. Still couldn't see how to remove it, shame coz it'd be ideal to be able to easily remove the damper from the Hcorrector body to clean all the invisible little discs it contains. O well.

Refitting the corrector and it's leverage was a 'mare, I had attached 2 of the pipes before fitting it in because I didn't fancy the position of the pipes for fitting in situ ( cross threading or just not getting the thread to catch is a problem I've had too many times on these crappy little pipe unions) But this made getting the thing in place very difficult and It took an hour to reconnect the manual selector rod end in the 2 spring end things - if you ever do this job locate these first before fitting any screws or anything.

Got it all back together and started up to find a very reactive rfont suspension! With it ticking over, sit on the edge of the bonnet and no sooner has it sunk a little than it's pushing right back at you! no delay until the damper is primed with new leaked LHM. Likewise, jump off and it rises only to instantly lower again , no delay at all, it'll take some time until the damper does get enough to be primed. You can prime it in advance but I rekon it's more fun to have mad self levelling for a bit before it settles down. It should still react faster than it did before the work.

[CitroJim]

Excellent work and very interesting findings

Refitting the corrector and it's leverage was a 'mare, I had attached 2 of the pipes before fitting it in because I didn't fancy the position of the pipes for fitting in situ ( cross threading or just not getting the thread to catch is a problem I've had too many times on these crappy little pipe unions) But this made getting the thing in place very difficult and It took an hour to reconnect the manual selector rod end in the 2 spring end things - if you ever do this job locate these first before fitting any screws or anything.

I found the most difficult part of the job was getting the union "started" on the single pipe side. On the Activa it has a "U" bend in it and it is incredibly springy. In the end, after struggling for hours in the cold, I used a piece of wood to lever and hold the pipe in position in the height corrector body whilst I started the union. You're right, cross-threading is just too easy to do

I found it was just possible to remove and replace the manual height lever rod without disturbing the springs. I marked how far the rod end went into the clamp, loosened the clamp bolt and by operating the height lever, the rod just and just fell clear of the clamp. As the BoL says, reassembly was a reversal of disassembly.

I wish I'd taken the opportunity to have dismantled and cleaned my height corrector after what you found but there is no way I'm having it off again unless it fails. I recently Hydraflushed so hopefully it is free of crud but I recall reading somewhere else that Hydraflush doesn't always clean it effectively. I'm content that mine react at more or less the right speed.

The Activa job was made much more tricky by the presence of the roll corrector next to the height corrector, restricting working room considerably. Last time I looked at my 2.1TD I was staggered at how much room there appeared to be around the height corrector. Clearly it makes the job no easier though

[aerodynamica]

Hi Citrojim, glad you've been there too

TBH, given the opportunity I always rebuild the correctors on any new Citroen I get me hands on. I have never seen so much gunk in a H Corrector before though. I Hydraflushed the circuit starting this afternoon when I got in, the filters were nothing short of manky. The cone shaped filter thats the pick up for the pump had lots of wee black bits in it, LOTS. It looked like someone had seasoned my LHM with pepper Took an hour to clean the pair of filters.

Must say the Xantia has a difficult LHM tank to remove! I just couldn't get it out without tipping it sideways! Only option was to put the car on high to lower the tank level and then tip it over and out! Then stick the oil pan in place with the filter block resting in it and drop it to low observing the LHM fill the oil pan. It's interesting how little it needs to raise it up to high from low.

The LHM was the colour of treacle! I think it was original, French 12 year old stuff. Anyway it'd full of the 'flush now and I'll run it for as long as needed to clean it.

Activa?! I spotted on e this afternoon parked near me totally lop sided! like nearly 45deg

[CitroJim]

My Activa filters were just like yours. They actually looked as if they had a black fur coat on them

I'm often given to thinking just where all that muck comes from

Activa?! I spotted on e this afternoon parked near me totally lop sided! like nearly 45deg

There is nothing as sad as a lop-sided Activa. Mine was once but now it always sits perfectly level 8)

There are several causes: Either the roll corrector and/or it's linkages are seized or the Aciva accumulator and/or balancing spheres are flat or one or both of the activa rams are leaking badly. Equally, it could be a bit of everything!! The Activa achieves roll correction via a roll corrector connected to the front wishbones via long balljointed linkages. The roll corrector itself works exactly like a height corrector sitting on its side. The only difference is that it responds instantaneously. Just as a height corrector does for struts, the roll corrector controls hydraulic fluid flow to the Activa Rams to correct roll by pushing and pulling the anti-roll bars. The Suspension ECU also controls the Hydractive switching and how agressively it roll corrects by reading sensors (speed, throttle position, steering wheel angle, yaw and braking) and switching the Hydractive centre spheres and Activa balancing sphere (which works much like a Hydractive centre sphere but connected between the two Activa rams) via electrovalves as necessary. An Activa has 10 spheres in total!!!

There is a LOT to go wrong on an Activa. One that works properly is a sheer joy to drive and hustle around twisty B roads but one that has suspension faults is a rotter and develops very dangerous handling traits as I found out on the very evening I first got my Activa. It was a very, very sick and very nearly became bent

[aerodynamica]

I'm often given to thinking just where all that muck comes from

Well! I think I heard once that the LHM goes black in an old car because the rubber pipes to the HP pump anf from the regulator dump valve begin to degrade and the flow of fluid constantly shearing against the inner surfaces causes micro particles of black rubber to break off in their millions causing black LHM. It only happens if you don't change yer floo-eed.

The big black lumps in my height corrector I think were a very long accumulation of said stuff. Brakes, height corrector dampers and such are 'dead ends' in the circuit and that's where the crap lives

The Xantia I spotted today I have seen often and it appears to be ran by a houswife as a daily hack. Probby got it for tuppence, probby don't even know it has ARCS system. Why would they..?

Shame, I bet they'll take it to a standard garage asking what's up with it, the Garage will take one look at it and freak out. Then they (MIGHT) go to the independant here who'll quote an inordinate amount to fix it or they'll go to s**t and will be quoted an even more heart stopping amount and I fear the thing'll be in a scrappy before you can say "not economical to repair"

O well. If you've got an Activa, keep it sweet, it's a future classic

[aerodynamica]

Hopefully a couple of pix will appear here (that rhymes)
the view with the wheelarch cover (eventually) removed

Removing the engine mounting with the engine supported underneath, the timing belt goes 'through' the mounting arm.

Doing the du, the old crank bolt job.

Old vs. new. there's not much in it to me, the old belt seems shiny but at 12 years old despite mega low miles, it had to be changed.

General view with top 2 cambelt covers off.

[aerodynamica]

Disaster! I took the car for its MOT yesterday and it failed! One rear tyre has cracks and there is a fluid leak from the front levelling valve.

The one I just refitted!!

MOT guy says might just be a pipe needing nipped up - I thought maybe the rounded off union but on inspection there was a steady oozing of fluid. I couldn't for the life of me see what could be leaking all 3 pipe unions were fine, the leakage return rubber pipe was OK too, I wondered if it was residual LHM from the change sitting unseen and dripping through so I dried it up and it seemed fine, It stopped leaking. Then I started the engine and again it didn't leak, put the car on top height and had a look and there was LHM dripping again off with the motor and again no obvious sign of leakage. Curious.

On a hunch I dried up the residual as best as poss and with the car back on axle stands and the engine off, I moved the height lever from low to high to low, had a look and it was pissing LHM .

Had to be the rubber diaphragm at one end of the corrcector not fixed on properly tho I'd checked it was secure before refitting I thought. I rekoned that the fore most cap on the corrector was slightly 'damp' along the join. So I popped it off in situ for a fair bit of fluid to splash out, AH! I thought it's -that- end that's leaking, I maybe didn't tighten the 8mm nut enough. (I was trying anything to avoid removing the corrector again) With great difficulty I managed to tighten the nut in place totally by feel alone and with a stiff screw driver holding the other end of the corrector lever to linkage because itwas wanting to turn.

Thought I'd fixed it so repressureised, and gave the lever a move.......pisses out LHM argh!

WTF

So I face facts and realised that something was leaking that couldn't be fixed with the unit in place.. But what?

[aerodynamica]

? well with it all back out again the problem revealed itself LHM pissing out from 2 splits in the rubber end diaphragms. Luckily, I have loads of spares for Height correctors so set about swapping the part from another unit (from a GSA) I noted that the Xantia's rubber part is made from a different type of rubber with a sort of 'weave' in it - it looks more prone to fatigue than the previous types.

Anyway after much hassle the thing is all back together and ready for its retest.

[CitroJim]

Arrrggghhhh

To have to do a front HC once is bad enough but twice I read your thread with a certain empathy

I think, perhaps one of the most unpleasant jobs on a Xantia. Not only is access difficult (unless you have a four-poster) but the inevitable shower of LHM that accompanies the job and gets in your hair and/or over your face

Still, delighted all is well again now and all the best for the retest!

[aerodynamica]

Cheers Jim, you know the pain! anyway thanks for the good wishes for the retest, here's hoping