Ride quality

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
jiginc
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2005, 23:50
Location:
My Cars:

Ride quality

Post by jiginc »

Citroen Xantia 2.oi
The ride is just like a car with no shocks. I have checked the plastic clip and it is in place The linkage seems OK. When Moving the height lever the front moves quickly but the rear is always much slower. both when moving up or down. Any ideas of what to look for next please.
JIGINC
tonespeed1999
Posts: 205
Joined: 10 Nov 2004, 23:30
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by tonespeed1999 »

sounds like the spheres have had it!
adamskibx
Posts: 250
Joined: 29 Nov 2004, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by adamskibx »

A feeling of no shocks feels very unstable and floaty-ie when you go over a bump the car will respond but will continue to bounce about afterwards- Is that what you mean? If the ride is just hard and bumpy and you cant push the car down that much on its suspension then it would give a feeling of no springs. If this is the case, then its spheres that need replacing. If its bouncing about due to lack of shock absorbtion then it could be the damping hole in the sphere, but these last a cars lifetime usually and so id say the most likely cause is air in the system. If this is the case, it will need bleeding through the brakes etc to get the air out.
Peter.N.
Moderating Team
Posts: 11563
Joined: 02 Apr 2005, 16:11
Location: Charmouth,Dorset
My Cars: Currently:

C5 X7 VTR + Satnav Hdi estate Silver
C5 X7 VTR + Hdi Estate 2008 Red

In the past: 3, CX td Safaris and about 7, XM td estates. Lovely cars.
x 1199

Post by Peter.N. »

If you have replaced the spheres, it could be that you have got the wrong ones.
jiginc
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2005, 23:50
Location:
My Cars:

Post by jiginc »

Many thanks for the replies.
The spheres have not been replaced (they have rust on them) Some work was done on the car about 5 months ago but the car has had very little use since then. Unfortunately I do not have any information other than it was on the suspension. Following this work it was said to be OK but the ride has got worse over the past month or so.
I will try to bleed the brakes I assume (I know you should never assume anything) it is the same as standard brakes release the nipple and wait for the air to come out.
jeremy
Posts: 3959
Joined: 20 Oct 2002, 16:00
Location: Hampshire, UK
My Cars:
x 2

Post by jeremy »

Deflated spheres - bouncy - choppy ride - espaeially noticeable at night whenthe headlamps seem to flick up and down rapidly.
The gas escapes into the hydraulic system and you should be able to get it out by 'Citroebics' - raising and lowering the car several times - and the gas should flush out during the lowering. Its not a bad idea to do it sometimes anyway just to clear things. Traffic queues should be avoided as you tend to get funny looks from everyone around.
If you're unlucky air will get into the brake lines and won't clear. You should be able to get rid of all but some may have got into he limbs going to the individual brakes. Strangely this may show up as a reluctance for the brakes to release. As the system is fully pumped you won't get a spongy pedal.
Replace the affected spheres, do Citroebics and if you're lucky that will be the job done.
Jeremy
but the only bits affected
adamskibx
Posts: 250
Joined: 29 Nov 2004, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by adamskibx »

You should double check a Haynes for a Xantia but I know on the BX which has the same system that rather than let someone sit in the car and pump the pedal, you should ask them to press the pedal and leave it pressed (or position something to keep it pressed if on your own, and tighten up when no more air comes out). Be careful when removing the nipples too-might want to put some sort of freeing up solution on a day or two in advance (ie soak some paper towels in loosening oil and place them round the nipple area). Im not entirely sure but I think what you should do is put the height on max and put axel stands at the rear so that there is no risk of the car falling etc.Afterwards, what I would do is bleed the system from the pressure release screw on the pressure regulator-not sure whether this is necessary but its an easy thing to do so I do it jsut so I know its been done.
jiginc
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2005, 23:50
Location:
My Cars:

Post by jiginc »

<s></s>
jiginc
Posts: 4
Joined: 21 Sep 2005, 23:50
Location:
My Cars:

Post by jiginc »

Should the raising and lowering be at the same speed back and front ie the car raises and lowers level.
adamskibx
Posts: 250
Joined: 29 Nov 2004, 01:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by adamskibx »

No, ive had 2 BX's and a GS and theyve never gone down level.My first BX used to gom down at the front first and up at the back first and the current one is the same.
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Post by Mandrake »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by jiginc</i>

Should the raising and lowering be at the same speed back and front ie the car raises and lowers level.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
No,
It's extremely unlikely that the front and back will rise and fall together due to the different weight at the front and back.
An unladden car is much lighter at the back and requires less hydraulic pressure to acheive the ride height.
Thus when the car pumps up in the morning as the regulator pressure rises the pressure requirements of the rear suspension are satisfied first, and its only after the rear has stopped rising that the pressure can continue to build up so that the front will start to rise. This is perfectly normal.
If you had a heavy load in the back the front will rise first, and if you have a medium load in the back you might fluke it so they rise together... [:D]
In the down direction its a different story - no pressure supply is needed to go down (apart from a small amount to keep the anti-sink valves open) and whichever end goes down first depends on a number of semi-random factors specific to your car, such as the adjustment of the manual height control lever on the height corrector linkages, the amount of sludge buildup in the height correctors, and so on, so it may be either the front or the back that goes down first.
On my Hydractive 2 Xantia the back always goes up first (assuming no extra load) while in the down direction the front goes down a lot faster than the back...(in response to the manual height lever, I don't mean sinking overnight)
Regards,
Simon
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Post by Mandrake »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by jiginc</i>
I will try to bleed the brakes I assume (I know you should never assume anything) it is the same as standard brakes release the nipple and wait for the air to come out.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Bleeding the brakes is a bit different to conventional cars - try a forum search as there was a good thread about it recently.
But in a nutshell, lift the suspension to the maximum height, (leave it there during the entire process) jack up one corner of the car at a time at the nearest structural point, (leaving the other 3 wheels on the ground) and remove that wheel.
Attach a bleed hose and open the bleed screw while a helper has their foot on the brake. Unlike a conventional car you don't pump the pedal, just hold it with medium pressure. The engine must be running.
Close the nipple when you're satisfied with what came out, and remember to pour the oil back into the hydraulic resoviour (assuming its clean) before moving onto the next wheel.
If the oil is dirty top up with fresh LHM instead. With the suspension right up and the engine running is the right time to check the LHM level guage on the tank.
The main gotcha is that if you use axle stands and let both rear wheels hang free at the same time you may find no pressure in the rear brakes to bleed them, you need the opposite rear wheel on the ground with body weight pressing on it to ensure pressure supply for the rear brakes.
Good luck.
PS, if you're going to replace the rear suspension spheres I wouldn't bother bleeding the brakes until AFTER you've done that, otherwise you'll just have to do it again...
Regards,
Simon
Post Reply