xantia ride height

[metgreentd]

hi guys i wrote a few posts down that i had changed just about every componant on the front end of my xantia because of a wobble it was suggested that my noisy wheel bearings might be to blame anyway 2 good hubs and a drive shaft from a broken xantia later and lo and behold problem solved but in my haste i have created another problem.when changing the lower suspension arms i disconected both roll bar links and am afraid to aid fitting the arms i did jiggle the roll bar about a bit resulting in to high a ride height at the front...pillock i know,should have read this forum before starting.what i need to know is can anyone give me an idiots guide i.e step by step to adjusting the ride height as the manual is useless.i have read the posts here but most of them just show piccies and ride height dimensions i understand that the linkage might be sticking but doing the citronics the car does lower right down onto the stops as it should and rise up high as it should thanks again guys

[steelcityuk]

Unless you have access to a pit or a 4 post lift it's difficult. As far as I can remember Mandrake recommends slackening the 'clamp' on the anti roll bar and then adjusting the height via the height corrector linkage until correct then tightening up the 'clamp'. I think that it's done this way because even a very small amount of movement on the 'clamp' equates to a much larger suspension adjustment.

The correct tyre pressures and height specifications for the tyre size are important too. I won't go into every detail because you've already read all that in the previous posts.

Is that the sort of explanation you meant?

Steve.

[Mandrake]

Yes,

If you disconnected both rollbar droplinks at the same time, there is nothing to stop the rollbar from turning through an excessive angle and either bending the height corrector linkage a bit, or causing the clamp to slip on the rollbar. Either way you end up with the height setting being wrong.

The front height corrector is a long way back and is very difficult to get at, and I highly recommend using a 4 post lift or a pit to get at it, it is possible to do it with drive on stands, but it is rather tedious and slightly dangerous doing it that way.

The height figures can be worked out from the following info:

http://homepages.igrin.co.nz/simon/imag ... ia_height/

The easiest way to set the height is to leave the engine idling, slacken the bolt on the clamp, and turn the clamp one way or the other by hand to make the car go up or down as necessary, then tighten the clamp.

Because such a tiny rotation of the clamp corresponds to a large change in height, its often a matter of trying a few times to get it right.

If you can't seem to get the height to go up or down manually turning the clamp you can use the manual height lever inside the car to nudge the height up or down a little bit, while the rollbar clamp is slack.

When tightening the bolt hold the spanner at right angles to the rollbar so you don't move the clamp slightly while tightening it.

Because there is a bit of hysteresis in the correction of the height corrector you're supposed to take an upwards correcting measurement and a downwards correcting one and take the average.

So after tightening the clamp, sit on the front, wait until it lifts you up, get off, wait until it drops back again, and measure the height - this is your first figure.

Then lift the front of the car under the bumper and wait until it starts dropping and getting heavy then let go (yes this is in the Citroen manual! ) and then wait for it to lift back up again and measure the height a second time. Take the halfway point of the two.

A tedious somewhat finicky job but not that difficult with a hoist or pit. The ride height has quite an effect on the ride and handling so take the time to get it right.

Regards,
Simon

[Peter.N.]

You can get a finer adjustmet by clamping a mole wrench around the clamp and not completely slackening the bolt. With the bit of resistance this offers plus the extra leverage, it adjusts much more smoothly. This method can also be used on the rear adjuster when the thread seizes and you cant undo the bolt. Give the area around the clamp a good soaking with oil and then grip it with a large pair of stilsons, in my case with a 3 foot piece of tube attached! This gives you a very fine adjustment due to the length of the lever, and moves an otherwise siezed adjuster.