bumpy xantia

jimbob21 · Post by **jimbob21** » 19 Mar 2008, 22:54

hi,new hear and looking for help,just bought a xantia that had burst a suspension pipe,that went from the front to the rear,i had a new pipe made up and fitted it today,the front and rear seem to lift and lower as they should,ondriving it,the front bounce,s every time you hit a bump,back end feels fine,are the sphere,s on the front shot,or have i done summit wrong,its a 1999 2l 16v,i did,nt bleed it,it did it its self,plus how do i know if its got ordinary orhydractive,it does,nt lower itself over night,so i take it its hydractive?,would appriciate any help,its the first citroen i,ve owned in 25y of driving,and apart from the bouncy front i love it,cheers

Post by **Peter.N.** » 19 Mar 2008, 23:22

If its riding at the correct height then it will be the spheres. If its hydractive, Dont forget the centre one, its that one that gives you the soft ride.

Hydractive models have a 'sport - manual' switch to the left of the gear lever.

jimbob21 · Post by **jimbob21** » 19 Mar 2008, 23:29

cheers,dont think i,ve seen a switch to the side of the gear lever,must,nt have the hydractive.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 20 Mar 2008, 10:02

Right. If that's so it will just be the two front spheres then - much easier to get to.

jimbob21 · Post by **jimbob21** » 20 Mar 2008, 19:46

if it was hydractive,apart from the two on inner wings and the one at the front of the engine on the pump,where else would there be any?

Post by **CitroJim** » 20 Mar 2008, 19:59

The front Hydractive centre sphere (as they are called) will be found mounted on the front crossmember just in front of the radiator. You can tell it's a hydractive sphere as the block the sphere is attached to will have an electrical connection to it to operate the electrovalve.

At the rear, the Hydractive sphere is mounted high up in the middle of the front of the rear subframe. Don't confuse this sphere with the so-called anti-sink sphere located in much the same spot but lower and having a small diamater pipe going directly into the back of it. If you swap anti-sink spheres this pipe must be unscrewed and disconected first before unscrewing the sphere itself. Use a new rubber seal on the pipe when fitting the new sphere.

MK2 Hydractive Xantias have the normal/sport switch mounted on the dashboard, to the right of the steering wheel. The place formerly occupied by the sport/normal switch in the centre console is used in the MK2 for the passenger airbag disable switch.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 20 Mar 2008, 20:31

Apologies Jim. Its the XM that has the switch by the gear lever.

jimbob21 · Post by **jimbob21** » 20 Mar 2008, 21:14

thanks for all the help,will fit the sphere,s tomorrow,will hopefully post a reply on how comfy it is lol.

Post by **CitroJim** » 20 Mar 2008, 21:19

Peter.N. wrote:Apologies Jim. Its the XM that has the switch by the gear lever.

No, you were quite right Peter, the MK1 Xantias do have the normal/sport switch down by the gear lever.

jimbob21 · Post by **jimbob21** » 21 Mar 2008, 11:05

fitted the two front sphere,s this morning,took it for a drive and cant believe how comfy it is,it eats speed humps,thanks for all your help,but i got another query,there,s a valve above the n/s h/light that ticks,one end leads to the engine the other looks like it goes into the inner wing,any idea,s,and should it click,cheers

Post by **CitroJim** » 21 Mar 2008, 11:16

Excellent

Good work!

jimbob21 wrote:but i got another query,there,s a valve above the n/s h/light that ticks,one end leads to the engine the other looks like it goes into the inner wing,any idea,s,and should it click,cheers

That is the carbon canister purge valve. The carbon canister lives out under the wing and its job is to collect petrol fumes from the tank and hold them in the carbon graules in the cansiter.

At certain times, controlled by the engine ECU, these fumes are sucked into the inlet manifold and burned via the purge valve. The noise you hear is the valve opening and closing.