Non rising rear 2.1 TD SX

[TigerTim]

Hi,

I have a 1997 Series 1 2.1 TD SX non-hydroactive, and recently my rear won't rise, and is sat on the bump stops. The front seems to rise fine. Prior to this the rear suspension would drop on starting, then rise after 30 seconds or so. The ride has always been choppy and not up to scratch (I have owned the car for 9 months). The rear will rise fine if put on full height. I have tried to drive on the higher setting but it's very hard and feels unstable, and shudders in lower gears while accelerating. The car clicks more than it should now too. Mileage is 119,000 miles.

All suggestions greatfully recieved.

Many thanks,

[myglaren]

Hi TigerTim and welcome to the forums.

If you have read through the threads you will find that the amount of help and information avalable is quite breathtaking.

For the first problem, I would guess that the linkage to the rear height corrector is damaged and possibly the height corrector corroded and sticking.

For the second - the rapid ticking, the accumulator sphere is dead or dying and needs to be replaced as soon as to preclude damage to the pump and regulator.

If you have a good independant Citroen specialist in your area they will sort that in no time.

The parts are avilable from a few independant suppliers, GSF and Pleiades being the two that seem to come up most frequently.

[TigerTim]

I had lubricated the rear hight corrector when I got the car as it was a bit sticky, but seemed fine after that until now.

I was intending to put some hydraflush in for a 1000 miles then replace all 6 spheres. Is it ok to replace the spheres and put hydraflush in at the same time, or is it always best to use it first, then replace spheres.

I have found a lot of useful info on the forum, but was not sure on my fault, I suspect I have several faults at the same time.

[myglaren]

If it isn't sticking, is it bent?
If it has been stuck at some time it may be distorted. I was lucky, mine snapped so it was easy to see where the fault was. The height corrector was sticking, which resulted in the busted link.

If not, I'd suspect a defect with the height corrector itself, could be clogged with crap. What does the LHM look like? It could well be in need of changing, most owners cheerfully neglect the hydraulics as long as they work - the thought of getting in amongst it scares the hell out of the average car owner.

A Hydraflush may be called for whatever the problem with the rear failing to level. If the accumulator is duff, there may be contamination in the hydraulics.

There are others here with a far greater wealth of knowledge that I that will be along soon with more pertinent suggestions - they have likely been earning a crust all day and having their tea now.
Unlike me, paid to idle the days away at the minute.

[admiral51]

Hi TigerTim,
i dont really think it makes a great deal of difference whether you do the flush first and then the spheres or do both together except for the fact that flat spheres will give not only an unpleasant ride but also will put extra strain on components that will deteriorate quicker than expected (strut tops )
it makes a lot of sense time/mess wise to do it all at once atleast that way you can start off from a base knowing the state of the spheres/lhm and diagnose other problems from there.
My 1.9TD has had a flush 900 miles ago and is gradually getting better although i have had the problem of the back end not rising.this has only happened when i put the car into low and then try setting it to normal hieght it always rises from low to high and then settles from high to normal without a problem. if left overnight it sinks a bit but rises normally on start up
i would get the accumulator sphere changed as a priority as this affects not only the suspension but also the steering and brakes and in the long run will damage the HP pump etc

Not sure if you have seen this link on the hydraflush/lhm change but it does come with some good pics

if i had the time/money then i would do it all at the same time
hope this helps

Colin

[red_dwarfers]

Hi TigerTim!
Welcome from another Devonian Xantia owner!

Along with Colin and Steve, certainly replace the accumulator sphere, there's probably a guide running around somewhere in the depths of the forums if you're not sure on how to do it.

I would change the spheres first before doing a reflush. When I changed my spheres I found a fair bit of liquid squirted out of a couple of them (very duff spheres) rather than sealing so you will loose some LHM on the sphere changes, you can then drain the remainder out and refill with the flush.

Kev

[TigerTim]

Thanks for the info and the welcomes,

Ok, so looks like a good hydaflush, clean up, full set of spheres including accumulator and a rear height corrector should sort it? (or take old height corrector off and check it's not seized first?)

I'm not sure what the fluid is like, there is a full service history with the car, but I can't see any fluid changes amongst it, so I guess it's overdue for one.

My brakes started to play up last night, when I put my foot on the pedal there is nothing, so I push harder and then the brakes work well (almost like doing an emergency stop!!)

[myglaren]

Did the "STOP" light come on?

Replacing all the spheres will be expensive and possibly unnecessary. Certainly do the accumulator sphere but the others might be OK.

If the LHM in the reservoir isn't a nice, clean, clear, bright green colour, it is due for a change.

Certainly check the height corrector - new ones cost a bomb.
There will be guides here on how to proceed and the authors of the guides will likely be along to link to them soon.

If you haven't read through the forums thoroughly yet, I'll echo Jim's repeated advice not to go under any hydraulic Citroen without having it firmly supported on axle stands. The suspension can drop very rapidly and crush you - fatally, without warning.
Also a pressurised system can cause serious injury or fatality. LHM under pressure can cut like a knife, worse, injected into the bloodstream it will do you no good at all, just the opposite.

I nearly lost an arm when I first worked on my GS, never having experienced the wonders and pitfalls of Citroen suspension before.

I'd bleed the brakes and see what sort of crap comes out of there.
If there is solid particulate contamination in the brake lines you could well be headed for disaster - as with any car, not just Citroens.

[pete_wood_uk]

My brakes started to play up last night, when I put my foot on the pedal there is nothing, so I push harder and then the brakes work well (almost like doing an emergency stop!!)

Was this at low-ish speed? When that happened to me it was a dodgy ABS sensor. Very frightening! Eventually the ABS light came on continuously to indicate failure, at which point the brakes then worked fine again, but the week or so in which the sensor started to fail was frightening, as you describe.

Pete

[RichardW]

There are several things at fault to work through here:

First, the height of the rear suspension. If the suspension is sat on the bump stops, but will come up to high on the manual adjuster, then either the automatic link has snapped or fallen off, or the clamp has come undone from the roll bar. You need to get under it (ON RAMPS!!!!) to assess what's going on. Get this fixed first.

The symptoms you are experiencing with the brakes can be due to air / gas in the brake lines - BUT as you have no pressure in the rear suspension, all bets are off. Get the rear height fixed first.

Once you have done this you can assess the performance of the brakes, and the state of the spheres - I wouldn't mess with the accumulator until the rear suspension is operating normally - this could be affecting the pressure in the system, and causing the regulator to click more often.

Sort out the rear height, then we can assess the other problems a bit better.

[TigerTim]

Thanks, I will check the linkages and clamp tonight.

I will check to see what the fluid is like too.

I have not seen my stop light on at any time while running.

[TigerTim]

Culprit found - The plastic bit is fine, and the clamp hadn't moved, but the small arm that connects the clamp to the plastic bit had cracked and bent. Looks like it's all a bit sticky, so I have used loads of grease and brake cleaner to free up the mechanism, now just need to wait till Citroen main stealer can get me one. I manually adjusted the ride height from under the car and the brakes went back to normal too.

[myglaren]

Nice going and a comparitively cheap fix too.