98 xantia hard-ish suspension

[XantiaDaveEire]

hi guys

its not really a problem but the car is much more comfortable to drive when i put the car in low position or if i put it into the high position overnight and then put it into the drive position in the morning,i had all the spheres changed less than a year ago,i was thinking that maybe its because the pump builds up more pressure to get the car into the drive setting??it normally takes 15 seconds for the car to rise in the drive position anyway and lhm fluid was topped up recently also and when changing from 3rd into 4th the car can feel very light on the front and it feels like the whole car is moving from left to right on the front...any help or ideas appreciated guys cheers

[CitroJim]

Hi Dave,

Is this a VSX with Hydractive suspension or a normal one?

My first thoughts here are slightly "iffy" height corrector operation and ride height. Both are mighty critical to comfort and ride quality.

On an anti-sink car, the height correctors, unless you do Citarobics on a weekly basis, do not get a good full-travel exercise very often and they become a bit lazy. The same things happen if their linkages are not kept well lubricated. They partially seize and loose effectiveness.

When you swapped the spheres, did you change the LHM and clean the filters in the LHM reservoir? I find fresh LHM makes a difference and also, if the old LHM is old (gone brown) a conditioning treatment with Hydraflush will work wonders before refilling with new LHM.

So, check ride height is basically correct, especially at the rear.

Lubricate your height corrrector linkages and check the mechanism is moving freely. Then check your LHM. If it has not been changed lately, drain, clean the filters, refill with Hydraflush and leve it in the system for at leaast 1500 miles to work it's magic. Do lots of Citarobics to get the height correctors well exercised.

Take the normal safety precautions when working on height correctors; ensure the car is very well supported and cannot possibly collapse and crush you.

If the height correctors are a bit mucky inside (they have a very fine damper arrangement inside which is muck-sensitive), Hydraflush will resolve the issue but it could take a month or more to do it.

If the car is a Hydractive model, follow the words in the Activa Buyers Guide down in the Activa Area of this forum to fully test the Hydractive elements of the system, ignoring the Activa-specific bits!

Don't always automatically assume the spheres are good, even if they are just a year old. Check too they are the right ones for your car. Ultimately it's nice to put them on a sphere tester but they're a bit few and far between. Were your spheres new or regassed? If regassed, from a reputable source?

Hope that helps a bit...