My ongoing enquiries into the crap ride on my Xantia have suggested
the height correctors may be iffy. Here's what I've found....
Both the front and back respond to the height control lever. The back
smoothly, the front rather jerkily.
The back auto levels if I sit in the boot, but it takes quite a while
to do so. It also takes a while to drop back down when I stand up.
The front also self levels ok, but is rather jerky,
I'm guessing this suggests that the front linkages could use some
lube, but what's the verdict on the back... is this normal?
PS, I have no reason to believe the rear arm bearings are worn as the
back does move quite freely. It's just crap when driving.
matt
height corrector advice
Moderator: RichardW
Jerkiness in thefront suspension rising is often accompanied by creaks and groans and is due to wear in the front struts. Having said that many people have eased the problem by lubricating the strut and on a BX there is a hole in the sphere mount through which it is possible to drop oil on the strut. This is of course a temporary repair but I've been doing one of mine for 3 years now. Incidentally 3 in 1 seems to be better than most.
If the height corrector is sticky the effect can be that the car doesn't initially rise to quite its full ride height and this can affect the ride. If you raise the car using the height lever and then drop it you may be able to get the linkage into the correct position. If you are at all suspicious of the linkage it is worth lubricating it - a job that is not as easy as it sounds as certainly I seem to get more oil up my arm than on the joints. Take car - the linkage is in the centre of the car and you MUST support the car so that it cannot drop on you. I use axle stands and put a wheel ramp under the sills incase it slips. (I'd rather be alive to survey the damage to the sill if it slips!)
The suspension will take a time to adjust to a change in load - its meant to! As an example if I fill the tank on my BX with about 10 gallons the car will sink and after about 8 gallons will rise to compensate.
What are your front spheres like? - How old? 2.5 years is considered a good life for them and when they go the final failure is generally quite rapid.
jeremy
If the height corrector is sticky the effect can be that the car doesn't initially rise to quite its full ride height and this can affect the ride. If you raise the car using the height lever and then drop it you may be able to get the linkage into the correct position. If you are at all suspicious of the linkage it is worth lubricating it - a job that is not as easy as it sounds as certainly I seem to get more oil up my arm than on the joints. Take car - the linkage is in the centre of the car and you MUST support the car so that it cannot drop on you. I use axle stands and put a wheel ramp under the sills incase it slips. (I'd rather be alive to survey the damage to the sill if it slips!)
The suspension will take a time to adjust to a change in load - its meant to! As an example if I fill the tank on my BX with about 10 gallons the car will sink and after about 8 gallons will rise to compensate.
What are your front spheres like? - How old? 2.5 years is considered a good life for them and when they go the final failure is generally quite rapid.
jeremy
Please disregard what I have said about struts and see thread 'Xantia struts' below. What I have said is correct for BX but apparently the Xantia is rather different and there are a couple of excellent postings on that thread.
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