Help. Rear Suspension wont go down and MOT tomorrow
Moderator: RichardW
Help. Rear Suspension wont go down and MOT tomorrow
Hello guys,
I noticed the back of my xantia was riding a little low when I left work so I put the suspension to high and back back down again, unfortunaty the front came down but the back didnt. The back will however go right to very low but wont come back up unless I put it on highrise.
Can anyone make any recommendation?
Thanks again
James
I noticed the back of my xantia was riding a little low when I left work so I put the suspension to high and back back down again, unfortunaty the front came down but the back didnt. The back will however go right to very low but wont come back up unless I put it on highrise.
Can anyone make any recommendation?
Thanks again
James
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Hi James,
The white "Dogbone" linking the anti roll bar to the height corrector mechanism will have fallen off and allowing the height corrector to do as it wishes.
The dogbones don't fall off for no reason. Either the dogbone itself has hairline cracks in the ballcups or the height corrector mechanism has become very stiff due to lack of lubrication.
Support the rear well and go under hand have a look. If the dogbone pops back on very easily, it's cracked. IIf it's tough to pop on then the mechanism is stiff. Spray the spring area with WD40, exercise them and then spray them with spray grease.
Be careful doing this just pre-MOT as the tester might mistake lubrication for leaks.
The diagram below shows both the front and rear height correctors. The dogbone is item 6.
Rarely, the steel extension attached to item 4 breaks off. Again, due to undue stiffness in the mechanism.
The white "Dogbone" linking the anti roll bar to the height corrector mechanism will have fallen off and allowing the height corrector to do as it wishes.
The dogbones don't fall off for no reason. Either the dogbone itself has hairline cracks in the ballcups or the height corrector mechanism has become very stiff due to lack of lubrication.
Support the rear well and go under hand have a look. If the dogbone pops back on very easily, it's cracked. IIf it's tough to pop on then the mechanism is stiff. Spray the spring area with WD40, exercise them and then spray them with spray grease.
Be careful doing this just pre-MOT as the tester might mistake lubrication for leaks.
The diagram below shows both the front and rear height correctors. The dogbone is item 6.
Rarely, the steel extension attached to item 4 breaks off. Again, due to undue stiffness in the mechanism.
Jim
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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Hi James
This sounds as though the plastic 'dog-bone' link between the rear anti-roll bar and the height corrector has broken or popped off.
Lots of posts on the subject or have a look at the Height Adjusters PDF file on my site at http://www.attfield.dircon.co.uk/xantia.
The suspension will go to Low and High because these settings move the height control mechanism to the two extremes (on the bump stops). For any point in between the mechanism needs the input via the plastic link to 'tell' the mechanism how high the suspension is - because it's self-levelling.
So it's a quick trip to your nearest Citroen agent (or GSF) for a new link (should be about £2.50) and maybe you can get the garage that's doing the MoT test to fit it?
If you do the job yourself PLEASE SUPPORT THE REAR OF THE CAR SECURELY - Xantias can kill anyone working underneath who doesn't take the proper precautions.
Guy
I see Jim beat me to it!
This sounds as though the plastic 'dog-bone' link between the rear anti-roll bar and the height corrector has broken or popped off.
Lots of posts on the subject or have a look at the Height Adjusters PDF file on my site at http://www.attfield.dircon.co.uk/xantia.
The suspension will go to Low and High because these settings move the height control mechanism to the two extremes (on the bump stops). For any point in between the mechanism needs the input via the plastic link to 'tell' the mechanism how high the suspension is - because it's self-levelling.
So it's a quick trip to your nearest Citroen agent (or GSF) for a new link (should be about £2.50) and maybe you can get the garage that's doing the MoT test to fit it?
If you do the job yourself PLEASE SUPPORT THE REAR OF THE CAR SECURELY - Xantias can kill anyone working underneath who doesn't take the proper precautions.
Guy
I see Jim beat me to it!
2011 Grand C4 Picasso VTR+ 1.6HDi in Kyanos Blue
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - after 11 years now owned by XanTom
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - after 11 years now owned by XanTom
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
as you have probably read allready James,
the usual cause for this is the H/C linkage turrets becomming partly or fully seized up, the only wat to free them off fully, is to remove them from the car and work, lube,work, lube,work, lube, work, lube, work, lube them till they are realy floppy loose, them apply loads of grease and re/fit,
regards malcolm
the usual cause for this is the H/C linkage turrets becomming partly or fully seized up, the only wat to free them off fully, is to remove them from the car and work, lube,work, lube,work, lube, work, lube, work, lube them till they are realy floppy loose, them apply loads of grease and re/fit,
regards malcolm
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Jack the back up, get the wheels off, look down at the discs and see if they pass the pads at an angle or not.
Chalkie stuff builds up between the arm and the caliper pushing it out at an angle.
You need to take the caliper off (hopefully not sheering the bolts) and chip off the chalkie stuff, then refit with a thin home made gasket or some grease in the way to prevent it happening again.
You may need to replace the pads and discs if they've worn at an angle.
It's also the usual culprit behind squeeky rear wheels.
Chalkie stuff builds up between the arm and the caliper pushing it out at an angle.
You need to take the caliper off (hopefully not sheering the bolts) and chip off the chalkie stuff, then refit with a thin home made gasket or some grease in the way to prevent it happening again.
You may need to replace the pads and discs if they've worn at an angle.
It's also the usual culprit behind squeeky rear wheels.
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Pleiades= £79 plus fitting, in case you wanted to know. that is for a complete New height corrector unit. mine was totally seized last christmas.
regards Nigel.
regards Nigel.
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New addition Citroen C5 2.0 HDi Exclusive Hatch purchased 09/12/2016 with 83K on the clock.
Thanks for the link mate,superloopy1 wrote:Jamescox377 wrote:Thanks for coming back to me Xac
The MOT tester said that if the bolts snap then the car is scrap, is this the case?
Can the pads be taken out without removing the caliper, may sound stupid just what I was told
Much appreciated
James
Take a look at this thread.
The pads can be removed quite easily from the caliper if that's all that needs doing but i'd bet my 6p'worth on needing to remove the calipers and clean the gunge from behind them as Xac says.
This is a well known rear braking problem
As the thread shows you need to go easy on the caliper retaining bolts and cleaning the rear threads of each bolt and dousing with Plusgas normally does the trick, just go gentle when you turn them
So I'm assuming that there is no way on doing this with the caliper on. I do have a welder so can I assume I can try and weld a nut on it all goes pete tong.
If I changed the pads would it balance the breaking for the MOT?
I wish I had got my car MOT'ed on Monday now, this would have given me the easter holiday to get this work done. Very tight for time and if it all goes wrong I'm car less until she is back on the road.
Wish me luck
James
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I would imagine it depends on how bad they are.
One of mine was so bad the disc was actually rubbing against the caliper.
The pads were being worn down at an angle, and the disc wasn't reaching the end of them, so looking from the side it looked like the pads were new, but looking from above there was only a mm or so left!
One of mine was so bad the disc was actually rubbing against the caliper.
The pads were being worn down at an angle, and the disc wasn't reaching the end of them, so looking from the side it looked like the pads were new, but looking from above there was only a mm or so left!
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Any white corrosion material behind the caliper pushes the caliper away from the radius arm, & upsets the alignment of the pads, causing them to wear "at an angle", as others have described. Just replacing the pads without removing the corrosion (if significant) would mean the new pads taking a longer time to bed in to the non-parallel disc faces, if you get my meaning. In the meantime, whilst the new pads are wearing/bedding in, you will have reduced braking effort from the rear brakes.
Good luck with the bolts. Wire brush the exposed threads behind the radius arm, & dose with Plus-Gas
Good luck with the bolts. Wire brush the exposed threads behind the radius arm, & dose with Plus-Gas
Martin
1995 Xantia TDLX (deceased )
1995 Xantia TDLX (deceased )