Citroen xantia suspention

netty · Post by **netty** » 04 Sep 2010, 22:07

Hi there everyone i have just brought an s reg 1998 xantia before i picked it up the car sale had the suspension done but when i test drove it i found it bumpy and hard over bumps had a head ache when i got home. The bloke i brought it off said he will send it back to the garage next week but i just want some info so i can see if the garage did its job last week.

Toby_HDi · Post by **Toby_HDi** » 04 Sep 2010, 22:10

Welcome to Xantia ownership and the forum netty

First things that spring to mind would be flat spheres or a broken height corrector linkage.

Both easily rectified. Plenty of info on the forum if you perform a search.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 04 Sep 2010, 22:29

hi and welcome netty

the first thing we could do with is the exact model and year, as diferent model's can suffer with diferent faults

regards malcolm

netty · Post by **netty** » 05 Sep 2010, 09:20

Citroen exantia 20i v16 sx

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 05 Sep 2010, 09:30

Ok, so being an SX it has non-hydractive suspension (makes things a tad simpler).
Either the spheres are flat or the height adjustment isn't right.
Changing spheres is easy, and about £22 each. You have 6 in total, 1 on each corner, one at the front of your engine which is the accumulator sphere which stores pressure should your aux belt snap, and one at the back up behind the spare wheel which is known as the anti-sink sphere because it was fitted to cars with anti-sink and is a rear accumulator.
Check that the front accumulator is good by idling the engine and listening for a tick/click/clunk at the front of the engine, there should be at least 30 seconds between ticks. Anything less and it needs replacing, and is a good idea to replace the anti-sink sphere too. Also check around the large black nuts with metal pipes coming out of them on the hydraulic pump as these tend to leak by now, replacing the o-rings inside is a doddle and about 70p each (although some dealers insist on you buying a pack of 5). If you're not aware, your steering, suspension and brakes are all run from the same hydraulic system (steering comes from a seperate output on the pump), and you check LHM level with the car set on high.

The height corrector at the rear (and sometimes the front) can seize up due to lack of lubrication and hold the car at the wrong height giving a firmer uncomfortable ride. In extreme cases the plastic link (looks like a dog bone) can pop off.

NEVER GO UNDER A HYDRAULIC CITROEN WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF AXLE STANDS!
They can sink suddenly and squish you.

Post by **xantia_v6** » 05 Sep 2010, 09:31

Is the suspension at the correct height? There should be about 3 finger widths of clearance between the tyre and wheel-arch at the front and 1 finger width at the rear.

netty · Post by **netty** » 05 Sep 2010, 12:23

Hi thanks for info so far. It seems the rear is not operating as it should be the front seems to be working fine.

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 05 Sep 2010, 17:45

Hetty, to advise you further we need some more information about the ride height at the back.

Because Xantias have self-levelling suspension, they should always sit level. On a flat level surface, the sills should be parallel with the surface.

If the car is level but the rear suspension is hard, one or more rear spheres needs replacing. If it's sitting tail-up, then the rear height corrector mechanism is stuck and/or the plastic (dog-bone) link is disconnected.

You really need an independent Citroen specialist to advise you.

netty · Post by **netty** » 05 Sep 2010, 19:12

Hi thank you for the info so far. It will be goning back to were i brought it from and they will be booking it in the garage to be fixed.
I have noticed that the garage had done the front spheres but not the back so i will be going with my info in hand to get this sorted.