front suspension fault on xantia 98 mod

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jan jensen
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front suspension fault on xantia 98 mod

Post by jan jensen »

I have a strange problem. On my 98 xantia i replace front wishbone suspension arm bush on the rearside. i had jacked up the car on that side, and i have the car on the highest for get the jack under. When i finish the front suspesion dont want to go down, it stay on the highest point. I have check the front height corrector and all there lock ok.

What are happening with the car , before i jacked up and change the arm bush the suspensione work fine. :x
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Post by CitroJim »

Hi Jan and welcome :D

I expect you have popped the white "dogbone" link off the height corrector mechanism. This often happens when you move the anti roll bar around in disconnecting it from the droplink to give sufficient clearance to remove the wishbone.

Support the front on good axle stands, crawl under and have a look at the height corrector. There's a good chance the link is hanging off. Pop it back on and all should be well.

When you replaced the bush (I'm assuming the rearward "P" bush) did you carefully note the alignment of the old one and install the new one exactly the same? If the bush is not correctly installed, it could give far too much pre-load on the wishbone and prevent the height corrector doing its work.

An incorrectly installed bush will also have a very short life.
Jim

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Post by jan jensen »

Hi and thanks for answer.
When i change the bush I mark the position off the old , and i put the new one at the same place.

And i have check the white plastick link (dogbone) to the height corrector, this are ok.
I tokk lose the link rod from anti roll bar on both side. And i jack up the car and suport it with axle stands and lock ont the height conector when i move the anti roll bar up and down.
The arm on the height conector move and it see to be ok.

I try to start the car and put it on the lowest position and one person in the car put the handle to highest position , the back go up to highest position.
And i hold the anti roll bar in the high position , then we try to go to lowest agan and i try to move the roll bar up and down manual.
But nohting happenen on the front, it stay on the highest point.

And i read on internet at it should be a 12 mm screw on the regulator in the midle of engine. I find that and lose the screw and i heard a whisling and a click. But noyhing happening on the front.

Are the some places man can takke away the presure of the front suspensione. Have thinking if i takke lose the speres on right and left side on the front the car want to go down? Ore are the other place man kan get release the fluid pressure. So the front go down. :P

Hoppe you understand my bad english
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Post by KevMayer »

There is are two anti-sink valves. One for rear and one for front suspension.

The anti-sink valves open when the system pressure is high enough.

If the pressure drops, because the engine is off and the pump isn't running, and there's not enough residual pressure in the accumulator, then the anti-sink valve will close and trap all LHM fluid in the front and rear and the suspension will stay high.

So, the way to lower the front is to run the engine and lower the suspension, or rotate the anti roll bar, while the anti-sink valve is open.
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Post by jan jensen »

Did you now where the antisink valve for the front are , i whas thinking at the whas only one antisink on the rear , but if the are one at the front, maybe it doesent open.

The car lower only the rear , and i have try to rotate the anti roll bar, but nothing happening on the front suspension. But can i takke lose the spheres so the front suspision go down ? Nothing else work
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Post by CitroJim »

As this happened after a wishbone change than it is still very likely it's caused by something disturbed in the process.

Test the basic function of the height corrector by disconnecting the white link. On the manual height lever, the front should go high when the lever is set to high and low when set to low but will stay either high or low when the lever is in the middle (normal) position. If this happens, then hydraulically, it is good. Stiffness in the mechanism may be keeping it in the high position so do check, if the above test fails, that all parts of the mechanism are well lubricated and freely moving.

That proves the basic function of the corrector mechanism. If it remains high when the white link is reconnected then the problem has to be with the anti-roll bar or adjustment.

Very rarely, I have known a height corrector valve stick in high due to the presence of dirt inside the valve blocking the damper discs and thus not allowing the valve to return from high.

Another very rare cause is a pipe that has become squashed during work and is blocking the supply of pressure.

The front anti-sink valve is under the LHM reservoir.

Jan, no problems at all with your English :D I'm sure your English is much better than my command of your first language :lol: :lol:
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Post by Xaccers »

Could it be that with the ARB being moved about, it's slipped around inside the clamp from the height corrector?
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Post by jan jensen »

Jim if i disconect the white link to the height conector , shall the valve go in a position so i can use the handle inside the car to move the front down when the level inside the car are sett to low ? i shall try this tomorow.

Could the clamp on the anti roll bar( there the white link are connected) have move? i try to find some pictures on internet of the position for the clamp, but not lucky to find some.

I have thinking of the could been dirt in the valve inside the height conector.
Are the some shjema of what pipe on the high conector som shall return the oil from front suspension?

Tomorow i shall disconect the white link and try the level and se if something happening.
And i shall check if some pipe have been squashed.
and i shall check for stifnes in the mechanism and i shall lubricated all the moving parts.
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Post by CitroJim »

jan jensen wrote:Jim if i disconect the white link to the height conector , shall the valve go in a position so i can use the handle inside the car to move the front down when the level inside the car are sett to low ?
Yes, that is right Jan. With the white link disconnected and the lever inside the car set to low, the front should go down.
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Post by jan jensen »

Jim . I do the test , without the white dogbone conected, the car stay on high in the front when the manuale spake whas in low setting.

I Jack the car up , release the presure on the regulator 12mm bolt, hear the wisle noise when the presure go back to the tank.
I lose the pipe on right suspison , no oil com out. But the left side it com a lot of oil with presure when i lose the pipe ( on the top on the suspison).
I tokke away the jack and the front get down to the lowest position.
Tighten pipes and bleding screw.
The manual spake in lowe and i start the car, the back stay in low position but the front lift it up to the high position(dog bone disconected)
Could it been the heigt corrector som are fault ore the antisink valve ?
The car have been very slow rishing and sinking the last month before this happening,
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Post by scottishpaul »

height corrector mechanism ....well on mines it had moved on the clamp on the anti roll bar and was always sitting very low when i got the car .it dont need to be moved much at all to change the hight it sits at,regards paul :wink:
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Post by jan jensen »

Paul , the are not the clamp , i have tested the. Without the withe link conected to the clamp ,it shall react on the manual handle inside the car. som jim say to me without the white link conected , the front get down when handle inside put to lowest position.
But nothing happening, the front still stay on high when back are on low. Maybe the valve inside height corrector have hang up.
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Post by jan jensen »

I wait on the new height corrector shal come from the dealer. So shall we se if the car want to go down in the front.
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Post by jan jensen »

I get a used height corrector. I change then but the was the same, the car still go high.
Down again with the height corrector. I and a friend of me try to find out what whas going on with this. We se at the valve dont want to open for the down position.
The mechanisme whas litle bent, and that cause the valve to not open to the low position for the front suspesion, and we fix that and the valve go to low position.

When i speak to the owner , and ask if she have been out of the road with the car. The owner could tell me at when she should back out from the driveway from a friend , she have a acedent and get with one of the front whel in the ditch and must have a tow truck, and this whas happening a few days before i change the wishbone.

And therefor whas the front hanging on the highest after i hadd change the wishbone. Because i had the car on high for get the jack ounder the car. And the valve and the mechanishme whas bent so the valve not could go back to low when i whas finish and put the handle in normal position.

So now are allthing ok and the suspision work very fine. :P :P
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Post by CitroJim »

Good to hear all is now good again Jan :D

So, now we know what happened and why. It must have been a fair old knock..
Jim

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