Hello All,
Just bought my first Citroen (1995 Xantia 1.9TDSX)I am very pleased with it but would like to check what is wrong with my suspension.
I have been following the4 threads of some of you guys and you all seem to know a fair bit about these cars. I won't ask you to repeat what you have already discussed but i would like to find out the state of the suspension.
Should I take it to a dealer to check out or are there a slection of standard tests I can perform at home which will tell me what is working and what isn't with respect to the suspension.
All I can tell at present is that the ride is a little bouncy at low speeds more so but not confined to this. The movement of the height selection is a little bouncy also.
I am pretty certain that the car is not Hyroactive.
I am mechanical engineer so don't mind having a go, but is it worth me doing so?
The garage sadi that they would charge me 30 quid to have a look but I have my doubts as to what help this will provide.
Thanks
New Owner Old Advice (Xantia)
Moderator: RichardW
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franciscolunn
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Hi,just bought my first xantia also yesterday and am also extremely pleased with it,sorry cant answer your query but just to say mines working perfectly and is a delight to drive, there will be someone here who will answer you i'm sure and when you get it right you'll be driving around all day just for the sake of it.
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blueboy2001
- Posts: 423
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You are right to believe that your car is not Hydractive - only the VSX was fitted with it back in '95. Its one less thing to go wrong on an SX.
The usual cause of a somewhat bouncy ride is the suspension spheres. On your car there will be 6 of them - 2 on the front suspension (you'll see them in the engine bay) 2 on the rear (remove wheels for easy access), an accumilator sphere which is on the front of the engine bay quite low down, and a an anti-sink sphere in the centre of the rear axle.
The way to test if the spheres need doing it to bounce the suspension by pushing down on the corners. A Xantia on good spheres should be surprisingly easy to push down - more more so than anything with conventional suspension springs. If you've never bounced one with good spheres its difficult to pass judgement though.
For the accumilator, if you hear a kind of ticking/hissing sound very regularly from the engine bay, it more than likely wants changing too. Antisink spheres are not so much of a problem - symptom of them going is on starting, the car will sink and rise up a few seconds later.
A competent mechanic who has dealt with Xantias should be able to tell you in seconds if the spheres need doing. They are easy to do, and if you look in the Common Problems and Fixes section its all there on exactly how to do them. My advice if you do tackle the job yourself - spend £30 on a band wrench that GSF sell specifically for getting them off - there will be no end of memebers here who will testify to breaking numerous strap wrenches and oil filter removers when using them to do spheres.
Spheres from GSF are £18 or so for brand new pattern ones, or £25 for Genuine Citroen parts. Citroen dealers want about £60 each! To do all the spheres on a Xantia, there should be no more than 1 hours labour charged.
The usual cause of a somewhat bouncy ride is the suspension spheres. On your car there will be 6 of them - 2 on the front suspension (you'll see them in the engine bay) 2 on the rear (remove wheels for easy access), an accumilator sphere which is on the front of the engine bay quite low down, and a an anti-sink sphere in the centre of the rear axle.
The way to test if the spheres need doing it to bounce the suspension by pushing down on the corners. A Xantia on good spheres should be surprisingly easy to push down - more more so than anything with conventional suspension springs. If you've never bounced one with good spheres its difficult to pass judgement though.
For the accumilator, if you hear a kind of ticking/hissing sound very regularly from the engine bay, it more than likely wants changing too. Antisink spheres are not so much of a problem - symptom of them going is on starting, the car will sink and rise up a few seconds later.
A competent mechanic who has dealt with Xantias should be able to tell you in seconds if the spheres need doing. They are easy to do, and if you look in the Common Problems and Fixes section its all there on exactly how to do them. My advice if you do tackle the job yourself - spend £30 on a band wrench that GSF sell specifically for getting them off - there will be no end of memebers here who will testify to breaking numerous strap wrenches and oil filter removers when using them to do spheres.
Spheres from GSF are £18 or so for brand new pattern ones, or £25 for Genuine Citroen parts. Citroen dealers want about £60 each! To do all the spheres on a Xantia, there should be no more than 1 hours labour charged.
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blueboy2001
- Posts: 423
- Joined: 29 Jan 2003, 04:16
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Don't follow Haynes' procedure for doing the rear spheres - you risk damaging the hydraulic fittings if you do.
For the rears, crack them off half a turn or so with the system still pressurised and the car supported properly, ie. axle stands. Once you've cracked them off, follow the depressurisation procedure and swap the spheres over.
The reason for this is that the rears tend to rust into place and become very tight, and with no pressure in the system the fitting that the sphere screws into can turn with the torque of turning the sphere and break the small fluid feed pipes.
This method is, I believe, the way Citroen dealers are instructed to do the job.
For the rears, crack them off half a turn or so with the system still pressurised and the car supported properly, ie. axle stands. Once you've cracked them off, follow the depressurisation procedure and swap the spheres over.
The reason for this is that the rears tend to rust into place and become very tight, and with no pressure in the system the fitting that the sphere screws into can turn with the torque of turning the sphere and break the small fluid feed pipes.
This method is, I believe, the way Citroen dealers are instructed to do the job.
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blueboy2001
- Posts: 423
- Joined: 29 Jan 2003, 04:16
- Location:
- My Cars:
Don't follow Haynes' procedure for doing the rear spheres - you risk damaging the hydraulic fittings if you do.
For the rears, crack them off half a turn or so with the system still pressurised and the car supported properly, ie. axle stands. Once you've cracked them off, follow the depressurisation procedure and swap the spheres over.
The reason for this is that the rears tend to rust into place and become very tight, and with no pressure in the system the fitting that the sphere screws into can turn with the torque of turning the sphere and break the small fluid feed pipes.
This method is, I believe, the way Citroen dealers are instructed to do the job.
For the rears, crack them off half a turn or so with the system still pressurised and the car supported properly, ie. axle stands. Once you've cracked them off, follow the depressurisation procedure and swap the spheres over.
The reason for this is that the rears tend to rust into place and become very tight, and with no pressure in the system the fitting that the sphere screws into can turn with the torque of turning the sphere and break the small fluid feed pipes.
This method is, I believe, the way Citroen dealers are instructed to do the job.