Phoenix Xantia!

[duffusdave]

My X reg Xantia has been off the road for 4 years and unsurprisingly the suspension has seemed to have seized. Rear is low and front is high. Seen some posts re this and am right in assuming linkages need attending to? I've fitted new battery and it started second turn but heater/blower wont switch off and suspension, as mentioned, is not functioning. Really would love to get it up and running, as it only has 65K on the clock and i loved driving it.

[Old-Guy]

Probably just the height correctors seized. We really need to know what happens when you move the height control lever to each of the 4 positions (with the engine running) and wait at least 30 seconds each time to give the hydraulics plenty of time to respond.

[duffusdave]

Tried moving levers into all positions and waited as advised but had no joy unfortunately.

[Mandrake]

If the engine hasn't been run for 4 years you might have to go back to a few basic checks.

Is there oil in the hydraulic tank ? Bear in mind that the level is normally checked with the suspension at full height which you can't test just now, but as long as the sight glass float is pinned to the top there should be enough oil for it to start lifting the suspension.

Is the STOP light on the dashboard going out or is it staying on together with the suspension light ? If its going out then there is at least 100 bars of pressure being developed in the hydraulic system which should be enough to lift the rear suspension. (Normal pressure is 145 to 170 bars)

If the light is staying on, is the power steering heavy or light ? If its heavy like there is no power assistance and the car has been sitting for years its possible the pump is no longer primed. Xantia hydraulic pumps are not self priming and rely on the length of pipe from the tank to the pump being mostly full of oil.

If there was a small leak in this pipe then the oil in the pipe may have dribbled out over the years loosing its prime. If the steering is heavy and the stop light wont go out but the tank seems to have enough oil, disconnect the pipe going from the tank to the pump (near left at the top of the tank looking from the front of the car) and pour LHM down the pipe until full then reconnect it. (You'll need to replace the crimp with a screw thread hose clamp, avoiding air leaks here is important)

If the stop light is going out then most likely the height corrector linkages are rusted/seized up, as per Old-Guys comments. It might take a bit of effort to un-seize them if its been sitting for 4 years without driving as the linkages will have a lot greater tendency to rust together if they're not moving.

What I'd suggest is get the car up on ramps so that you have enough room to work under the car even when the suspension is right down, (you don't want to be crushed should the suspension start working! Take heed...) spray plenty of rust penetrant on both height corrector linkages, (the bracket with the two springs) try setting the manual height lever to maximum to put some strain on the linkage then give the height corrector linkage frame a moderate tap with a hammer to see if it will break free and start moving. Then set the height control to minimum and do the same, repeat a few times as necessary. With a bit of luck it will come unstuck, you should then be able to grease the sliding surfaces of the linkage particularly around the top horizontal spring/arm then work the suspension up and down many times using the height control lever.

Assuming that works check the ride height seems to be ok and the car corrects the height for changes in load. Sit on and get off the car many times, observing that the height corrects as it should with changes in load.

If they still won't respond its likely the linkages are well and truly seized which means removing the height corrector assembly for manual inspection and repair. (The front is a bit of a PITA to remove, but I have done it before) It's highly unlikely the height corrector itself (the small round drum) will be faulty, it will be the sliding spring assembly that connects from the drum to the roll bar.

Because you can't operate the suspension you may have trouble depressurising the suspension so that you can uncouple the pipes from the height correctors (you don't want high pressure oil spraying everywhere, wear safety goggles just in case...) what might work is if you remove the two bolts on the height corrector body then grasp the body of the height corrector (which should now be able to slide a few millimetres) and press on the bump in the centre of the rubber cap you should be able to manually operate the height corrector to lift/lower the suspension - at least on the rear height corrector which has easy access, I'm not sure whether you could get at the front corrector in that manner.

Total movement of a height corrector control shaft is only about +/- 3mm, so it doesn't take much movement to operate it - it also includes an internal hydraulic damper so it takes constant force on the shaft for many seconds before it will operate. (That's where the height correction delay comes from...)

Careful with the hydraulic unions if the unions going into the height correctors are rusty - use a proper 8mm flare nut spanner not a normal ring open ender and take it carefully otherwise you could be up for replacing some of the piping as well if you round the nuts off.

Worst case scenario if the linkages are just too rusted is that you'd need a couple of replacement height corrector linkages.

[duffusdave]

Wow. Thanks for all that. Lots for me to look at. Did notice steering was heavy when i moved car initially. (just to release brakes, which were a bit tight....surprise surprise). There was also yellow light on dashboard, which i thought was the ABS. Didn't look carefully as i was just happy it had started, to be honest. Really appreciate these immediate responses. Cheers guys.

[Xantianut]

Ay up!

Does the yellow light have an engine symbol on it? If so, then you have an engine management problem. My advice would be to disconnect and reconnect ever EM plug on thee car and see if it goes off, not forgetting the "brain." If this don't work, then the problem is a failed sensor somewhere and you'll need a fault code reader to work out which one. It will drive if the motor starts but you'll have poor economy and power will be down.

AFAIK, ABS lights are red, aren't they?

[duffusdave]

It is the ABS light that was staying on. Been out to check and now wont start, despite new battery which is virtually flat. Added to this, the bonnet catch mechanism seems to be seized and cant open bonnet. Oh happy days! Didn't think it was going to be easy anyway. Thanks guys, really appreciate your help....please dont leave me!!! this one could run!! Cheers.

[duffusdave]

Any ideas on how i get my Xantia bonnet open. It has seized somehow. Had it unlocked for the time it was off the road. Cheers.

[duffusdave]

Managed to get bonnet open and lubricated catches. Charged battery and tried lever in all positions. Front end operates fine, rear end will not come out of low position. Lots of clicking at rear as though its trying to work but no movement. As Mandrake suggested i will try to lubricate linkages. Is it okay just to jack up rear an put in axle stands to support or do wheels have to be in contact , as in ramps etc. Thanks guys.

[Mandrake]

Yes its fine to jack it up and put axle stands underneath the suspension chassis (near the mounting bolts between chassis and body) or under the rear jacking points (under the rear door sills) to get access to the height corrector, however you wouldn't be able to test it in that state.

If you do have a couple of ramps with enough rise to let you get safely under the back of the car even when the rear suspension is right down I would use those though, as that means you can both access the height corrector to free it up and test that its working without changing things around.

Removing the spare wheel carrier tray also gives you much more room to work under the car and better access to the rear height corrector, so rear up on ramps with spare wheel tray removed would be my preferred way of tackling this problem.

[duffusdave]

Brilliant! Thank you very much. Really appreciate your help. Cheers