Xantia, hard suspension problem

[trooper30]

Alright fellas, I trust your all doing well
Our Xantia is showing signs that it needs some suspension stuff sorting, hard and bouncing around badly! When the height is set at normal ride height and the engine off you can not push down on any corner, when I push down on any corner it goes down about half an inch then is just stiff and wont move any further. Citrobics work fine and she goes up and down with no problems,
Is it fair to assume that if all 4 corners are stiff it may not be related to one of the corner spheres and more likely to be one of the middle spheres, one underneath and one on the engine bay?
Also I suspect that the level indicator on the LHM reservoir is knackered as its always at the top whatever position the suspension is in, but on the suspensions lowest position shouldn't the reservoir be full to the brim with fluid? ON suspension set to low i stuck my finger in the reservoir and the LHM just touched to bottom of my finger. Can I assume that the LHM level is really low as the level indicator in knackered? If it is low could this be the answer to the hard ride?

And yes, after many years of xantia ownership I should know this stuff by now, but every time i get a suspension issue its something new, to me xantia suspension is like the bloody rubics cube

Cheers for any suggestions fellas, appreciated

[Xantidote]

From what you say, you have the conventional 6 sphere set-up, in which case, the suspension stiffness at any corner will be due to due to the respective sphere losing pressure over time. How long have they been on the car?

The spheres on my TD, Amtrac from GSF, are not so soft as they were - fronts have been on for 2 1/2 years, and the rears 3 1/2 years. I expect them to last a bit longer yet, though a bit lumpy on repeated undulating surfaces such as close road gulley spacing. Have read somewhere that the fronts can have a slightly shorter life

[Peter.N.]

You should have about 6" of vertical movement on the rear and possibly 4" on the front if the spheres are in good order. With the 6 sphere set up this will only occur in soft mode, so assuming that the system is working OK it seems you need a complete set of spheres. They can be good for 60k miles but it depends on their use and age.

Peter

[trooper30]

Just topped up the LHM and gave it some Citrobics with no effect, the rear end is really hard, as is the front. I assumed that if all 4 corner spheres go hard its a prob with the other 2 spheres, would hate to shell out for 4 corner spheres only to find out that its something to do with the other 2. Got to start somewhere so will try and order up the 2 rear spheres today and get them on, see if that changes anything

[Xaccers]

Sounds like it's stuck in hard mode.
electrovalve diodes could have failed. do you have an ecrofting box fitted to the ecu wires? if so, check the connections. if not might be time to fit one.

[RichardW]

Hold on a mo guys.... I think this is a std 6 sphere car, not an 8 sphere hydractive. Can you confirm the spec level trooper30? If it's not an Exclusive, then the other 2 sphers have nothing to do with ride quality.

[trooper30]

No its not a hydractive 8 setup, our HDi is a 2000 ForteLX and has the 6 sphere setup. So on my 6 setup the middle two are nowt to do with ride quality?

[xantia_v6]

No its not a hydractive 8 setup, our HDi is a 2000 ForteLX and has the 6 sphere setup. So on my 6 setup the middle two are nowt to do with ride quality?

Yes.

Broadly speaking, the extra front sphere provides reserve pressure for the front brakes if the engine stalls (and protects the pump from pressure spikes), and the extra sphere at the rear provides reserve pressure for the rear brakes, if the engine stalls. If all of your corner spheres need replacing, it is generally a good idea to replace the brake accumulator spheres (as they are probably in similar condition).

[Hell Razor5543]

What is the mileage of the Xantia? Citroen recommend changing the LHM fluid every 36,000 miles, and preceed each third change (every 108,000 miles) with a hydraflush cycle for between 1,000 and 3,000 miles (to clean out all the pipework, etc.). What is the colour of the LHM? It should be bright green.

[Old-Guy]

Definitely 4 new corner spheres needed, and I'd reckon accumulator and anti-sink at the same time. Essential to clean reservoir and filters (2), change LHM and bleed brakes. If you read up the suggested procedure and prepare in advance, it's less than a day's work even the first time.

Don't drive around on flat sphere's otherwise you may find that your Xantia ends up 'speared' like this:-



Because your poor car effectively has no springs or dampers.

[Xaccers]

No its not a hydractive 8 setup, our HDi is a 2000 ForteLX and has the 6 sphere setup. So on my 6 setup the middle two are nowt to do with ride quality?

Can you update your signature with that?

[addo]

Given the rigidity of the anti-roll bars, it only takes one dead sphere at each end to noticeably degrade ride quality.

[CitroJim]

Owen, if you need facilities to swap the spheres, give me a shout... This and next weekend are out but we may be able to do something by prior appointment during the week..

Note that I WILL NOT be doing the work, that's for you to do!!!

[trooper30]

Cheer for that Jim my lovely, but i have a set of ramps and a sphere removal tool and I figure that's pretty much all I need, just got to order up 4 spheres, but me being me the chances of me breaking something during the process are pretty high so watch this space Oh and my sphere removal tool looks like its make from cheese bluetak and pig iron so if its not up to the job might borrow yours Jim

[Old-Guy]

Give the rear sphere-to-ram joints (and the A/S sphere connections too) a good squirt with good penetrating oil (not WD40) several days in advance. They will come off a lot more easily.