front suspension

[froggy]

Hi, my S1 Xantia, the front suspension has started to rise and fall at will ! when pulled up at traffic lights the front suspension will rise and fall , any ideas why this would be happening ? thanks in advance Terry.

[CitroJim]

Is it prone to sinking very rapidly at the front when the engine is off Terry?

[froggy]

yes Jim.

[CitroJim]

yes Jim.

If you set it on high and the switch off does it sink then Terry?

[froggy]

no Jim, it stays up.

[CitroJim]

OK. Sorry for all the questions Terry but how quickly does it sink from normal height?

[froggy]

it sinks very quickly Jim.

[CitroJim]

it sinks very quickly Jim.

Sadly Terry I'd now suspect a worn strut. It was why I asked you all the questions. If it does not sink from high this suggests the anti-sink valve is OK. When tested like this the struts are in an unworn position right at the end of their travel. When at normal height the struts are in their most worn position and it's likely they are so worn in this position that they are suffering very high internal leakage which results in the sinking.

This can be proved by setting on normal height and disconnecting the strut leakage return pipe on each strut, popping the pipe into a jamjar and seeing how much LHM issues from them as the front sinks

The one that leaks most and most quickly is the worn one.

Struts are not hard to replace...

[froggy]

Cheers Jim, many thanks for your help. I have just sourced a pair of struts , in very good condition from a local scrapyard......£40 for the pair. many thanks again Terry.

[CitroJim]

Excellent Terry that's a very good price