Citroen Xantia Spheres.. Good or Bad

[martyhopkirk]

Look i know im thicker than a whale omlet, but further to my other post on whether the xantia makes a good tow car or not, how do i tell if the spheres are good or bad?
Ta once again..
Marty.
ZX Avantage 1.9D (126k and rising)
1.8 Laguna Sport (ha!)

[mark_sp]

Marty
Just assume they are bad and build into the price the cost of replacing (or regassing) them all and a fluid change and filter clean at the same time - ball park cost say £200 on a non hydractive.
Mark

[jeremy]

Basically if your teeth fall out when you drive the car then the suspension spheres have probably gone.
To be a bit more scientific set the height to normal with the engine idling and sit in the boot. The car should drop about 4 inches and after half a minute return to its original height. Now get out, the car should rise on the spheres and then after half a minute, return to its original height. If it will do the same with the engine off then the accumulator is ok as well but I'm not sure you will be able to do this if you have anti-sink.
You should be able to do the same at the front but its not so easy as the whole setup is stiffer. If the front won't compress at all then the spheres have gone, and this will show up as frequent contact with bump stops and jerky headlamp beam movements.
Further complications are caused by anti-sink sphere failures which can include a failure of the rear brakes but they won't affect the compressibility of the spheres with the engine running.
jeremy

[martyhopkirk]

Thanks for that, im off to look at a few Xantias today so will bear that in mind.
Marty.

[Homer]

Should have some bounce with the engine running. Hydractive cars are harder to tell than non-hydractive.