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Xantia Front Suspension Acting Weird

Hi All, I'm a bit of a newbie at this forum but here goes. I have a Xantia 1.8 LX Petrol 1995 model. Failed MOT last week 'cause one of the front shocks was leaking excessively. Had the shock changed and car passed MOT. Now the front suspension is not as it used to be.Before the MOT the front end used to dive on braking but does not anymore. I have done most of the tests on the suspension (pressed down on the corners with engine running, sat on the slam panel with engine running and put her through all of the height levels) and she has passed with flying colours. I wouldn't say the suspension is hard or bouncy but the front is a lot stiffer than it used to be. Spheres were all changed two years ago. I have been told that the suspension may not have been bled out properly. Could anybody please tell me how to do this. Also, just to confirm, before the MOT work was carried out I had the "riding on air" suspension. Anybody got any ideas. Thanks Alan

Reply to
alan1304 via CarKB.com
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alan1304 via CarKB.com (u14728@uwe) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Your Xant doesn't even *have* "shocks". The sphere does the job of both shock (damper) and spring.

The suspension is self-bleeding - any air that gets into the system will circulate through the pipe returns to the reservoir and exit the system.

The only things that make sense are that either one good sphere has been swapped for a duff 'un (and spheres should *always* be swapped in pairs) or that one strut has been swapped for one that's either the wrong spec or a duff 'un.

Reply to
Adrian

Thanx for that Adrian. That is exactly what I told the garage, (these cars don't have shocks) but was told that the front struts are the shock absorbers, (go figure) but anyway, I have read on another website that aparrently the spheres can be 'recharged'. Do you know if I can get this done anywhere or is it a Main Dealer job, and is it worth it being that new spheres aren't really that expensive, £30 pounds each is cheaper than a lot of standard shock absorbers. Many thanx Alan. P.S. What a brilliant forum.

Reply to
Alan Peter Ghillyer via CarKB.com

They can be recharged but how effective that is seems to be a bit of a lottery. My local Cit/pug specialist does recon spheres and says that they last at least 2 years. Other suppliers seem (from what I've heard) to be less reliable. Personally for the small amount extra I'd fit new spheres.

--=20 Malc

Reply to
Malc

Thanx again. It would seem that new is the way to go. As I said, the car is not stiff to the point of being uncomfortable but the ride just isn't right. Will change the spheres and see how it goes from there.

Thanx again. Alan

Reply to
Alan Peter Ghillyer via CarKB.com

Alan Peter Ghillyer via CarKB.com (u14728@uwe) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Not really, not these days.

Main dealers have never done it.

And that's one reason why - it's not that huge a saving, especially now that sphere prices have dived from where they were a few years ago. Once the old spheres get a bit too flat, they're often not rechargable, as the diaphragm gets pierced - or even partially, waiting until shortly after they've been recharged to let go fully...

They're even less than that - £18+vat from GS&F.

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Which makes the value even better - especially when you bear in mind it's the spring as well as the damper.

It's even better when you use it as it's intended, through a news reader client, rather than through some odd third party website...

Reply to
Adrian

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