Citroen Xantia Suspension....

Hi Guys,

Just got hold of a nice 2.1TD Xantia and was wondering if anyone knew what would cause the fron suspension to not rise correctly(ie not as high as it should be) and cause the STOP light to come on and go off randomly?? I think the LHM fluid may be low but the level indicator is as high as it can go in the sight glass so maybe its broken?? Steering an brakes feel fine and the rear rise's. The device that the accumlator is screwed onto clicks loudly as well so im wondering if its maybe that causing the issue or maybe the spheres or accumulator are faulty and need replacing??

The car has done 157k miles on an R plate, its a Hatch as well and in the last 2 years according to service history has had new spheres, cambelt and clutch. Now it doesnt say which spheres but im thinking as it was mainly used for towing as most are unfortunately :o(

Any Advice would be most welcome as i have the good old haynes book of lies ;o) and a decent amount of technical skill as the xantia we already own(1.9td) which may also soon be for sale!!!! and have done spheres and most routine things as well and have already changed the turbo on it as well so just looking for advice on the hydraulic side as im not too well up on its inards :o(

TIA, Will

Reply to
Will Morrow
Loading thread data ...

Will Morrow ( snipped-for-privacy@chavman.chav) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

The car needs to be on full high for the level float to be useful.

Accumulator is flat if it's click-click-clicking.

Reply to
Adrian

Or the pump itself is on the way out.

PDH

Reply to
Paul Hubbard

Adjuster is on full hieght and rear goes to correct hieght....

Maybe try accumulator then. How much/hard to replace is the pump as it seems easy enough to get to?? this model has AC as well...

TIA, Will

Reply to
Will Morrow

Will Morrow ( snipped-for-privacy@chavman.chav) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Still not definitely good - it may be utterly clagged inside.

Yup. Accumulator. The pumps on late Xants and XMs are nowhere near as powerful as "proper" hydraulic Cits - my s2 XM takes *forever* to rise on idle, but give it a few revs, and it'll pop up smartly. Ish.

Easy. IIRC it's one bolt and a clip.

Definitely. And change the fluid for flush instead of LHM - bleed it through the brakes, then leave it in for a thousand miles.

Reply to
Adrian

So drain some LHM off, Put the flush stuff in, run for 1k/2weeks?? then drain it and fill the system with some total guff after washing the res out??

How hard is it to take the adjuster bit off and clean it out?? i cant remember what it looks like now as its not up on the ramps now...

Ta, Will

Reply to
Will Morrow

Will Morrow ( snipped-for-privacy@chavman.chav) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Car on flat, release pressure. Take the tank out, clean it out, clean the filters out. Fill with flush. Bleed brakes through completely. 1000 miles. Repeat, but put LHM in.

Not too bad, but you do need to have the car properly supported in the air.

Reply to
Adrian

The car doesnt cover a massive milage, about 20miles a day so it could take a while for it to reach 1000miles...

Is supporting it on axle stands with the rear wheels chocked fine or does it really have to be a crane lift???

Ta, Will

Reply to
Will Morrow

Axles stands and chocks will be fine IMO. I expect you're aware that the handbrake works on the front wheels.

Reply to
Malc

Will Morrow ( snipped-for-privacy@chavman.chav) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yeh, that should be fine. Just DO NOT shove it in high and crawl under...

Reply to
Adrian

Cheers Malc, we have been aware of this disc warping cause since we owned our first BX(1.9 XUD varient) :o)

Ok so far we have got all 3 spheres off at the front and now th clicking is at the right amount but the frnt isnt going up at all so im guessing the front hieght corrector is fubard and needs looking at. Any advice on anything i should be aware of on this at all as from what ive seen quickly before i just follow the push rod from the in car lever and it meets near the flame wall/bulkhead under the car and connects onto some spangley bits and im guessing i just need to ensure everything moves freely??

Also is there meant to be a spring on the lever inside the car or on the outside as the one on the 2.1 doesnt offer much resistance(ie want to bounce back to standard) where as on our 1.9td it does very easily want to go back....

thanks again guys, Will

Reply to
Will Morrow

Ok now i need a front Hieght corrector :o(

Looking at the haynes it doesnt look like a massive job to get it off but i was wondering if its worht getting new or getting a used one and when these go generally what causes them to go as the one thats faulty is very indecisive about what hieght it wants to be at but generally wants to be on the lowest setting.... :o(

Any advice welcomed :o)

Will

Reply to
Will Morrow

Will Morrow ( snipped-for-privacy@chavman.chav) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Pleiades.

formatting link

Reply to
Adrian

Cheers Adrian

Is there anything else that could cause the car to not raise up at the front 'only' but the rear just fine?? It went up once but just went straight to maximum and nothing in between :(

Reply to
Will Morrow

The front height corrector may no longer be attached to the antiroll bar, worth checking.

Reply to
Duncanwood

Ahh good point...

got 2 bolts off and one has sheared though :o( will see more tomorrow night anyways!

Reply to
Will Morrow

I saw reports on the DS mailing list to suggest that Pleiades had closed down, but that there might be a smale scale successor starting somewhere.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Johnston

Ian Johnston ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

There was a degree of chinese whispers, but the final story (from the horse's mouth) is that Pleiades were/are moving/have moved out of their old premises, and closing the workshops, but are still very much on the go for recon hydraulic parts.

Reply to
Adrian

Phew. I'm glad to hear that. I've had new pump, rack, front height corrector and all six spheres from them so far. Very pleasant people to deal with, very high quality work. And very much cheaper than the continental alternatives!

Ian

Reply to
Ian Johnston

Yip they are still going strong and have had a quote from them RE the hieght corrector i need. now i just have to get the thing off the car :o(

Any tips at all, specifically the anti roll bar bit??

Thanks again, Will

Reply to
Will Morrow

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.