Xantia hydraulics

just bought a Citroen Xantia LX from ebay. The brakes sound as though they are rubbing constantly and under braking the car seems to brake then ease of then brake again, as if the ABS isnt working properly(but havnt got ABS). then tonight the rear suspension wouldnt raise and the brakes started acting rearly strange. Now i have a indrivable car HELP. Nigel

Reply to
nigel2671
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just bought a Citroen Xantia LX from ebay. The brakes sound as though they are rubbing constantly and under braking the car seems to brake then ease of then brake again, as if the ABS isnt working properly(but havnt got ABS). then tonight the rear suspension wouldnt raise and the brakes started acting rearly strange. Now i have a indrivable car HELP. Nigel

Reply to
nigel2671

nigel2671 ( snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Has some f****it topped the hydraulic tank up with brake fluid?

Reply to
Adrian

Hi Nigel, Have a look at this website. If you do a search you might be able to see some of the symtoms your experiencing. You can check the hyd oil, open the bonnet and to the right hand rear of the engine bay is a black box with a sight glass. If you open the cover the oil should smell sweet and if you can get some of the oil out with a syringe or something similar it should be a green colour. If it's a nasty yellow colour then it will need changing, any other colour and it might have the wrong oil in. When you start up does the stop light take very long to go out? If it takes a long time then it could be an accumulator sphere or Hyd pump that needs changing. Another way to confirm the acumulator is by starting the engine and timing how often you can here the hydraulic pump click. It should be roughly a couple of times a minute. The other problem you mentioned is that the rear of the car will not rise. The probable culprit is the height adjustment valve which is under the car towards the rear. Generally these can get rusted up and require some WD40. Try this start the car and set the suspension lever to full height (fully back) if this does nothing then try and cycle through the height settings. Always use axle stands or jacks when working underneath as the suspension might crush you!!!!!

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Regards

Howie.....

Reply to
Howard Dean

Would not be at all surprised in the least.

First things first, pull a sample of the suspension fluid into a clear vial and hold against a newspaper, you should be able to read the text through the fluid if the fluid is in good condition.

If not, expensive.... :o( I suspect he has bought a lemon.

Not sure if there is a proportional valve adjusting the load of the brakes when the hydrosystem is loaded up. Should be but you never know.

PDH

Reply to
Paul Hubbard

thanx Howie for the advice, i'll give it a go....cheers

Reply to
nigel2671

"nigel2671" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com:

The brakes and suspension are all powered by the same hydraulic pump on these cars. Perhaps the drive belt is slipping? Might explain the rubbing noise and the dodgy hydraulics.

Reply to
Stu

Stu ( snipped-for-privacy@thanks.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

No, it wouldn't.

Reply to
Adrian

Don't buy from auction sites, why do you think it was on there? Take it to a Citroen dealer and be prepared to pay quite a bit to have it put right. Best to do that as it sounds like you don't know how to do it yourself.

Reply to
paul

Yup, my sentiments exactly.

Car Mechanic mag did a piece on the hydraulic systems a few years back, how to change the suspension balls etc., might be worth tracking down the back issues.

PDH

Reply to
Paul Hubbard

This site's quite good although it's mainly BX and XM the general principles apply

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Malc

Reply to
Malc

Another forum very good advice

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Do a search first and I'll bet your problems are there somewhere, I have had

5 BX's and now drive a Zantia estate, a lot of the problems are easy sorted though a lot of mechanics are scared of them! and quote accordingly, finding a good independant specialist is possible! Some hydraulic oddities can be sorted by a flush, change of fluid and 'exercising' the suspension, and what other car can you effectively replace all springs and shocks in a morning at less than £100

In the middle of the car there is a valve (height corrector) attached to the suspension, if the valve is sticky or siezed it can pop the connecting rod, and that would leave the suspension down.

Most important DO NOT play with the suspension while lying underneath unless you have stands to support it, You WILL be killed if the suspension goes down while you are underneath,

Des

Reply to
Des

That's terrible advice. Main dealer will be far too expensive for such a car. If can't fix it yourself, go to an independent Cit specialist.

cheers, clive

Reply to
Clive George

Clive George ( snipped-for-privacy@xxxx-x.fsnet.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Sod "expense". Cit dealers tend to be utterly useless compared to indie Cit specialists.

In this case, though, it's irrelevant. If it really _has_ had normal brake fluid put in - which it sounds VERY much as if it has - then it's a scrapper.

Every bit of hydraulics on the car would need to be replaced.

A dealer (See? There IS a reason I said what I did about 'em) put brake fluid in my mother's Xant at it's first service. By the time it'd got home, all the brakes had seized on and the suspension wouldn't stay up without the engine running.

The problem is that the seals are not compatible with brake fluid - which is a glycol base - only with mineral based fluids such as LHM. They swell and dissolve. This causes all sorts of shenanigans, as you can imagine.

Reply to
Adrian

Don't be silly.

A Citroen dealer will charge main dealer prices. Not ideal for a car bought on a budget. Better to find a specialist.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I take this opportunity to mention Morris at Deepdale Garage, Kirkburn, Driffield. Must be good as he has quite a few punters coming from France to get their Citroens serviced which is quite a big deal considering he;s in East Yorks and not Kent.

Reply to
Conor

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