my xantia has got very hard suspention. it has been getting harder over the last 3 months. the green spheres on the front shocks and rear shocks have been changed about 4years ago. the one in the engine bay looks older and probaly never changed. the ride is now nearly as hard as on high setting. can anyone help. i also need to know how to change the spheres. also is there a filter for suspention oil could this be the problem...thanks peter
{typo in header amended to aid future forum searches}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/06/2008 at 22:11
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There's a filter in the lhm reservoir, it should be cleaned when the lhm is changed. When my Xantia started to get like yours I took it to Westroen in Manchester, he's a really nice bloke who knows his Citroens. They changed all the spheres, replaced the fluid, and cleaned the filters. It was like a new car again afterwards. www.westroen-spheres.co.uk
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How many miles have the spheres done? 36-40K per sphere is a good guideline for life.
I'd recommend a LHM change and new spheres. They are not dear (£17.50 each from GSF??), neither is the fluid, and it's not the horrendous job to change them the anticitroenistas would have you believe.
A decent sphere removal tool is available from Pleiades, Citroen specialists in Sawtry near Peterborough. Most chain wrenches give up.
There is plenty of advice on various forums.
A properly set-up Citroen rides like nothing else, so it's well worth the work!
rg
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Is it hydractive? and if so did you change the centre spheres, those are the ones mainly responsible for the soft ride.
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it is not the active suspention model,,,,,no button by the gear stick,p
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hi i have i xantia estate 1999 . the suspention is very hard and i am going to change the lhm oil and all 6 spheres (not activa model) how do i do this , i have a tool to get the spheres off and i think they unscrew, where do i find oil drain and lhm filter..does it need jacking up while changing the spheres ..any help please thank you.
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**WARNING - DO NOT GET UNDER AN UNSUPPORTED HYDRAULIC CITROEN - ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE GOING TO PLAY WITH THE SUSPENSION. IT CAN AND WILL KILL YOU***
Right, got the 'elf and safety out of the way :-))
Put the front on ramps and remove the engine undertray. Select low suspension and wait for it to sink with the engine running - leave it for a minute or so engine idling till all the pressure has gone. Switch off, get underneath the front and slacken the 12mm bolt sticking out the front of the regulator (where the acc is attached) a couple of turns (don't remove it!) There should be a hiss as the remaining pressure is released. Syphon as much of the LHM as you can out of the tank. Remove the wire clip and the two bolts holding the tank to the bulkhead, and unclip the pipes from the side of the tank. Wiggle the tank up (it fits into a rubber bung about 2" deep) till you can cant it over 45° allowing you to pull the filter block out of the centre. Drop the filter block into a 1l ice cream tub or similar you have already got handy. Empty the remaining LHM into a suitable container. Remove the two filters from the filter block on the car (one large D shaped, one conical inside - there's a small clip ISTR.). Wash tank out with petrol and leave to dry, wash the filters with petrol and leave to dry.
All spheres are RH thread. Change the front susp spheres, and accumulator sphere. Chain wrench or other removal tool probably required to get the acc, and maybe the susp if tight (a cold chisel applied to the edge of the sphere is a good way to get them going). Recover the seals and fit new ones - to the housing, not the spheres - ensure you are using the proper square section seals - some spheres come with o-rings which are no good. Lightly oil the seal, and screw the sphere back in - hand tight ONLY.
Refit the filters and tank and fill with LHM. Put it in high, start the engine and allow it to idle. It will take some time for the pump to prime, so watch the level in the tank, once it starts going down, nip up the bolt on the pressure reg, and you should get suspension pressure. Wait for it to reach high, run it off the ramps and put the back up. Switch off, but with the suspension still in high, get under the rear (ensure there is enough room for it not to squash you if it does come down!) and crack the rear suspension corner spheres by 1/8th turn MAX - they will be v tight and require a lot of persuasion. Restart engine and depressure as before. Change the corner spheres. Look at the back of the final anti-sink sphere, and carefully undo the thin pipe that goes into it, using a pukker brake pipe spanner. Change the sphere, fit a new seal to the pipe, and refit the pipe. Retighten the bleed screw, select high and start the engine to get suspension pressure. Run it off the ramps, and perform citaerobics - run it from high to low several times. Finally, check the LHM level - on high with engine running the float should be between the red marks. Back to normal, and revel in the brilliant ride.
Sounds worse than it is - should take < 2 hours. Note that the rears can be a right pain, and inventive methods are needed somtimes to free them. Do not do this with no pressure in the suspension - you will break the pipes off.
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hi thank you good advice. the rear anti sink sphere has no pipe going into it, it looks the same as the rest. it is a lhd spanish car. if that make any difference.
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It will have a pipe going into it - it goes in the bottom of the sphere, behind the bracket. Don't undo this sphere without removing the pipe first - or you will break the pipe off.
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hi thank you for your info, the citroen now rides perfect, it was as you said, p
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