Sticky Xantia!

[R9UKE]

Well it's been a while since I've had a green blooded Frenchy, I've missed the floatiness and random, constant adjustments as you drive. I have NOT missed a plethora of pipes, cylinders and sensors looking for any excuse to F up

 

Bit of background first - 1997 Phase 1 V6 Exclusive with 49k miles. Had done less than 50 miles since it's last MOT (august of last year) until I got it last saturday - so fair to say it's been sitting around a bit.

 

The issue is an intermittent one. The rear of the car adjusts great during driving, it lifts under braking, drops back a bit when you stop at the lights, adjusts when people get in etc etc. BUT, when asking it to raise or lower manually, it just doesn't want to do anything. It did once or twice, but wouldn't budge this afternoon at all - this was the sight when I raised it to check the LHM level (needed topped up slightly).

 

 

Is it just a case of the car needing to loosen up after it's estimated 1 year slumber, or is there something more suspect going on?

 

Cheers!

[Volksy]

Rear height adjuster is probably seized. Pretty much normal. Can be freed off, but what ever you do support the vehicle on stands before you touch it. as they can drop pretty quickly from high to low!

[Ben_L]

If the whole car isn't in "High" position, it'll probably read as needing more fluid. At a guess, it'll make the reading inaccurate to say the least.

 

Probably the thing on the rear that controls the height gummed up, or something.

[dollywobbler]

Sounds like a height corrector is a bit buggered. They can get gunked up internally as well as externally. Probably worth dropping the LHM and chucking some Hydraflush through it. Hydro Citroens don't like not being used and it can cause all manner of funny problems.

 

Volksy's suggestion is valid. Back the car up onto a pair of ramps for safety. As he says - when they drop, they REALLY drop and if you fiddle with the height controller mechanism, it definitely will drop.

[Guest Tony Hayers]

Previous owner not doing Citaroebics, plus sitting round won't have helped.

 

Buy a can of plusgas and go mental with the rear height corrector, whilst moving the console mounted lever through all of its options (not forgetting the pivot at its base). But to do a good job the RHC will need removing & cleaning/lubing. This i know as my 1st Xantia had the same problem with the previous owner, dickhead farmer more concerned with carrying pigs across a field than actually doing any maintenance.

 

*ED* Volksy beat me to it, then Ben

 

Double *ED* and dollywobbler. Hurry up you POS PC!

[R9UKE]

Cheers lads. Yet to pop my cherry when it comes to working on the suspension system so the tip re not getting crushed to death was very helpful. Will get a good look under the beast and report back. I have a mate with a few CXs, XMs and Xantias so will try and get hold of him to give it the once over underneath sometime soon.

[cort16]

As much as I love these Citroens the whole hydraulic thing seems to make the already complex business of running a French car seem infinitely more complex. Most of the Citroen based base conk outs you see on here never seem to be mechanical it always seems to be something to do with the hydraulic system. When I had my BX the only bother I ever had with it was when an LHM pipe popped a leak when coming back up from yorkshire and the AA's advise was to buy as many bottles as you can from the local motor factors and just keep putting more fluid into it.

[dollywobbler]

The hydraulics are the well engineered bit! Most problems are caused by tired rubber or lack of maintenance. Bear in mind when I had my CX, I had not one hydraulic problem with it. I didn't so much as top the fluid it. It all worked fine - and the CX is even more complicated. Most of the 'hydraulics are rubbish' comments come from AA blokes and other 'experts' who know the square root of sod all about them. I will say that specialist assistance can be a god-send at times, as can the owners forums. Suddenly it doesn't seem so scary after all.

 

The electrics were bloody hopeless though. Infuriatingly so. Really pissed me off that they could do such clever things with electrics, then ruin it all by allowing the experience de travail lad design the electrical system - with components crafted from fromage.

[HillmanImp]

It will be the rear height adjuster. I am surprised nobody has suggested that.

[Bren]

As stated earlier, height corrector probably seized. Support the car before touching it.

 

When I had my xantia I did the citaerobics every few weeks, keeps everything free.

[Lacquer Peel]

It will be the rear height adjuster. I am surprised nobody has suggested that.

 

dollywobbler did.

[warren t claim]

The hydraulics are the well engineered bit! Most problems are caused by tired rubber or lack of maintenance. Bear in mind when I had my CX, I had not one hydraulic problem with it. I didn't so much as top the fluid it. It all worked fine - and the CX is even more complicated. Most of the 'hydraulics are rubbish' comments come from AA blokes and other 'experts' who know the square root of sod all about them. I will say that specialist assistance can be a god-send at times, as can the owners forums. Suddenly it doesn't seem so scary after all.

 

The electrics were bloody hopeless though. Infuriatingly so. Really pissed me off that they could do such clever things with electrics, then ruin it all by allowing the experience de travail lad design the electrical system - with components crafted from fromage.

 

True. It's always the XUD that died on the ones I've had.

[beko1987]

The rear height corrector on my xm is the same, either it won't come up at all or sinks, both fixed with some citrobatics. A good jazz of plusgas made out work for a bit.

 

If you do strip it out and rebuild it let me know, its a job I want to do and would be greatful for any hints!

 

Does yours bounce over every pedal at the rear when its down, or is it just me?

[R9UKE]

Will do Beko. Excellent, sounds like a relatively simple fix anyway

 

Does yours bounce over every pedal at the rear when its down, or is it just me?

 

I'd know if it bloody came down!! Ride is superb on normal (don't really have a choice), brakes took a bit of getting used to!

[MrDuke]

I was under the impression that driving it round on low would kill it fairly quickly? Maintenance setting only?

[forddeliveryboy]

As much as I love these Citroens the whole hydraulic thing seems to make the already complex business of running a French car seem infinitely more complex. Most of the Citroen based base conk outs you see on here never seem to be mechanical it always seems to be something to do with the hydraulic system.

 

Well if that's the case someone is either bodging repairs, never doing any servicing/checks or using something other than LHM.

 

The Xantia's HP pumps don't last as well as what Citroen used previously but otherwise the hydraulics are pretty much as good as they always were - which is very good. Although you only ever used to see it in the UK, driving around on completely flat spheres even seemed to be tolerated. My Merc estate blew a seal on the rear hydraulic strut as soon as the spheres got a bit low and I went a bit fast (and that was effectively a copy of the Citroen setup, think they even bought a licence from Citroen).

 

The Peugoet bastardisation of Citroens where one maker's ideas are grafted over the core and fundamentals of anothers meant the layout of the hydraulics suffered enormously, causing the premature rotting out of the pipes on BXs (all the rear pipes ran just forward of the nsr wheel - which they never had before) and the appalling access to the HP pump on Xantias. Anyone ever replaced a pump on a Xantia with aircon? Horrid job. Hyrdactive extras don't help. The pumps used to sit in the space above the gearbox on CX I think, with double V-belts driving them from pulleys run off the engine. All the pipes were fairly easy to identify and check, not the case on a Xantia. They 'tidied' them up and made them into a proper nightmare of inaccessiblity, especially those to and from the reservoir.

biltu

[R9UKE]

Rear height corrector was in fact the answer.

 

Got it up and lubed this afternoon and everything's lose again

 

Thanks guys.

[beko1987]

Mine keeps sinking, when I have enough money to buy some ramps, LHM and a flare spanner for the LHM pipes it's a job I want to do:

 

(Taken from club-XM)

 

It was the rear height corrector & its mechanism(lever) which was rusted & seized badly.The lever didn't react on command from the cabin.

I squirted a lot of wd-40,brushed it with steel brush untill it was able to move.

The corrector itself was dirty and black inside but it had not actual dirt in it.

 

I cleaned it with petrol,lubricated all of the components with fresh LHM especially a little shaft and reassembled it.Put a little more LHM into the openings where the 3 little pipes connects and mounted it on the car.

 

Now,the car reacts immediatelly on commands from the cabin and...also when i sit in the boot and stand up,the car reacts immediatelly.

 

Before cleaning the height corrector the car was always sat a little higher in drive mode.Now it sits a little lower(read normal) and it have much softer ride than before.Also,lever from the cabin moves much freely.'

 

Mine sits like this, sinks when stationary and more recently when moving. Me and the missus sat in the boot on saturday though and it sunk it it's bump stops, but came back to height when we got out.

[andrew e]

I had problems with the height corrector on my last XM too.