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I have a Xantia and recently the rear end started feeling like no suspension, it was feeling every bump in the road and there is a knocking coming from the rear. Having read through the forum, I tried going from min to max height, the front end went up but the rear stayed down. I tried lubricating the height adjuster in front of spare wheel and have managed to get it going up and down now, but the harsh ride is still there as well as the knocking does this mean new spheres are required at the back?
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 02/04/2009 at 19:56
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With the car set at the correct ride height and the engine running you should be able to push the rear corners down as with a normally suspended car. If you can?t then the spheres have lost their gas. Have a look at the post by Sadie.
Citroen Xantia - 93 1.6i MOT failure on rear Suspension. Last post was at 17:24 yesterday. It was on page 2 when I posted this.
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I will try that, if its solid then I presume the rear ones have gone and lost their gas as you say. I Did notice this morning that the rear end had sunk with the top of the rear wheel hidden in the wheel arch does this mean that the center sphere is also u/s.
Burge
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If you look at as though the outer two spheres are the springs and the central unit is the shock absorber I would change all three..remember they are not all the same when you purchase the new ones.
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If I am having to replace all three at the back, A. Do I need any part numbers, B. What is the center sphere called? C. Which is my best bet as a supplier?
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The two outers are suspension spheres and the inner is the accumulator sphere try ebay or
gsfcarparts.com/ .
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I would suggest you just get them tested and refilled by Citroen beofre you replace them. They may just need topped up?
I did this with my old Citroen a number of times. Never replaced any of the parts.
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I ordered my spheres from GSF, and when I came to fit them the two outer suspension ones fitted OK, but the Accumalator sphere was different, I spoke to GSF and explained that my car had a pipe into the center of the sphere and they told me that this was an anti sink sphere, which they have exchanged. my question is "what is the difference and do I need to look further under the car for an accumalator sphere. does the anti-sink sphere do more than just holding the correct height of the car? until I receive and fit the exchanged sphere I wont know if it cures my original problem. its not any seem any better since the two outer ones were fitted yesterday.
Burge
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Not all cars have an anti sink sphere, it depends on the model, it can also be very difficult to replace without breaking the pipe - so I should leave that one alone, if you have one. The centere suspension sphere is screwed into a bracket and connected to the height corrector, that is the one that will make the most difference to the ride but is very often not replaced, but if the present spheres have done more than 60k miles, I would replace all of them. The centre sphere by the way- is called just that.
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I have already taken that one off, that's how I found out that it was different to the one supplied by GSF., the union on the pipe was well lubricated so it came undone easily. I still need to know what the anti sink acheives apart from holding the car at a certain height?
Thanks Burge
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I think it actually acts as an accumulator sphere for the brakes, as you may be aware, the rear brake feed to the brake valve comes from the rear suspension, to do with weight/braking compensation. None of my XMs have had one so not a lot of experience.
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Does the car have a Sport button near the suspension height control?
I think standard hydro-pneumatic Citroens have a sphere for each wheel, plus an accumulator sphere which is in the engine compartment.
Hydractive Citroens (with the Sport button) have an additional sphere for each axle, to enable the car to switch between sport mode (using two spheres per axle) and comfort mode (using all three spheres per axle).
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The 3 rd sphere under the rear with the small pipe going into it is the so called 'anti sink' sphere. As Peter says it actually has little to do with stopping the suspension sinking (this is acheived by the anti sink valve) but acts more as a brake accumulator. If this sphere is flat it shouldn't affect the ride much - although it can produce odd effects whereby the rear suspension suddenly drops when the anti sink valve opens just after start up!
The sphere known as the accumulator is fitted to the pressure regulator on the front of the gearbox. Again this does not affect the ride quality too much, but if it flat you will hear the regulator clicking frequently when the engine is running. If it is totally flat you will have no brake reserve pressure should the suspension fail, and you are stressing the pump with all the cutting in and out.
Only VSX / Exclusive Xantias(*) were fitted with hydractive suspension, which as noted gets an additional 2 spheres (8 total).
* and Activas of course, but you'd know if you had one of those, and they have another 2 spheres, making 10 in all!
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I have now replaced the rear anti sink Sphere, the two rear suspension spheres, the two front spheres. and the car travels much better that it seems to glide along, but there is still a knock at the back & front (I think its both but cannot be sure),when travelling over pot holes or rough roads, I have adjusrted the boot lid in case it was that, there was a little play, I have even taken off the spare wheel carrier to see if that made a difference. but sit still persists to knock. any ideas as to where its coming from?
Burge
Ps the two front drop links were replaced back in december.
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when i had my xantia there was a knock when going over bumps- it was the rear parcel shelf lifting and then hitting its housing. some padding at the base of the shelf stopped this.
worth checking just in case.
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No That is definately eliminated as its not fitted in as the Dog gets a run every evening so its not worth putting it in & out.
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The parcel shelf puts a small load on the top of the back seats. I've noticed, when it has been removed for the same reason as you, that the top of the seats knock a bit against their resting place.
Are the rear radius arm bearings ok? Look for the rear wheels leaning in at the top, or uneven tyre wear.
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