Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 02:54
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - RadamesBR

Hello!

I've been reading the database from the site about the Xantia suspension problems. So far i have found some really interesting things but none of threads is accurate on the problem my car has been presenting for about 6 months.

The suspension started to get harder over this period of time. It's not completely hard, because you can feel it working when you pass some light undulations on street but when you move to some irregular pavement the behavior of the suspention changes completely. The suspension just won't absorb the short bumps and holes from the ground .

I went by the book and made part of the procedures recommended here. Replaced the spheres (all 6 of them original from citroen), LHM and cleaned the LHM filters, but so far no success. I also replaced the break valve due to some noise it was doing when the pedal was pressed. Also checked for leakings and cracks on the hose that picks the LHM from the reservoir to the pump. (the behavior of the suspension is very similar to when the LHM level is too low). Unfortunately the harshness still there and I honestly have no idea what to do next.

Since I took the car to a specialized mechanic (more than one actually) and he told me that this behavior is "normal" I gave up on him(them) and decided to do it on my own.

Any help or tips would be appreciated

Thanks a lot,

Radamés

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 13:41
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

Hi Radames

Is yours a hydractive model? If so the fault could be that its failing to switch into soft mode. You can check this by bouncing each corner and noting the ammount of movement, if you then open a door it should switch to soft mode and give you a lot more movement.

The centre spheres on a hydractive model are responsible for the soft ride, were these changed?

Peter

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 17:23
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - RadamesBR

Hello Peter,

My Xantia is the simpler version with only 6 spheres, one for each wheel, one anti-sink and one central of 62BAR.

All the spheres were replaced with original parts from citroen (I'm a little worried about quality of the replacement parts, so no aftermarket for me).

Thanks!

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 19:58
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

Check the ammount of movement by pushing down each corner, the back will be softer but you should have 4" - 6" of movement. If its not hydractive there is very little to go wrong, the suspension softness is all down to the spheres. I can only suggest that either you have been supplied with the wrong spheres or that one or more is faulty. Tyre pressures also make a great deal of difference to the ride, make sure yours are not over inflated.

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Wed 19 Oct 2011 23:02
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - RadamesBR

Thanks again Peter

I don't think that the spheres are to blame. The part number and internal pressure are all according to paper (I double checked just to be sure). About the tire pressure I always keep it according to factory recommendations, 33psi on the front and 30 at the back.

I guess that something else is affecting the oil pressure in the system. When I turn off the car for about a minute or two, turn it on again and quickly start to roll I have the impression that the suspension is soft again, but after 5 to 10 seconds it gets stiffer again.

My car have about 180k km, but as far as I know the LHM system has never been cleaned. I do replace the LHM every 2 years, but the cleansing process with a detergent I never did. Can it affect the suspension softness this much?

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 00:09
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

The main hydraulic pressure will not affect the ride as the sphere pressure is set by the height regulator valves, to much pressure would cause the car to ride to high. Check the ride height to make sure it is not hitting the bump stops, the front driveshafts should be appoximately parallel to the road likewise the rear suspension arms. Also check by bouncing that the suspension movement is the same on each corner. If its definitly not hydractive there is nothing else that can affect the ride.

Peter

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 01:31
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - RadamesBR

I guess the height of the car is a little off, is about 5cm above what it should be. I'll ask a mechanic to correct this problem and get back to you.

Thanks again Peter!

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 11:03
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

I doubt if 5cm would make it hit the bump stops , if you give the corners the bounce test you should be able to tell.

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Thu 20 Oct 2011 15:41
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Collos25

Just a thought the central spheres are slightly different to the spheres fitted to the wheels if I remember correctly.The difference is in the pressures plus the wheel spheres could in Germany be obtained either for a sporting or a comfort ride.If you get them mixed up all sorts of funny things occur.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 10:46
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

That only applies to the hydractive version which this is not apparantly, in fact if it was, that would be the first thing to look at.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 13:34
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Collos25

I just wondered if they had fitted the wrong spheres easily done if the mechanic is unaware of the differences.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 15:43
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

In them original post he says he used geniune Citroen spheres but I think he says the ride is OK sometimes, it shouldn't be able to vary if its not hydractive so I really dont know - could be something to do with his blood sugar level!

Edited by Peter.N. on 21/10/2011 at 15:44

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 18:31
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - RadamesBR

I think there is no risk for the parts to be wrong mainly because of one thing, the car was running fine until 6 months ago, that was when the suspension started to get hard. At first I didn't suspect the spheres since they had only a little more than 20k km (they are supposed to run 40 to 50k). After I ran out of options I replaced all the spheres, LHM and cleaned the oil filters but that made little to no difference.

Yesterday I told the mechanic to adjust the ride high according to the refference Peter gave me before. Unfortunately it didn't change much either, is a little softer, but thats about it.

Any more things to look at that you can think you can think about?

Thanks a lot!

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 21:15
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

Have you tried the corner bounce test yet? That should tell you whether you have have enough movement on the suspension, if its OK I am at a loss.

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Fri 21 Oct 2011 22:27
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - RadamesBR

Just a silly question:

Is the test performed with the engine on or off?

People that read this and are not familiar with Xantia will think this is a complete nonsense hehehehe

Thanks again!

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Sat 22 Oct 2011 01:12
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

It depends how good your hydraulics are, if the suspension will stay up for a reasonable length of time and its not hydractive you can do it with the engine off, if it drops fairly quickly, do it with the engine on.

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Sat 22 Oct 2011 01:42
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - RadamesBR

I'm not sure if that is a good result but I performed the bounce test (with my own weight only) and the suspension is moving about 3" only ( here we use metric, so thats about 7 to 8cm).

Thats a little shorter than expected, but what to do?

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Sat 22 Oct 2011 11:10
Citroen Xantia 99/ 6 Spheres - Problems with suspention, quite harsh - Peter.N.

I would double check that you have the correct spheres.

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