Xantia Sphere Question ?

[Guest bigjimmy]

I have posted a similar question on the Xantia section of the forum but obviously by the number of replies not too many look there.

 

My question relates to me very tried, tested, loved and utterly reliable 2000 Xantia HD1 90 LX estate.

 

The suspension is working perfectly apart from the back end sags to the ground quite quickly after stopping the engine and takes quite a long time to come up again on restart.

 

I think the central sphere at the back is the culprit, but what is it called? Is it indeed different to the other suspension spheres because looking around the internet there seem to be different prices for different spheres all of which look identical!

 

One thing is strange about living in France and that is that spare parts cost a veritable fortune over here so you do have to hunt both high and low to find a good price and sometimes I even end up importing them from the UK!

 

And lastly, I have seen Lizarte spheres advertised............ are they any good ?

 

Bonne chance one and all

[Randombloke]

 

I think the central sphere at the back is the culprit, but what is it called?

Bonne chance one and all

 

Get either an RTS manual in France or a Haynes manual from the UK and they will tell you.

 

Seeing as you don't agree with the reply you've already had it seem you want someone to agree with you that it's the centre sphere.

 

Take the centre sphere off. Get it tested. Job done. If it not that then it could be the anti sink valve, Xantias were fitted with this after about 94 to stop them sinking at the rear. It could also be that the hydraulic pump is tired. Some places will recharge the spheres for you, but they tend not to do this for the accumulator sphere. Maybe the accumulator sphere itself is tired? This was the cause of my BX sinking fast after switch off, but it had no anti sink.

 

IME, spares can be very cheap in France. You simply need to know where to look.

[Guest bigjimmy]

Get either an RTS manual in France or a Haynes manual from the UK and they will tell you.

 

Seeing as you don't agree with the reply you've already had it seem you want someone to agree with you that it's the centre sphere.

 

Take the centre sphere off. Get it tested. Job done. If it not that then it could be the anti sink valve, Xantias were fitted with this after about 94 to stop them sinking at the rear. It could also be that the hydraulic pump is tired. Some places will recharge the spheres for you, but they tend not to do this for the accumulator sphere. Maybe the accumulator sphere itself is tired? This was the cause of my BX sinking fast after switch off, but it had no anti sink.

 

IME, spares can be very cheap in France. You simply need to know where to look.

 

I didn't mean to offend you Randombloke.

 

One of our problems with living in France where we do is that we have no neighbours (the way we like it), as a result of this we don't see many if any French people and our spoken French is basic to the extreme............ yes even after 7 years here!! Almost all of our clients are from the UK plus a few from Holland, Germany and Belgium and all of those speak English.

 

As far as I know there is no good Citroen garage anywhere close to us and most certainly not one where I could be expected to communicate with the mechanics in anything other than the most basic terms and furthermore all they would want to do is take my car in and work on it themselves which is a none starter as I do all maintenance work on my 2 cars myself.

 

With regards to the suspension, I feel certain that it is the central sphere at the back, which is why I am asking the question as to what it is actually called..... My Haynes manual doesn't say.

As for getting the sphere tested I wouldn't even know where to take it.

[Randombloke]

 

One of our problems with living in France where we do is that we have no neighbours (the way we like it), as a result of this we don't see many if any French people and our spoken French is basic to the extreme............ yes even after 7 years here!!

 

But you must have learnt the expression "vache Espagnole"?

 

With regards to the suspension, I feel certain that it is the central sphere at the back, which is why I am asking the question as to what it is actually called..... My Haynes manual doesn't say.

As for getting the sphere tested I wouldn't even know where to take it.

 

My local Citroen indy says it's called the centre sphere. If you look at all the part numbers on all six spheres you might be able to find 2 that are the same to swap round, but I doubt it.

 

You could try putting Hydraclean though the hydraulic system - don't leave it in for more that 1,000 miles and do the filters afterwards. This might free up the anti sink valve.

 

Failing that, buy another sphere. ISTR that when my BX spheres got harder, it didn't affect the sinking. What made the biggest difference was the Hydraclean which ended up being used probably 3 or 4 times in the life of the car.

 

If you do the rounds you can have one posted to you from the UK today. There's a certain irony that the cars are mostly made in Rennes, and there are loads of people in France who can fix Citroen, but that's a minor detail.

[Guest bigjimmy]

But you must have learnt the expression "vache Espagnole"?

 

 

 

My local Citroen indy says it's called the centre sphere. If you look at all the part numbers on all six spheres you might be able to find 2 that are the same to swap round, but I doubt it.

 

You could try putting Hydraclean though the hydraulic system - don't leave it in for more that 1,000 miles and do the filters afterwards. This might free up the anti sink valve.

 

Failing that, buy another sphere. ISTR that when my BX spheres got harder, it didn't affect the sinking. What made the biggest difference was the Hydraclean which ended up being used probably 3 or 4 times in the life of the car.

 

If you do the rounds you can have one posted to you from the UK today. There's a certain irony that the cars are mostly made in Rennes, and there are loads of people in France who can fix Citroen, but that's a minor detail.

 

The only thing I ever hear people saying to me is "Anglais agresseur de vache et de moutons qui est une douleur dans le cul poser des questions stupides tout le temps dans son mauvais français"!

 

I have now ordered a new central sphere and will be fitting that just as soon as it arrives, but with regards to the Hydraclean I have just done a search for it but al that comes up are names of businesses and not a product, so do you know where it can be purchased in the UK?

[Randombloke]

I have now ordered a new central sphere and will be fitting that just as soon as it arrives, but with regards to the Hydraclean I have just done a search for it but al that comes up are names of businesses and not a product, so do you know where it can be purchased in the UK?

 

So, You want to Flush out Your Citroen Hydraulic System?

 

I don't know where it can be purchased in the UK, but you could ring this lot and ask them, as they fix a lot of Citroen cars, and did the flush on mine:

 

Mid Kent Vehicle Services

 

or try and of the bigger Citroen Hydraulic bits retailers in the UK.

 

As for what else they might call you, try pronouncing MR2 the French way. Another car whose name was not thought out, like the Mitsubishi Pajero in Spain.

[Guest bigjimmy]

Thanks for the link that introduced me to Total’s Hydraurincage, I have seen it on the shelf of my local factor so I am off to get some today.

 

Many thanks for all of your help.