Xantia Suspension Issue

[Guest Stu K]

Hi

 

I'm new to the citroen xantia and have a question about the front near side susspension. The car is a 1999 1.8i and has 11 months MOT, for the last MOT it had the front spheres changed, this was before I purchased the car.

Looking at the spheres I can see they are new but the near side is leaking ever so slightly, this has coincided with the front near side having stiff suspension, when you bounce the car at all corners the car acts as it should apart from the front near side which is very stiff.

The question is is the leak responsibile for this stiffness or is it something else. One other point is that the LHM fluid level is a little high, could this have an effect.

 

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

 

Stu

[DickieG]

Where exactly is the leak coming from?

 

Over filling of the LHM fluid will have no ill effect on hydraulic's/ride apart from making a mess when the excess splills out from the tank when the suspension is at its lowest setting.

[Guest Stu K]

Sorry for the delay in replying have been away. Thanks for the response.

 

The leak is coming from the joint between the sphere and the mount were it screws into if that makes sense, it is something as simple as not being tightened enough or a washer not being used.

 

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[DickieG]

The leak is coming from the joint between the sphere and the mount were it screws into if that makes sense, it is something as simple as not being tightened enough or a washer not being used.

In the joint is a rubber sealing ring which presumably wasn't seated correctly when the sphere was screwed on, the common mistake made is to put the seal on the sphere rather than the mount. New sealing rings can be bought from dealers but bearing in mind the stiff suspension issue it might be best to buy a new pair of front sphere's for £20 each (they come with new seals) and solve both issues in one go. A good place to buy new sphere's from is http://www.gsfcarparts.com/

[Guest Stu K]

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

That sounds like a good idea, is it a case of unscrewing them with the correct wrench then fitting the new ones or does the system have to be depressurised or drained first.

 

I know it maybe a daft question but have never had a citroen before.

[DickieG]

Front sphere's can normally be undone either by hand or a oil filter strap wrench, provided they were screwed on correctly i.e. By hand.

 

Firstly however you need to depressurise the system by starting the engine, set the suspension height to its lowest setting and allow time for the car to settle. Turn the engine off, then undo the 12mm bolt on the regulator (its the housing on the engine with a sphere attatched to it, the 12mm bolt is the only one there) by NO MORE THAN 3/4 turn (much more and you stand a chance of losing a small ball bearing) which will depressurise the system. You can then unscrew the sphere's. A good tip here is to put a carrier bag over the sphere/strut to catch spillage.

 

To screw on the new ones, seat the sealing washer on the strut then screw on the new sphere's tightening by hand only. Tighten up the 12mm bolt then start the engine and move height lever back to normal, job done. Simple when you know how :lol:

 

Its also quite a good idea to 'exercise' the suspension (AKA Citerobics) by moving the height lever to the highest/lowest setting with the engine running, allowing time for it to settle at each height to purge any air trapped in the system.

[Guest Stu K]

Thank you very much for the advice will carry out this weekend.

 

Much appreciated.