Xantia Suspension

[Dave K]

Hi there all,

 

My 1996 Xantia 1.9td has an issue with the rear suspension. It goes up and down all the way and stopss in the right place on the front but only rises to the normal driving position on the rear. It will not go all the way up to the higher setting or back down when using the control slider. It only goes back down after being left standing.

 

After reading some topics in the forum last night I had a look today (with the car well suported on axle stands) suspecting the plastic link attaching to the roll bar. This was fine, however the lever that the rod from the selector acts on was seized. I sprayed lots of releasing spray all over the mechanism and with some taping back and forth whilst an assistant moved the selector inside the car I got some movement. It is still tight and although the lever does move when the selector is operated there is still nothing happening when the car is back on the floor.

 

My questions are:

 

Am I heading in the right direction regarding sorting this, and is there anything I should know if I start stripping things down? Has anyone experienced this before and has any info that may help me?

 

Cheers, Dave K.

[Guest rowls]

Sounds like your rear height corrector is past its sell by date!! Part number 529125. (and 3 seals for the pipes)

[Dave K]

Sounds like your rear height corrector is past its sell by date!! Part number 529125. (and 3 seals for the pipes)

 

 

Thanks for that info. As it happens it has got a lot better. The day following my initial post the car had more movement on the back end so I got back under. I again lubed all the moving parts with penetrating oil followed by spray grease. I then GENTLY warmed the area with a hot air gun on it's lowest setting! The car now goes to all positions including up and down all the way but is still a little slow to do this with the back end lagging behind the front maybe taking 30 seconds to 1 minute to rise all the way it is then slow to go back down again. Is this close to normal, or is it due to the height corrector or could it be another pressure related problem?

 

All the same it is nice to have some movement without having had to spend a large sum of money and like I said in my first post the suspension is working perfectly in the normal road setting. Any more comments welcomed and thanks again, Dave.

[Guest Colin Hunter]

Sorry it's taken a little while to reply to this. I was hoping some of the people who have been active on this forum would carry on. Didn't want to steal their thunder so to speak. Normally the front will rise more slowly than the rear and drop more quickly for the simple reason that it's heavier (Dirty big engine to blame!) As long as it's all going up and down and stopping where it should I wouldn't worry too much. People will put the fear of God into you about how complicated the Xantias suspension is. Ever seen the air setup on an Audi "All Road"? Words that can be repeated in polite company FAIL ME! Wouldn't mind if the plonkers that own them ever do anything but drop their little darlings (Next generation of delinquents?) off at school and pop along the boutique and hairdressers on the way to the health club or something! Nearest they ever get to OFF ROAD is parking on the bloody pavement! But then they never own them long enough for them to go wrong! However! I digress! Back to reallity! Keep using the height control regularly and clart all the area round the (Especially) rear corrector (Links etc) with grease. This will help keep the dreaded tin worm at bay and prevent water ingress to the linkage. Maintainance is the God I worship! Works for me! Cheers Hope this helps set your mind at rest! :D