Xm Estate Suspension Troubles

help is required for the new boy please
i have just acquired a 96 2.0sx estate
it has a problem or perhaps a few maybe someone can help
firstly the acumulator sphere clicks every 2-3 secs and you can feel it do this when you put your hand on it
2ndly the rear of the car is horrendously bouncy especially after going over bumps,i suspect spheres as i have driven a xantia with dud spheres,and although the suspension isnt totally the same the basic idea is.
the car will travel up and down its full height perfectly,and isnt slow or sticky whilst doing this and it switches sport to normal fine.
could this be just down to the accumulator sphere or should i start looking at the back end and how can i test this

I would say replace the accumulator sphere before anything else. Mine was clicking about 10-15 secs. I changed the accumulator sphere and never seem to here it click now!

Then do the three rear ones which should improve things no end. When you press down on the four corners of the car the movement should be smooth and supple with 4-6" of travel if all is ok. If there is limited or no movement it usually points to duff spheres.

I will second that!

Peter.N.

have ordered the accumulator sphere and some lhm and will change it tomorrow will keep all informed on my progress,although i believe as some of my fellow posters have said i reckon i will end up doing the rears

changed the accumulator sphere today,seems better and the rear is still slightly bouncy,but bounce tested all four corners and rear seems overly stiff where as the front end has normal travel,i will be ordering the rear spheres would i get away with just changing the l/h and r/h spheres or should i just change the 3

Unless you have facilities to test the residual pressure in each sphere then its all 3 I'm afraid.

Cheers

noz

Hi XMGraeme.

When you come to change the rear wheel spheres, you may find them tight to undo initially. If so, it is important to just crack them very slightly while the system is under pressure and the weight of the car on the road wheels, otherwise there is a risk of rotating the piston assembly and terminally distorting the feed pipe. Set the system to high, put a couple of stands or supports under the back somewhere as a precaution and then make the initial turn on each sphere. Once you've got a fraction of a turn on each, you should be able to turn off, depressurise and carry on, without twisting the piston assemblies.

Mike.

If you are really strapped for cash, just change the centre one, that will have far more effect on the ride softness than the outer ones.

Peter.N.

Of course, with a Cit you do not have a maintenance history for, you would think about enthousiastically replacing all spheres in case of choppy suspension. You will find out though that the latter is often caused by electronic failures. Before haphazardly starting to replace parts I'd recommend having a competent dealer do a computer diagnostic test.

being new to this i would have thought that initially changing the outer 2 would have had more bearing on damping?.
can someone explain in simple terms how the 3 spheres system differ to the two my understanding was the outer ones dealt with actual damping and the middle was a pressure balancer and the accumulator controlled system presure?.
i fully intend to do the 3 rears but im just curious?.

am i wise to crack the torque on all the spheres with weight on the wheels prior to depressurising including the centre one?.
further to this what height should i be setting the car at as surely there will be a minimal pressure loss prior to depressurising

The centre sphere is the hydractive one. When it is switched into operation the suspension changes from "Sport" (hard) to the normal Citroen magic carpet. If you have brand new corner spheres and a flat centre sphere the ride will be in permanent hard mode. This should explain how important the hydractive sphere is.

Fortunately the valve block to which this sphere is attached is firmly secured to the chassis so the sphere should be removed with the system depressurised, unlike the corner spheres which have to be unscrewed from the unsecured suspension units. Because they are not secured, they tend to rotate when you try to unscrew the spheres and that winds up the feed pipes, hence the need to have pressure in the systen to stop the suspension units rotating whilst unscrewing the spheres.

I favour ramps to put the car at a height where I can work underneath safely. Please do not under any circumstance go under the car unless it is adequately supported.

DerekW many thanks for your comprehensive assistance,does the fact that my sport to normal mode switches ok according the light have any bearing on the rear centre sphere condition

Unfortunately no - it's only an indication that the switch is set to "sport".

Roy

The centre sphere has no restriction in it, consequently - no damping, so you will get a better ride in soft mode by just changing the centre sphere - but hard mode really will be hard! I have not found it possible to completely depressurise the centre sphere, so you will loose some fluid from it - unless anyone has found a way?

Peter.N.