Front ride height all wrong

[Mothman]

On Sunday morning i change the front and rear spheres on the TZD. All went ok but noticed the motor was a bit bouncy. Bled the system from the pressure release valve and did some citrobics and it seemed a lot better but not quite right.
Did more citrobics this afternoon and now the front end will not go down at all and remains stuck at its highest setting. The back end will go up and down as requested but the front just will not drop. I have re bled the system from the valve but no change either. When i put the lever into the low position i often get a sort of 'twang'.

Whats the problem and is there a cure? Tried wiggling the steering wheel and driving a short distance to no avail.

Andy

[citronut]

maybe the front H/C linkage needs lubing, then working up and down,

if it were a CX, G or DS i would think maybe you had dropped a spanner into the suspension unit then wound the sphere home

air in the system will definitely will not cause this,

so she didn't drop with the bleed valve open either then as per our phone call,

regards malcolm

[Mothman]

Hi Malcolm,

no she is still up as i chat now, front struts as taught as they can be, no spanners anywhere!! Didnt drop an inch when i opened
the bleed valve.

Will lube up the linkage next as you suggested or threaten with a hammer!!.

Andy

[Vanny]

Are both sides hard?

That is, if you press down on one wing (being careful not to dint the wing) will it give more than the other.

It sounds like pressure is not releasing at all. If you have give in one side i'd suspect a plumbing or hydraulic issue.

If both sides are hard, i'd suspect a mechanical issue such as the height corrector no longer connected to the linkage. The fact that you've done some cit-erobics and things initially improved points heavily at the mechanical.

The fact that it didn't sink even with the bleed undo suggests one of three things, a) you haven't actually undone the bleed, unlikely b) your car is fitted with anti-sink, very unlikely c) there is some dark French voodoo at work, most likely!

[citronut]

Vanny
as far as im aware Andy has only fitted new re/con spheres he bought off ebay,

so unless the ride height is drastically wrongly adjusted, or the H/C linkage is stuck solid,

just fitting spheres should not cause the suspension to refuse to adjust in hieght on request,
neither should air in the system,

and i have not heard of a BX with anti sink,


regards malcolm

[hvanman]

I now have exactly the same problem. I changed most of the front end, so struts, spheres, FDV, octopus, H/C valve, sub frame with anti-roll bar attached. The height control linkage is free and correctly adjusted mid point on the little bracket and I have tried adjusting the link to the anti-roll bar, but nothing makes any difference, the struts are at full height and stuck solid... fully releasing the pressure makes no difference.....

The parts came off an identical car that started and rose perfectly before they were removed....

I would really appreciate any suggestions, as the car has been off the road for two weeks now and I'm loosing the will now after having had so many problems with this work....

Thanks. Simon

[hvanman]

A small update... The H/C is actually my original one which was working fine before the other changes. I did also change the entire accumulator unit as well.

I was wondering if maybe while refitting the pipes into the units I have crushed a rubber sleeve somewhere that is blocking the pipe now, are there any that could cause this effect by not allowing fluid to drain out of the front suspension system?

[hvanman]

I thought I had found the problem, when I discovered a slightly crushed rubber pipe seal but no joy. If I undo the pipe from the H/C to the union feeding the struts then the fluid is released and the suspension comes down. I have changed the FDV and accumulator unit for another set, checking that all the rubber seals are OK, but it's still stuck on high and will not come down.....

The H/C is the original one, so I can't imagine it has just gone faulty, so I am really stumped, the other pipe from the H/C goes to the security valve, but that was not touched during the change, so should still be OK....

Maybe the setting for the H/C needs more playing with?

If I disconnect the H/C linkage completly, does anyone know what the H/C will do? (i.e. can I prove if it is a setting problem by forcing the H/C into a situation where it will lower the front suspension?)

Thanks

[toddao]

I'm watching this thread with interest as I can't understand what is going on and I think my new 16v is partly afflicted with this condition.

Don't loose faith Simon after all your hard work!

[mat_fenwick]

If you disconnect the linkage from the height corrector while the car is on ramps, you can then manually move the lever on the H/C itself and the front should go up and down. Even with the car on ramps it's a bit disconcerting to hear a hiss and see it suddenly descending towards you!

[hvanman]

Thanks Mat, another day and clearer thinking from me. I studied by DS documentation on how H/C's work and disconnected the linkage and put a lever on the rear of the H/C and held some pressure on the central point and then finally she dropped. In the end it was what I first thought (and tried, but just didn't move it far enough), the fixing on the anti-roll bar needed rotating a fair bit and now all is working again. The anti-roll bar was from the spares car and the H/C from my car, so there was some difference in the setting. (the H/C's seem to be from different suppliers, as the rubber dust caps are not interchangable, as the body of one H/C is slightly bigger than the other..)

Now to try and do the tracking and get an MOT....

Thanks, Simon.

[mat_fenwick]

Just one thing - suspension height is critical for a good ride. (I've recently learnt this after about 110k miles of never really being 100% happy with the bump absorption Once adjusted it was like a different car!)

[hvanman]

I guess it's going to take some adjusting yet, but without a pit or post lift, it's not an easy job, and as you say, when it suddenly comes down, it's a bit un-nerving....

[citronut]

I'm watching this thread with interest as I can't understand what is going on and I think my new 16v is partly afflicted with this condition.

Don't loose faith Simon after all your hard work!

i have spoken to Andy (Mothman ) today and it sound to me its the O/S/F strut only jammed up on full height,

there is up and down movement on the N/S/F strut,
so this can only be just the O/S strut stuck,

apparently this strut has started to sink/drop,

he also said that side always rose up in jerks,

i have suggested to swap it for another,

regards malcolm

[Mothman]

Have left the motor with the ride height corrector on low for the last few days and all the struts have fallen, low at the rear and normal ride height at the front. Just started the motor to move it and the rear went up to the normal height but both front went to the highest setting. Would this happen if one strut is knackered?

Andy