Exceeding BXpectations - Now With Added Renault 4

[Parky]

Rear lights sounds like a duff or poor earth. Nothing a bit of time with emery paper and Vaseline can't sort

[lexi]

Great stuff done on a proper old car of the people!

[adw1977]

Wow, I admire your perseverance!

[Ghosty]

Told you I'd have a car before you fixed the BX. At this rate I'll have had 2...

I think we know where Junkmans P6 ghost went anyway.

[mat_the_cat]

I've had to do the rear arm bearings a couple of times on mine, despite packing with grease. I reckon that (in Wales at least!) you simply can't keep all the water out. I'd agree that it's water ingress rather than wear which generally kills them though. Looking back at the history suggests around 70k miles between changes (it's on the 4th set now!) so nothing to worry about for a while!

 

Interesting point about the rear suspension cylinders: the normal failure mode is corrosion of the walls and a *very* high pressure leak! The seals themselves are designed to leak some fluid past them for lubrication, but there is a pipe moulded into the gaiter (it's the one nearest to the sphere) which carries this leak-off back to the tank. Sounds like this is your problem rather than wear although wear (or more likely pitting) to the piston will increase the amount which leaks back.

 

EDIT - just re-read the post and yes, if the gaiters are split then it's not surprising for some fluid to be leaking. Replacements are available from Chevronics.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Interesting point about the rear suspension cylinders: the normal failure mode is corrosion of the walls and a *very* high pressure leak! The seals themselves are designed to leak some fluid past them for lubrication, but there is a pipe moulded into the gaiter (it's the one nearest to the sphere) which carries this leak-off back to the tank. Sounds like this is your problem rather than wear although wear (or more likely pitting) to the piston will increase the amount which leaks back.

 

EDIT - just re-read the post and yes, if the gaiters are split then it's not surprising for some fluid to be leaking. Replacements are available from Chevronics.

 

Hmm. I have a pair of new gaiters which I told the MoT tester to fit as I knew they'd fail, but he's pretty adamant that the cylinders themselves have also failed. However, the leak is only a little trickle rather than a torrent (for the moment). I'm assuming I'll have to take the cylinder to bits to replace the rubber gaiter, so I'll know what kind of condition it's in then? 

 

I may also stick a wire coat hanger down the leak-off pipe to see if unblocking that makes any difference.

[mat_the_cat]

What you've got is an aluminium bore with 2 O ring grooves in it, with a plated piston sliding up and down inside it. The first seal allows a small amount of LHM past, which should be returned to the tank via the first small bore pipe. (This is located between the 2 O ring seals). The second O ring should catch all the leaked past LHM and prevent it actually entering the gaiter itself as the second pipe is just a breather.

The sealing surface is on the plated piston, which can corrode allowing a small amount of LHM past and into the breather pipe - not perfect but livible with and you'd never know unless the gaiter splits!

You'll have to remove the rod from the suspension arm to change the gaiter (at least the pin won't have corroded in yet!) so I'd pull the piston out to have a look. Changing the whole cylinder will mean more pain with seized pipe unions...

[320touring]

Delighted to see this back together!

 

Just the SD1 to go now...

[Cleon-Fonte]

On 8/8/2017 at 10:13 PM, 320touring said:

Delighted to see this back together!

 

Just the SD1 to go now...

 

Ha, at least no matter how long the BX took I can still say it was rapid progress compared to the SD1.

 

I didn't have much time for fettling today, but I managed to do a little bit of work on the electronics required for the MoT. The non-working sidelight was traced to a loose bulb, so that was one failure off the list. I then moved on to the windscreen washer pump, as I mentioned before this car seems to have failed every MoT on record on dodgy windscreen washers so I'd like a definitive fix if possible.

 

After taking out the windscreen washer pump I noticed the contacts were quite dirty and corroded and set about cleaning them up. Shiny they may have been by the time I'd finished, but the pump still refused to work. I'm hardly fussed as it's only an £8 part so I've ordered another.

 

 

Before and after

 

With that I moved onto the rear lights, access to the earthing points being gained by loosening the 10mm bolt on each side. I successfully managed to coax the nearside one into working properly just by cleaning up the four contacts, but despite my efforts I've only managed to slightly improve the offside one. I've noticed that it takes a few moments to get into its stride, the indicator flashing very dimly up to that point, then springs into life and starts to dim the taillight. Until it wakes up the dashboard lights are also a bit dim and sometimes a bit random in their operation.

 

 

A BX with no rear lights is a sad looking thing.

 

The Haynes wiring diagrams I've been attempting to use thus far have made as much sense as one of Donald Trump's late night Twitter rants, so any tips or hints at this stage would be welcome, especially if they don't involve me taking the dashboard to pieces.

[mat_the_cat]

Offside rear lights all run through the nearside cluster, if that helps?

EDIT - I should add that it may help to clean up all the contacts on the nearside cluster, as those that just pass through may be suffering with voltage drop.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Think I've found the source of the issue, the thread for the nearside earthing bolt is kippered so the bolt isn't holding the contacts tightly. On receipt of the appropriate tap (M6x1mm) I'll recut it and see how I get on. 

 

The windscreen washer issue seems to be a dodgy connector plug that spits out the washer pump contacts whenever the pump operates. If I tightly hold the plug and the pump together I have exceedingly powerful windscreen washers. Hopefully a quick play around with the plug should sort that.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Having got the windscreen washers and the rear lights working I decided I couldn't be bothered doing the rest of the work, a decent local mechanic who doesn't refuse to do BX stuff came back from holiday so I punted it off to him.

 

The result:

 

 

 

 

 

[strangeangel]

Fantastic stuff, hope to see it at the next Northern Powerhouse!

[320touring]

Yaaas! Bring it up to scotoshite!

[Cleon-Fonte]

The joy of Chinese aftermarket parts, part 2.

 

Both MoT stations have warned me about the bottom coolant hose fouling on the anti-roll bar link, but both have said that it was only a problem on the highest two suspension settings and that I'd get away with it for a while. However, The Fear began to set in and today I went to investigate, here's the situation at normal ride height:

 

 

D'oh, I might have felt a bit more circumspect about doing 100 miles in the thing yesterday if I'd known. Basically the hose is too long and needs a couple of centimetres removing, which gives me the twin ordeals of taking off the hose and bleeding the coolant again. That's tomorrow's job sorted then.

 

Other than that though, all is well with the BX over the limited mileage I've done so far. Nothing I've fixed has fallen off yet and the rear suspension feels absolutely transformed, so I can't really complain.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Yaaas! Bring it up to scotoshite!

 

Sounds like a usefully long run to get the BX back into its stride. When and where?

[Pillock]

Can't you cut all the way around 5mm from the end, chop into that ring so it comes off, then push the hose further on and repeat?

 

That's the kind of nonsense I'd do instead of farting around with coolant and stuff.

[Cleon-Fonte]

It turned out the hose did have to come off as there was no access to cut it in situ, eventually I managed to shorten it just enough to clear the suspension. Unfortunately when I refitted the wheelarch liner the hose snagged on the cambelt instead, which is worse. I've left the wheelarch liner off for now while I come up with some ingenious* solution, I'll refit it before winter comes.

 

The only other cooling system malady I've had was an intermittent leak, which typically never occurred when I was in a position to investigate where it was coming from. I managed to catch it in the act eventually, luckily it turned out to be a jubilee clip on one of the middle hoses that had rattled itself loose.

 

Fortunately though, apart from that the BX has been entirely trouble free. I've driven all over in it since it returned to the road and it seems to be improving with use, having racked up about 700 miles without even noticing. I think I can fairly say I've done all the big jobs that need doing now, there are a few minor things to attend to here and there, but on the whole this car's pretty sorted.

 

Naturally I had to take a picture or two of the BX in its natural habitat.

 

 

As an aside, Mr Conelrad and I ventured to York in the BX the other day to do a bit of Rover SD1 spotting. For various reasons nothing much has happened to the old beast since I last updated my SD1 thread, and I was too distracted by its magnificence to take a photo. However, if you just imagine that in this old photo it has no front bumper or spoiler, you'll be able to picture exactly what it looks like now.

 

 

And as compensation for that being such a shit SD1 non-update, have this delightfully naff Austin Rover promotional video from 1985.

 

 

 

 

 

[chaseracer]

Yaaas! Bring it up to scotoshite!

 

The ASMM should definitely do a Raid Scotoshite before Christmas.

[strangeangel]

All that way, and you weren't tempted to draw a comedy nob on the Rover's bonnet?

 

[Cleon-Fonte]

Someone's helpfully written 'WHY IS THIS THING STILL HERE?' in the dirt in the offside wing, I feared a comedy knob may have proved a distraction from this most worthy of messages.

[chaseracer]

The only response to the above is BECAUSE IT'S BETTER THAN YOUR MERCAUDIMW ON TICK M8.

[320touring]

Sounds like a usefully long run to get the BX back into its stride. When and where?

Apologies did not see in time for last month- will send details for this one:)

[Cleon-Fonte]

The only response to the above is BECAUSE IT'S BETTER THAN YOUR MERCAUDIMW ON TICK M8.

 

I think the graffiti artist in question was referring to the SD1's presence on that ramp since March 2015, rather than its continued evasion of the weighbridge (although that's a miracle in itself).

 

You're right though, SD1 vs. modern German repmobile? I'd take Cowley's finest every time.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Long time no update. The BX continues to provide reliable, (largely) trouble free service which doesn't make for interesting reading. The other week, however, the sunroof decided that once open it would no longer close, which is great at this time of year. In Derbyshire.

 

The problem was easily diagnosed as the drive rails, one of which was snapped and the other seized into position (and likely to be snapped once extricated).

 

I can't currently get into Citroen Service as it times me out after a couple of seconds and I've had no luck finding new rails through the usual souces, so does anyone have a pair in their stocks of BX bits, or the ability to at least get me a part number?

[Cleon-Fonte]

A day in the life at Chez Cleon-Fonte:

 

 

Finally managed to get the headlining/sunroof tray out of the BX yesterday (warning: not a job for the faint hearted) and today took it apart. All I can say is it's pretty much all completely gubbed, the nearside front drain tube was backed up with dirt and the sealant on the corresponding corner of the sunroof mechanism had failed, with inevitable brown, crusty consequences. Whilst a lot of the components aren't too bad and just need a good clean up, there's enough that's fucked to make me think a whole new sunroof assembly is necessary as finding individual parts will no doubt prove a bit of a nightmare.

 

This snapped cable that operates the nearside of the sunroof is the ultimate reason it wouldn't close, though. Its counterpart on the offside is still resolutely in one piece which is why that side still moved freely (despite the snapped drive rail).

 

 

So anyway, now to the joyous task of finding a new sunroof assembly. Isn't life with old French cars fun?

[dollywobbler]

Might be worth trying Bourne Citroen Centre. I know they've got a fair few BXs sitting around.

[dean36014]

Its funny you should be posting this. Checked Shonky the Bx yesterday ready for a run out on Saturday. Found a wet drivers seat and a dripping headlining. So today I dragged the front drain tubes out and cleaned them out, adding yet more water to the front footwell. Couldn't unblock the drivers side as it was full of rust particles. Ended up using one of those air duster cans with a small tube on and blasted down the top of the tube and cleaned it out. Jugs os water down them to check flow and called it a success. I have to drop the sunroof at some point as there is a steel plate on the front of the sunroof mechanism that has rusted away. typically all the screws bar two are accessible which are just under the roof skin. Not looking forward to that at all.

[SierraMikeHotel]

Sunroofs are evil   Best of luck to you both.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Might be worth trying Bourne Citroen Centre. I know they've got a fair few BXs sitting around.

 

Aye, I'll hit Barry up at some point if nothing comes up elsewhere, he always tends to leave stuff a month or more before sending it out to me, which in this case wouldn't be ideal.

 

I have to drop the sunroof at some point as there is a steel plate on the front of the sunroof mechanism that has rusted away. typically all the screws bar two are accessible which are just under the roof skin. Not looking forward to that at all.

 

There's nothing* to it really, you only* have to remove the sunroof glass and frame, A, B and C-pillar trims, interior lights, sun visors, grab handles, the roof console and the 30million electrical connections contained therein, sunroof motor, headlining retaining screws then the headlining itself. Then when you take off the steel plate you'll only need to contend with a variety of torx screws, each one of which needs a different socket to loosen (if they're not already rounded off).