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'91 BX Estate - 06/07 - End of the Road


vulgalour

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Good to see your bits came. You'll see I was wrong about the socket size to fit on the bj tool - 35mm not 32 - lucky you didn't go shopping for one!

The faux Coarser trims are horrible, but slightly less nasty once fitted. They are passable on a BX, and do smarten it up no end. The ones off the Maestro would look better imho. But that's just me.

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The filter looks like it will actually fit in the housing, though I'm on a Bosch rather than a Lucas pump and a French filter... the name escapes me at the moment.

 

The trimz... they're smart and they were very cheap, I wanted them purely to smarten things up and couldn't have bettered them at the price offered. Some BX Z type trims would be superb and I do know someone with a full set, but I have more important things to spend money on which is why I haven't bought them.

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@ruffgeezer: I would be interested in those... providing they're not the square four spoke type ones which I'm not that partial to. Z trims for winners.

 

@micrashed: I think it might be Tim that has the set I was after actually, not sure.

 

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Since it got a bit darker I went out and took some photographs. It's a night much like the one Stripey first arrived. Only on sidelights, but they're delightfully yellow nonetheless! Just need to get myself on eBay.de for some proper yellow headlight bulbs too... priorities, this is a low one.

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The car really *has* come a long way.

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nice work volksangyl. keep up the good work. your enthusiasm may even shame me into getting my a### into gear on my projects. well done ,the bx is looking great already. i cant wait to see how the welding turns out. good luck all the same.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cheers for the support, chaps, have an update on me:

 

Right, update time. After finding a source of fuel at 99.9p per litre available in a maximum of 30 litres per purchase, I could divert some funds elsewhere. I'm not as wealthy as I'd like to be, but I could at least do some under bonnet stuff. The rear wing has got no worse on the rust front, I seem to have arrested progress of the cornflakes there so I'm happy about that for the time being, though the new holes I made do make a funny noise at certain speeds.

 

I decided to finally get on top of the sluggish and stubborn starting issues. First up was to replace the suspect fuel hose that was pretty hard. I also found the fuel inlet pipe was leaking slightly where it meets the filter so that got a jubilee clip which appears to have resolved the issue nicely.

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This in itself made starting a bit easier, so I'm guessing there was probably a very minor air leak on one of these pipes. Next up was the glow plugs, I got a set of four NGK regular glowplugs for about £25 inc. VAT and, having done a spot of reading on the job, it looked like a quick half hour job. I set an hour aside just in case and set to work. It did look rather like the plugs were ready for replacement, they were all pretty tired looking though I'm basing this on how I'd expect spark plugs to look so maybe this is normal for glow plugs?

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All went very smoothly, it wasn't that difficult... here's a picture that illustrates the procedure.

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Impossibru? Why yes, that was the last glow plug I attempted to remove and it happened to be cross threaded. That hour I set aside for this job became three just because of that one glow plug. However, I did finally get it out with a little help from my friends and managed to install the new plug without cross threading it and the refitting procedure was swift and easy even with the back of my knees aching and numb fingers. Waited for the plugs to warm up, turned the key and the car fired up almost immediately. Things felt decidedly more practical now that I shan't have to wait for up to a couple of minutes before I could start the engine. Whether it's the replacement of the plugs or the fuel hose the engine feels smoother now too and less grumbly and willing to stall at lower speeds and junctions, though that may just be the euphoria of not having to be bent over the engine bay any more tonight!

 

The other day I found a litre of suitable oil bought for my departed Polo that went into the BX which also helped smooth things out a little. I've priced up a new thermostat as the existing one has a leak and a replacement is never a bad thing, and the lower ball joint since I now have the tools for the job and it needs doing. The LHM/PAS issues will be resolved fairly soon too, just a case of having the capital to resolve them as is often the case.

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Next up was the glow plugs, having done a spot of reading on the job, it looked like a quick half hour job.

BruceCampbellEvilDead2laugh.gif

 

Yeah, number 4 often gets left and ignored, you did well to do that in under 3 hours for a first attempt. Well done.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Right, miniature update. I've been feeling pretty crappy about my cars of late thanks to my current situation and the appalling extended winter we seem to be under the spell of. Since getting back from Brooklands I haven't had chance because of the snow or motivation when there's been a window in the weather to actually clean the old bus, so that got done today. It's very unlike me to leave it nearly 500 miles between car washes and even though I've got all the crap off the car the weather was too cold for me to get any polishing or vacuuming of the interior done, it's very much an it'll do job. However, I did manage to finally get the ghost stripes off the back panel of the tailgate which means I'm a step closer to the next phase for this particular panel.

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Remember that rear wing I dressed up quickly? I knew the paint I used wasn't ideal and unfortunately some rust staining has appeared around the edges. It's not got any worse over the last few weeks and hundreds of miles so I'm just going to live with it for now, after all when things improve I should be able to weld in fresh metal here anyway so it's not the end of the world. I'm just happy that I'm not seeing rust bubbles getting worse week on week, the progress of the tin worm seems to have been slowed almost to a stop.

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Sod calling the car Stripey, I think I have to start calling it BX-xon Valdez. Prime suspect, looking around the engine and engine bay, is the rocker cover gasket and the fact I squirted some degreaser on the block which washed some of the old oil off... at least I hope that's what's going on here. I don't seem to be losing a great deal of oil, I just need some decent temperatures to be able to clean off the block and find the source of the leak more easily.

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Still plodding along. Since it was dry and sunny but cold, I thought I'd get out and see if I could sort out that stupidly stiff height selector. First thing is to get the car up in the air safely, axle jack under each safe point according to the manual and jack as a back up under the central jacking point. I did notice the rear axle stand location has a hole in the sill, so that's something else that needs doing before the MoT that I need to add to the list, even if I just bodge it with a view to proper replacement over the summer.

 

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Then, I wanted to see better what was happening inside the car and check that nothing had got wedged down the side of the selector rod. Removing the central console was easy enough, and it's the best way to clean it all up as you just can't with it in the car. Something to keep me occupied with later, I have no doubt, even though it's not really that mucky anyway.

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There was some detritus, namely a 5p coin and some cigarette filters, but nothing that would cause any sort of real problem.

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So that meant I needed to look under the car and try out the suggestion of a wire brush and some grease to free things up. The copper grease has disappeared, so I had to use WD40 instead as that's all I've got. I will go back and grease this properly when I have suitable grease though as I know WD40 isn't the most ideal thing for this application. However, it did let me see what was and wasn't moving.

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Underneath, the car is lovely and solid and the underseal still looks and feels nice and fresh. That was comforting, really, because I was worried about what I'd properly see under here. Couple of areas needing attention on the sills that I already knew about and the boot could do with a coat of underseal to keep things tidy, but mostly it's very presentable.

 

I learned that the front half of the height selector rods move nice and freely, helped in part by the lubrication from the chronic oil leak/s going on up front. However, the rear rod doesn't move freely and the main culprit appeared to be the pivot part at the back that, from what I can work out, helps with height selection by operating the hydraulic balancer thingy at the back. All the little notches that the book shows as being present on this part where the rods go in are not present and look to have not been present for a long time so I'm not sure that's the problem. I did get some movement in the pivot, but hardly any and the rods were still having a tough time of it.

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After much fettling, and reading and trying to figure out just what was wrong I had to admit defeat. There's something here I've missed I think, or that is broken or missing... I'm not sure. Fact is, I can't figure it out and have a BX that no longer goes up and down properly, which is pretty disappointing. What's more frustrating about this is that when I got the car it did go into all settings, allbeit grudgingly with high and low, and was getting much better until the recent cold spell at which point it just decided it didn't want to anymore. I've no idea what's going on.

 

So with that put to bed, I turned my attention to the rear lights which look dim and which I'd been told are very weak when you're following the car. This would give me a chance to look at the metal behind the clusters too, which is happily quite solid.

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Investigating the silvering on the backs reveals that not only is it quite dirty from accumulated road muck, soot and cobwebs but it has also started to lift off in places. Best fix here is to clean them up properly and repaint with a chrome enamel or similar to get some brightness back. I haven't the materials to do that now, so I've made do with a clean.

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Back on the car they look brighter as I've also cleaned the back of the lenses. They were about as mucky as I was expecting, it's one of those funny little design flaws with these sorts of composite light clusters.

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I'm trying to cheer myself on with this, the car has lots of niggles and no serious faults, it's all to be expected. Normally I'd be buoyed up by the challenge but lately I'm fed up of challenges.

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A bit of both. You can force the selector in the car into the relevant notch but when you look under the car - two man job, there was another man to help me today - you can see the rear rod is bowed. If you then knock the pivot at the back to straighten the rod the car will make an effort to go to the required setting, and the front will drop properly on the low setting, but it's not right. Getting the selector in the car to sit in the notches is difficult too, unless it's regular or service, and you have to physically hold it in place. If I hadn't been using the selector after getting the car I could understand it, but I thought with it being a bit stiff, some use would help and it did, for a short time, and then the cold seems to have made something somewhere seize up. It has me stumped.

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Keep at it VA, it'll be worth it, there's a great car there waiting to get out and it's nearly there, it's been impressive to watch it improve with every post. I can't offer any useful advice on the adjuster as I've never even sat in a BX but doubtless someone on here will know how to get the answer.

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The rear linkage is apparently the one that gets gunked up most (the front one usually gets lubricated with engine oil...). I've no experience of fettling the height controllers myself though - we'll have to see if there's anyone in the BX Club not to far from you. I've got a friend in North Wales who is better at fettling than I am. Managed some useful improvement on the TXD last time I visited him. (just before I put the thing up for sale - stupid me!).

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am putting this up for sale now. There are very sensible reasons for doing this, mainly that I need to be down to a single car again, which is going to be the Princess.

 

Offers in the region of £180-200 invited (this is what the scrapyard offered me for the car as a runner) as the car still has tax and test on it. The car does have problems, most notably a leaking rocker cover and sump gasket and is in need of an LHM return pipe. All the bits you need to fix the car can be got for £50 delivered from AEP and there's another Autoshiter with a BX that has all the metal bits you need for the back end that could be got.

 

Personal health issues mean I'll be better off focusing on just the one car, and since the Princess is the one I'll always choose, the BX must go. If it hasn't sold by the end of June (when the tax expires) it will sadly have to be scrapped. The BX has done everything I needed during my ownership, I'm not selling due to any fault with the car (though it does have some faults), I just don't think I shall be able to do it justice and would rather offer the opportunity to sell it on for someone else to enjoy.

 

MoT expires beginning of June.

Tax expires end of June.

New waterpump and timing belt supplied, but not yet fitted.

New glowplugs fitted recently.

Rust progress halted on the rear wing, I didn't get as far as exacting the repairs. Contact ruffgeezer to discuss the possibility of obtaining spares from his breaker, it's what I planned to do.

Pedal box is strong and not in need of repair

A pillars solid with no hinge-area rot

Fully cleaned inside and out with the exception of the headlining and engine bay which I didn't get finished, and won't now.

Utterly reliable and runs on veg. Happiest on an 80% veg 20% diesel mix.

 

So yeah. I'll be sad to see it go, but if it isn't bought then I'll have to scrap it, which I don't want to do, but storage here is going to become an issue in addition to my health problems so needs must.

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sorry to see your car vacate AS. I enjoyed reading & seeing the progress you were making. You were really steaming ahead at one point, but I understand where you are coming from & that's why I only have 1 shitter. I have a lust for a GS/A, but I know, due to work /family I could only focus on 1 and end up as frustrated as hell.

 

Good luck moving it on & hopefully the new owner will carry on from where you left off!

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Very much priced to sell. I hope it does sell too, I'd far rather someone else get it and enjoy or mothball or even sell on at a profit than it get scrapped or whatever. I won't have the storage for it when the MoT and Tax expires and I won't be able to get it fixed for an MoT before the current one expires.

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Bloody hell, for that price I would buy it if it didnt mean almost certain removal of both testis by my wife and her using them for ear ornamentation.

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