scooters Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Zut alors! Fiat attention mon choufleurs. I've been abusing the CX horribly over the last few weeks and yesterday morning it decided enough was enough and thd engine blew up...either head/hard gasket at cylinder 1 and 2 OR big end and likely both....anyway way beyond a k seal lob. Car won't start and smoke billows from front...exhaust manifold gasket has gone also.Bad news it will enquire major surgery to fix. I was planning on taking it off the road next winter to do a bodywork and partial rebuild of the engine as well as a deep clean of thd interior and a respray.Looks like thd to do list has just got a lot longer.... Big challenge is loading and unloading a CX without a working engine. No suspension means no ground clearance. ..I'll need a very low trailer to ship it to the new house in Hexham. I need to get my arse down to Devon to collect Phil xm...As things stand thd good old XJ6 is the daily AF the moment. . Curses! Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 You are needing this, my sir. Sudsprint, michael t, Craig the Princess and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Arse. Any chance of getting a jack under it? Possibly by pushing it onto ever thicker pieces of flat wood? If you can jack it up, I believe it is possible to chock the suspension with blocks of wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Arse. Any chance of getting a jack under it? Possibly by pushing it onto ever thicker pieces of flat wood? If you can jack it up, I believe it is possible to chock the suspension with blocks of wood. The car would have to lift itself for that, and then you have to insert the woods.If you jack it up when it's down, the wheels will nicely remain in the position they are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messerschmitt owner Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 if only it had a starting handle you could use to pump the suspension up with - lots of turns mind you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardmorris Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Oh dear. A dead CX is deader than most cars. What engine is it? Most seem unburstable. PSMy CX Pallas was that neptune grey colour Junkman. Junkman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 In theory, if you crank the engine over on the starter for long enough, the pump will eventually raise the suspension. It does take quite a while though mind. Worked on one of my DS's, anyway. CortinaDave and KruJoe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panhard65 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Hire a tilt bed trailer it may go low enough. I have had a cx pallas on my trailer that had been sitting in a garden for 10 years it was on it's arse with flat tyres but still went on without ripping the bottom out. Long planks of wood also help if need be I even had a Lotus elise track car on there complete with splitters that were less than an inch from the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Yep, take spark plugs out to stop compression slowing it down, and spin it on the starter. It will take a long time though so have a good battery or a booster vehicle with jump leads connected.Dont cook the starter motor though. Never done it on a CX, but it has worked for me on other hydro stuff. Twiggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddeliveryboy Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 The car would have to lift itself for that, and then you have to insert the woods.If you jack it up when it's down, the wheels will nicely remain in the position they are now. Yes, they'll remain on the ground, as you want. \If they went up with the car (ie suspension didn't extend) nothing would have changed. When there's clearance between the wheels and the arches, and so clearance between the bump stop rubbers and subframe massif then there's room to insert some hardwood chocks to maintain ground clearance. Doesn't matter how the car has been raised up, if it's up then the chocks go in. Alternatively, remove the HP pump belts and spin with a leccy drill or windy gun. Faster than cranking the engine over. What a pita - with a CX, engine failure (if it's the Cit engine and not a Douvrin - although they're tough) is never a consideration, a bit like an older Merc dizzle. How many miles had she done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 with a CX, engine failure (if it's the Cit engine and not a Douvrin - although they're tough) is never a consideration, My 2.5 GTI engine grenaded in spectacular fashion - less than a year old and not even 50k miles on it.Made me consider, lemme tellya. Next car was an Olds Custom Cruiser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardmorris Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Odd, because in my 15years of CX ownership I've never heard of an engine failure apart from the DTR T2 which had porous blocks. Most DTRs like mine would do 250K easily - mine was on 175K and the original clutch, and many 2.5GTis are well over 250K now. My douvrin 20Pallas was up to 120K when some idiot frenchman killed it. In the CCC there is a theory that allowing oil to circulait while the suspension raises itself from slumber is probably not unconnected with engine longevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooters Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 2.5gti engine. Tough old lump of a pushrod based on the traction avant of the 1930s. I dont blame the engine I blame myself. In the last 2 months she has done 2000 miles towing at the 1800 limit and the cooling fans have been playing up. Most 2.5 petrol engines would have blown up way before this one. Btw looks like it might just be a head gasket blow albeit most of the gasket between 1 and 2 with a catastrophic loss of compression so I can't even start thd bastard to try and lob in some k seal.. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSdriver Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I once pumped up a DS using an old washing machine motor and its belt onto the pump pulley, just holding the motor. Try this at your own risk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skizzer Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Bummer. I have nothing constructive to say except good luck and hope you get it sorted. Does make a change from alternators, I suppose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooSavvy Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 CarCastors.... shifty wheely thingies? TS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_dyane Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 You only really need standard flatbed trailer with ramps and a winch; all you do is winch it on with the trailer unhitched from the towing vehicle and without extending the trailer rear steadies. The back of the trailer will magically drop permitting clearance. You will however find yourself standing in the air on the drawbar as you winch. Do make sure trailer brakes engaged and wheels well chocked... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derskine Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messerschmitt owner Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 EFA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pillock Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Paint it to look more like a Mk2 Granada. Someone will get it onto a truck pretty quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooters Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 You only really need standard flatbed trailer with ramps and a winch; all you do is winch it on with the trailer unhitched from the towing vehicle and without extending the trailer rear steadies. The back of the trailer will magically drop permitting clearance. You will however find yourself standing in the air on the drawbar as you winch. Do make sure trailer brakes engaged and wheels well chocked...Good thinking I've done this before with a maxi with collapsed suspension Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooters Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 I once pumped up a DS using an old washing machine motor and its belt onto the pump pulley, just holding the motor. Try this at your own risk!😨 Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 These engines are stupidly tough. The one in mine was boiled and frozen and still worked fine. If it's a head gasket issue, I'd whip the plugs out of the first two cylinders (in case there's sufficient coolant lose to hydraulic it) and see if it'll run on the other two cylinders. I can confirm that an H van will run on two. Albeit not very well. jonathan_dyane 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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