Sold Wobbler ZX - £SOLD - short mot, new wiper blade

[dollywobbler]

Now with video.

https://twitter.com/dollywobbler/status/807916214693543936

[dean36014]

Those tensioners are easy enough to replace, just two allen bolts. Just means grovelling up in the inner wheel arch.

[beko1987]

I agree, quite simple, I had the xantia apart at the side of the road. If you release the engine mount and drop the engine down a bit it's even easier.

 

Would certainly help pinpoint if it's aux belt or cambelt related

[richardmorris]

Have you tried the screwdriver stethoscope trick?

[dollywobbler]

No need! Not sure what's wrong with the tensioner, but the lower bolt doesn't seem to do anything. Can't adjust the tension. Had to unbolt the alternator instead. That was fun*. However, it now sounds like this.

https://twitter.com/dollywobbler/status/807964417543598082

 

Turning the tensioner by hand sounds pretty gruesome. That'll be that then. I'm trying to work out how to remove it though. Is it just that bolt at the bottom and the bolt on the side? The bottom one is proving a right pain. I'd assumed that was the adjuster. Can't get it all the way out.

 

Here's where I've been tinkering.

 

Here's the noisy tensioner, with the alternator out of the way.

 

Excellent* access.

[dean36014]

I think its just two allen bolts, one is through the middle of the pulley iirc

[dollywobbler]

It's three. Muggins here missed the one inside the tensioner - you know, the adjuster one! It was a bitch to get out, but got there in the end. There's one half way down the shaft, and another at the very bottom. Now I just need to find one for reasonable pounds. New tensioner and belt ordered.

[beko1987]

I tried to u do that tensioner on mine but couldn't, was solid, so I thanked my stars it was ok and left it!

 

That coolant pipe is clipped to the chassis on the xantia and easily moved out of the way. You'll get so much more access if you drop the engine. Jack and a block of wood under the back lip of the sump, remove the engine mount then lower it down until you can get access.

[richardmorris]

I tried to u do that tensioner on mine but couldn't, was solid, so I thanked my stars it was ok and left it!

That coolant pipe is clipped to the chassis on the xantia and easily moved out of the way. You'll get so much more access if you drop the engine. Jack and a block of wood under the back lip of the sump, remove the engine mount then lower it down until you can get access.

You have a different idea of the word "easy" than I do:-)

[dollywobbler]

The coolant pipe is unclipped Beko - that's why it's hanging down. Managed to wedge it under the crankshaft pulley in the end. It's frustrating that you have to lower the engine for better access. Japanese cars have all manner of grommets in the inner wings that you can stick an extension through to access bolts. It's almost as if someone actually thought about it.

 

Anyway, no more progress on this car for a few days, as I doubt parts will arrive before Wednesday. That's ok. I've got a couple of days of work to clear. I am currently trying to get a Caper video together though.

[richardmorris]

My dad had a 1.9d zx avantage estate new- m484aca I think. Much was made of the passive rear steering at the time, but I can't say I noticed. Build quality was fine, but not noticeably better than the bx txd it replaced( k505ltu).

[dollywobbler]

My dad had a 1.9d zx avantage estate new- m494aca I think. Much was made of the passive rear steering at the time, but I can't say I noticed. Build quality was fine, but not noticeably better than the bx txd it replaced( k505ltu).

 

It pleases me that you posted that at exactly 6:02pm. (2CV stupid reference)

 

Video now assembled and, Welsh broadband permitting, will be uploaded by tomorrow. Must be said, in one of the high-speed clips, you can hear a very awful sort of a knackered wheel bearing sound! I think we must have put it down to different road surfaces at the time. I'm pretty sure it didn't actually sound that bad in the car, though I did notice a bit of a drone. Did I put it down to a possible faulty wheel bearing? Of course not!

[dollywobbler]

You know what? I think I like this car. I've driven quite a long way in it already, and I'm feeling quite disappointed that it's now stranded on my driveway awaiting parts.

[twosmoke300]

I had a1.9d and hated it . So slow and I found the seats terrible on a long trip ( every trip was long in that - time wise)

 

Funnily enough I've got the wife a 306 hdi as a temp car and it's bloody lovely . Haven't tried it on a long run to comment on the seats but it's much much nicer than our Zx ever was

[Lacquer Peel]

A decent na XUD ZX shouldn't seem slow, at least in isolation. Maybe if your other daily driver is a lot quicker it would feel slow.

[dollywobbler]

I drove the turbo diesel when we were part hunting. Yup, the NA does feel slow! Your foot is mashed into the carpet nearly all of the time, yet the engine never sounds stressed and still sips fuel. Plus, the excellent handling means you just don't slow down for bends. It's like a modern 2CV.

 

Anyway, video now live!

[bramz7]

It never felt slow to me although admittedly I don't have vast reams of driving experience. The petrol ZX had more character but the diesel one felt more dependable, and it eats its way through the miles like no tomorrow.

 

I will miss L461XMR.

 

[dollywobbler]

You can drive a non-turbo PSA lump pretty quickly, but you can't get to quick very quickly if you know what I mean. 0-60mph time is officially 14.2 seconds, so pretty much anything modern is going to see you off. It's actually one second quicker to 60 than the Nippa though. 

[dollywobbler]

Can't drive it given the tensioner is off, so i washed it instead.

[dean36014]

For round town driving i find mine fine. i've always found the N/A a little quicker off the line than a turbo but obviously only for the first few yards. After driving the worlds slowest truck due to all the Eco bollocks on it anything seems nippy. On the motorway once upto 70mph it will sit there all day bar for the longest inclines. It dragged the Dandy trailer tent back fine last weekend at a steady 60mph fine and still did 45mpg. Speed has never bothered me, if i arrive somewhere a couple of minutes later then so be it. Mpg is far more important these days as you can't use the power off modern cars without worrying about your licence. I'm hoping with some sympathetic maintenance mine will go on for a good few years yet.

[dean36014]

Who had the scruffy ZX diesel estate they were trying to get rid of? Would love to get one the fleet as a replacement for the 206sw.

[dollywobbler]

I've been a bit stingy with the pics, so here are some more.

 

WTF? There's a flap that covers the top half of the stereo. So you can hide the decadent luxury of a cassette player?

 

Apols for the crooked wheel. Didn't have the keys on me. It's pretty tidy inside though.

 

Yeah, protected by Simba. 

[beko1987]

The adapter to fit a cd player in a zx has a flap too! Can't say I ever used the flap on my 2 bar to hide things that weren't the radio!

 

What's that bulge by the alarm kill switch/povvo spec blanking plates to the right of the steering wheel?

[trigger]

I used to own a L reg 306 XLD which was basically the same car but lower spec, to give it's due it wasn't too horrific in the performance stakes, it wasn't going to win any races but it was nippy enough, and what you lost in performance you gained in economy, it happy carted me 60 miles a day 6 days a week for a year without any problems.

I quite like them if I'm honest!

[dollywobbler]

The adapter to fit a cd player in a zx has a flap too! Can't say I ever used the flap on my 2 bar to hide things that weren't the radio!

 

What's that bulge by the alarm kill switch/povvo spec blanking plates to the right of the steering wheel?

 

I suspect it's a blanking plug to cover an old immobiliser. There's a fob for one, but nowhere to plug it in. Oh, I mean, if you're a burglar reading this, it's now hidden in a safe place.

[beko1987]

You'll be ok, I doubt anyone's going to steal it. I don't think I ever locked mine, and no one nicked it. Mine had a cutout switch wired into the glow plug relay though, so it wouldn't start without that turned in. No idea how the wires went, Dean probably found out when he stripped it!

[dean36014]

I did find that switch and wondered what is was for! 

[dollywobbler]

Over 650 views for this video already, which tells you that people really do like it when things go wrong. My feeble videos never gain that many views in a single day!

 

Of course, this is why Top Gear scripted so many spectacular fails. Disaster is entertaining. That at least kept me going when I was all down in the dumps about missing the party we'd hoped to be back in time for.

 

Now just wondering if the new tensioner and aux belt will arrive today. Not that I've got much time to fit them.

 

EDIT - they have arrived. Tempting.

[egg]

Dad egg had one that had pull down blinds for the rear window I seem to recall - does this one have them? 

 

Could the ZX, in all practical day to day terms, be the best Citroen ever made?

[rantingYoof]

A 2.0 16v in estate form sounds marvellous, if it exists.

 

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