The Doctor's travels through time. Fin.

[vulgalour]

Ah good, it's marked its territory.

[DoctorRetro]

  On 02/06/2020 at 15:18, mat_the_cat said:

I hate to be the bearer of (slightly) bad news. But it shouldn't *need* a clip to retain the return hose, although it's not unheard of for people to fit them. A small amount of LHM is designed to leak past the seals, for lubrication, hence the return circuit. But what happens when things wear is that more and more leaks past, until the return circuit can no longer cope, and pipes blow off.

You'll probably be just fine with a clip for a good while, but I'd keep an eye out for a spare strut. I suspect the days when I was lucky to get £10 for one on eBay are long gone though! (Something else I should have hung onto!)

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The pipe felt VERY loose, and a bit perished, so that can't help. 

Also, and I don't know if I should admit it, but I was moving forward ever so slowly into the parking space as I let the suspension down, not sure if you aren't meant to do that.... 

I'll keep an eye on things anyway. 

[vulgalour]

Wouldn't do any harm, it's just a pipe that's popped off, it happens.  My estate popped a pipe in the same area (might have been the same one) and it still got me the handful of miles I needed to go without running out of brakes, pas, or lhm.

[mat_the_cat]

  On 02/06/2020 at 17:39, TheDoctor said:

The pipe felt VERY loose, and a bit perished, so that can't help. 

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True, so best case scenario is it's just a bit stretched and  loose fit on the stub.

[DoctorRetro]

Diecast BXs are a little easier to work with ?

Having said that, all seems well with mine, no more puddles and all working. 

 

 

[95 quid Peugeot]

Blimey Doc, stop moaning about a few drips, look at this poor bloke and not a peep out of him

[DoctorRetro]

You have to use Night Nurse for realism

[DoctorRetro]

Just been out for a quick shopping trip, and after sitting idling for a few minutes, dropped it into drive and it stalled. Took quite a few cranks to restart it. It takes quite a few cranks to start anyway, but it's got me wondering what could be wrong. Could leaky injectors cause an issue? 

I'm glad it's not my main car, I think the anxiety would kill me. ?

 

[320touring]

Welcome to Schrödinger's Citroen ownership. ..

It is both completely functional and utterly fucked until you turn the key:)

Hey, it's half the fun!

[Zelandeth]

A favourite for poor starting is fuel draining back to the tank due to a tiny air leak. 

Try manually priming the fuel system (not sure if this will have a rubber squeezy bulb in the fuel line or a button on top of the fuel filter from memory) before you try to start it.  If it fires up much quicker than normal that's a pretty good suggestion that there's a fuel drain back issue.

Most (but not all) diesel BXs have a fuel preheater down the back of the engine which is notorious for causing air leaks, though by this age I'd be more surprised to find one still connected than already bypassed.  Sadly it's nigh on impossible to see from above thanks to the wonderful access to the back of the engine due to PSA having oh so helpfully tilted it back so far.  Something I swear at them about on my Xantia as well as the TCT engine in that is identically positioned.

[DoctorRetro]

Having owned the BX for just two weeks, I can safely say I most likely won't be keeping it long term, but then the automatic gearbox was always going to be an annoyance. It's cool, goes and handles well and the suspension is fun. But god it's uninspiring and porridge-like to drive. And this coming from someone who has a Rover as a daily. 

However, I have managed to get myself to two insurance policies within budget, so I'll probably keep it for a bit until a desirable (in my eyes) swap comes up. 

It wont be a soon thing, as I'm going to be very picky. I'd like something simple and antiquated, like a Lada, something BL (Allegro / Maestro) or perhaps something simple and Italian (old Panda / Uno). 

 

[DoctorRetro]

Spent some time refreshing the boot. It's the part of the car you just normally ignore and fill with crap... 

Before 

Hoovered in the house. 

After. 

 

I've resprayed the panels, as they were badly scuffed. 

[andyberg]

You need to stop putting pictures up of this car, it makes me want one more and more! 

[DoctorRetro]

Still messing about with the Rover ?

[DoctorRetro]

Took the BX for a wash and put some real fuel in. It is starting better now, I must admit. I guess poor starting is just a side effect of running on veg. 

[gm]

Great looking car, I do like that !

what is hanging off the back of the red fiesta in the previous post ? 

[DoctorRetro]

  On 09/06/2020 at 10:02, gm said:

 

what is hanging off the back of the red fiesta in the previous post ? 

 

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I think its a mount for a CB aerial or something. He's an aerial engineer and it's also his hobby. He's had that Fiesta since pretty much new (2008) and it's on rather high mileage for a petrol car, 210k or something. 

[Vantman]

The BX is looking nice and smart! ?

[schonker]

Doc,can I ask.What is the longest that time that you have owned a car?

Current fleet looks great BTW and always look forward to your updates

[DoctorRetro]

  On 09/06/2020 at 17:41, schonker said:

Doc,can I ask.What is the longest that time that you have owned a car?

Current fleet looks great BTW and always look forward to your updates

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Do company cars count? No? 

Well, its gotten worse lately. I don't think I've owned anything for longer than 4 months in the past 10 years. I put it down to a short attention span (I have ADHD), the fact I'm very picky, and also that I don't actually know what I want. 

I also have this thing where I start imagining things that are wrong with the car and believe that I have to get rid ASAP. I guess it's a facet of my anxiety.

There's definitely worse ways for mental health issues to manifest themselves I guess. I don't smoke, drink to excess, gamble (except roffles, but they don't count), and I'm a peaceful non violent person. I always try to reassure myself that I could be way worse, and that I shouldn't beat myself up about it. 

 

Anyway, back to cars. I've been driving the BX a bit more over the past couple of days, and I am warming to it a bit. It's just that bloody gearbox! 

 

[Angrydicky]

Get rid of it. One tractor engine is too much for one man, let alone two. 

[DoctorRetro]

I'm going to type out my thought process to see if it makes it clearer. Not asking for advice, but if anyone wants to say what they'd do, feel free to. I'll only ignore it anyway ?

 

1. Sell it. 

Pros:

I'll have money I didn't have before and can therefore buy something I actually want. 

Cons:

I'm unlikely to actually spend that money all on a car, there are other things I need to spend money on. A divorce for one. So inevitably I'll end up with something crap if at all.

 

2. Swap it:

Pros: I get to keep having a second car, of a similar value.

Cons: That means finding something I actually want and that puts pressure on. 

 

3. Keep it. 

Pros: I have a nice, working second car that looks cool and is mostly nice to drive. 

Cons: I dislike automatics and knowing my luck, things will start going wrong and I'll have to throw money at it. (Unlikely, but try telling my head that!) 

 

 

[Vantman]

You have the Rover,which you like,so sell the BX and have some money to buy something else,not automatic, in your own time.

[bunglebus]

My only thought would be is the BX as it stands worth more or less than the money you could actually get for it, in the eyes of a divorce court?

[Cord Fourteener]

BX looks smart anyway, whether or not you sell!

[DoctorRetro]

  On 10/06/2020 at 07:30, bunglebus said:

My only thought would be is the BX as it stands worth more or less than the money you could actually get for it, in the eyes of a divorce court?

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Divorce will be a quickie, no money or house issues to thrash through. I don't own anything of significant value, and whatever I do is probably offset 100 times over by debts ?. 

It's just a one off payment of 550 quid fees, that I've been putting off as it's a largish amount to pay out, and I've always had other things that need doing / paying for. 

 

 

 

[Jim Bell]

Don't throw money away on a divorce man, just stay married and spend the money on more essential things. Like old cars and fashionable shoes. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

If you don't like autoboxes, sell the car which has an autobox. Buy something with three pedals which you can enjoy choosing. 

Have you fitted the 50,000db horn which you bought from me to the Rover yet? I want to hear it! ?

[dozeydustman]

An N/A XUD with a slushbag in any car is horrid. Normally, because I'm not a fan of the 200/25/400/45 I would have kept the Citroen anyway, but agree that if you're not happy get rid of.

Have you thought of swapping both for another, Manuel BX? Or even an early Xantia?

[DoctorRetro]

Well, decision is made. It is going, I have a buyer. 

I'll probably put the money into the divorce and save the rest. Plus keep on making the Rover suitably silly. ?