Replacing a BX?

[Jaba]

I can help you change the spheres if you come to my place near Didcot with some new ones.

[citronut]

how firm is the suspension, if there is non or very little that should have been a faliure,


regards malcolm

Firmer than coil springs. I don't know if its bad enough to be an MOT fail but its bad enough to make the ride pretty rough. Not BX like in any way.

my point was the MOT tester obviously does not know how do his/her job, and shouldnt be testing pushchairs let alone allowded near cars,

as firm/hard citroen hydraulic suspension can cause the car to be very dangerous to drive,



regards malcolm

[Defender110]

Where will you be able to find another car with zero depreciation that can be run for £300 a year maintenance costs, any repairs needed this year will last much more than next year so average the cost of these repairs over the time you would expect them to last. Plus you would also need to be given this replacement car to make it any cheaper than the BX you already own. If you like the BX as much as you say then this really is a no brainer unless of course you invest the money you anticipate is needed for repairs on your current BX into a better condition lower mileage BX not yet needing these repairs

[Boxwolf]

Where will you be able to find another car with zero depreciation that can be run for £300 a year maintenance costs, any repairs needed this year will last much more than next year so average the cost of these repairs over the time you would expect them to last. Plus you would also need to be given this replacement car to make it any cheaper than the BX you already own. If you like the BX as much as you say then this really is a no brainer unless of course you invest the money you anticipate is needed for repairs on your current BX into a better condition lower mileage BX not yet needing these repairs

I think the problem is I tend to listen to people if they say "get rid of it" especially if they seem to know what they are talking about. I do think the lower mileage BX idea sounds fun but it was hard enough finding this one and I hate car-searching.

If you can't afford to keep a bx on the road, i fail to see how you could afford any other car??

The mechanic reckoned the BX was costing me more because of the hydraulics and "because old french cars are built all wrong" but he then went on to say that a 205 would be better (alonside recommending a VW polo).

I can help you change the spheres if you come to my place near Didcot with some new ones.

Considering I live fairly near didcot that would be very helpful. The biggest thing stopping me is lack of confidence and being unsure enough to not trust myself with the hydraulics.

firm/hard Citroën hydraulic suspension can cause the car to be very dangerous to drive,

I wouldn't say it handles dangerously, just doesn't go over bumps and rough roads very happily

If you can take a picture of where you believe the leak is coming from, we'll be in a better position to give you some advice on what to do or not do, perhaps as suggested, a quick wipe down before the mot is all that's required or take your car to an mot station where the tester is sympathetic to older citroens.

I wasn't even aware there was a leak until they failed the car on it among other things. They passed it on the retest with the leak as an advisory after the mechanic cleaned the regulator up and put a new seal on the accumulator sphere, but i noticed a few days later there was LHM dripping off the bottom of the accumulator sphere so whatever was leaking still is.

[Philip Chidlow]

As others have suggested, dump your mechanic. Sounds a right pain. Find a local Citroen specialist instead.

My BX's have rarely cost me a lot to run, with the notable exceptions of the 16v's which seemed to eat money.

[mat_fenwick]

I would say overall a BX is no more, or less reliable than most other cars of that era - it's down to the way they're maintained. Any car that age will tent to need more repairs than say a 5 year old, but that's balanced against lack of depreciation. Sure, the hydraulics are another thing to go wrong, but catastrophic sudden failure is rare. And on the plus side BXs are generally more rust resistant than Astras or Escorts!

[Mothman]

Ide say stick with the BX. They are getting more and more rare nowadays.
Bought my diesel 5 years ago on feebay for 350 quid and she is still running. Over that time i have spent an average of about £200 a year which i consider cheap motoring.
Slight probs with her at the moment, replacement alternator which i fitted the other week failed 4 hours into a 5 hour journey but she still got me back home a few days later. A more modern vehicle would not have done so.

Glad the window rubber arrived!!

Andy

[BX Meteor]

With any car over approx 6 years old, if you want to save money do the work yourself.

For example, on my Honda Accord (54 plate) the condenser on the aircon is perished. On a fridge, the condenser is at the back, on airon, the condenser is in front of the radiator, about the same size as a radiator. The fitted price by dealer on my car is £532. The condesner from the dealer is £388. Unipart sell a suitable condenser for £70. Fitting the condenser is extremely simple, there is no regrigerant left in the aircon anyway, so all I need to do is get the condenser from Unipart, swap it in the car, then go to Halfords and get the regrigerant refilled.

This is the point about working on cars. On any car you can save a fortune by finding out prices and how to do something yourself.

If you look at my posting on doing the cambelt in a BX petrol (now in the FAQ) you will see that changing a cambelt is also very simple.

The only thing about a BX that is extra-complicated over other cars is the hydraulics. Whilst it is an added complication, it is worth the trouble to get to understand. My son drives my BX at the moment and he stayed at the house of his aunt/uncle. His uncle told me that the car was dripping fluid on his drive, I said "did you know that the pressure in the system is 2000psi, so it either dumps it all, or virtually nothing". A little white lie on my part, but it shut him up. There is a tiny drop coming from the pipes at the top of the flow distrributor, which works its way down and puts about one drop per day on the drive.

So if anyone ever says that your hydraulics are not right, just say "did you know that the presure in the system is 2000psi". Obviously the returns back to the reservoir are not high pressure, but they are high volume, so again when they spring a leak they do dump quite a bit.

So when you go for an MOT and they talk bollocks about it, either find a better MOT garage or tell them the above.

As for the actual suspension layout itself, it is otherwise fairly conventional.

Finally if your ride is hard, find out if it is hard at the back or front. Whichever, a stitch in time saves nine, hard spheres at the back will cause damage to the rear arm bearings, the bearings probably need replacing anyway (as with any car of that age with that type of rear trailing arm bearing)

[Discoil]

I'm in agreement with Bx Meteor
As for doing the work , I,ve cheated a little and had about 45 years in the motor trade including the Citroen dealership.

I have been out of touch with mechanicing in the last few years and so I ' farm ' out some of the jobs I could have done easily in earlier times.

Costs are running at about £150 per year and . Scrap value is what it is at the time. My wife really likes the car and so

Which/What vehicle could replace the BX for carrying and towing capacity for little money.

NONE

Keep repairing it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!