Citroen dealers and mechs never heard of hydroclean

TB2 · Post by **TB2** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 1:39 pm

I'm trying to get a hold of 5l of hydrorincage / hydroclean / hydroflush or what other names it has, but interestringly none of the Swiss old- and youngtimer Citroen mechanics has had any clue when I asked if they would sell it. Not even a specialist which everyone of them has directed me to...

Is it so uncommon?

Well I'll resort to buying it from an online shop in Germany - costs 29 Euros, I guess that's reasonable. Another 32 Euros for 5l of LHM+.

I need about 5l, right? Haven't got the repair manual with me (as I am in Germany at the moment).

On a similar topic: I'm not exactly sure how much diesel fits into the tank of my turbo. I think I remember reading 66l in the manual, but that seems like quite a lot. I've never used more than 50l at which point the needle was touching the left " R [ " mark at the top. Do they all have 66l tanks? I've read something about 52l, with some models having an extra tank that adds up to 66l. With 66l, I could make 1200km with one tank >.> Only done about 900km each until now.

@Aerodynamica:
I had to abandon the BX and now it's staying on axle stands for two weeks until I'm back from Germany. Then I'll give the height corrector another crack and hopefully exchange all the LHM with hydroclean!

Aerodynamica · Post by **Aerodynamica** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:07 pm

I wouldn't worry about struggling to get hydroclean - just change the LHM before removing the corrector and when you dismantle the corrector you'll get all the crap out then. Bleed the brakes and you'll have crystal clear LHM all round the circuit.

Hydroclean isn't worth the effort.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:51 pm

I wouldnt say its not worth the effort, creaky struts are now quiet & dodgy steering is sorted on my car. Dont forget that you can re-use the stuff again & again by filtering it to get the crap out that it catches.

I guess it depends how much crap is in the bottom of your lhm tank, if there's not much then its probably not worth doing, if there is loads like i had on my txd, then its an absolute must, as its sorted out the above problems that i'd been suffering with.

TB2 · Post by **TB2** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:57 am

Nice to know it can be reused, I guess I'd just thrown it away afterwards. It's not too much of a hassle ordering it. In any case I was really surprised that none of the citroen mechs have ever heard of it...

RichardW · Post by **RichardW** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 12:35 pm

Standard tank was about 50l, TDs (well TZDs anyway!) and some others got an 'extra' tank under the rear wing which was about 15l. They didn't recalibrate the gauge for the extra tank, so if you fill to the top, the gauge doesn't move for about 150 miles (240km)

I only ever got 45 mpg (16km/l or 6.25 l / 100km) out of mine, but then I didn't hang about. This meant 600 miles / 965km between (60l) fill ups. 1200km would require gentle driving

TB2 · Post by **TB2** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:01 pm

I usually do 51-55 mpg on my TD, but then again it has no rear seats and I tend to drive quite economical most of the time, thus reaching 900km with 50l.

I'll see if I can locate the extra tank.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:41 pm

The Green Hornet - our TZD turbo estate - with its 14.5 gal, 66 litre tank(s) seems to be reliably capable of over 1200 kms (750 miles). That's with Kermit at the wheel. I'll bring that average down a bit no doubt

- but even then we can expect over 1000 kms range.

Vanny · Post by **Vanny** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:44 pm

MULLEY wrote:Dont forget that you can re-use the stuff again & again by filtering it to get the crap out that it catches.

No no no you'd not want to be doing that, both hydroflush and LHM has a construction like a polymer, long chains, as it goes round the car it gets chopped up. Very quickly (40,000 miles or so for LHM) it brakes down and becomes significantly less lubricating than it should be. You might as well pour in milk if its broken up too much.

Not to say the suggestion is totally flawed though, if your not running a great distance per fluch it might work ok!

TB2, speak to your local TOTAL agent, hydroflush is made by total and they should be able to advise you of your nearest stockist.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:40 pm

I didnt make myself clear, when i said you could re-use it again & again, i meant within reason, i.e. to keep for 3 years max just like the lhm in your car & to use upto a maximum number of miles within those 3 years as per what other members have used, which seems to vary quite a lot by the way. So agree with what Vanny says.....

I'll have to check to see how many miles i've had it in the txd for, i've already emptied it out once & re-filtered it with a coffee filter before putting back in again. Quite a useful amount of gunge was collected. The extra filter that i'd fitted also collected a heap load of sludge, so i'd recommend trying that as well.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:18 am

RichardW wrote:Standard tank was about 50l, TDs (well TZDs anyway!) and some others got an 'extra' tank under the rear wing which was about 15l.

The Fuel tank on all BXs is 52 litres there is as you stated an additional tank under the wheel arch that increases the capacity to 66 litres on selected models (most notable being the 1900 range of petrols).

If you can get what I would call a reserve tank from a wreakers they are easy enough to fit in that wheel arch. Just take the normal precautions when working around flammable fuels.

Of course you could just carry a spare can in the boot

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:08 pm

All 3 of mine have 66 litre tanks, is it only the earlier one's (pre 89?) that had the smaller tank?

TB2 · Post by **TB2** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:31 pm

Vanny wrote:TB2, speak to your local TOTAL agent, hydroflush is made by total and they should be able to advise you of your nearest stockist.

Already ordered it online, already received the package containing a 5l canister of hydrorincage made by TOTAL, and 5 1l bottles of LHM+ made by some Belgiums.

I love the smell of LHM by the way

Post by **Tim Leech** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:26 pm

A BX 14 have an 11 gallon tank. £20 is half full which makes a nice change!

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:29 pm

Roverman wrote:A BX 14 have an 11 gallon tank. £20 is half full which makes a nice change!

That would be US Gallons would it

I forgot that the BX14 range has 44 litre fuel tanks, its been a long time since seen a BX14

Dug out a glovebox BX manual and this is what is written

BX14 TE/TGE 44 litres
BX16 TGE/TGS sallon and Estate 52 litres
BX16TZS 66 litres
BX19TZI/TZS/GTI/16V/TZI Estate/4x4 66 litres
BX Diesel 17/19 TGD 52 litres
BX19TZD/TGD Turbo/TZD Turbo and Estate 66 litres

If you think you go a bigger tank then it was probably a limited edition or post factory mod.

Ill try and find the earlier mnaula I have for the pre 1990 model range.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:32 pm

TB2 wrote: I love the smell of LHM by the way

Do I comment? Ok yes its a nice sweet smell compared to other hydraulic fluids etc.