Single speed Fan resistor - a bridge to far...

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Wed Oct 13, 2010 11:28 am

Excellent - the harder the battle, the more you can look back on it and feel satisfied (and have a laugh about it!)
I remember after the axe incident I was having a conversation with a girl I was trying to chat up. I think she was rather perturbed to hear me start a sentence with "The last time I used an axe in anger" but after we had finished laughing about it she seemed to accept my explanation that I wasn't the murdering type...

electrokid · Post by **electrokid** » Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:36 pm

Excellent - the harder the battle, the more you can look back on it and feel satisfied (and have a laugh about it!)

Yes you're right - and it reminds me my axe needs a new handle - I find it quite relaxing to spend some time sitting in the sun with a stanley knife and sandpaper fitting a new handle to something - maybe Sunday afternoon

Thickasmud - you could take the head off to have a look and work from there - perhaps have the head pressure-tested ?

Thickasmud · Post by **Thickasmud** » Thu Oct 14, 2010 1:57 pm

Whilst tempted to dabble I know that my taking on such a task would almost certainly end in a totally junked engine and the end of the road for the car. I would have preferred someone with the knowledge, tools and confidence to get to the bottom of the over-pressurisation issue.

The car was principally brought for my wife who required an automatic, but such was the car's charm it was used as the daily driver by both of us hence 30k in 3 years (62 mpg London too Kircaldy) and the spending of so much money. The car is well known by Phillip at Medway Citroen who can describe how she drives and knows how close I came to calling it a day at the last MOT when the steering pinion needed rebuilding. We are actually still smitten by the car and its terrible seeing it now resting in the low position on the drive, no longer a part of the family routine.

I will feel miserable if she ends up with a scrap metal merchant particularly after so many new parts. Surely somebody would like her for £100, she can even be driven away or driven to you.

electrokid · Post by **electrokid** » Thu Oct 14, 2010 11:44 pm

Might be an idea to find out how much it would cost to take the head off and inspect the head gasket and pressure test the head. The results of that would inform further decisions. If it's just the HG then it's not so bad and at only 175K I'd say it's worth re-fitting the original head if it's not showing signs of age or abuse - other's will correct me if I'm wrong - but I think some slight cracking starting to appear in the web between the ignition chamber and the bore is normal. If its the head as well then you could have to wait for something decent to appear here or on ebay.

When I strayed into the red light district with my previous BX I took the head off and it was obviously blown. I was impressed by the condition of the mechanics in the head though. My excuse for scrapping the car was - mileage was 280K and there was a lot of other work to do to make it decent - and there were more BXs around at the time - new heads were still available but they were £450.

Thickasmud · Post by **Thickasmud** » Fri Oct 15, 2010 12:11 pm

For the head gasket I have been given quotes of between £450 and £600 for the supply and fit of gaskets and a cambelt change. That is simply beyond our budget when added to the cost of her MOT work @£300 and last weeks radiator, thermostat, etc.

electrokid · Post by **electrokid** » Sat Oct 16, 2010 10:06 am

Hmmm - yes that does seem somewhat OTT.

What I was suggesting is - rather than getting a quote for the HG replacement - get a quote for just removing the head to have a look - this will be cheaper in the short term and you will still have a car in bits going nowhere - but there's no point in them just replacing HG if the head is damaged - they should do a pressure test on the head anyway - but that all adds to the bill at the end of the day - not a nice decision either way.

I guess it depends on whether it's 'worth it' - and that includes the condition of the rest of the car in my book. Face value it's not worth spending that much on a car that isn't worth a great deal - but if it would give you a car that will last several years then it could be worth it in the long run. But then you might be able to get another BX for the cost of the repair - maybe a better one.

I learnt 'the red light experience' the hard way too - I'm just more careful with the one I have now and make sure the fan works.