Carb Refurbishment

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mat_fenwick
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by mat_fenwick »

Long time no see Mr. Gould! Good to see you back.
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Mickey taker
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by Mickey taker »

Hi Geoff , long time no see also, It still amazes me that Doc could have been spawned by such a gentleman lol
1991 BX Meteor 1.6

light travels faster than sound, thats why you look intelligent and then you spoil it all by opening your mouth !!!!!
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by Tinkley »

Hi I've got one running 1.6 Athena and a SORN'ed one too. Had lots of problems during the last year
which turned out to be fuel/carb related. I kind of fudged the initial problem by swapping carbs but
the one I used won't meet emissions!

The good carb can give 50+mpg on a run at 70 mph. So fiddled a lot, put a few hours in.....
Result - mutilple part failures. First a partially operating fuel pump. Secondly float getting too
heavy (porous) and or needle valve failure, thirdly hardening of both diaghrams in the rear of the
auto choke. These have been found by substitution with the other cars parts - they are 2 months
apart on build.

Refurbishment kits for Z1 Solex are available try Gowerlee (I think) or EuroCarb. Floats also from
the former. Apparently the float plastic becomes porous and it gets too heavy note not punctured.
7 grams for the 32-34 Z1 Solex. Not too sure about height setting as the Haynes is a bit weird there
but assuming the 6.25 measurement in the manual have set at that and it seems OK.

Car now runs fine except that the choke does not enrich at start up but about half a mile down the road. It shuts perfectly on the Waxstat and the flap opens correctly.

Any ideas about the missing enrichment on start up? Carb well cleaned with carb clean and air.

Hope some of the above may enlighten some with other esp Solex related carb problems. If you can get them right they are quite good. I am very suspicious of some of the added ingredients in unleaded fuel and believe thay may be causing premature hardening of some of the rubber/plastic
parts. This was a major issue with outboard engines - rotting fuel lines etc some years ago with 'bio'
additives in the unleaded.
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electrokid
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by electrokid »

Welcome to BXClub :-)

Interesting post of yours - particularly the heads-up re porous floats - not something you'd think to check for. Hopefully I'll be treading the same road with a Solex later this year and getting that running ok before sorting out a Weber DRTC for it.

Where in North Hampshire are you ?
Any ideas about the missing enrichment on start up?
My first guess would be vacuum not getting to one of the diaphrams / one or both of the auto-choke diaphrams sticking ?

Southern Carburettors also carry spares for Solex.
1992 BX19 TGD estate 228K Rusty - SORNed
2002 C5 HDi SX estate
Tinkley
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by Tinkley »

Thanks for the comment. I actually bought the car from a post on this club in June 09 as a replacement for my much loved but trashed (not by me) Athena.

Good news is car passed MOT today at first attempt - no idea what the Co reading was though so all the
fiddling was worthwhile. I have only driven it a few miles to get juice and the MOT and it seems to be about 95-97% right. Guess the refurb kit and new float will sort the rest.

Got a few spots of corrosion on sills and a steering rack end pin advise(?). Hopefully I can sort these. BTW
If you need to replace wishbone bushes beware the stud/pin that will most likely require hacksawing to get out is no longer available in the UK. A couple of Frog Citroen dealers list them though. The bushes are
widely available - its extracting the seized stud.....maybe on the mint example, in the Haynes, on my 21 year old 148k miler not an option!

Put on a couple of the new Michelin Energy's boy are they quiet. Note Which? best buy at 165/70 14 size!

Anyway legal for another year! Another Scrappage Scheme Survivor....
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electrokid
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by electrokid »

Excellent news - well done.

I always forget to get a copy of the emissions test but always go back to the garage to get one.

I've got quite lazy with cars - there's an excellent guy locally - Andy Baker / Andy's Autos who is ex Citroen and so I get most of the BX work done by him. I have a copy of the Citroen TIS - the parts system on CD - available on eBay - so when I need something I already have the part number to ask for. Local dealer (now closed) Bollingmores was useless for parts so I always phone Charters of Aldershot - most of the guys I talk to there automatically expand the search to nationwide to see if any dealer has the part.

All my BXs have been diesels but I have a petrol version I want to work on later this year - hence the interest in your work on the carbs. All my recent work on carbs has been on Granadas so Weber and Pierburg.

I've used Michelin Energy 185/70/14 - 25K miles on the fronts and double that on the rear but a year and a half ago I fitted Vredestein Snowtrac 3 for the winter and they are still on the car - not too noisey either.
1992 BX19 TGD estate 228K Rusty - SORNed
2002 C5 HDi SX estate
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docchevron
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by docchevron »

Mickey taker wrote:Hi Geoff , long time no see also, It still amazes me that Doc could have been spawned by such a gentleman lol

I got very lucky with my choice of Dad I must say!
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by Tinkley »

My first BX was a 14RE bought from Broads of Chalfont - an ex Budget rentacar. Note how close Slough (Citroen UK HQ) is to \Chalfont!. I used to live in Walton on Thames and Andy who lives in Ripley worked on it a bit. It was a 150C unit engine a late one an 88 E plate in 'Bordeaux White' I believe it is called. At least not one of the 'Ivoire' things - they must be proof that even the French have BL colour preferences!.

I'm sure it's the same Andy's Autos who had a w/shop in StJohns, Woking. Good guy and knows them backwards. I now live near Hindhead and can recommend PTS Developments near Wokingham who also know the BX foibles well. In 2004 the 14 was broken into and the head gasket trashed, so a local 53k
Athena was sourced. Better towing the racing dinghy on mpg and I took it to Lake Garda no problems.
It was written off twice, rear ended by 2 wk old BMW (Barons demonstrator) and then the fatal pull out across a give way junction 2 years later. it is still repairable but needs most of a font end. Real shame as it was well sorted and only needeed new wishbone bushes to be like a 5-6 yr old car. Anyway got another
Athena by almost fluke from here after a couple of days and its done 31k since. A few problems but oddly
enough usually different ones from the other one.

There are according to the howmanyleft listing now 7 Athenas still OTR and 7 SORN'ed and I've got one of those!

I've done over 2k in an 09 C4 and it is not as comfortable and I can't feel the road as well. Not a bad car but you feel the extra weight at low speed. Now if it was under 1 tonne.....

I would love to see a new family Citroen with approx 100hp/tonne around 800Kg - true innovation. Funny how Euro NCAP seems to make cars 250Kg heavier....... completely negating improvements in engine efficiency. I might jump straight to a technology beyond the IC engine. Maybe steam (check Cyclone engine in the US) fuel cell, or whatever. Not a believer in big heavy batteries being good for normal vehicles.
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electrokid
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Re: Carb Refurbishment

Post by electrokid »

I'm sure it's the same Andy's Autos who had a w/shop in StJohns, Woking. Good guy and knows them backwards.
Didn't know he used to be in St Johns but that is logical - he takes his cars for MOT to Phipps in St Johns and does workshop holiday cover for them too. Phipps are some 300 yards up the road from me but I don't take anything there for MOT since they ripped me off - fitted track control bushes and front gas shocks to a Granada (I supplied the parts) and then did a 'free' re-test - £180 :shock: The other guys who used to have a workshop in St Johns are Richard and Michael Field - now as Field's Car Centre have a unit in Goldsworth Road - it was they who recommended Andy to me !

As you say - knows them backwards and does an excellent job - probably a better job than I would do so always worth getting him to do it. He's cutting back a bit now - doing a 4 day week - he had an operation on a nerve in his neck a few years ago and has a touch of arthritis.
1992 BX19 TGD estate 228K Rusty - SORNed
2002 C5 HDi SX estate
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