Had some problems with two theoretically simple jobs on my BX 17RD.
Intended to renew lower front o/s balljoint. But it wouldn't budge, because didn't have "recommended Citroen tool", as per Haynes manual. At the same time, the driveshaft came out of the gearbox housing, and me and my friend spent a couple of hours trying to get it in again. We eventually succeeded when we deburred the driveshaft teeth. But we needed "brute force" from both of us, with the help of "improvised levers", to achieve this.
Also intended to replace duff glowplug. However, these seem to be touqued into engine block, and we didn't have a torque wrench !
These two jobs will be done in another friend's workshop now, where all resources are available.
Have any fellow members experienced similar problems ?
Once these are done, the car will be re MOT'd.
John Podgorski/jrdpod.
DIY nightmares
DIY nightmares
John R D Podgorski
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Ball joint socket is about £6....works well. But......it only works for me with a windy gun! The torque of a breaker bar just makes it slip off.
You shouldn't need brute force to put a driveshaft back in....they just slide in and out of the splines in the diff.
But if this was on the O/S, the driveshaft should be retained by two bolts in a housing in which the shaft passes through on the back of the engine (the lower engine mount is also in this) so in theory, the shaft shouldn't be able to come out of the gearbox full stop....unless the bolts are missing for some reason?
Not quite sure what you mean on the glow plugs, but I've never used a torque wrench on them with no problems.
You shouldn't need brute force to put a driveshaft back in....they just slide in and out of the splines in the diff.
But if this was on the O/S, the driveshaft should be retained by two bolts in a housing in which the shaft passes through on the back of the engine (the lower engine mount is also in this) so in theory, the shaft shouldn't be able to come out of the gearbox full stop....unless the bolts are missing for some reason?
Not quite sure what you mean on the glow plugs, but I've never used a torque wrench on them with no problems.
One third of a three-spoke BX columnist team for the Citroenian magazine.
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1983(A) 16TRS (Rouge Valleunga)
1990(H) 16Valve (Rouge Furio)
CCC BX registrar: The national BX register - click to submit a car!
1983(A) 16TRS (Rouge Valleunga)
1990(H) 16Valve (Rouge Furio)
A torque wrench is only used when tightening things to make sure they are tight enough - or in the case of the glowplugs to make sure they are not overtightened.
If you can't get them out then you've got a problem. Firstly - are you sure they've failed? - I'd meter them (very low resistance - or use a test lamp on each and if they are OK - leave well alone if they won't shift.
I had a cross threaded one on my TD - which didn't look right when viewed - it wasn't seated as far as the others and wasn't quite straight. I got it out using a deep drive socket (1/4 inch drive as I happened to have one) by tightening and loosening it until something started to turn and then just keeping going while spraying it with plus gas etc. Eventually it came out bringing half the thread with it. There was a tiny bit of thread at the bottom of the hole and I tightened it with a torque wrence (3/8 drive - 1/2 inch won't go low enough) just to make sure I didn't overtighten it - as 16 lb ft is not very tight!
The plugs are difficult to get at - but not as difficult as on some later XUD engines. I found a deep socket worked quite well as I could get at them from above - clear of most of the obstructions.
When fitting new ones it is vital to screw them home by hand - and just use a spanner for final tightening. Putting them in a socket and then offering them up to the engine is a guaranteed way of crossing the threads.
The front outer ball joint (wishbone/hub carrier) can be very difficult to remove from the hub carrier. There are a number of postings on this subject on here and Frenchcarforum (may be Xantia or Peugeot(some) but its the same). The general advice seems that in case of difficulty its best to remove the hub carrier which isn't particularly difficult and do the job on a bench when you can clearly see what's happening and make sure there's no obstructions in the way (like lock tabs or peening)
If you can't get them out then you've got a problem. Firstly - are you sure they've failed? - I'd meter them (very low resistance - or use a test lamp on each and if they are OK - leave well alone if they won't shift.
I had a cross threaded one on my TD - which didn't look right when viewed - it wasn't seated as far as the others and wasn't quite straight. I got it out using a deep drive socket (1/4 inch drive as I happened to have one) by tightening and loosening it until something started to turn and then just keeping going while spraying it with plus gas etc. Eventually it came out bringing half the thread with it. There was a tiny bit of thread at the bottom of the hole and I tightened it with a torque wrence (3/8 drive - 1/2 inch won't go low enough) just to make sure I didn't overtighten it - as 16 lb ft is not very tight!
The plugs are difficult to get at - but not as difficult as on some later XUD engines. I found a deep socket worked quite well as I could get at them from above - clear of most of the obstructions.
When fitting new ones it is vital to screw them home by hand - and just use a spanner for final tightening. Putting them in a socket and then offering them up to the engine is a guaranteed way of crossing the threads.
The front outer ball joint (wishbone/hub carrier) can be very difficult to remove from the hub carrier. There are a number of postings on this subject on here and Frenchcarforum (may be Xantia or Peugeot(some) but its the same). The general advice seems that in case of difficulty its best to remove the hub carrier which isn't particularly difficult and do the job on a bench when you can clearly see what's happening and make sure there's no obstructions in the way (like lock tabs or peening)
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In the case of the glow plugs, I've never used a torque wrench on them, I just nip them up with a 12mm spanner.
As for the ball joints, never used the proper tool, I just hit them with a punch and a Billy sized hammer.
Have you knocked the tabs down?? They wont undo if you dont!
If you look at the back face of the hub carrier you'll see two indents in it, the face of the ball joint is peened over into them to stop it coming undone, tap them out, apply punch and big hitting stick, job donr!
As for the Driveshaft, sounds like its FUBR to me...
Cheers
Chris g
As for the ball joints, never used the proper tool, I just hit them with a punch and a Billy sized hammer.
Have you knocked the tabs down?? They wont undo if you dont!
If you look at the back face of the hub carrier you'll see two indents in it, the face of the ball joint is peened over into them to stop it coming undone, tap them out, apply punch and big hitting stick, job donr!
As for the Driveshaft, sounds like its FUBR to me...
Cheers
Chris g
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...
Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...