Photo of the Octopus ?

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jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

I always thought that a 'Spider' was European for a soft top sports car.

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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

A useful tip I heard was to fasten a coloured zip tie around each pipe, both on the car and on the octopus. Then, once the old octopus is off, transfer the ties to the new on and just match the colours up.
I must admit, I didn't have time to have a go at mine so I chickened out and got it done by a local (V. good) Cit garage, charged me a very reasonable £50.
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Post by ellevie »

Jeremy,
It's easy to see shy this one would be called a spider !

Image

BX Octopus:
Pieuvre ou araignée = faisceau de retour hydraulique
Octopus or spider = hydraulic return harness

David
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Post by ellevie »

Mat,
£50 is an amazing price. Citroen allow 4 hours for the job @ £75/hour. Even my local Citroen specialist quoted £210.

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Stewart (oily!)
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Post by Stewart (oily!) »

I am still in the wrong job :?
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

Ellevie, your best access is through the offside wheel arch, so ramps wont be much help as you need the o/s wheel off.

The suspected pipe come out of the side of the HC faceing the o/s wheel and is difficult to spot, even when you know its leaking it still takes some spotting.

I don't think power steering will make any difference as the return for the PAS comes back through the front return system (small octopus)

Like Vanny says, it not difficult, just very mucky and fiddly.
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Post by ellevie »

Thanks Ken, I'll try that. Even if I have difficulty spotting the suspect pipe, I hope I will be able to spot the leaking oil itself when I get a look under the HC. I presume that there are two high pressure pipes, a single return pipe, and a link rod attached to the HC. I'll put the candlesticks on the two front jacking points just behind the front wheel arches.
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

I usually support car with axle stands under the subframe and if it's a Xantia I'd put blocks of wood under the jacking points, reason being, they don't like me :cry:
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Post by ellevie »

ok I'll do the same. What happened with the Xantia, did it topple the stands by rolling forwards or backwards ?
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

No, I just don't trust them bl**dy things.
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Mike E (uk)
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Post by Mike E (uk) »

I think the Octo job is probably a bit easier on the smaller engined models,
as there is more access.

As the youngest BX is now about 13 years old, the octo failing will frequently be the death of many cars.

I was surprised how much more flexable the new part was, the plastic must loose its flexability over the years.
It finally snaps at that acute bend under the front HC, where it is least accessable.

A new one should be good until 2020 though!
By which time, I will have a flying nuclear powered car :D


or perhaps not.

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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

ellevie wrote:Mat,
£50 is an amazing price. Citroen allow 4 hours for the job @ £75/hour. Even my local Citroen specialist quoted £210.

David
I thought so too, it only took him 2 hours but that is still a good hourly rate (CGS Autosystems in Gloucester, deserve a plug I think). The mechanic there, Frank, has a BX too; maybe I should mention the club to them.
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Post by ellevie »

I wonder if the forum will still be going strong in 2020 ? I expect I'll probably be driving a chariot by then (no doubt with hydropneumatic suspension).

My telescopic inspection mirror was delivered today and I've managed to see a bit more clearly around the HC. I've identified what appears to be two rubber pipes coming off the HC, a bigger one lower down with a clip and a smaller one above with no clip. I tried Ken's suggestion of taking the o/s wheel off and got a much better view from there. I presume the smaller upper pipe is the suspect as it appears to double back on itself and disappears into what I presume is part of the Octopus head. I could see a series of micro cracks where it bends and I could see a little oil bubble forming on one of the tiny cracks with the engine off. I'll try it again tomorrow with the engine on to see if the drip gets worse. Hopefully this will be the only leak. If so, I think I'll have a go at Ken's brake pipe temporary fix and go for a whole octopus change if that doesn't work.
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Post by Gareth Wales »

Matt: do you have a telephone number for CGS Autosystems? Ta
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Gareth Wales wrote:Matt: do you have a telephone number for CGS Autosystems? Ta
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The number is 01452 311110 and the guy running it is called Chris. It is sometimes difficult to get through but keep trying!
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