emergency BX spares

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themildbunch
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emergency BX spares

Post by themildbunch »

Hi

We're off to Sheltand :shock: for holiday on Sunday and I keep seeing / imagining bits of the BX that might fail! I'm probably being over cautious and overall I've found BX's I've had to be reliable and never, as yet, leave me stranded in an impossible to fix at the side of the road way!

The more jobs I've done though and learn to do, the more parts I'm thinking I should replace or that's looking old... I was going to replace a load of coolant hoses but some are so hard to find I'm just going to take a hose repair kit and selection of new jubilee clips...

Here's my list of spares just in case:

coolant hose repair kit...
spare LHM
spare coolant
new octopus (hope I don't need this)
spare throttle / clutch cable (hope I don't need this too!)
mixture of tools
flexible hose and push fit connectors for the low pressure return (what's the best size)


anything else?
1988 BX 19 Gti 16v
1991 BX 17 TZD Estate
1991 BX 17 TZD Estate
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Hoses - in an emergency if the heater hoses fail the heater can be bypassed, just cut one of the hoses and double it back in a U shape. Copper plumbing fittings can be useful to join length of hose together, but the sizes needed for radiator hoses are pricey.

Coolant - I wouldn't bother with personally, just a container of water. If you're loosing it so quickly you need to keep topping up, it's a waste of money to use anything other than water.

Octopus - again I wouldn't bother, as even if it does fail the leak is unlikely to incapacitate you.

I would add to the above list a hydraulic pump belt, as if that goes you're fairly stuck. Also, if you are camping in less populated areas, a battery booster pack (just in case you leave a light on in the car and flatten the battery overnight... :oops: ) It's also handy in case of alternator failure (also happened to me on holiday), as it can get the engine started even if the battery is weak.
Last edited by mat_fenwick on Wed Jul 20, 2011 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rmattila
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Post by rmattila »

I never go on a longer trip without the HP pressure pipe union tools and a few metres of pipes (all three sizes), but I guess that's just me being extra allergic to pipe ruptures..

A miniature propane burner (such as that) and a stick of soldering silver might come in handy, though - has saved my day in a couple of pipe leak situations.

Another crazy piece of junk I nowadays carry with me is a couple of nylon plugs machined to fit inside the rear suspension cylinders, which enable towing / careful driving in case of loss of pressure in the rear suspension.
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Post by KevR »

mat_fenwick wrote:
I would add to the above list a hydraulic pump belt, as if that goes you're fairly stuck..
Very definitely - a couple of weeks after we swapped from the white estate to the grey one, my wife was in UK when the belt went when she was on her way to the ferry to come home. Naturally, I'd swapped all the parts and tools over from one to the other - except, as it turned out, the pump belt which was still in the white one. :oops:
If she'd had the spare belt, she could have changed it herself and made the ferry. As it was she had to leave the car in a motorway services and fix it the next day.

Thinking about it, that remains the only time in 12 years and at least 150,000 miles in various BXs that it's not been possible to get moving again with what's on board.

Basically I carry anything that doesn't weigh a lot or get in the way. You can fit a fair bit in alongside the jack inside the spare wheel, then there's the underseat space.
Off the top of my head:
Bulb kit
Belts (alternator and HP)
Some low pressure hose.
Front strut return pipe.
One of the steel sections the above fits to, on the grounds I can cannibalise it to connect bits of octopus if necessary. Couple of short bits of HP pipe with swages at each end would do the same job but I keep forgetting to make some)
Stop 'n' Go Tire Plugger kit (google it - awesome) when I remember to swap it over from the BMW where it usually lives).
Umbrella (not breakdown-specific, it's there anyway).
Something to kneel on if necessary.
Lightweight waterproof jacket - preferably violently visible.
Gaffer tape
Cable ties of varying sizes
A few jubilee clips ditto
One pair of part-used front brake pads - only needed them once, but once was enough.
Odd bits of wire, fuses, sticky tape etc.
Keep meaning to put a spare clutch and throttle cable in - I've got them, so why not? (Except changing the clutch cable on a TD seems to be impossible, of course).
An LED head torch.
Some vinyl/latex gloves.
The odd bit of rag.
Oh, and some toools obviously – chosen for what's likely to be needed, rather than a random selection.
Might seem a lot of stuff, but a lot of the miles we do are thousand-mile trips over two or three days, involving a ferry journey, so the implications of a breakdown are rather more complicated than just getting towed home 20 miles.
1990 BX TZD Estate ('the grey one', 1991 BX TZD Estate ('the white one'), 1982 2CV6 Charleston (in bits), 1972 AZU Serie B (2CV van), 1974 HY72 Camper, 1990 Land Rover 110 diesel LWB, 1957 Mobylette AV76, 1992 Ducati 400SS, 1966 VW Beetle, 1990 Mazda MX-5, 1996 Peugeot 106D, 1974 JCB 2D MkII, 1997 BMW R1100RS, 1987 Suzuki GSX-R1100, 1978 Honda CX500A, 1965 Motobecane Cady, 1988 Honda Bros/Africa Twin, 1963 Massey Ferguson 825, and a lot of bicycles!
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Post by Mickey taker »

nah you dont need all that ,

to be sure of a safe comfortable journey and minimise the chance of a breakdown




















you just need a vw golf :rofl:
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Post by Philip Chidlow »

Sorry, the BXagon proved, really you just need some WD40, LHM, oil, a spare rad hose or two and some tools. Simples.
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Post by KevR »

Indeed - my theory on spares though is that if you have it, you won't need it, if you don't, you will!
1990 BX TZD Estate ('the grey one', 1991 BX TZD Estate ('the white one'), 1982 2CV6 Charleston (in bits), 1972 AZU Serie B (2CV van), 1974 HY72 Camper, 1990 Land Rover 110 diesel LWB, 1957 Mobylette AV76, 1992 Ducati 400SS, 1966 VW Beetle, 1990 Mazda MX-5, 1996 Peugeot 106D, 1974 JCB 2D MkII, 1997 BMW R1100RS, 1987 Suzuki GSX-R1100, 1978 Honda CX500A, 1965 Motobecane Cady, 1988 Honda Bros/Africa Twin, 1963 Massey Ferguson 825, and a lot of bicycles!
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Post by kiwi »

Spare Tyre!

I wonder how many people actually check the Tyre pressures on your spare wheel?

I know I will get my head bitten off for this but as a suggestion getting that tyre filled with Nitrogen means less hassle a groping around to check the pressure. Now the irony! No my spare wheel is not filled with Nitrogen. But now I have swaped the tyres over I got two just legal ideal Wheels for spares for both BXs with Nitrogen :lol:

Other than that I dont carry any spares in my BX other than the mandatory couple litres of LHM which is rarer than hens teeth!!!
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Post by rmattila »

Regarding LHM - as I think I have previously mentioned in another thread - if you suffer a leak on the road and no spare LHM is available, you can use diesel fuel as a substitute. Even though this naturally has no official approval by the manufacturer, there's quite a lot of experience in using it as a LHM system cleaner in place of the Hydraurincage stuff they sell for the purpose. I use it regularly, and have not noticed any problems in the endurance of the hydraulic parts: my HP pumps typically last for more than half a million kilometers even though they get the 500-1000 km diesel treatment every 100 000 km. Just remember to flush the system and refill it with clean LHM after max. 1000 km or so and you're OK.

No quarantees given, of course, but this really is quite a widespread practise here, and no catastrophies have been reported as far as I know.
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BX Van 1.9D -90 Gone.
BX Van 16S -90 For sale.
BX Van 1.9D -90 (Earned!) Gone.
BX Break 1.9D -90 (officially a "5 seat van" since 2005) Waiting to be towed to a new home.
scarecrow

Post by scarecrow »

both are mineral oils... what exactly is LHM made from - anyone know?
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Post by KevR »

scarecrow wrote:both are mineral oils... what exactly is LHM made from - anyone know?
Without wanting to get too technical, it's made from minerals. Green ones I think... :D
1990 BX TZD Estate ('the grey one', 1991 BX TZD Estate ('the white one'), 1982 2CV6 Charleston (in bits), 1972 AZU Serie B (2CV van), 1974 HY72 Camper, 1990 Land Rover 110 diesel LWB, 1957 Mobylette AV76, 1992 Ducati 400SS, 1966 VW Beetle, 1990 Mazda MX-5, 1996 Peugeot 106D, 1974 JCB 2D MkII, 1997 BMW R1100RS, 1987 Suzuki GSX-R1100, 1978 Honda CX500A, 1965 Motobecane Cady, 1988 Honda Bros/Africa Twin, 1963 Massey Ferguson 825, and a lot of bicycles!
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Post by Mothman »

I have a reasonable list of spares too but you can go over the top.
Most of mine except for clutch/throttle cables fit in a 9mm ammo box, i have 1 for each BX. Dont carry spare alternator though, should have last week.

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Post by Dollywobbler »

On the BXagon, we took very little (but the spares pack did include a pump belt) and all we needed was some tape to bodge a coolant pipe until we could replace it.

On a trip in the same car around Scotland, we took nothing but basic tools, and needed nothing. It is possible to get a bit carried away, especially as BXs will carry a fair old amount of spares. If you're sticking to the UK, even the Shetlands, you can probably get something couriered if you get really stuck. On a 2CV rally around the UK, one chap had to order something from a major parts supplier. He had it delivered to his B&B and it arrived the next morning! (might be better to add another day...)

I do have full European breakdown cover through my classic car insurance. Have only needed it once, but nice to know it's there.
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