John Dragon Man's Citroen BX Diesel Estate

[Dragon Man]

happy to report that i have most of the pipework on the back of the engine sorted out! the turbo inlet and outlet on the cold side are all piped in along with the coolant pipe from matrix to water pump.
i also have the drive shaft in on the drivers side and the fuel lines running up to the engine!

both sides of the floor pan have been under sealed prior to the pipes on both sides being ran with all pipe mountings being removed.

sadly the drain plug in the drivers front foot well has rusted out. i never saw this under the factory underseal but it is an easy place to get at and a relatively easy fix.

only a few hyd. pipes need to be plumbed in. the 2 curly ones that run under the engine, and some on the accumulator sphere.

waiting on the guys to finish the turbo exhaust outlet, which is the only thing stopping me from bolting the hyd. pump on the gearbox. soon as that is done i can fill with LHM and maybe run it on a battery pump to attempt to prime it.

only thing stopping me from running the engine is the thermostat housing is slightly differant on this replacement engine.. i am missing some pipe connections! may have to swap them over from the old engine.

no pictures sadly but stay tuned!

[Dragon Man]

Ok so that is all of the return pipes connected. every one..... i think.

Glow plug relay is all wired in now and it actually works! no output to the cold start relay as i cant find how to actually wire that in! i assume that it connects directly to the glow plugs and gets its live from them.. makes sense.. the glow plugs only come on for long times if its cold.. so the cold start relay would be used then.

the shield on the bottom of the engine is also bolted on. the 2 hyd. pipes use it for a mounting point and it also covers the flywheel.

the fuel system is completely plumbed in i am actually running 2 fuel filters. the original BX filter that bolts next to the LHM tank, and the one built into the thermostat housing on the engine (which also doubles up as the fuel heater as that was originally on the back on the engine).

found out that my indicators won't work because the indicator relay is... just completely missing! gone! just a hole in the fuse box where it should be! i will have to adapt one i have. i noted that they are 4 pin and not 3 pin like most. i am not sure on the pinouts of the relay.. sadly every manufacturer uses different pin outs on that particular relay. for instance, both of my pandas both have completely different indicator relays with different pin outs!

think thats everything that has happened today...

next i would like to figure out what i am going to do with the coolant system. sadly this engine has pipes where the old engine does not. i could blank them to be fair as they are only small pipes. sadly however i am missing a pipe from the thermostat housing. this is going to make things interesting.

i need to find a coolant circuit diagram of both cars and try to make it somehow meet in the middle.

well wish me luck!

[Dragon Man]

Ok, first of all the indicators are working now! managed to adapt a 5 pin one by just bending the extra pin flat haha. all i can think the extra pin is for is the dash light.. wich still works on the BX.

i also attempted an engine start which i got on video. sadly i have not yet bled the diesel lines after letting it suck air in the fuel line last time i tried to run it on the pallet in the other video.

all seems to be well so far. i still need to mount the intercooler and pick up the exhaust turbo outlet adaptor

then it will be on to the coolant system, then hyd. pump mounting.

im happy to say that the AC system still has absolute vacuum on the gauge which is great news. it means that i have no leaks!

here is the video!

[Dragon Man]

hmm well its been an interesting day... so i have re-wired the brake pad ware sensors so they should all work now.

the hand brake wont adjust anymore sadly so i may need a new cable, or somehow find a way of shortening the cable. i am not sure if it will adjust at the bottom of the hand brake lever as i have not checked that yet.

i now have the engine running and able to sustain idle. however. theres a bad bad bad side to this.

the engine knocks.. badly. now i could be injector timing but i dont think it is. its smoking white smoke. what i more suspect is a sticking valve as if you rev it you can hear it sticking then freeing then sticking. now i know the valves dont sit well on the seats on this engine but i assumed it was because i cleaned all of the EGR build up off them. i never removed the cylinder head from this engine as well.. it ran perfect before.

one thing i am tempted to do is to get it running and spray some WD-40 in the intake. it will rev on it but at the same time it will give the upper cylinders some lubricant which should help free any sticky valves.

also the exhaust turbo outlet is done! i just have to go and collect it

[Kaapelimies]

Are you sure the timing for the cam is OK? Knocking can also come from a badly leaking injector.

[Dragon Man]

hmm maybe, i cant see why the injectors would be leaking as the engine when it was in its original car ran perfectly. i test drove the car and though it did produce black smoke under acceleration (stuck EGR which it does not have now due to the BX manifold) it ran really good. that was on an electronic hybrid bosch pump though. maybe the injectors for the hybrid ecu bosch pump type fuel system wont work with the older mechanical style bosch pump??

[Dragon Man]

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Whistle.

Whistle.. who?

Whistle.. Pheewwwwwwwwwwww!!






no knocks! the injection timing was well out i undid the pump and with the engine running moved it till it sounded more happy. it does need to be set properly though but for now it will do!

i have fixed ALL of the LHM leaks, ALL of the engine leaks. replaced the temporary turbo oil feed pipe with one made for me by Pirtek, pipped up the whole coolant system and filled with RODI water temporarily (no anti-freeze). fixed up the exhaust but due to be no measuring right i am going to have to use a exhaust flexi to compensate that no issue. cleaned out the AC evaporator. bled the whole hydraulic system (minus the brakes they still need doing but its a 2 man job), half installed the cabin air fans, cleaned and installed the rear lights.

the AC evaporator was really nasty. i bet when it was running it smelt pretty bad..



now all clean!


this stuff works so well!


i have taken the thermostat out to replace it as i do not think it was opening up. the engine seemed to be getting quite hot but the radiator stayed cool so for the £4.54 it costs to replace it, i just bought a new one.

and also heres 2 videos!

skip the 1st one if you want as its just me talking but check out the 2nd video to hear it running!






jobs left to do:

bolt exhaust back on, sort out front headlights, mount intercooler, routing induction pipework, mount coolant bottle, bolt cabin fans back in, put the scuttle panel back on and wiper arm, bolt bonnet back on, reinstall some interior trim panels, screw in glove box, get injection pump timed in correctly fix squealing alternator belt (has no way to tension it!).

peace all!

[Dragon Man]

Its getting very close.

the exhaust is all fitted and hanging nicely with a U pipe made to replace the center silencer (which was very rusty and had holes in it), the blower motors are in, the recirculation flaps are in, the washer bottles are in, the coolant expansion tank and bracket is in, the various trim panels inside the car are all back in, the bonnet is bolted back on, i have the reducer for the boost hose to fit, i need to tighten the alternator drive belt somehow.. and even a new wiper blade has been fit.



i have also managed to buy a brand new set of headlamps for the car. though i do still plan to go ahead with the original plans of fitting projector lenses to the original headlamps. i even have 2 spare headlamp glasses from a scrap yard in chesterfield (along with other BX bits i have as spare)

the original plan was to grind smooth an "0" into the headlamp glass, but to keep in with the square and angled styles i decided to make it am "[]".





the only job i need to do now is find a vacuum pump, vacuum accumulator, and some kind of vacuum switch to control the turbo actuator. oh and wire in the boost controller

i can take the car for MOT without a working turbo so long as it does not smoke too bad. a diesel of this age can pretty much get away with murder as far as soot/smoke production is at a test though.

oh i also need to fit the air filter box too should be easy.

i really should start looking at insurance quotes but i am reluctant to do so till i get paid. from experience, the more times you make a quote, the more expensive they become!

[Dragon Man]

Hey guys, just an update on the car.

its looking pretty complete now! pretty much all electrics are working as they should. the wheel trims are on, all the lights are in and working, everything is looking good!

heres some pictures:








nice shot of the dash:



and again with the engine running.. rev counter is a little out i think but it soon works when you rev the engine.



note the ABS light on. i need to find out how to fix that.. no clue though!



just a few odds and ends now.

not sure what this plug goes to...



not sure what this does...



and need to fix this, but i could do with a replacement bit cut out of another car to weld in. i can be naughty for now and repair it using 2 sheets of metal and a nut and bolt and make a plate. ill rust paint it all first then brush some cavity wax over it. maybe for what it takes to clean off, underseal the underneath of it. should hold the rust off while i wait for a replacement bit to weld in.



still got that rust on the rear arch door shut seam.. i am kinda hesitant to fix it myself.. i'd rather a body shop do it.
(i prised it all open to remove the flakey rust and treat it all to prevent it getting worse)






looking at insurance quotes. had one company (Flux direct) quote me £138.. however they think im a home owner, even though i selected "NO" on the price comparison website.. sigh. the rest of the quotes were £500+ most expensive being £17,000.. like who would pay that? why even quote that haha!

anyway i hope that the next pictures will be the car at the MOT place! who knows! so long as it does not smoke, it should pass with the turbo not actuating. (and on a diesel this old.. it has to smoke... a lot to fail haha)

its been a long journey.. and its almost at its end.... but its only the beginning!

[jamescarruthers]

Really pleased for you. Well done!

[Jaba]

ABS light fault finding can be easy (sometimes). First thing is to check the 4 ABS sensors for a resistance of about 1000 ohms. Measure across the coax connectors, 2 on the bulkhead and 2 under the rear seat. If you are lucky it will be an internal break in one of the coax cables. If so just splice a piece of new screened cable in.
MOT workarounds are put a 1000 ohm resistor across the connector to fool the ECU that the sensor is good. The light will still come on though when the car is moving above 5 or 10 mph or just remove the ABS bulb.

On another topic I am surprised that you haven't fitted a temperature gauge as these engines cook head gaskets easily.

[Way2go]

On another topic I am surprised that you haven't fitted a temperature gauge as these engines cook head gaskets easily.

I think that an aftermarket temperature guage has been fitted, visible in the photo to the right of the abs light.

What though is the display sandwiched between the steering wheel and the instrument pod? Is that an FM modulator for the old-time radio from an MP3 player or similar aux adio input?

Great job & surgery being performed here, well done.

[Dragon Man]

What though is the display sandwiched between the steering wheel and the instrument pod? Is that an FM modulator for the old-time radio from an MP3 player or similar aux adio input?

that would be the boost controller for the turbo. this thing has no ecu to gauge the right pressure so i will have to use that. 12 psi i think is about stock on this engine so i will be sticking with that for now.

the temp gauge is not installed yet... the engine has about 3 temperature sensors on it already from the original car. resistance checking says that they are tmp sensors and not switches.

so a 1k resistor can fool the ABS light. hmm. i will resistance check all of the sensors. i know rear sensors are impossible to get hold of so lets hope one is not dead.

after Insurance, MOT, and Tax ill be looking for the best body shop in town to get it looking like it just rolled out of the factory.

would not mind replacing the windscreen too its scratched to hell but that can wait for now.

[Way2go]

would not mind replacing the windscreen too its scratched to hell but that can wait for now.

It's not just for scratches that a new screen is nice. I think with any BX now with an original screen, the plastic interlayer will have degraded to give a slight milkiness now. I was amazed when I replaced mine due to a crack how sharp & transparent vision through it became. The replacement was a Pilkington screen with the right tint for the car.

[Dragon Man]

a few days ago i got insurance on this car for £230!

this morning i did something naughty. i went in to work.. looked at the car.. walked down the street to a garage and asked them if i could MOT the car.. they said bring it down and we will do it now.

this car now has a MOT. this car is also now TAXed from the 1st of August. on the 1st of august i will drive the car home for the first time since i have had it.

happy does not cut it.

the car has also had a mini valet done to it so now it looks nice too.

sadly i was cut for time to get the car back to work before 5 so i never took any after pictures but these are the pictures of the car before it went in at the MOT place.







man.. people just say that the ride in these is nice. i can not get it over to you in words, just telling you how good it feels to drive.. the road feel is lovely and bumps are.. what bumps. feels so nice.