Spheres

[Sicile]

Hello, this is my first post on this forum and I have only very recently found a BX for my daily use.
It is a 17TZD Turbo Break with intercooler from 1991. I drove it home from Norfolk and was thoroughly delighted with its performance. Maybe not as fast as my MG TF but in practical terms on the motorway it's just as good and quieter! It is in a well-kept condition with no indication of rust on the chassis except maybe a few small areas of light surface rusting but they will soon be taken care of.
Mechanically it is excellent, having only done 87,000 miles and I would expect an XUD is just about run-in at that mileage. It will need some minor attention and I have already changed the accessory drive belts and it's just great being able to get at things, unlike more modern cars.
This is my fifth BX after four Xantias and four XMs and while those later Citroens are great and very capable, I still like the BX best.
Going back to the maintenance aspect though, it will need some new spheres soon and I wonder if anyone out there can help. There are many different ones available but I understand that Citroen's own make are best. The thing I wonder about though, if shelf life is near enough indefinite?
I know they lose pressure with use but is that the main cause? In other words, will a 20 year old sphere that's been sitting on a dusty shelf all that time still be just as good as buying a newly made one from someone like Autodoc?
I daresay some views may vary but what do you think?

[jamescarruthers]

Personally I'd just be calling Pleiades in Sawtry, Cambs. for new spheres. Well done on the purchase! Sounds great.

[panky]

Sounds like the perfect car and one that's on my bucket list, would love to see some photos

[DLM]

There's some discussion on the topic of spheres on the Facebook BX Club group at the moment. It's very important to have the right spec on your estate (or any BX), particularly at the front. TD BX hatches and estates use a smaller sphere capacity and different internal damping plates than the normally aspirated diesel models.My TZD estate has the "wrong" rugby-ball ones at the moment as opposed to the correct-spec round ones - OK but ride & control will suffer in certain circumstances. Correct specs are in the blog post below:

https://bxproject.co.uk/blog/all-about- ... bx-sphere/

Personally, unless the current spheres can be recharged (e.g. Pleiades (nearest though the other side of Greater London if you're in Kent, another is Westroen Manchester way) I'd look for new IFHS spheres that haven't sat on the shelf too long - discussion on how and where to order on the current facebook thread. I've seen suggestions that Citroen spheres have the most potential for successful recharge, even if they've lost a lot of charge. These will have the original parts number stamped on the sphere. Some other spheres are said to have features of internal design that cause self-destruction of the sphere diaphragm once the internal pressure falls below a certain level.

If you're a Citroen Car Club member I've been told you should watch out for forthcoming content on this issue in the BX column of the Citroenian.

[Sicile]

Thanks for all your ideas. I had been told that genuine Citroen spheres are the best but it looks like the only ones available are "new, old stock". That seems to say that they have been sitting on a shelf for who knows how many years. The diaphragm may be strong but will it still be in good condition after several years on the shelf?
It would appear from your various comments that my best bet is to get some IFHS spheres which are new (or nearly). They are replacement parts that may not be quite up to the very best standard but should last for some time.

Many thanks.

[ekjdm14.]

I'm guessing the spheres can deteriorate whilst sitting since we've recently purchased a '92 TXD break that's done under 3k miles since it's last MoT but has sat for about 5 years & when we resurrected that and it came up if feels like all 4 corners are ruptured, no suspension at all. Accumulator seemed OK though.

IFHS are the go-to aftermarket brand, but if old-stock I'd want them super cheap & check/recharge as needed.