Hydraulic hissy-fit

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mnde
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Hydraulic hissy-fit

Post by mnde »

Dear BX'ers,

My Meteor has obviously "heard" me having thoughts about selling it, and thinking the St Tropez is far zippier and feels faster...

... because it's sprung a leak!

I came out of work yesterday to find a small puddle of Citroen blood under the front o/s wheelarch. I found it was one of the return hoses that had split on the reservoir. I thought "ah, phew!" nothing major, since it had done this before and I'd just snipped the split end off and pushed the hose back on, job's a good'un.

But no, this time I found that after I'd cut the split end off, the inside of the hose was now insufficient diameter to push back onto the reservoir connector. Cue much cursing while grappling with hose while hands are covered in LHM and muck...

Just when I thought it was going on properly... yep, it split again.

So the hose no longer reaches properly, and is just too thin inside anyway!!... Nothing for it but to top up the LHM and drive home, park up and swap over to the good ole GSA to go out to a party in.

Any hints before I take the BX to a Citroen garage for a complete new return hose? It's the one that fits on the bottom tier of the connector block, on the headlamp side.

Cheers,

Mark.
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sleepy0905
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Post by sleepy0905 »

That sounds awfully like an octopus job especially if the pipe has gone brittle that it splits What is the rest of the return pipes like :shock: :roll:
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Post by AndersDK »

No no -

Problem is the rubber hose has sort of a seam down its side - which is weak - even on fresh rubber hoses.
What you need is a supporting bush inside the hose - just large enough to slide in with little force. Then you put a piece of larger diameter hose over both - and connect to reservoir again. Finish off securing the hoses with zip ties.
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Post by Stewart (oily!) »

I have used assorted bits of pipe for repair/bodging brake pipe looks a snug fit inside some of those rubber bits.
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Post by artic-steel »

I used wiper washer hose,the clear plastic stuff, a couple of quid from Halfords as a temp repair, as far as i know it's still on there.

I did have too place it in boiling water too 'loosen' it up enough too slide over the return pipe
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Post by ed4ferrets »

Brilliant bodges coming out of the woodwork, BX'ers are ingenuous people 8)
Last edited by ed4ferrets on Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Marty said: "Take some small comfort from the fact that the driver of the other car, having failed the breath test will even now be in a little cell, with luck they will double him up with some mean bastard who will be tattooing a fandango on his arse"

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Post by sleepy0905 »

also go down a scrappers and pull of a load of clear plastic return pipe as it also fits snugly in the rubber pipes I have a load of this i have collected and used at various times.
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mnde
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Post by mnde »

artic-steel wrote:I used wiper washer hose,the clear plastic stuff, a couple of quid from Halfords as a temp repair, as far as i know it's still on there.

I did have too place it in boiling water too 'loosen' it up enough too slide over the return pipe
This sounds ingenious and may be just the trick to get the BX back on the road!

My only other imagined solution was to dangle the loose hose into a plastic cup and tip the contents back into the reservoir every so often... :?

It may be an eventual octopus-jobby, because I can see possible LHM perspiration on one of the 3 return hoses from the octopus where they are bunched together round the side of the engine near the bulkhead...

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Post by AndersDK »

You will soon learn to rip the transmission unit within the hour to repair LHM leaks ... :lol:
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Post by ed4ferrets »

Well the bodges listed above inspired me to 'extend' the length of a snapped off mini octupus pipe (off side) and reconnect to the uppermost steel pipe running parallel with 4 or 5 others clipped to the crossmember behind the engine.

I say 'mini' because surely the new main octupus couldn't have bust already :shock:

Can any boffin confirm if this is the pipe which is quite frequently cursed about on the forum, damn thing has been leaking quietly for ages ?
Marty said: "Take some small comfort from the fact that the driver of the other car, having failed the breath test will even now be in a little cell, with luck they will double him up with some mean bastard who will be tattooing a fandango on his arse"

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Post by AndersDK »

ed4ferrets wrote:Can any boffin confirm if this is the pipe which is quite frequently cursed about on the forum, damn thing has been leaking quietly for ages ?
No that's not the pipe -
But its mate from the front HC.

The one you push over a steel pipe behind the subframe - is exactly the working return from the rear HC.

Both these pipes are the 2 moulded on to the next largest reservoir pipe - the return that comes from the regulator - or the FDV.

Also known as the mini - or small - Octopus.
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Post by ed4ferrets »

Aha, I guess that explains the increased leaking when setting the car on high :wink: . Horrible little clamps on these pipes, is there an alternative for future reference?
Marty said: "Take some small comfort from the fact that the driver of the other car, having failed the breath test will even now be in a little cell, with luck they will double him up with some mean bastard who will be tattooing a fandango on his arse"

'94 XM 2.1TD Break
'99 Xantia 1.9TD Break (almost there)
'63 Renault Caravelle
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mnde
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1982 Citroen GSA Spécial Estate - gone to a new home
1991 Citroen BX16 TGS Meteor - still out there somewhere!

Post by mnde »

Well, I tried...

I purchased some of the large diameter washer hose and a 90degree connector from Halfrauds...

But the connector split the return hose down the seam too, then I managed to snap the thing when I found the length of clear hose I'd attached was just a tad too short and I tried to pull it off again... :roll:

I'm going in the right direction... now I just need a straight connector to join the two hoses, because I decided a 90 degree bend wasn't quite what's needed.

Cheers,

Mark.
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