Ive got a TZD today

Anything about BXs
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BX Bandit
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Post by BX Bandit »

Nice work Mulley...nice to know how things are going with the TZD..may of missed something but why you selling the Gti? Rekon you should bring the TZD camping..am looking forward to seeing her dude..
1990 BX 16V Platinum Grey
1990 BX TGD White
1960 Morris Minor Clarondon Grey
1971 Triumph 2000 Auto Valencia Blue
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MULLEY
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My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Cant afford to run 3cars, so the Gti has to go, dont really want to sell as she is now running quite nicely & very little to do to get perfection which is what i always wanted.

The tzd although fun is not a patch on the Gti for thrills, but already have a faster car than the Gti so thought i would get something economical which the tzd does great. If i had the space & dosh i would be keeping Hagerty.

Hoping to pass her onto an enthusiast.
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MULLEY
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Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Everyone remember that nice cold snap that we had back in January. Well here's what happened, on the way to work with wifey & after a few miles wondered why the heater was only blowing cool air, hardly warmed up at all, put it down to the freezing temperature outside.

After about 5 miles suddenly spotted the "Red light of death" lit up, oh shitttttttttt was my 1st thought, thats it the car is done for. Slowed down & glided into a Tesco car park & switched engine off straightaway.

Opened bonnet, checked various pipes, couldnt spot anything, looked underneath car to see if water/coolent was peeing out, nope, so no idea what had happened, fingers crossed that perhaps it was a dodgy sender lighting up the lamp of gloom.

Anyway AA man turns up, has a look, asks me a few questions & then lifts off radiator cap & tastes it & kindly informed me that there is eff all anti-freeze in it, its just water. So some pipes must have frozen. I had no idea that anyone would run a car without antifreeze in it (just didnt think to check, i did check the level though, but clearly that wasnt enough).

He started car up & the heater blower was blowing hot air, he tried to get the engine hot enough for the cooling fans to come one, but it was so cold outside he didnt manage it. So it would seem that while the car had sat still waiting for the AA man to turn up, the latent heat in the engine bay had de-frosted/melted whatever had been frozen in whatever pipes.

So a lucky escape!!!, i drove it back home straightaway incase of further probs, got it check by local garage for damage (none found thank fxxxk), they did a radiator flush & filled up with antifreeze.

Been using the car everyday since then without any probs, so i think i was a bit lucky with that. Nearly a disaster over something so stupid & cheap to actually have done in the 1st place, i wont make that mistake again.

Got my new temp guage fitted as well, so that seems to be working great.

Greased all the door hinges to stop them squeeking.

Upgraded the headlight bulbs with some fancy Halfords Xenon types, wow what a difference, it was like driving with candles before.

Recently nearly ran out of fuel, i had been ragging the car everyday for a couple of weeks & presumed how much mileage i would get before needing to fill up (& yes i got it wrong). So one day leaving work for home the car started surging a bit, i thought it was probably a bit of dirty fuel at the bottom of the tank, started to worry when going uphill with foot flat to the floor the car was decelerating, oh sxxt...cmon baby u can make it to Tesco's petrol station.

Very gentle driving & slowing down to 60mph on dual carriageway combined with coasting down hill whenever i could i managed to make it. Now i know these tanks can hold 66 litres, guess how much i put in to fully fill the tank back up??















Yup, 65.5 litres, woops.....can anyone beat my record??

What else have i done, got the rear parcel shelf speakers wired up, so i have proper sound in the car, although radio 1 reception is poor, something else to investigate. Touched up some of the scratches in the paintwork, so she is starting to look good again.

I fitted a new cigarette lighter as the old one didnt work, & the new one didnt either!!, fuse was ok as well. Garage diagnosed that the wiring must be at fault, so they have piggybacked it via the ignition so that i can now power up satnav etc...just the job.

So thats it for the mo, not really much happening...:lol:
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MULLEY
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My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Changed the front & rear wiper blades over with nice Bosch one's, miles better than the cheapo one's that were on.

This is going to sound dim but it is me afterall, i found it nigh on impossible to get a rear one fitted, i had to take off the universal fit plastic thingy & swop it over with the old one to actually change the wiper blade.

How can u change the rear wiper blade?? there doesnt appear to be much clearance when you lift the arm up as it hits the underside of rear spoiler.

Also did some cosmetic maintenance on the car, when it was resprayed the black bumper trim was painted over, & of course there is paint that has curled up at the edges so i have been trimming it back with a stanley knife so that i can re-paint it black again.
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MULLEY
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Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Car wouldnt turn off even with the ignition key removed, very freaky, diagnosed as the stop solenoid valve, so a new one was fitted & now she turns off again.

Been painting a few more scratches today & hope (weather permitting) to give her a good clean to spot any other little touch ups that need doing.

Car has again averaged about 50mpg from last tank, so right foot is playing ball it seems, even though that spells out dull driving.

Oh, nearly forgot, bought one of those Parrot Bluetooth phone kits that goes via the stereo, seems very good, just need to read the manual to learn how to operate all the functions, it does voice activated dialing.....

Anyway, time for beddybyes so i will say goodnight......
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MULLEY
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Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

My car has been damaged, boohoo...it was parked at work (underground car park) & some debris fell onto the car. By the time i was notified some dickhead had tried to clean it off (it was a mixture of dust & small stones) & this has scratched the roof, & door.

Got someone from work to have a look at it & they agreed that i could get it sorted & they would pay the bill, so will have to try & sort out getting it fixed, a right royal pain.

Painted the bumper trim front & rear in black, as it had been re-sprayed by mistake.

Went to Halfrauds & bought some axle stands & a trolley jack, used it today & swapped my alloys with another set which has my summer tyres on (Yokohamas), will give a report on what they are like when i have a few miles under their belt.

Went for a visit to my parents, they live up in the Yorkshire Dales, car didnt miss a beat & on the way back i decided i was in a hurry & blasted back doing 90-100 most of the way.

While i was up there, i had a go in my Dads Fabia 1.9Tdi, very nice to drive, smooth & with bags of power, much more linear power delivery than the BX.

Dad tried the BX, i dont think he will be swapping anytime soon, but it is much softer in the corners & the steering is quite slack so you have to concentrate more to hit apex's & the turbo has quite a surge when it comes in & of course the brakes feel very different.

As soon as i jumped back into the Bx it does feel quite different, but its so more comfortable & i really prefer the brakes, now if only the steering was a bit tighter & it didnt wallow around quite so much.....

So thats the difference between a car costing 12k & £400, now i know which one i would have....oh!! i already own one....
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Post by RichardW »

New front wishbone bushes and a rear arm bearing transformed the handling of my first BX TD - so much so I nearly put it in the hedge on the way back from the garage :lol:
I NEED a BX TD.
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MULLEY
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Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Not quite sure what is exactly wrong with the steering, but put it this way, i can move it left & right & the car hardly moves either way, that sounds quite slack to me.

Would new wishbone bushes sort that out?

Another query while i am thinking, is it wise to get both rear arm bearing kits for the car if only 1 side appears to be leaning?

Cheers
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docchevron
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Post by docchevron »

MULLEY wrote:Not quite sure what is exactly wrong with the steering, but put it this way, i can move it left & right & the car hardly moves either way, that sounds quite slack to me.

Would new wishbone bushes sort that out?

Another query while i am thinking, is it wise to get both rear arm bearing kits for the car if only 1 side appears to be leaning?

Cheers
Radius arm bearings first: yep, I'd do both sides, if they are an unknown qauntity, then it's better to be safe than have to do it again in a few months, if one sides gone, the other probably isn't far behind, unless you know that one has been done more recentley than the other??

As for the steering, if you get hold of the steering wheel and try and pull it towards you (when you're sat in the drivers seat) and then push it away from you, is there alot of movement in the coloumn?
Id check the hardy joint first, then get someone to move the wheel whilst you look underneath (usual precautions) and see if theres anything happening at the rack. The racks are long lived so I wouldn't expect it to be the pinion / rack TBH..
Even with knackered wishbone bushes the steering shouldn't feel that loose, unless they are REALLY KNACKERED!
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
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MULLEY
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Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Cheers for that Doc, i will try the column test, as for the rest, i believe you may have confused me with someone who knows cars :lol:
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docchevron
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Post by docchevron »

Dont be so negative on yourself mate, I dont know nofink me!!
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
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Post by cavmad »

MULLEY wrote: Oh, nearly forgot, bought one of those Parrot Bluetooth phone kits that goes via the stereo, seems very good, just need to read the manual to learn how to operate all the functions, it does voice activated dialing.....
Mulley, any chance of a link to this bluetooth thing you mention please? Was going to buy a stereo with bluetooth already fitted but the thing you mention could be handy.
Cheers,
Vauxhall apologist.
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MULLEY
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Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

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BX Bandit
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Post by BX Bandit »

Check the rubber flexi coupling just above the steering pinion (joins pinion to steering column) too Mulley, they detriorate slowly so it's hard to notice...fit a new one and you'll know the difference...
1990 BX 16V Platinum Grey
1990 BX TGD White
1960 Morris Minor Clarondon Grey
1971 Triumph 2000 Auto Valencia Blue
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MULLEY
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Posts: 8406
Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Post by MULLEY »

Might have to get an expert to look at that, but thanks for the heads-up....
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