Fed up with BXs

Anything about BXs
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fourwheelsteer
Confirmed BX'er
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:35 pm

Fed up with BXs

Post by fourwheelsteer »

Last week I decided that my old BX19 had to go. The leaking cooling system was just too much. I found a very tidy, low mileage BX14 that belonged to a friend of a friend.

Today I found a growing green puddle under the BX14 as LHM was pumped out at speed. Now, instead of one duff BX I have two! Is it too much to ask for a car that just works?
2008 Proton Gen2 EcoLogic
1998 Honda Prelude 2.2VTi

Now BX-less...

On my way to becoming a motoring writer.
My Blog: http://fourwheelsteer.blogspot.com/
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

No, it's not too much to ask for at all. But,

It's all relative to how much you pay for a car.

My own personal experience is to pay next to nothing for a car. Then before putting it on the road, go though it with a fine tooth comb, seek out it's faults, spend some money on it. MAKE IT RELIABLE.

I've no idea how much you normally spend on a motor, but most BX's these days are about £300. Is it reasonable to assume, your going to get a perfectly working and reliable car for this amount :? I don't think so, unless you are very lucky.

My theory has proved worth while, and the BX's I've had have been 100% reliable. Even this XM I bought for £150 three years ago has given me no grief. Admittedly I spent another £550 on it before putting it on the road. But 3 years trouble free motoring for £700 I think is more than OK.
They think it's all over, it is now!
citronut
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Post by citronut »

are you thinking of outting the 1.4 now, if so were abouts are you and how much would you be asking, as i have been looking for one for my daughter
regards malcolm
curent ride
K reg BX 17TD TZD est
also own
K reg D special

no longer have
H reg CX saffari 2.5 TRI (now gone to Malaysia)
R reg xantia 1.9TD est (gone to meet its maker)
ellevie
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Post by ellevie »

Hi 4WS,

Did you find the source of the water leak on your 19TRS Auto ?

It might well be cheap and easy to fix, or does it also have other problems as well ?
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
fourwheelsteer
Confirmed BX'er
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Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:35 pm

Post by fourwheelsteer »

Not had a chance to look at the 19 yet, having spent hours in the freezing cold yesterday waiting for a bus I now feel dreadful and the prospect of staring into a BX engine bay does not appeal :(

Actually I'm feeling a bit better so will have a look.

As for the 14. I'll see what the garage think the problem is likely to be and see how much it'll cost to put right.

I'm not sure how I feel about BXs. The 19 was great but I think it is getting on a bit. The 14 is a beauty, it doesn't look 17 years old and only has 55,000 miles on it so you can understand my dissapointment when it broke within a week. Once it is fixed I'm not sure whether to keep it or get something else.
2008 Proton Gen2 EcoLogic
1998 Honda Prelude 2.2VTi

Now BX-less...

On my way to becoming a motoring writer.
My Blog: http://fourwheelsteer.blogspot.com/
ellevie
Forum Treasurer
Posts: 657
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:10 pm
Location: Southampton

Post by ellevie »

Looking at your blog, I see that your garage "rebuilt" your carburetor when they replaced the broken accelerator cable. I'm curious as to why they did this as the Weber carb on my 19TRS Auto seems to be a much better starter than the Solex carb on my 19TRS Manual.

One thing I should mention about the 19TRS is that it is prone to poor spark/ignition problems which can result in poor starting or erratic idling or even intermittent loss of power or stalling. This kind of problem could easily be misdiagnosed as a carburetor problem. Both of my 19TRSes have done this at one time or another. Fortunately, the problem is normally very easy to treat as it is simply caused by poor electrical contact in the small number of connectors in the low voltage side of the ignition circuit as shown in the diagram below.

Image

If you get the Auto up and running again, I would urge you to clean the connectors and apply some petroleum jelly just as a preemptive measure. In the past I have definitely traced problems to the four spade connectors on top of the coil and to the connector to the amplifier. the best thing is to simply clean all the connectors shown by pushing them on and off a few times after applying some WD40, then apply the protective jelly.
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
fourwheelsteer
Confirmed BX'er
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:35 pm

Post by fourwheelsteer »

The carb rebuild happened because it was running way too rich. Eventually this led to it not running at all at low rpm. At the same time I noticed the action of the accelerator pedal was gritty and inconsistent. The carb was rebult and functioning properly but the accelerator cable snapped. I think it took a few attempts to get it running properly.

I've had some ignition troubles. When I first got it I think it missfired or just wouldn't run at high rpm. I took the distributor off and it was in a terrible state but a new rotor arm and cap sorted it out.

I think the BX14 is the one to keep, it is in better condition, it looks like it has plenty of life left into it, I was hoping it might be cheaper to run with its little petrol engine and manual gearbox, and I have to say I was enjoying the change - it is always nice to drive something different.
2008 Proton Gen2 EcoLogic
1998 Honda Prelude 2.2VTi

Now BX-less...

On my way to becoming a motoring writer.
My Blog: http://fourwheelsteer.blogspot.com/
ellevie
Forum Treasurer
Posts: 657
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:10 pm
Location: Southampton

Post by ellevie »

The BX14 is also in a much lower tax bracket which is nice. Good luck !
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
fourwheelsteer
Confirmed BX'er
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:35 pm

Post by fourwheelsteer »

ellevie wrote:The BX14 is also in a much lower tax bracket which is nice. Good luck !
Exactly. At the moment any opportunity to save a few pennies is to be welcomed.

The plan is/was to run the 14 for a year or two and then try and graduate to an XM (ideally a V6). Why an XM? Because I admre their futuristic styling and the five (and then on the last ones six) sphere suspension system. XMs are already difficult to find, I'd hate to go to my grave having not driven/owned one.

After the XM, I'd like a X*ntia Activa... (not sure if you're allowed to name the BX's replacement on here unless it is to make a derogatory remark :lol: )

Before buying the BX I'd probably never have considered owning a Citroen. For the next few years I can't imagine owning anything else. Funny how things turn out.
2008 Proton Gen2 EcoLogic
1998 Honda Prelude 2.2VTi

Now BX-less...

On my way to becoming a motoring writer.
My Blog: http://fourwheelsteer.blogspot.com/
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