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Anything about BXs
ellevie
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Post by ellevie »

If you have not already done so it might be worth joining this BX forum based in France :-
http://www.yaronet.com/forum.php?s=432
They might be able to recommend someone near to you who could do the work for a more reasonable price.
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
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TB2
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Post by TB2 »

Good idea ellevie, hadn't thought of that. I'm still avaiting my "Validation de l'inscription" ;)

DavidRutherford: Damn true... I'm still waiting for those 3 French garages to answer. But maybe someone in that French BX forum will point me somewhere anyway. Good thing to drive there anyway, as I can also pick up BX19GTI1988's headrest that he offered me :) he lives near the French border.

I have no idea why those people tell me they need a whole day. Feels like they just want to rip people off...
Carl

1989 TRD "Entreprise" Turbo Diesel
1989 16 Valve
---
Parts needed:
- One black leather headrest.
- FDV overhaul kit (95.669.034)
Please contact me through PN if you have any of this.
ellevie
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Post by ellevie »

You could also try posting on the French Car Forum :-
http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/index.php
There are currently 6,999 registered members, so if you hurry you can have the honour of being the 7,000th registered member !
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
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TB2
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Post by TB2 »

edit: registered there, as the 7001st user ;)

heh, well just now as I tried accessing the forum, it seems to be down

phpBB : Critical Error
Could not connect to the database


I'm getting some help now in that French BX forum, though I'm still not validated yet. Sooner or later I'll find a garage, btw I'm pretty sure my BX was bought in France and serviced there for the first few years, I'll have a closer look at the paperwork someday and maybe just go to that same garage it was serviced before it went to Switzerland. Supposed it's not that far away...
Carl

1989 TRD "Entreprise" Turbo Diesel
1989 16 Valve
---
Parts needed:
- One black leather headrest.
- FDV overhaul kit (95.669.034)
Please contact me through PN if you have any of this.
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Philip Chidlow
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Post by Philip Chidlow »

I give up, I tried registering three times. And get some error message about DEBUG MODE.

It seems to remember the email address I put in though so each time I retry I have to give it a different one and now I've run out. I'll wait for the administrators to sort it out. Hope they can :evil:
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
citroen7
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Post by citroen7 »

i use french car forum a lot and yes there are problems the same as here but there has been some very useful help given and i have sold a lot of xantia spares through it too.
be patient phil Alans deals with the new members bit and has posted on the problems he is up against and i dont envey him!
ellevie
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Post by ellevie »

I see you were just "pipped to the post" on the FCF making you the 7,001st member. Interestingly, over 2,000 registrants have never actually posted to the forum. It's probably worth posting on FCF as there may well be a member in your region who can help.

I see there are three or four applicants still waiting even longer than you for validation to the French BX Forum. The information Serge57 replied with is not really of much use as it is a Citroen franchise. In the UK they typically charge about £80 per hour. We also have specialist Citroen garages, often run by former Citroen mechanics, who typically charge £40 per hour :- http://www.bxclub.co.uk/specialists/

Then there are smaller one-man operations --- I know of one not too far from me who charges £20 per hour.

When you get validated on the French BX Forum, don't be afraid to give them all the information that you posted on here. It would probably be best to start a thread on the main forum rather than continuing in the validation section. Be patient and develop a relationship with them and you may find that there will be a DIY mechanic not too far from you who will be sympathetic.

The best option of course is to use the valuable information and support on these forums to actually learn to do the jobs on the BX yourself. If you can find a BX DIY mechanic somewhere near to you they will usually be more than happy to show you how to do these jobs.
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
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Philip Chidlow
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Post by Philip Chidlow »

Yeah, I'm in the the FCF.

Sorry - off topic! :oops:
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
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TB2
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Post by TB2 »

My account at FCF is still not activated, and I guess it's because I was using a GMX address. It's kinda sad that forums need to rely on such strict policies these days to avoid spam.

And I'm still waiting for the French BX forum to validate me...

ellevie:
toddao offered me his help and he lives about 50 kilometers from here, but he's currently on travels far away. And Switzerland is too small for its own BX club - but well, maybe I'll start one ;)
Carl

1989 TRD "Entreprise" Turbo Diesel
1989 16 Valve
---
Parts needed:
- One black leather headrest.
- FDV overhaul kit (95.669.034)
Please contact me through PN if you have any of this.
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MULLEY
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Post by MULLEY »

Even the BX spirit is alive & well in Europe :D
ellevie
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Post by ellevie »

That's great news about toddao offering to help. 50 kilometers (30 miles) is not so far to travel.

If you can learn to do your own work, it really brings down the cost of maintenance. The tools you need are not so expensive. After I bought my first BX19TRS in 1992 I used to have all my servicing done by various garages. Since joining this forum a few years ago I've learned to do to do quite a few jobs that would otherwise be quite expensive including replacing the rear arm bearings, the water pump and cam belt, and quit a few other jobs as well. It's also very satisfying and gives you a sense of achievement when you learn to do these jobs yourself.
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
User avatar
TB2
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Post by TB2 »

Not much of an update, but...

I'm still waiting to be validated in the French BX forum (as are 9 others for two weeks...) and the registration at the FCF didn't succeed. I guess they didn't like my gmx mail address. And I still got no replies from the three citroen dealers I wrote to.

I took a deeper look at the service history, and I didn't notice earlier that there's something pretty awkward about it. The car was obviously bought an driven in France, and the 10k, 20k, 30k and 40k km services were carried out correctly at the same garage. The 40k service was done in april 1993, while the 50k entry in that service book states "10.2005" and it was done at 68k. So it seems like the car was not used between ~1994 and ~2005. I guess my previous owner did that service around 68k and drove it without further servicing until he sold it to me (at 88k). I wonder if he changed the cambelt in 2005 at 68k but I guess not.

Further "research" reveiled to me, that the Car was bought by a company named "UNIDEC SA", and I guess that's why it's such an odd 2-seat conversion. A friend of mine guessed, that maybe the company went bankrupt and the insolvency process might have taken a long time - a possible explanation why the car hasn't been serviced between 1993 and 2005. A quick search on google about UNIDEC SA doesn't reveal much, there's talk of Tri-Star and an "UNIDEC SA" located in Lugano, Switzerland, or about "UNIDEC SA" in Romania. I've no idea if that's related.

Anyways... It's fun to trace back a cars histroy. ;)


But well. I still need to get it serviced. But I'm still very unsure about it. There are a few oil stains on the ground where the car is garaged. Not a lot, but quite a bit, and over a large area. I had to park it outside the garage today because we had some work to do, and it had a hard time coming up. The STOP lamp came on after a bit and I had to wait and leave the engine running for around half a minute before the car slowly started to rise. Maybe just because it's around 5° Celsius and the hydraulic oil was bit stiff? And when I went back into the garage there was some loud squeeking noise that I didn't know where it was coming from, maybe just clogged breaks or something.

Anyways, the car doesn't give a very reliable impression. Seems like anything could break any moment... :( It's such a sad thing, I don't know. If we fix the cambelt now, maybe the next thing that goes is the diesel pump, or maybe even the HP pump. Who knows. And apparently, the engine is leaking quite a little.

I'll have another try registering at FCF and I'll try mailing the French Citroen Dealers from my other mail address. If there's no real chance getting the cambelt replaced in a cheaper way, I guess I'll try selling the car for no less than 2000 CHF. If that doesn't work out, I'll fix it, and see how it keeps up...


PS: Forgot to mention, the hydraulics are definetly messed up a little. Most likely the doseur valve I guess. If I release the breaks, something happens. Sometimes it lowers the front a bit, or rises at the back. Anyways, it's not perfect. Though the car drives fine, so I don't know why it has a hard time getting up when it's cold. Maybe it's just the struts being a bit stiff...
Carl

1989 TRD "Entreprise" Turbo Diesel
1989 16 Valve
---
Parts needed:
- One black leather headrest.
- FDV overhaul kit (95.669.034)
Please contact me through PN if you have any of this.
ellevie
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Location: Southampton

Post by ellevie »

You are shown on FCF as registered member 6892, registered on 28Feb08.
What actually happens if you try to post on there ?
I contacted "alan s" on FCF and he believes that you should be able to post on FCF.
David

BX19TRS 118K E Reg 1992-2008
BX19TRS auto abs 96k F Reg
BX19TXD 150k K Reg
User avatar
TB2
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Post by TB2 »

Weird thing, seems like it's working now. I got something like "your account is deactivated" for days. Anyway, thanks, posted it over there now. ^^
Carl

1989 TRD "Entreprise" Turbo Diesel
1989 16 Valve
---
Parts needed:
- One black leather headrest.
- FDV overhaul kit (95.669.034)
Please contact me through PN if you have any of this.
CitroXim
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Post by CitroXim »

TB2 wrote:Weird thing, seems like it's working now. I got something like "your account is deactivated" for days.
Sorry about that :oops: Up until the forum database move, it had been very difficult to gain good, reliable admin access to activate new members and to manage user registrations. There was also hundreds and hundreds of spam user registrations to wade through :twisted:

All is now back to normal and we have caught up. All new users registered and several hundred spam registrations where they belong - in the bin :lol:
Jim

'98 Xantia 1.9TD in Red - Gabriel the Bus...
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