Bugger me I've actually got one!

Anything about BXs
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docchevron
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Post by docchevron »

It's easier to get to it from underneath, or at least access is better, but indeed, there's a boat load of room down the back of the engine, you can pretty much climb in there!

The HC is located on the subframe towards the O/S of the car.
Follow the control rod off the anti roll bar and it'll lead you to the HC.
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kermit the frog
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Post by kermit the frog »

Cant honestly see why they went to the expence of making steel bonnets when they had the composite bonnet.
But i supose they had their reasons.
Did they ever make steel tailgates.(DOC)

LOOKS great as the doc says a good load of elbow grease and it will shine like a new pin.

Regards Kermit :) :)
ALAN S an oracle of knowledge sadly missed by us all RIP Mate
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Blue Streak 1996(P) XANTIA VSX TD (130K.)
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DavidRutherford
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Post by DavidRutherford »

kermit the frog wrote:Cant honestly see why they went to the expence of making steel bonnets when they had the composite bonnet.
No doubt because at some points in the production it was cheaper to make bonnets out of steel than composite.

Also, it was probably faster to make steel bonnets than resin ones, so if there was a big production push at some point, steel bonnets may have been a necessity.
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Aerodynamica
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Post by Aerodynamica »

Yea, follow the clamp from the anti roll bar and it will go to the Height corrector as stated. The rod loops back on BXs and then terminates as a lever with a fork end that engages in a ball joint on the height corrector. The HC has a push-pull slide valve that is operated by the lever. It's very stiff to operate by hand so you might need a lever of sorts. I think it's best to have the car over a pit or ramps with the engine running so that if you move the control lever of the corrector the right way and it starts going up you can work out how it works. You always have to push and hold the operating lever at the correctors which can be a pain. Did the previous owner tell you how it went at the front? i.e was it gradual or did it just not go up one day?
Graeme M

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Post by demag »

Well rain stopped play yesterday and we've been in and out today but I did manage to have a quick grope about 7 ish this evening. I got my hand onto the rods from the arb and found the height corrector. I couldn't budge it so hopefully will get it on the stands tomorrow (today!! :shock: ) and see if I can free it off. I've got all the wheel spheres so once the hc is freed off it will be sort of driveable :lol: . I have to get an accumulator sphere and then I can give it a checkover/service.

I was amazed while down the back of the engine at the diameter of the exhaust pipe. For a 1600 it's huge! Seemed nearly as big as the Xm and thats bloody big!

It has the Solex carb. Didn't they fit a Weber as well to this engine? Is it any better or is there nothing in it?
Dave.

2004 C5 Exclusive Estate 2.2hdi automatic.
1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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demag
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Post by demag »

I got it up on stands this morning and crawled under expecting to see everything from behind the subframe where the manual height control rod is. As anyone who has done this job will know, you can't see anything from there! I found the best position is head under the sump looking back at 45%. I see there is a picture in Haynes from this position.

I still couldn't see too well but gave everything a good spray and tried to lever the ball joint where the plastic tie rod is connected backwards and forwards with a big screwdriver. It all seemed solid to me. What does the plastic tie rod connect to? It dropped vertically away from the h/c and I couldn't see it over the subframe. I thought it would be horizontal to pull the control spindle in and out of the h/c. I'm wondering if the h/c is siezed solid and needs replacing. In all my years owning Citroens I've never known one sieze before.
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2004 C5 Exclusive Estate 2.2hdi automatic.
1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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demag
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Post by demag »

Wow!! Just tried it and it worked. :lol:

That suspension hasn't moved for a long time it creaked like an old sailing ship and jumped like hell as it rose. I did about ten Citaerobics and it was freeing off all the time. At first it would only move from full low to full high but now it is stopping in normal ride height as well. I'll put the front spheres on tomorrow which will be nice, get a bit of movement in the struts. The spheres are all totally shot now and everything is solid. Well I don't know what I did but it worked! :lol:
Dave.

2004 C5 Exclusive Estate 2.2hdi automatic.
1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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Aerodynamica
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Post by Aerodynamica »

Great! glad you got it working. You might find that the height corrector's little internal dashpot/damper was clogged up with goo. The damper uses the leaked LHM that gathers at either end of the corrector and it squeezes through a series of little disks with a very small hole in the centre. It's a 'labyrinth valve' but all it takes is for one bit of crap to get lodged in there and it can jam in one direction. It's to give a delay to the movement of the HC so it doesn't do mad things going over road dips etc. All too often the damper is gunged. I have rebuilt many HCs now and each one I open has thick black gunge living in either end of the corrector - the HCs tend to be among the lowest hydraulic parts and they collect lots of crap.

I wasn't too sure what plastic part you meant - AFAIK the BX's HC links were all metal. Sure the Xantia uses a plastic tie bar that is known to wear and pop off, but the BX has a torsional rod fixed to the antiroll bar center and at the other end a metal lever that moves the HC ball. There's also the rods from the control between the seats that acts on the metal lever to move it against the action of the roll bar - it twists the torsional rod.

The ball on the HC can wear 2 flat spots causing free play and making the ride height vague. Also, the torsion rod- lever has a brass bushing to pivot on the subframe - this can wear giving excess play and vague height setting.

My BX had the worst front suspension for vagueness of all the Cits I've had but that was before I really started getting my hands dirty with the HCs and such. The GSA had the best. And the CXs have had all the overhaul of the HCs and the linkages and it really makes all the difference. But that's me! I love the suspension system and have to try to get it back to factory spec..

Anyway now you've fixed it it's all up from here!
Graeme M

CX 2400 Pallas LPG
2CV6 dolly (SORNed)
Mk1 Xantia 1.9TD SX

'c'est hydropneumatique'
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Post by DLM »

Cant honestly see why they went to the expence of making steel bonnets when they had the composite bonnet
Neither could I until this weekend when my bonnet became a casualty of a collision. Some may have preferred their bonnets to bend and deform in such circumstances rather than break in that rather vague way that a BX bonnet is prone to.

Still prefer to have a BX with a plastic/glassfibre bonnet though - feeling the weight of a metal one is a great shock whenever I do have to lift one up.
Back on two wheels and pedal power for the moment.
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demag
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Post by demag »

I had another surprise this morning. The suspension was still at ride height. Thinking this was because everything was so stiff imagine my shock when I pressed on the wings to find the car floating up and down in classic Citroen fashion! And this was with no engine since last night. All I can think is the suspension must be in pretty good condition to have held the pressure, it must have been stuck in that low position for months for it not to have risen up. I'll give it a little test drive round the block later and see how it goes.

Other obvious jobs are rattling exhaust although it looks fairly new and something leaking drivers side just under the corner of the windscreen back of the wheel arch area. It might possibly be petrol as there was a bit of a smell yesterday. Hope its not lhm but I would have thought it would be pumping out and the suspension settling not staying up. It needs new pads I noticed as well. Hopefully it might not be as bad as I first thought.
Dave.

2004 C5 Exclusive Estate 2.2hdi automatic.
1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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