Haven't we seen this before recently?

KeithTaylor · Post by **KeithTaylor** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:15 am

Hi im new to the forum and to the world of the citroen bx and since the buy it now guy was me I decided to find some sites to see what I got myself into.
It was only 160 quid and ive always wanted a BX and its not far from me so I couldnt resist.
You guys seem to know a lot about these cars and have even seen the one I have bought before so maybe you can let me know what im in for.
I hear it needs new tyres but thats not a problem and since I only got it for 160 quid im willing to spend a bit to get it right.
So any advice you can give would be great, anything I should look out for etc?

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:32 am

Welcome along Keith, looks like you had a bargain and I know 2 or 3 from here were interested in it, myself included had I had the spare to buy it.
You`re located slap bang in the middle of quite a few members of this forum so advice and help will never be far away. Maybe the best thing`s to run it round for a while and report back any things you may have found. Stuff like tyres are easy and cheap to come by, as are most parts really, so I don`t see you meeting too many problems.
Anything specific we can help with just sing out and hopefully we are planning a meeting at Knutsford in September so perhaps you could pop along and introduce yourself?
I`m not the greatest mechanic in the world but I`m not far away if you ever want any help with anything.
Cavmad, aka Billy.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:35 am

Welcome to the Club

I'm sure thre'll be no shortage of advice, but a good starting point for information is http://www.tramontana.co.hu/citroen/

Look forward to seeing you and the car at some future gathering. There's always the CCC National Rally next Sunday

KeithTaylor · Post by **KeithTaylor** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:48 am

Great! Thanks guys.
I shall be picking the car up tomorrow morning so will let you know of the horrors I may or may not discover on the drive home.

The price just did it for me, I thought 160 quid I cant really go wrong and dont see many BX's around anymore so my chance to own one and I didnt even think about it twice.
I'm in the lucky position of having an uncle who is a mechanic and has worked on quite a few BX's in the past.
He usually doesnt charge me labour for jobs that need doing too so im very lucky like that and im sure it will come in handy.
From what you guys have said there is nothing too major that I should worry about though the air conditioning which I very much would like working might be pricey but it'll be worth it.
I'll get new tyres and the breaks looked at as soon as I get it, there my first priorities.
As for the meeting in Knutsford I will defintly be up for that, I have relatives in Knutsford so I know it well.
Anyway thanks for the welcome guys and I will be sure to keep you updated and I may be asking lots of questions.

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:52 am

Great job Keith, glad the car has found an excellent new home.

ed4ferrets · Post by **ed4ferrets** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:12 am

Excellent Keith, welcome aboard ......... many of us have been curious about the car as you will have gathered, give us the lowdown as and when you discover it please

KeithTaylor · Post by **KeithTaylor** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:34 am

Just thought I'd let you know I think I know why the seller decided to sell this car so soon after buying it.
The seller bought a xantia from ebay not long after he aquired the BX.
I'm guessing he just found a better car and wanted rid of the BX though why he put a buy it now for neally half what he paid in the first place I dont know but im not complaining.

Barnsley BXer · Post by **Barnsley BXer** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:45 am

Welcome Keith,another Northern recruit for Cavmad's army of invasion

tom · Post by **tom** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:26 pm

Welcome! The red BX estate in TZD (Tizzydee) trim is known as the Style Icon. Yours is the only air conditioned TZD estate known to us apart from "Grolliffe", a K registered car which I converted myself. Irrespective of any work that this car needs, you have scored a real bargain and we are all delighted to see you here. We have a couple of aircon experts among our numbers and it is well worth getting it to work. Your car being one of the last may well have a metal bonnet, the so called "tin lid" model. Either way, it is a rarity and you can be sure that we'll all want to help you get the best out of it . A good place to start would be to vacuum down the air conditioning just to see if it will hold a vacuum. If it does, then this could all be a lot cheaper than you may think. PM me if you need advice, I'll be glad to help.

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:22 pm

tom wrote:Yours is the only air conditioned TZD estate known to us apart from "Grolliffe", a K registered car which I converted myself.

What about mine? It's red as well...

I am hurt that it wasn't mentioned!

tom · Post by **tom** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:00 pm

Didn't know that it was air conditioned, Mat- apologies!

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:03 pm

It is now, after a lot of hard work (following yours and Alan's advice - thanks)

No offence taken anyway, I was only kidding!

KeithTaylor · Post by **KeithTaylor** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:34 am

Hi guys, Got the car home with no problems yesterday.
I have looked it over and drove it a fair bit to see what problems I can discover.
I have found a few though nothing too serious I dont think.
Firstly tiny oil leak, think it just needs new seal so nothing to worry about there.
Next a few electrics in the car arnt working, the windows arnt working, the electric mirrors arnt working and the blower isnt working nevermind the air con.
I am hoping this is a simple matter of a blown fuse, havent checked yet though gotta wonder what blew the fuse in the first place if that is the case.
It needs a couple of new tyres at the front and checked over the breaks and they appear in good condition which is great.
On the drive home it drove great, no unusual noises at all but I did notice quickly that the back end of the car seemed to be bouncing around a lot so when I got home I did the bounce test and I was right, the car bounced at least 2 or 3 times before stopping at the back, the front is perfect but the back is defintly not right.
I changed from normal height to the high position and checked again, I dont really understand this system fully but in the high position the back suspension was perfect which is very strange I think though you guys probably know better, I put it back to normal height and the back was bouncing again.
The other thing is the hydraulic pump, I assume it is, makes some noise like it seems to swtich itself on and off often when the car is running, is this normal?
I guessed it was the hydraulics keeping the car level though I Could be wrong.
Apart from that though the car is pretty good and drove really well.
Any info you can give me about the suspension would be great though thanks.

tim leech · Post by **tim leech** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:52 am

Sounds like your rear spheres have shot it matey, not a major job as there only about £20-30 a pair to replace from GSF, just getting the old ones off can be awkward. As for the eletcrics I would start with the fuses first (the box is behind the glovebox on the passenger side) and go from there.

As for the blower not working thatss a common fault if chaning a fuse doesnt cure it.

Good luck with the car, when its all working as it should it will be a great motor.

tom · Post by **tom** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:10 pm

Never drive the car in the uppermost or lowest position. If you have a very bouncy ride in either of the other positions, the first piece of advice isBuy some ramps and some axle stands!
Citroens can depressurise and fall on you. Then you're dead.

Changing the rear spheres is covered in depth on this forum and a bit of searching will find you what you need to know. Use the whole of the site and not just the forum, there is a lot of good stuff there.

The blower is also extensively covered. Jeremy has collated a lot of the data on this, so look through his postings. Trawl back through the BXPRESS articles as well, I did a piece on it last year. Many BXs had a design fault that meant that the fan wouldn't work flat out That is now curable. Most of your electrical faults will be due to dirty connectors; few will be due to failed fuses. There is only likely to be one electric mirror and the problem will be in the switch. Do not attempt to dismantle the switch: YOU WILL NOT GET CLEAR IN TIME! Failed window motors are rare and if they have all failed together, that's most likely to be the fuse but be aware that the switching is a trifle complicated (I have only 40 years in electronics, you may find it easier...) and that if the back ones do but the front ones don't, it might well be switches. A BX costs around
£500 over the first year to debug. It is money well spent. My own car has done 35,000 miles at ridiculous speeds over the last 2 years and returned over 45MPG so keep the faith. You will get some unwelcome surprises but you are amongst people who have seen and done it all and are glad to encourage you to become a Tizzydeviant. There used to be a bizarre initiation ceremony but Billy curried the site goat so you won't have to suffer that! Read Why the BX? on the main site for a simplified explanation of the hydraulic system. I'd suggest that you open a new thread in the technical section of the forum as it will be more relevant to most members than this one. See you there!