GT mediated Awesomeness

[panky]

Looks like Rustival is a go

[saintjamesy89]

Looks like Rustival is a go

I damn well hope so! My GT needs to see it's GT friend again They've met before in a workshop in Fareham, although DKK was a bit indecent at the time (in bits).

[saintjamesy89]

Calipers back on, new flexi pipes installed and brakes bled. Hurrah! Not much in the way of pictures as I got soaking wet, oily and muddy.

Working conditions, a puddle...


This disc has no retaining screws, they are both snapped. Improvised retaining method deployed.


The passenger rear sphere seal was broken so LHM was pouring out of that suspension cylinder! To change the rear arms it was recommended to just crack open the sphere to relieve pressure (this did help getting the ram back in the cup on the arm).
Luckily the front and rear seals are the same, so stole one from a spare set of front spheres in the shed



I also noticed some perishing rubber on the drivers cv boot, sigh


No test drive as I have both wiper arms off for painting, it's been raining all day and is still pissing down so it'll have to wait until later in the week...

[saintjamesy89]

I've been using the GT for the past two days, only popping into town for DIY supplies and lunch (unfortunately, there is a Mortimer's bakery right next to B&Q...!). Yesterday it wasn't very nice to drive, it was jerky with a warm misfire which thankfully lessened when it got up to temperature, today though its lovely again! These old cars don't like being stood, and this poor old girl has been on axle stands for nearly a month - the drive to Rustival tomorrow should do it good.

So post arm bearings and wheel bearings comments, it's so quiet now! I don't think I'd realise how noisy the wheel bearing(s) had become. The back end is so smooth now too, it was good before but now it's so nice it unfortunately highlights the sticky front struts!

Wiper arms with some fresh paint are a huge improvement, I do seem to have misplaced the rubber pipe that connects the wash bar though, drat!







I've got to finish some plumbing, put a mis-coat on some freshly de-wallpapered plaster, prime the rest of the wall and run a few wires in the walk-in wardrobe before I put some carpet down, then I can clean the GT and prepare for Rustival tomorrow! Best get another coffee on I think.

[panky]

Looking good. On the rear spoiler I used a scotch pad and gave it a good scrubbing with black trim wax, the degrade surface came up pretty well. A cloth just kept snagging on the surface so I used paper towels for the final buffing.

[saintjamesy89]

Looking good. On the rear spoiler I used a scotch pad and gave it a good scrubbing with black trim wax, the degrade surface came up pretty well. A cloth just kept snagging on the surface so I used paper towels for the final buffing.

Thanls Panky, good to know. I have used a non-scrach scouring pad in the past - usually it doesn't get that bad though tbh! The OH had the GT for 6 weeks in November/December whilst we had family car issues (read, the GT got caked in crap inside and out) and of course it has been on axle stands pending brakes for most of February (attack of alrlgae and moss apparently). Clean now though, just need to give the plastics a once over when I get to Gaydon, its supposed to rain here overnight so not too much point tarting up the bumpers now

[panky]

Rain? I can't go out in the rain

[saintjamesy89]

For all those who couldn't make it, Rustival was a success I think! A huge variety of cars and people, all were welcome which created a great atmosphere. It was great to catch up with some folks that I met at last years national, I met a few new folks and as usual missed chatting with some older friends! The GT was a great drive there and back, 35.6 mpg in the 41L of fuel I burnt on the round trip - not too bad I think as I was a bit heavy footed. The old girl needed to stretch her legs after a month of being stood.

However, more jobs to do! Toward the end of the return drive, there was a dull thump/rumble from the rear over small bumps and uneven surfaces - I will check all the bolt/nut torque of the rear arms etc but I have also ordered a set of rear subframe mounts. I wonder if the noisy rear wheel bearing masked this before, or if the new 'tight' bearings (wheel and arm) have stressed the next weak link?

-1x each REAR CROSSMEMBER FLEXIB JOINTS RIGHT (95632593) and LEFT (95632592)
-2x REAR CROSSMEMBER FLEX MOUNTING (5149 90)

Still need to properly adjust the front brakes/handbrake as well, Haynes recommends a 1mm gap between each pad and disc (the passenger side is tighter than this for sure) then apply 4 clicks of handbrake and adjust the cable at the caliper (I forget the specifics now) and at the handbrake lever if necessary.

One thing I wanted to do, but totally forgot about until I was almost home - I wanted to get the sister GTs DKK and JUY together for a picture session. Never mind! Great to meet you btw John. There is always the National, which hopefully will have more clement weather - Rustival was COLD and windy.

[saintjamesy89]

I have some good news and bad news!

Good news, I found the rubber pipe to connect the windscreen wiper rail to the on the wiper shaft. Additional good news, I found the reason for the low pitch rumbling! It isn't the rear subframe mounting bushes, which is good but the wheel bolt were slightly loose on the passenger front wheel, which is less good... This is because of the bad news.

Bad news, the front passenger caliper is binding. It got quite bad before I noticed, the reason I noticed is it was smoking when I stopped at traffic lights last week after a short 70 mph jaunt (perhaps a mile or two). I haven't used the car since I was just hoping the handbrake cables needed adjusting, or perhaps the caliper piston backing off a quarter of a turn.

So I'm really quite irritated about it, these calipers were refurbished in March, literally a few weeks ago and the side that was binding slightly before is now stuck solid after the handbrake is used. So I spent 5 hours today pissing about with it in the rain (again...) when really I've got better things to do. Its a good job I love this car as doing the same job several times over gets very tiresome.

A question on the loose wheel bolts, I torqued these up after the 'refurbed' calipers went on and checked them again just before I left for Rustival, I do use a little copper grease on them - could this have been boiled and forced the nuts loose a bit? I can't think of why heat by itself would loosen wheel bolts, but then I am generally as bit ignorant.

I will be looking for a new caliper it seems.

[Tim Leech]

Hi Tom

I had the same issue, it was the handbrake mechanism seizing, cleaned, lubed and has been ok for years!

[saintjamesy89]

This is a very recently refurbished caliper Tim, I had the cover off and it is very clean with plenty of lube in there.

[saintjamesy89]

New caliper installed! It is of course raining today, of course it is - we've had two beautiful sunny days and as soon as I can get to work on the BX, yep it's raining. Ah well, caliper on, brakes bled, they work, don't stick and the handbrake is good (14 clicks and you can't drive forward, Haynes says 12-15).
I think I'll have to look at the handbrake end, the lever feels 'loose' and as I had to back of the cable at the caliper end the lever end probably needs adjusting, but it works right now and that is good, as I need it tomorrow for work.





I'm getting pretty speedy with changing calipers now!

In other news the Saab 9-3 died on the 9th, the day after the BX's calipers let me down. On my once or twice a week 60 mile round trip commute the oil light came on 10 minutes before work, then the knocking started - I couldn't do anything about it as I was stuck in traffic, under 1500rpm the oil light was on but above 2000 the knock was horrible, a very tricky juggling act in an automatic!
For some context, the 9-3 was a LPT 2.0 auto on LPG with 220,000 miles, I took in in PX with some cash for my rusty 900 convertible so essentially it was almost free, although the roof didn't work, the cam chain was rattly when cold and the suspension was very tired - so I didn't really care about it.
Nevertheless, I didn't make it home so the scrap man collected it the next day from a layby XD

I'm really looking forward to using the GT for commuting tomorrow though!

[Dave_16v]

Well done. Notice you have a nice set of mud flaps there, no drilling required. I have them too.

[saintjamesy89]

Evening all, it's been a while again! The BX has been going along well, it passed it's MOT after a new CV boot - no surprise as I noticed it had spilt when I was messing around with the brakes. I changed the downpipe before the MOT as the old (?original) pipe had pinholes and was blowing in several places, it was an advisory last year anyway, unfortunately this downpipe has a slightly different angle to the manifold flange, meaning the drivers side stainless pipe at the back rubs on the spare wheel carrier support when it's cold - that'll need to be adjusted, very irritating!

The new rear arm bearings are wonderful, the rear is so soft and exactly what I want from a hydraulic suspension system, they do highlight the sticky front struts though..

In other news, I am finally going to get around to the rest of the GT's a/c swap, the French TRS has outstayed its welcome on the OH's aunties drive, I can't really complain as she wouldn't take any money for the storage, but it is of course terrible timing! We've finished re-wiring the house and are right in the middle of plastering, filling, sanding etc the upstairs rooms and fitting a new bathroom, then it'll be painting, new doors, skirting and carpets. I'm going to try and get as much of this done as possible before we go on holiday to France in mid September, afterwards the a/c swap can start in earnest.
I managed to find the correct Berlingo etc sump compressor bushes in the end, from Poland of all places. A bit of a saga, but sorted now - lets just hope they are the correct parts!





That of course means I need some wheels to use whilst the two BX's are in pieces, so I bought a C6 - obvious choice I know!! I was watching it on eBay and it was quite nicely priced, it's a 2.2 hdi manual as well, so hopefully one of the least unreliable C6s! This one id high mileage, but has had a LOT of work done (new DMF, twin turbo unit, clutch amongst loads of other parts over the years). The paint on the bonnet is very thin and gone through to primer in places and both bumpers have damage, cracks etc - so good used replacement panels here will transform it. This one is the cheapest C6 to tax as well, there's not much difference in the cost between it and the GT.
I've done a few hundred miles and averaged 43 mpg so far, can't complain about that! It is so refined, quiet and relaxed to drive, the ride is sublime too and slightly better than the GTs - however if the GT's front struts weren't sticky, that would win - just.

[Jaba]

Superb choice Tom. Its arguably the best Citroen ever. Not charismatic and nostalgic like the DS but automotive excellence nevertheless. The BX though just looks cooler in my (partisan) eyes.