Max's TZD turbo estate

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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maxgreenwood
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Posts: 830
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:44 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Max's TZD turbo estate

Post by maxgreenwood »

My journey so far...
I thought i'd put up some history of where i've been with my BX over the last year and a half or so maybe to help or console others new to BX world, as i was when i bought the car...

I purchased my 1991 BX TZD turbo estate in white in Oct 07 and she is finally running to my satisfaction.. but its been a long old journey and I’ve learned a hell of a lot about BXs! The car has stood me a good 16,000 miles so far. Current mileage is around 138k.

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October 2007
Purchased the car blind on ebay for £760 with 8 months tax and MOT. !st time I’ve bought a car on ebay and I should’ve looked it over when I picked it up but my excitement at owning a BX had grown to such a level, mostly from spending too much time on this site! ..that I just went for it. I discovered the rear spheres were shot and the rear arm bearings needing doing. So after I got that work done I’d spent more than I should have really but you live and learn. And its been a steep learning curve!
The garage did a small service on the car and said they’d replace the LHM so I didn’t really think about checking it properly at the time…

November 07

I ordered some new front spheres and accumulator sphere from Plaeides and fitted them and the ride was nice and soft and my tick time improved from 10-14 secs to around 26-30 secs.

April 08
Had car serviced and thoroughly checked over by a citroen specialist in Dublin. He identified many areas in need of attention, most of which I have now sorted.

On the list was a ball-joint and I also wanted to get the ride as good as possible so I hooked up with Citroen7 from the forum in Northern Ireland to do some work. We set about running hydraflush through the system. The old LHM was absolutely black and the consistency of water or ink.. the garage obviously hadn’t changed it in Oct 07 then! At the same time we replaced the front flexi brake hoses, and a ball joint which had play.
All good – for about 100 miles. The ride was transformed but became harsh after 100 miles or so. Much scratching of head went on by myself and other forum users an my ex-citroen mechanic uncle, but the general consensus was that the hydraflush had dislodged dirt in the system and this was clooging up the front height corrector and / or making the front struts sticky. It would ride great for 10 minutes and then get harsh, very harsh after a long journey. The tick time had come down to being 5-10 seconds as well so the only think I think it could have been is muck gathering in the LHM tank, and, although sitting in the bottom as its supposed to, over a period of time with the car moving about gets into cycling round the hyrdraulic system, especially with the fast tick time, and causing stickyness.
Over the course of the next 4000 miles or so I took out the hyraflush at 1000 miles, filtered and put back in – a load of crud came out. I changed it for LHM at 2.5k miles, again, a load of crud. I have then filtered the new LHM about three times – more crud each time and FINALLY! The ride is becoming a lot better. I was going to change the front height corrector but don’t think I need to now as the system seems to be finally freeing up. Perserverance pays off!

The car rides really nicely now, but does become slightly harsher over the course of a longer journey, so I still think my fast tick time – which is now down to 4 – 8 seconds is playing a part. I have various bits to swap over from a lower milage example this week to see if I can get the tick time more normal.

Other work done..

June 08
New under car metal diesel feed and return fuel lines – the old ones badly corroded.
July 08
Got the fuel pump looked at – the car had quite good power when I got it but gradually decreased over the next year or so.. took it to a diesel fuel pump specialist and they found the little rubber diaphragm in the over-fuelling device which acts as a sensor to the extra airflow generated by the turbo, and delivers more fuel, and hence more power accordingly, was punctured. They replaced it and hey presto! I understand the reports of the turbo diesels going like sh?*t off a shovel!
Oct 08
Catastrophic coolant leak! The braided hose from the engine block to the heater matrix/bulk head bit totally disintegrated. I got a replacement part, tried to do myself, very hard to get at, so took to garage with car pissing out water on the way. Stopped twice to fillup system with mineral water! The most expensive repair since buying the car.
March 09
New donor struts courtesy of Citroen7, the other ball joint, new drop links, replaced lower suspension arm rubber bushes also. All done up at his place in Morthern Ireland. Car feels a lot tighter.

Work that needs doing.
Replacement of lower engine mount. Mine has been floppy for a while and has started knocking.

Rubber steering coupling needs replacing. Track rods (maybe)

Cooling system diagnosis – small bubbles in expansion tank on idle, not when revving. Been like it for a few thousand miles now so I don’t think it's the head gasket. Not overheated (lights tested and work) Will flush rad – maybe blocked? And fit new thermostat I have waiting here.

Some kind of rust treatment to ensure long term use.
Last edited by maxgreenwood on Thu May 28, 2009 12:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
'92 16TXS (m), Dark metallic green, 74k
'90 16TZS (m), White, 86k
'89 19TRS auto, Olympic Blue, 133k
'88 Saab 900 8v Turbo (auto) 107k Red with Tan leather, lovely drive and well maintained.
'07 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi 85k (m). Practical family wagon
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maxgreenwood
BXpert
Posts: 830
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:44 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Citroen BX.. the nomad's choice

Post by maxgreenwood »

A late night and an early morning up with my son the 1st day of a recent tour saw me reorganising a bit of gear in the back of the BX to catch a couple of hours kip en-route to a gig in Kilkenny.

Image
'92 16TXS (m), Dark metallic green, 74k
'90 16TZS (m), White, 86k
'89 19TRS auto, Olympic Blue, 133k
'88 Saab 900 8v Turbo (auto) 107k Red with Tan leather, lovely drive and well maintained.
'07 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi 85k (m). Practical family wagon