First Time Citroen Owner Care question

DFF53 · Post by **DFF53** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:10 am

Can anyone advise me on the basic care of a BX19TRS. I am a first time owner and would like information on keeping my car alive for as long as possible.

Like for instance when i turn off the car after using it, do i set the suspension to the lowest setting and then lock the car and leave it ? Or do i just leave the height adjuster at the normal driving height.
Info like that will; be very helpfull thanks.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 8:04 am

welcome fellow Land of the Long white cloud BX owner

Simple answer and that is leave the lever alone.

Unless you worried about your dog deciding to knap under your car there is no reason to set the lever to low.

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 1:54 pm

Blimey. Sudden influx of NZ BXers! Hello and welcome.

Every now and then, it's worth moving the lever through the settings to exercise everything (Citrobics) or, something I used to do with my old TGD, play traffic-light roullette. Pull up, drop the car right down, click it back to the middle and then hope it rises up before the lights turn green!

DFF53 · Post by **DFF53** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:13 pm

ok thanks guys, i hope you guys are signed ip on fastrogs.co.nz as well.

Post by **Tim Leech** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:54 pm

One of the first things to do is to find out when the cambelt was changed, if you are unsure get it done straight away, and the tensioner aswell. If it goes then it will cost you far more.

CaM · Post by **CaM** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:30 am

make sure you don't have the same horrible carb float problem that 995 of carbed bx's and pugs have over here

nice to see you found your way over here. I was going to suggest this site as a treasure trove of information.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:49 am

CaM wrote:make sure you don't have the same horrible carb float problem that 995 of carbed bx's and pugs have over here

Can you explain on that a bit better CaM? I have asked a few times on here about carb problems a differant set ups seen on BXs over here compared to the UK which have not be understood or answered because they are unique to NZ.

CaM · Post by **CaM** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:08 pm

99% i mean.

it seems that the solex carbs fitted here have float problems, where, the fibrous floats end up soaking up fuel and becoming semi submerged, which causes all sorts of fuelling problems.

DFF53 · Post by **DFF53** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:27 pm

CaM wrote:make sure you don't have the same horrible carb float problem that 995 of carbed bx's and pugs have over here

nice to see you found your way over here. I was going to suggest this site as a treasure trove of information.

What do i do to check for / counter this problem. Though it seems to be running evenly

CaM · Post by **CaM** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:05 pm

it'll present itself under heavy acceleration, or cornering whilst accelerating.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:23 pm

I'd recommend changing the lhm in the car if you have no idea how old it is? Follow the information on this site under the DIY section. If its very dirty, buy some hydraflush & pop that in, let it do its work for a 1000 odd miles, take it out & then refill with nice new green lhm, can work wonders on notchy steering, & cleaning crud out of all the various systems that can gunge up over time.

How soft is the suspension? Get someone who knows about these things to check your car out, no amount of explaining on here will tell you how soft it should or shouldnt be, its just experience. Unless of course when you push down on each side its pretty rock hard, in which case the spheres need changing in pairs i.e. both fronts, or both rears. Whilst the expert is there he/she can also check out the ticking time of the accumulator sphere to diagnose its health. If you use the search function, there are threads which cover this aspect.

Best of luck with checking the various bits & bobs out, look forward to hearing what you've done & what you've found out.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:27 pm

I will be more than happy to help with anything I can so you can enjoy your BX experiance.

Seriously of the 20 odd years since passing my test there has only been 4 years I have not had a BX. Still a few things surprise me

Alan Sklener in Hamilton is a good source of BX parts and a wealth of information worth a drive to see him for sure.

I also have a contact for the Hydraflush stuff if you need it although Alan reckons it makes little differance to the dead ends of the BX system and that a good dose of new LHM and Fluid reservoir clean is good enough.

Biggest reason people get rid of a BX in NZ is not knowing how to maintain it and where to look for help. You will be surprised how much of the stuff you can do and better off doing than the local "we love Holden, Fords and Jappas" mechanics.

Cam, now I understand and no not noticed that problem. Biggest issue Carbie related seems to be the cold starting problem. Got one BX that just hates cold running the other BX is a bit stubborn some days. Its livable well is when you can still get the car to start with Snow all over it

CaM · Post by **CaM** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:08 am

yeah, i've got a bx14 parts car with manual choke and it's impossible to start if it's left standing for more than a day.

DFF53 · Post by **DFF53** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:57 am

Well my BX was owned by a Citroen / Peugeot enthusiast and he had a lot of stuff changed in his ownership. The front spheres have been replaced by recon ones. I have performed most of the tests recommended when buying a bx and all seems well. The front is soft and only goes up and down 1.5 times.
My car doesnt seem to have cold starting problems on cold days like my volvo 245.

When driving the stop light comes on sometimes but flickers rather than continuous. I think the lhm level might be low. Will have to check when the car is started next.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 4:35 am

Yea I have one of them previous Citroen enthusiast BXs and the head gasket went on it.

They are though normally the best ones to get because you then know they have been looked after.

The stop light is almost certainly LHM low and it could also mean a minor leak somewhere. You know how to check the level? If the light is coming on I would be looking for leakage around the FDV area. That leak is not normally obvious.

Raise the suspension to full height and check that the discs align with the marks on the eye glass?