Struts, Pipes, Spheres and Front Windows on my new purchase

[hvanman]

Hi all,

I have recently purchased the silver 19RD on the forum, which didn't look too bad to start with, but is now making me pretty concerned that it's on the edge of being a scrapper... but hopefully I can bring her back, as she drives lovely (apart from the clutch...)

I was hoping I could get some pointers from those more knowledgeable on BX's so I can try and find the best (and cheapest) way to keep her going.

I needed a cheap car to tide me through after redundancy last year, but it seems that maybe the amount of repairs needed to this one now I have been able to dig in deeper, may cost more than I can afford, but I hope with advice I can keep her going.

I have maintained and restored H vans, 2CV's and my 67 DS, but never had a BX before.

1. The offside front strut gaitor (dust cover) has split, I guess the strut has to be removed to replace this, but is there a source for the gaitor/dust cover alone?

2. My 2nd biggest worry is that while doing a temp repair on my leaking centre exhaust pipe until I can get a new one, I saw that the hydraulic pipes passing the O/S rear sub frame front mounting point are all badly rusted. Can anyone advise the easiest way to repair these, does the entire set of pipes need changing front to rear, or can the damaged parts be replaced with jointed in sections, as the pipes are fine either side of the sub frame mount and where could I find a replacement set of pipes?

3. My biggest worry is rust.... The closing panel at the base of the c pillar on the door shut on both sides has had a major amount of filler in it. One sill has a patch part way along the rear door opening, the B pillar bases have had a little bit of filler in and both end of both sills seem to have been filled a lot and are now revealing a lot of rust. Finally both inner front wings have had a fair bit of filler in it seems..... I do have access to a fairly reasonably priced welding guy, but I am wondering how easily repairable the sills are using just patches, or if really whole new sills are needed and if available?

4. Both my electric front windows are very slow/stiff, is this just a case of cleaning and lubricating the runners, or something more required?

5. A friend of mine who has had a BX before thought that the spheres were a little tired. I don't think they are bad, but wondered if there is somewhere near Bedfordshire that could check the pressure? The front ones have a yellow sleeve on the top with a threaded section under the tube; does this mean they can be re-pressurised?

Any/all advice really welcomed, as I really want to make this into a usable car that has a second life, but sadly she has just been used for many years as a work horse, with only basic care. I will be making a post in the wanted section soon for some of the bits I need to try and keep her going, as the MOT is coming up soon...

Many thanks, Simon

[mat_fenwick]

Easiest way to change the gaitor is to undo the big nut at the top of the strut (35/36mm) and allow the strut inner to drop through the mount. Might have a spare, will confirm tomorrow. If not I'm sure someone will.

Pipes are repairable by splicing in new sections - you'll need a flaring tool though and pipe/connectors. I remember at one Citroen show Dochevron had to repair someone's BX in this manner, in a field in the rain...

Rust - impossible to say without pictures but it's always worse than it first seems, especially if someone has done a cover up job with filler. (Surely the only reason filler would be used on a rusty sill?)

Windows could be needing lubrication, but have also had problems with high resistance switch contacts (unlikely that both would be the same) or even with individual strands within the door loom fracturing within the sheath. This would give a high resistance but unlikely the passenger door would have been opened as much as the driver's, and hence should be better in this respect.

[Defender110]

This is a shame, it sounded like a good buy as an 'ex Citoroen Mechanic car'' . The only real problem is the rust and how far it has gone, all the others are simple repairs. What's wrong with the clutch? If it's just stiff this is sometimes just the clutch arm pivot pin on top of the box which can be fixed easily for no cost outlay.
Hope you can get it sorted.

[hvanman]

This is a shame, it sounded like a good buy as an 'ex Citoroen Mechanic car'' . The only real problem is the rust and how far it has gone, all the others are simple repairs. What's wrong with the clutch? If it's just stiff this is sometimes just the clutch arm pivot pin on top of the box which can be fixed easily for no cost outlay.
Hope you can get it sorted.

Sadly he only did basic maintenance, but the door hinges are very well lubricated!!! He did say that he reguarly took apart and lubricated the clutch cable pivot on the gearbox, but the bite seems very harsh and the operation is fairly stiff, so maybe the clutch is on the way out as well....

I will get some pictures of the rust, although until I dig out all the filler it's hard to say how bad it is.

Would the front inner wing rust be an MOT failure, as it is near the strut mounting? (I need to do this as a mobile restoration as much as possible)

[hvanman]

Easiest way to change the gaitor is to undo the big nut at the top of the strut (35/36mm) and allow the strut inner to drop through the mount. Might have a spare, will confirm tomorrow. If not I'm sure someone will.

Pipes are repairable by splicing in new sections - you'll need a flaring tool though and pipe/connectors. I remember at one Citroën show Dochevron had to repair someone's BX in this manner, in a field in the rain...

Rust - impossible to say without pictures but it's always worse than it first seems, especially if someone has done a cover up job with filler. (Surely the only reason filler would be used on a rusty sill?)

Windows could be needing lubrication, but have also had problems with high resistance switch contacts (unlikely that both would be the same) or even with individual strands within the door loom fracturing within the sheath. This would give a high resistance but unlikely the passenger door would have been opened as much as the driver's, and hence should be better in this respect.

If anyone does have a spare that would be great, the other side is fine luckily.

The access for the pipes once they are past the sub frame mount looks pretty tight, but will trace them out once I get it up in the air again.

Where could I buy the connectors and some straight pipe, is Pleiades the best option?

If I give the window a little help then it moves at a good speed, so I suspect it is just lubrication (fingers crossed), what would be best to lubricate them with? I do have some white spray grease.

I will have to bite the bullet soon and dig the filler out and get some pictures, but I might see how she gets on with a MOT, as there is only a couple of months left on the ticket and it would be nice to not be up against a deadline..

Many thanks for all the advice, it's much appreciated when you are starting out on a new car (and on such a budget). Simon

[Tim Leech]

Hmm Im rather dissapointed to here this, the advert was sent to me assuring a good vehicle. Lets hope all turns out ok.

[Gibbo2286]

Heavy clutch might be just the cable, I've had a few that the plastic inner liner has creased up and acts like a brake on the inner cable when pressing it down against the load but coming back up runs free.

Filler on sills and ABC posts could be tidying up rough diy mig welds but only scraping it off will tell.

[hvanman]

Heavy clutch might be just the cable, I've had a few that the plastic inner liner has creased up and acts like a brake on the inner cable when pressing it down against the load but coming back up runs free.

Filler on sills and ABC posts could be tidying up rough diy mig welds but only scraping it off will tell.

I have a spare cable, so will check out the one fitted just in case of an easy fix

The inner wing area certainly has holes now I have cleared off the dirt, but will have to dig deeper for the other areas.....

[hvanman]

Hmm Im rather dissapointed to here this, the advert was sent to me assuring a good vehicle. Lets hope all turns out ok.

No worries, it is what it is, I should have dug deeper, but made the mistake of assuming he had looked after it a bit better and was a bit to desperate to find a decent priced car... the engine does run well though...

[citsncycles]

Some of the areas of rust you've described I've tackled in the past, so here's a couple of tips etc.:

Base of C pillar - seems a common problem. If it hasn't crept behind the rear wing panel, then a fairly straight forward repair - if it has the best way is to either remove the wing (a big job), or if the rear edge of the sill needs repair, you can gain access to this area from underneath once the outer sill is cut away.

Sills - can be patched fairly easily, but if too far gone I believe Hadrian panels can supply new ones. It's worth checking the inner sills at the rear, next to the subframe mounts. This area has reinforcing sections in both for the subframe mounts and as a body support area when raised - this can be fiddly to repair, but again of the outer needs work it's easiest to repair with this cut away.

Front inner wings - I'm assuming that this is in front of the strut mount running down the length of the panel, up against the vertical section. Again a common issue and fairly easy to do. For best results you want the wing liner removed, and maybe the outer wing panel too, all of which bolt on.

It would also be worth checking round the rest of the car - areas which spring to mind are the rear inner wings, both the lower edges behind the plastic panels in the boot and the upper surfaces behind the carpet in the side storage pockets. The boot floor can go in the rear corners, and the rear bumper supports in the rear arches can disappear completely. At the front, with the arch liner removed check the front closing panel for the sill. Also check the cross member under the radiator. In really bad cases, I've heard of the front subframe mounts rotting aswell.

I would say that unless all of the above has gone really badly, then it's still worth doing (funds permitting of course), but I have the advantage of being able to do my own bodywork.

[hvanman]

Thanks for the tips Mike. My C pillar sections look a bit rough, even before I dig deeper and prob go into the rear wing panel. The outer end of the sill will need cutting off and replacing as very bad and the mount and area by the suspension arm mount has also rusted a lot.....

Yes mine has rusted in the normal place for the inner wings, so removal of front wing and liner will be best. Is the unbolting of the front wings straightforward, or are there any hidden bolts to track down?

My boot floor is not holed, but there is signs of it starting below. The car has a tow bar fitted and that bar has had serious rust with great chunks flaking off, I guess it was never painted or very badly done, luckily doesn't effect the car though... I will check more underneath and hope I don't find more....

There has been some filler put into the area at the top of the windscreen on one side, but can't tell how bad it is yet.

The rust in the inner wings and the rear of the sills/bearing mounting point worry me the most, (along with so many badly rusted LHM pipes) as both close to structual stuff for the MOT... I hope the local welding guy I know can help me out quickly (and cheaply), as i wanted to keep it on the road...

[citsncycles]

I don't think there are any hidden bolts, but between removing wings on BX, GS and a mates Golf in the last few months, my memory is a bit hazy on this.

Top windscreen corners seems to be another favorite rot spot, and can be tricky to repair properly. The screens are bonded in and I think they're structural, so need careful removing and refitting. It's not a job I've done myself but I'm sure I've seen it discussed here.