Mickys blogalog

Willy · Post by **Willy** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:36 pm

Fuel pump £40+vat? They're only £15 on the 'bay (mine's dodgy too). Puzzling too that your throttle's sticking 20months after the carb's been cleaned. And £1300 for the head rebuild? Either someone really loved their car or they didn't fancy two best buys...

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:25 am

I was told the old boy lost his way a bit with the car and was desperate to keep it on the road no matter the expense, it was only old age that made him give up in the end. The fuel pump is an electric jobby mounted to the bulkhead, the old boy insisted they fit one as he was having trouble starting it.
The tickover has settled down now. I think the cars biggest problem was lack of use.

Post by **Tim Leech** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:17 am

Susan Donym wrote:the garage that did it, triple A are a Citroën surgeon supposedly.

Anyone else noticed the amount of cars appearing from South East of England recently, apart from mine theres
the damaged white one in Heathfield, East Sussex,
the TRS in Croydon,
the 16 auto in Brighton,
and the red TRS auto in Haywards heath

They are probably getting rid as they have heard how expensive these cars are to maintain, judging by the bills on Micks car anyway!

bx petrol auto saloon · Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:18 pm

Dear All
I have real problem with young kids working in so called garages,
who have absolutely no idea what they are doing, on anybody,s car. That
is why I do all my own work, as much as I can myself, you cannot trust
anybody on your own car, you have to watch them like a hawk.
Even more so around here, Shari and Nat took her old megane to

have a new battery put on it as I was ill, It took them an hour and a
quarter just to get the old one out as they couln,t remove the positive
battery terminal

so they had to fit a new one. When they came back
freezing cold and p*ss*d o*f, I checked it over and they couldn,t be
bothered to finsh fitting the battery retaining clamp as it was loose and
rattling aruond in the bulkhead, and they also left the negative terminal
loose and ready to fly off as the battery terminals are tapered, so one
bump and it would have come off, middle of the night, dark unlit road,
no hazzards, no nothing. Beggars belief. and she gave them a tenner
tip

I won,t mention who they were but it begins with H and ends in S.
I wouldn,t go back there even if I broke down outside

Vince.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:14 pm

well it turns out that they bypassed the standard petrol pump and fitted an electric one because the old boy kept flooding the carb.I dont know whether to leave well alone or put it all back to standard and see how it go's ( will post pics of there "work "later)

I think the cars biggest problem is lack of use , the tick over problem seems to have all but gone, the car drives nicely enough , all but a couple of dashbulb lights work and the glovebox even has unbroken hinges

started to have a look at the heater issue, both pipes still go through the bulkhead and get hot, so I guess they must still be connected through the heater , felt around through the stereo aperture and when turning the hot/ cold knob you can feel tensioning in the cables so I guess its either the cables are stuck somehow or the heater tap that was rebuilt is still fubared.

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:43 am

I've always bought 1.6 BX's since 1988, a couple of tips ...

1. They are usually fitted with the wrong spark plugs, check them out, I've even known Bristol Street Motors in Nottingham to put the wrong ones in when BX was a current model
2. The carb does tend to stick if it's been sitting around, and starting from cold can be a bit difficult in cold weather ....technique depends how long it's been unused. If it's been several months, put it into low suspension so that the starter motor is not trying to pump the car up, then run the starter for about 20 seconds to get fuel into the carb, then kick the throttle twice, then starter again and it should start. If you have an electric starter, I would turn on the ignition and hope that the carb gets filled, then try it on the starter, if it doesn't start, give it two kicks, then try again. If it's a hot summer's day and the car has been standing for a week or two, use the same technique but it may not work. If not, then go to 3. (also in cold weather and you've tried all this and it will not start, also go to 3).
3. If the engine is hot, slowly put the pedal to the floor on the starter, and leave it there until it starts. Do not pump the pedal. If it will not start, then lift off slowly back to the first venturi ....should be about half way, you will get to know where the changeover is from feel of the throttle when opening up. Keep it at that position now and it will now eventually start I quarantee.
4. I used to think that if the heater control was stiff, it was because the valve itself is stiff, but that seems to have been changed and maybe it was the cables all along ...maybe not. Try it when the engine is hot, that used to work in our first BX that was being surviced by Bristol Street Motors (who never changed the water, and I didn't know how shit Citroen dealers were in those days). NB ... I see it was changed before the head was changed, maybe a blood clot went from the engine to the heater valve and now you've got thrombosis of the heater valve

Why did it need a head rebuild ? ..... and heater valve ......label on the radiator (if the label is still there) says that the water should be changed every 2 years, yet it is not in the service booklet and in my experience it never does get changed. Probably that was the reason, so hopefully with new head, new heater control valve, new water pump, hopefully it's now a good engine again.

I totally agree with Vince, the only person one can trust to do work on a car is oneself, so it's difficult to assess a car when you've just acquired it, but this one sounds relatiively OK. And as for a car with FSH ...FSH = Frequently Seen Hurried workmanship

electrokid · Post by **electrokid** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:57 am

well it turns out that they bypassed the standard petrol pump and fitted an electric one because the old boy kept flooding the carb.I dont know whether to leave well alone or put it all back to standard and see how it go's ( will post pics of there "work "later)

I'd be inclined to leave it as it is because...

It's possible the original pump was faulty if it caused flooding...

If it aint broke it doesn't need fixing...

I'd probably find something more interesting to do...

I probably couldn't be bothered...

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:44 pm

/\ flooding more likely caused by the previous owner pumping the accelerator pedal when it wouldn't start (spraying fuel down the venturi) with the float chamber only partially full

electrokid · Post by **electrokid** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:09 pm

True - I still wouldn't make it any kind of priority though - a 'back burner' job for a warm summer's afternoon

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 12:14 pm

couple of under bonnet pics to show the workmanship

and as these heater hoses both pass through the bulkhead I;m guessing the heater is no longer bypassed

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:44 pm

SU electric petrol pump.

Reminds me of Moggy Minor days!

(And cleaning of it's points!)

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:42 am

That looks like someone has definitely been treating symptoms and not causes.

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:17 am

btw ..what do you mean "guessing the heater is no longer bypassed" ... you never said it is or had been bypassed ?

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:43 pm

just reread the receipt, got confused it says the heater tap was bypassed not the actual heater

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:49 pm

had one of the nearside strut return pipes pop off today, lhm everywhere, is it ok just to lop a bit off the end and refit it until I can get a new one,I take it they are just a push fit onto a metal stub as nothing seems to be there to secure it

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