End of BX life crisis

[Jaba]

I was driving along happily in my old workhorse, the BX TD estate at the same time as Thatcher was being interred. When suddenly the suspension became solid and there was an awful lot of clonking from the rear end. The rear subframe had fallen off ! My BX had died too !

Is there some synchronicity here ? My BX TD: born when Thatcher resigned and died when she did. Is my BX right wing too ? I hope it is just right hand drive, apolitical, comme moi .

Anyway, Maggie aside, is it really dead. I don't know as I have no idea if this is a reasonably easy fix. It looks as though there is serious rusting at the rear end which will need some extensive welding which I am totally incapable of doing.

Does anyone have an idea what might be involved to fix this economically ? I actually drove it for two miles like this before deciding that perhaps I should invoke my RAC home rescue.







RIP shall I book the abbey now ?

[Mothman]

I would say that unless you have loads of money and really love your BX then its time to part company.

Buggered is the 'polite' term i would use.

I would say she is dead, whatever others might say in her defence, dont listen!
Whats the other side like?

Andy

[RxBX]

I would say that unless you have loads of money and really love your BX then its time to part company.

Buggered is the 'polite' term i would use.

I would say she is dead, whatever others might say in her defence, dont listen!
Whats the other side like?

Andy

Andy, take a closer look @ both photo's

You can see that photo one is the N/S (The one which is showing the four hydraulic pipes) and photo two is the O/S (Which you can also see the N/S/R wheel in the background) !

Jaba, take a look at Des's 'St. Tropes Restoration Blog' to give you an idea of what it may involve



Click on photo for link to Des's Blog !

Good luck whatever you decide to do with it !



.

[saintjamesy89]

I'm very sad to hear it John, and quite surprised not to see any green puddles. It looked like quite a tidy workhorse when I saw it, as you say. Had a good engine too, smoother than mine. Let's hope it can be saved, or if not then help to save others

[Mothman]

Still buggered bud.
However, if money is no problem then anything is repairable

Its a major job where everything has to be just right or things just wont bolt together. New bodyshell would probably be cheaper!!
I agree with Tom too, a very sad sight. Hope it can be fixed but i wont hold my breath.

Andy

[JayW]

That's really NOT as bad as it looks! I've dropped a couple of subframes out to patch up those rails (quite extensively on one of them) and Doc's done god knows how many. it's not difficult to get the boltholes correctly positioned.

Disconnect the pipework and drop it completely and start weldy weldy. If that's the worst it has to offer and you can weld (know someone who can) i'd say it looks perfectly repairable with some skill and patience.

If it were mine I would if i thought it was worthwhile.

[Vanny]

If you have the room to at least dismantle the thing, then it's not going to be too expensive. Even a mobile welder isn't going to charge an astronomical amount once everything is stripped out. I doubt even with paying someone to do the weldy weldy it will cost more than a couple of hundred quid. The question then is, what else is in the same state?

To describe it as a major job is a little OTT imho, okay its more than changing a spark plug, but it isn't a complicated fabricating job, cut back to good, make a new piece, weld back in. Getting alignment is a simple enough task, made easier with the Thatcham repair book or the Citroen Workshop Manual.

If it where mine, I'd do it myself, though i'm sure there will be a good few voices suggesting its an evil car and should be buried forth with.

[mat_fenwick]

Leaving aside any sentimentality, you have to ask what else is in imminent need of doing? If it was mine, then I'd weld it no question. It'd certainly be worth getting a quote for the work before making any decision - there'll be a big difference in a proper job and a 'keep it going for few years' job (which may be fine for a workhorse).

[citronut]

its a shame but if you do get it fixed the mounting points should really be jigged to get the alignment right,
otherwise it will continually knock out rear tyres for the rest of its life

its one thing reconstructing things before they come away completely, but as both sides have ripped right away
thats another ball game,

saying all that its all repairable dependent on skill level
regards malcolm

[B-Hive]

like has been said..../|\ ..... anything is fixable but the cost will be inversely proportional to your skill levels..
|
Sorry that this happened to you,,, the cars name wasn't Maggie by any chance?

My question is how the heck did this past its last MOT??

Bon Chance !!!

[KevR]

My question is how the heck did this past its last MOT??

Not so easy to see up there when it's all in place - especially if someone's sprayed it with underseal at some point to cover up the horror....

[Jaba]

Thanks for all the input. If I were a welder then I would obviously do it, but I'm not. Although I am quite capable of stripping the subframe out.
So I have got in touch with a mobile welder to see if he is interested as I don't think my local garage would be the right way to go.

Getting alignment is a simple enough task, made easier with the Thatcham repair book or the Citroen Workshop Manual.

Vanny, how would the Citroen Workshop Manual(which I don't have) help ?

In the meantime I am thinking about what bits of 'Maggie' I could make use of elsewhere in the BX fleet.

This episode is very bizarre actually as I had just made an appointment for a test drive in some modern tin, another diesel estate, the morning before the breakdown !
I have subsequently bought this car as I do need an estate on the road.

[ACCM Jelle]

Oh my god

[Mothman]

Oh my god

What?

[citronut]

This episode is very bizarre actually as I had just made an appointment for a test drive in some modern tin,

thats why she'z thrown her toys out the pram, its called the Herbie syndrome

regards malcolm