Brakes!

[tim leech]

It may be just me used to driving new cars but my brakes seem to do nothing for the first cm of travel or so then they work but not overly well!

The dics and pads are all fine and theres no leaks!

One of the mechanics who moved it says it the servos thats probably on the blink As you can tell he knows nowt about citroens!

Oh lol and it has a VERY hard ride, but it doesnt bounce like they do when the spheres are knackered!

[Way2go]

Brakes need bleeding? 1 cm of free travel doesn't sound a problem.

For suspension - are your height corrector linkages seized?

[richard]

I get this on my Xantia too. The Xantia has ABS, the brakes are not what you would call 'bad' (still much better than cars with servo setup) but nowhere as near as sharp as the BX.

Just one of the reasons why I prefer the BX over the Xantia!

[jeremy]

I can only describe the brakes on my TD Estate (89) as sharp and it does have ABS which works.

Seems very strange after a few days driving round in a ZX 1.9D which does now stop well but has a very soft pedal action.

[Geoffrey Gould]

Hi Ile pop this in because it may give you something to think about having wrestled with the brakes on mine over a long period. Symtoms were brakes that lacked "bite" and were inconsistent, always "is it going to stop?". It always did.
1. Non asbestos pads do tend to lack bite compared with the earlyer type. There are some really horrible cheap pads about that tend to glaze up and not work too well.
EBC pads seem to be OK and do not generate very much dust.
2. Most of the problems were caused by the pressure regulator replacing this brought the brakes up and made a detectable difference (better) to both the steering and suspension. As there was an internal leak in the reg. then it was decided to replace it.
3. This may well not apply but on mine there is a spring loaded button on the brake pedal that makes the pedal feel soft.

If it's possible to get the pressures, cut out and in, checked that will tell you whats going on and if they are OK then thats one less thing to deal with. Providing there is a gauge available that can cope with the pressures then it's the case of adjusting the shims in the reg. to get the pressures correct. A bit fidley but cheap.
Cheers.
Geoff.

[AndersDK]

BX brakes are born sharp. Feels like "impossible" to dose for the newbie owner. If not - something is definately not right.

Opposite to standard systems - the BX brakes runs with a supply of ready-to-use hydraulic pressure for the brakes. Your foot simply operates a "tap" to feed this pressure on the brakes. Meaning it has nothing to do with your foot pressure how hard the car brakes. Proof : have the engine off for an hour or so, then try if you can brake the car rolling downhill. Be warned ! Have one hand ready on the handbrake lever

This system means that the condition of the pressure source directly influences the brakes function. Air (or gas) in any hydraulic system is highly unwanted as it causes a flexible element where its certainly not meant to be. Unlike standard brakes - in the BX any air in the brake lines will cause a noticeable delay in braking from you press the pedal. This is because the hydralic system needs a finite time to compress the air once the pressure is supplied. On releasing the brake pedal pressure the air expands again - and now waits for next braking to occur ...

Only remedy is to bleed the brakes thoroughly - and of course the front brakes are the first place to start.
REMEMBER : do the Citaerobisc first to vent out any air from the main/suspension system. Then set the car to lowest height and top up the LHM fluid reservoir if necessary.