Clutch adjustment tips?

maxgreenwood · Post by **maxgreenwood** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:28 pm

I picked up my new Bx today as mentioned in the chat section. The clutch needs attention. Difficult to engage gears, especially 1st and reverse. Pedal has to be down on the floor and taking your time helps. no slip but it sounds like I might have clutch spin or drag? Been doing some interesting reading around the forum and it seems I may have success with adjustment, possibly using extra spacers/washers/nuts. NUTS! Why did I buy it? Just so I couldsit here on the ferry and enjoy a couple of pints worth of sleep deprived delirium .

It's a nice car as i explained on 'chat' quite like the 16 engine it's quite old school. Economy didn't seem too bad either. A few jobs for tomorrow. Early days, early days.

Any ideas for things cure or diagnostic related I could try tomorrow with the clutch much appreciated

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:30 am

I think Haynes covers the clutch adjustment well enough, if there's no adjustment left on the bolt, then it's a new clutch, but they're not too bad on the petrol ones, not too dear either

but oh boy what a difference it would make

The last thing you need to do, is to be forcing the gears in, this will burn the pre-selector rings out and stuff the geatbox. If it get gets really bad, stop the engine in order to engage 1st & reverse.

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:31 am

Of the 6 BX diesels I've bought, all but one have had a badly lubricated pivot bolt in the L-shaped lever at the gearbox end.

In my experience, that bolt needs to be lubricated every year (preferably twice a year at my km ratings) in order to keep the cable from getting longer and eventually cracking (either the cable or the L lever) after 5-10 adjustments.

In addition, it's worthwhile to consider adding some kind of catching wire to the pin between the L lever and the gearbox. Otherwise you will lose it if the lever breaks.

sdelasal · Post by **sdelasal** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:50 am

Riku- what is there to lubricate in the L-shaped lever at the gearbox end? - I thought the lever pivoted around the locating bolt via a nylon bush.
Good comment about '... adding some kind of catching wire to the pin between the L lever and the gearbox' - I used a couple of tie-wraps so that if the thing falls out it won't go bouncing down the road behind me. Steve

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:02 am

sdelasal wrote:Riku- what is there to lubricate in the L-shaped lever at the gearbox end? - I thought the lever pivoted around the locating bolt via a nylon bush.

That's what the designers have planned for, but at least in my experience, the thing tends to get moisture and dirt in between and gets sticky especially in the winter time. So every year or so, I take the lever off, wash it properly and add new oil/grease mixture in order to keep the moisture and dirt away a bit longer.

I don't know if it's as bad in the UK operating conditions - among the Finnish BX'ers it's a much discussed problem.

Linegeist · Post by **Linegeist** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:11 am

I agree totally with Riku on this. I've had the same problem and applied the same fix - with uniformly good results.

My French Mk1 BX actually started to split its actuating arm because of a partially seized pivot (muck and grit). After welding the split arm, I thoroughly cleaned and greased the pivot before reassembly, and the difference was quite astonishing!!!

I now apply 3in1 spray oil generously to the pivot bolt on a regular basis, relying on 'creep' to distribute the oil. Whenever I've popped the arm off, the pivot's always been nice and oily.

Gibbo2286 · Post by **Gibbo2286** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:34 am

Another problem to look out for with the L shaped lever is the web cracking in the middle of the lever.

I've dealt with a few of those, very difficult to see because the crack only opens under full pressure but it makes the lever flexible enough to stop the clutch clearing.

Pinch it up tight and a gob of weld will fix it.

The last one of those I did the customer had already paid £150 to have a clutch fitted and he was quite peed off that the fitter hadn't spotted it.

Gibbo

Nice timing Ling.

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:57 am

Gibbo2286 wrote:Another problem to look out for with the L shaped lever is the web cracking in the middle of the lever.

I've seen a couple of those too. The design of the lever was changed at some point to include a drawbar, which should reduce the stress in the middle area. Still, I think the initial reason for the cracking is the sticking pivot, and the cracks are just a symptom (as is the excessive stretching of the clutch cable).

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 4:42 pm

This is the one I made earlier.

You can see the bush, which is held stationary when the through bolt is tightened.

Hope this does the trick for you.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:51 am

a;ll the pivot bush's i have seen have been metal,

also it is ment to have a washer between it and the matting surface on the gear box,

i have found if the washer is missing the bush can sink into the alloy caseing of the gear box, which then causes the arm to be tight against the gear box,

regards malcolm

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 10:39 am

The new design has a nylon bush:

Not as eager to seize as the old metal one, but somewhat of a problem anyway.

(Looking at the pic, it's time to clean it again..

)

-Riku

maxgreenwood · Post by **maxgreenwood** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:57 am

Thanks for all the info here, very interesting.

I'm feeling much happier about my bx purchase, i took her out for a quick spin tonight and it's such good fun to drive, it's time for the XM to go. That was always the plan anyway. I'm glad i bought the BX.

I changed the acc sphere today, tick time sorted, and even stays up at the rear for a couple of hours +.

The clutch cable seems to be adjusted to its maximum, so i'll have to take a closer look at that L pivot arm. The clutch actually works perfectly, apart from it feeling a bit heavy. i think if the cable was shorter it would work fine, and make sure that pivot is free too. It seems to going rate for a Valeo clutch change round here is around €500.

From what i can gather it's a fair bit cheaper in the UK?

Post by **Defender110** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:00 am

It may just need a new clutch cable if stiff, they do stretch and start to go stiff as they cut into the sleave. Another thing to check is that your pedal box hasn't started to crack and split. I believe the symtom of this is the pedal going askew sideways.

maxgreenwood · Post by **maxgreenwood** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:42 am

Does anyone have the Clutch cable part number for a 1990 BX16 carb?

cheap one on ebay at the moment.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... ink:top:en

toddao · Post by **toddao** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:52 am

That number on that cable doesn't register anymore with Citroen..

There are four other varients for different models - none of which are available from Citroen. You'll have to try aftermarket factors or maybe someone's got one lying around?

The number you need is : 96 081 712 length 1455mm

This claims to be suitable Max.