1985 BX 19 GT 50.000MILES FROM NEW & FSH

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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benifotrem1
Confirmed BX'er
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 5:41 pm
Location: Benimarco,Spain

1985 BX 19 GT 50.000MILES FROM NEW & FSH

Post by benifotrem1 »

Just a quick hello to all of you in the UK from sunny Spain. 1985 BX 19GT

I'm new on here so I will try and tell you a little about me and my cars......

I am from England but I have lived in Spain for the past 20years. I have only retured once to the UK in 2007. I'm 43 years old (44 next month), married, 1 kid, dog, cat and the t-shirt LOL

I have just been given my bx for free from a friend. I first saw this car 12 years ago and I told him how much I love Citroens and that I had previously owned a BX and other citroens. Two weeks ago this guy phoned me out of the blue (i had not seen or spoken to him for 3 or 4years) He mentioned that he had bought a second hand SEAT Cordoba (what was he thinking) and he said to me that he was getting rid of the BX, so I gingerly asked how much he wanted for the car, imagine my suprise when he said that if I promise to look after it he would give it me for free.

NOTE....ONE OWNER FROM NEW, 50,000 MILES AND FSH!!!

I have just removed all the interior trim to give it a good clean and to remove 29 years of muck lodged between the seats and the center consul. Also the car had a strange fishy smell inside the car, the first owner is a fisherman so I think that this BX has transported a few fish in it time.
Due to the car spending all its life on the Costa Blanca there is ZERO rust to be found anywhere, do they rust in the UK?

I always said I would NEVER EVER have a bx again because in 1995 I bought a second hand TZD estate. It was terrible and safe to say the worst car I have ever had in terms of rebiability , 2 x cylinder heads and 1 x head gasket in one year, also all the pipes were replaced etc etc. I love the shape of the bx, especially the first series BUT once bitten twice shy, or so I thought lol, 19 years later here I am now back with another dreaded BX, WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!, BUT this time I have more knowledge and more importantly, more money to fix those leaks.
The suspension is working very well on the BX but it does have a bad leak at the front under the engine (looking at the car the leak is on the right hand side, any clues?) Due to the leak I can hear the regulator working more than normal. I knew about the leak but I cannot complain as the car was free and it's in very good original condition and with SO few miles under it's wheels.


I drove the bx from it's last owners home to my house (APX 20 miles) firstly I was very surprised at how quick it is! Secondly the road holding. I live in the country with some excellent b roads and the bx flew round the bends with not even a squeal.
I own an Audi Allroad with air suspension. It's a clever piece of kit and if I drive at over 130 on the motorway the car lowers it's self and later returns to normal ride height. The suspension on the Audi is not as soft as you would imagine and it is also VERY VERY expensive to fix. Last year I had to change one suspension leg, 1000 euros (none Audi parts)

The suspension on the Citroen is a lot more comfortable. The Audi is comfortable too but I think this is due to the front seats being more like armchairs.

I have previously owned a BX TZD estate, a mehari 4x4, 2cv, lna, Visa and an AX. So it's safe to say that I love Citroens. I now want a C15. They where on sale here in Spain until 2006 although production stopped in December of 2005


I will upload the photos of my BX 19GT as soon as possible.

All the best

Update The carpets and rear seat are now back in the car. I've got rid of the fishy smell. I am now looking for a tweed back rest cover or complete cushion with the tweed for the drivers seat, it's worn from getting in and out of the car.
Benifotrem1

1985 BX19 GT
1970 SEAT 124 ESTATE (same as FIAT)
1971 HONDA PC50

MODERN CARS:

2005 AUDI ALLROAD 4.2
2000 SKODA FABIA 1.9 TDI ELEGANCE
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MULLEY
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Location: Derbyshire
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern
2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN
1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
x 8

Re: 1985 BX 19 GT 50.000MILES FROM NEW & FSH

Post by MULLEY »

Welcome, unfortunately BX's rust in the UK :(

The hydraulic leak may probably be coming from either the Flow Divider Valve (FDV), it's near the pressure regulator which the accumulator sphere is screwed in. The metal pipes (4 of them) go into the FDV, they may just need nipping up. The FDV may also on one side be leaking, you'll see what looks like 2 discs in its body, if its leaking from those, a quick fix is to clean up the outside of the FDV where its leaking from, & then seal the 2 discs up from the outside with something that can tolerate LHM.

If its not that bit thats leaking, then it may very well be the octopus pipe that goes from the green hydraulic tank in the engine bay which goes down the back of the engine & goes into the front height corrector. Because it has to bend at quite an angle, they tend to split, if there is enough slack in the rubber pipe, then you could try cutting it back to beyond where the split is. This is just a temporary repair as it could split at anytime. Probably whats best is to trim the pipe back, & then add on an extra good bit of pipe as an addition to it, i hope that made sense.

If its not that, have you checked the strut return pipes which can be located in the wheel arches? If they are leaking, the lhm can run along the subframe to give the impression its coming from somewhere else. The strut return pipes are very easy to fit, its only the metal retaining clip which can be really akward & impossible to clip on if you don't have a tool which allows you to do it properly.

Hope the above helps, & i look forward to seeing some pictures of your car, sounds lovely :)
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN

I'm not just a username, i'm also called Matthew.
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Tim Leech
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Re: 1985 BX 19 GT 50.000MILES FROM NEW & FSH

Post by Tim Leech »

Welcome!

I also have a BX 19GT, 1985 and it has about 54000 miles from new and was a 1 owner car until 2007.
Lots of Motors, mostly semi broken....
benifotrem1
Confirmed BX'er
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 5:41 pm
Location: Benimarco,Spain

Re: 1985 BX 19 GT 50.000MILES FROM NEW & FSH

Post by benifotrem1 »

Hi, I've only driven mine for 20 miles and loved it. It is now of the road and being given some well deserved TLC.
Oh and mine is silver with light grey interior.
I was surprised how few gt's there are! Loads of gti's
Benifotrem1

1985 BX19 GT
1970 SEAT 124 ESTATE (same as FIAT)
1971 HONDA PC50

MODERN CARS:

2005 AUDI ALLROAD 4.2
2000 SKODA FABIA 1.9 TDI ELEGANCE
Mothman

Re: 1985 BX 19 GT 50.000MILES FROM NEW & FSH

Post by Mothman »

Piccies, where's the piccies!!

Andy
benifotrem1
Confirmed BX'er
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 5:41 pm
Location: Benimarco,Spain

Re: 1985 BX 19 GT 50.000MILES FROM NEW & FSH

Post by benifotrem1 »

I can't upload photos! Too heavy. The pressure is on to get my photos on here. I will also take a photo of the photo I have of my old bx estate, it looked the dogs baubles
Benifotrem1

1985 BX19 GT
1970 SEAT 124 ESTATE (same as FIAT)
1971 HONDA PC50

MODERN CARS:

2005 AUDI ALLROAD 4.2
2000 SKODA FABIA 1.9 TDI ELEGANCE
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