Which BX?

[MULLEY]

All the engine varients & transmission types are good, but all are quite different to drive. I was always surprised by the difference in character between my 8valve Gti, TZD Turbo & my TXD 1.9n/a especially when they are all hatchbacks with 5spd manual gearbox. Each had its own merits, i really liked the Gti, it felt quick & seemed to have plenty of torque so didn't need thrashing, but i did anyway. TZD Turbo took some getting used to, certainly felt quite a bit slower, but once i got used to the lack of revs & its grunty turbo spooling up i rather enjoyed it. The n/a felt as though all the torque had disapeared, however its a lovely revvy diesel engine which is quite happy to pootle along with no real surge, but the torque comes in very low & is linear all the way upto its max revs, so if you need to get a shift on it will comply quite readily. Which is better, no idea tbh, they were all so different, but if you want reasonable performance for longish journey's especially if its fully loaded up a turbo diesel is probably your best bet as it has a longer 5th gear than the n/a diesel or the Gti.

My Gti probably managed on average about 30mpg, but i didn't really drive it economically, i did once manage 36mpg, so it would be possible to get that even higher by making an effort. The TZD Turbo ranged from 50 to 36mpg & my TXD seems to average low 50's & once managed 58mpg.

Having said all this Andy's 1.6 petrol estate looks absolutely lovely, its got 90bhp which makes it quite nippy & is extremely rare, drive it gently & on a run it should do low 40's, drive it hard & it'll be high 20's. So should probably average mid 30's which is a realistic figure.

Depends how many miles you want to do & whether you'll be doing motorway miles or not?

[Pogo]

Thanks again, I'm looking at a 1.4TE St Tropez in Worthing and a black 1.9GTI tomorrow belonging to Simon in London.
Excited!

[Dollywobbler]

If the St Tropez is the one I think it is, it's a bit of a stunner. The 1.4s are great fun. No PAS, but less complication. If you're planning lots of motorway driving, the GTI will be better due to taller gearing.

[Pogo]

Well I broke the first rule of car buying and bought the first one I saw, but I was persuaded by my mate and TBH, I wasn't sure I could live with the 1.4, when I knew I could have bought a bigger engined car.

So I now have a black 8v GTI called 'Albertine', one owner from new pretty much (Was the first owners company car which he bought and then sold to his dad for a few years) 63,something on the clock and really rather nice.

A few minor issues like the clock on the dash doesn't work (Common fault?, anyone have a spare they want to sell), Radio doesn't work (Easy to replace) and the suspension ticks every few seconds which I understand usually means a new accumulator sphere.

Really pleased though.

Can anyone point me in the direction of the post about changing spheres as I can't seem to find it?

Will post pictures soon, but I'm sure you will all know the car.

[Tim Leech]

I know the car and the Simon the seller, and a honest chap he is too, the car is in overall very good order, if you want it spot on the bumpers need painting and theres a few parking dings to knock out (cheap dentless repair)

The clock could be just the bulb (look closely and see if you can see anything), if not a clock is a very easy part to source and replace, the radio is also an easy fix, you can buy ready made wiring connectors to allow you to fit a new cd radio to the old loom without chopping anything around.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PC2-31-4-Citr ... 20d1cfae12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Changing the accumulator sphere isnt hard, but on a GTI the access isnt great, if you arent mechanically minded and dont have a sphere tool you may be best to get someone to help you.

Welcome to the club though!

If you havent arranged insurance try Footman James as they should insure you (if your over 25) on a classic policy for a very reasonable sum.

BTW where are you based

[RxBX]

Well I broke the first rule of car buying and bought the first one I saw, but I was persuaded by my mate and TBH, I wasn't sure I could live with the 1.4, when I knew I could have bought a bigger engined car.

So I now have a black 8v GTI called 'Albertine', one owner from new pretty much (Was the first owners company car which he bought and then sold to his dad for a few years) 63,something on the clock and really rather nice.

A few minor issues like the clock on the dash doesn't work (Common fault?, anyone have a spare they want to sell), Radio doesn't work (Easy to replace) and the suspension ticks every few seconds which I understand usually means a new accumulator sphere.

Really pleased though.

Can anyone point me in the direction of the post about changing spheres as I can't seem to find it?

Will post pictures soon, but I'm sure you will all know the car.

Here you go fellow, CHANGING-SPHERES

and welcome to the BXC !



.

[Dollywobbler]

Other insurers are available. I find Peter James very good (service and price).

[Tim Leech]

Other insurers are available. I find Peter James very good (service and price).

Indeed, avoid Adrian Flux though!!!

[Pogo]

Changing the accumulator sphere isnt hard

BTW where are you based

Thanks, changed the sphere this morning, but the 'click' rate (more like a hiss?) has gone frtom 6 seconds to 3 seconds.
Where do I go from here?, I'm going to change the LHM, but there must be a fault somewhere I assume.

BTW I'm based in Wiltshire

[Tim Leech]

Hmm that doesnt sound good, does it hiss now instead of click or is that the same, where did you get your sphere from?

[Pogo]

Yes car hisses now, I wasn't sure what the tick sounded like before, more the load on the engine changing when 'something' cut in.
I now uderstand the pump runs all the time and the pressure regulator is the noise of the tick.

I now have a hiss where as I didn't before.

Have I bled the system correctly?, I followed the instructions on here, is there a chance I did something wrong?
What is the hiss noise from the pressure regulator?

Sphere was from GSF, tightened hand tight and then a little bit more with a sphere tool.

[Pogo]

Update,
Changed the LHM this morning, cleaning out the 'pot' and the filters as per instructions in haynes.
I think I now know what the click is supposed to sound like and I can't hear a hiss anymore.
Click is every 5-6 seconds, where do I go from here, 'Plaides' or is there anyone close that's a good Citroen Hydaraulic specialist?
Live near to Bath, just over boarder in Wiltshire.

[saintjamesy89]

Wow, you must be the most local BX to me! I know of a very good and knowledgeable bloke in Yeovil (where I live), the garage is East Coast Garage and I have taken my BX in before, edned up talking for a good half hour about BX's and citroen's, he has an X1/9 too.

I work in Shepton Mallet, closer to you than Yeovil so if you want to pop over to hear the noise a HP pump should make you're more than welcome. Could be a tired pump, does the system leak anywhere?

[Pogo]

Many thanks for that

[Tinkley]

I've had 3 BX one 14RE with 150C unit engine and two 1.6 Athenas with 171 B2C engines. My 14 RE was not actually a bad car - in white ex Budget Rentacar bought in 89 with 12k on clock. It expired in
2004 after 175k after local oiks cooked the head gasket. Had one major overhaul when core plugs rusted out (you can trust a Citroen dealer to put tap water in the cooling from new) and things like clutch all 5 spheres etc were replaced. It would do anything fuel wise from about 33 to 50 depending on the temperature. Always ran it on Michelins. It did 40 towing a dinghy (I do and did a lot of sailing)
even took it to Holland in 98 after it had 130k on it with boat on back. Loved the lack of power steering. The 1.4 is OK unless you carry heavy loads ie full family or stuff in it where it is a bit gutless.

The 1.6 is definitely more powerful and IMHO well suited to the BX chassis. Economy is from 33 to 51
and towing around 43 mpg. To me I am quite happy with its perfomance at approx 100bhp/tonne.
In a perfect world I would have the Athena with grey interior, NO sunroof, NO power steering, and a good single spoke steering wheel (where the plastic plasticiser does NOT seep onto your hands in hot weather). Probably ditch the rear spoiler too - all a bit too late 80's.

I have been in a number of BX diesels and they are good but heavier on the front. Nice gentle massage from the 'chugging' at idle! The non turbo will sit all day at 3k revs (80 mph) and still be good on fuel. 50-60 mpg is normal unless you have a heavy right boot.

BTW the ticking from the Systeme hyraulic may be a high pressure pipe about to go. It happened on my old 1.4 and one of the high pressure lines got replaced. It had done about 160k at the time and that 88 car had the galvanised finish not the later (better) black coating.