Octopus Do not be frightened!

pmhpmh · Post by **pmhpmh** » 22 Sep 2005, 01:12

The Octopus! Some tips to be read in conjunction with Anders guide.
I was going to scrap my BX Turbo as it had suddenly developed a thirst for LHM and the leak was obviously from the Octopus area, but I could not readily identify the exact source of the leak. So in the end for the sake of £30 I took the plunge, bought an Octopus from GSF and decided to have a go. I do have the advantage of a pit, but in my younger days could probably done it with the car lifted on ramps under the front of the body.
Before staring clean off the underside as much as possible with a degreasant and a good pressure wash, it makes working so much easier. First get several copies of the colored pictures from Anders guide and put them in plastic sleeves so they can be used under the car. Read and understand exactly what he says, it is invaluable.
Removal of the rhs drive shaft is a MUST, and also the rear engine mount bracket. How anybody can the job without doing this I will never know. Measure how much gearbox oil comes out so that you can top up without overfilling.
Before getting the old octopus out it was obvious that I had a small leak from where the front HC stud fitted to the octopus rubber pipe, but there was also another well hidden leak. Once the octopus was out it was an obvious split of the rubber at the “root” of the pipe on the octopus feeding the lhs 4mm plastic pipe. (Not the normal place, (which is the root for bent pipe for the front hc). How you could identify this as the source of the leak without removing it I do not know!
All the pipes under the car are obvious as to where they route so it is not worth labelling them as suggested. However label the pipes that run back to the reservoir so that they can go back to correct points if only to make life easier for the next owner to diagnose problems. DO NOT do as I did , use masking tape with ball point pen! LHM dissolves the writing!!
Now for how I cheated and made the job easier. If you are a purist and wish your car to be original stop reading NOW.
The 2 plastic pipes (4mm and 5mm) that run to the rear of the car are almost impossible to refit into the octopus with any degree of certainty. Cut these rigid pipes (Staggered by 5cm) about 30cm back from the front cross member, fit the short pieces to the octopus off the car, and rejoin using joiners as below.
The long rubber pipe to the front lhs can similarly be cut and joined to make fitting easier.
I did not use Anders technique for the both the HC connections (octopus and operational flow return) as the life of the car will be limited any way, but if you are planning on keeping the car for some time it is undoubtably worth doing while you have it in pieces.
I used an alternative route back to the reservoir, running vertically up in the rear rh corner of the engine bay, and extending the octopus returns to join the existing pipes.
Remember the octopus is only a very low pressure return system so push fit joins are satisfactory, use ties or fuel clips on joiners if you are in any doubt about the fit.
Joiners, have to hand some 1/8 inch or 3mm ID fuel pipe for joining 4mm plastic pipes, some 4.5mm ID fuel pipe for joining 5mm plastic pipes and use citroen 3.5mm steel pipe as an internal joiner for the rubber octopus pipes. Ensure a good length of insertion to create a good seal. Using pipes with a ready made pip is useful if you can get some from a scrap car.
In reality I found the job much easier than I expected, although somebody who claims to do it in 2.5 hrs must have done it a few time before!
If I was doing it as a long term project I think I would go down the route of making up all copper pipe with soldered joins and creating a routing thro the available space where the windsreen wiper etc fits, and then piping out to the reservoir.
I hope somebody finds this useful and it encourages them to keep another BX on the road. Moderators feel to modify this as you think fir if you wish to post it as how to guide.
One final question, WHY does the octopus not get made as 2 separate pieces, my understanding is that there is no cross linking, so why not cut it into 2???

Stinkwheel · Post by **Stinkwheel** » 22 Sep 2005, 01:35

Only one small point.
You sound to have made a great job and saved yourself a lot of hassle in the long run but............the fuel pipe you used as jointing peices will not be resistant to LHM and over time will perish and start to leak Im afraid. The LHM tubing is a special concoction of rubber to resist the perishing effect of mineral oil.
Thought it best you know.

pmhpmh · Post by **pmhpmh** » 22 Sep 2005, 02:16

Thanks for that comment. Are there any other compounds around that are resistant to LHM? I can easily replace the 2 short sections using silicon tubing as they are easily accessible. I can probably use dead octopus for joining 4mm tube with a little persuasion. Do you know if PTFE tape or liquid is LHM resistant?
I had previously posted a question ( I am not sure whether on here or an alt site) concerning suitability of fuel pipe and several people had recommended it!

Post by **Peter.N.** » 22 Sep 2005, 02:35

Diesel fuel is mineral oil, so I would have thought that fuel pipe would have been OK.

czenda · Post by **czenda** » 22 Sep 2005, 02:39

I used a transparent flexible plastic pipe from hardware store (not sure about material, possibly PP) more than a year ago when fixing leaking safety valve overflow.
It is still there, no leaks, no cracks.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 22 Sep 2005, 02:47

if you feel the need to resort to cutting these pipes,why not use some of the good lengths of the old octafeline thing to join the pipes you have cut,i never remove driveshaft or engine mounting but i do seperate the track rod end from the hub and turn steering hard to the right which gives more access,i have probably done about 20 of these now and 99% of thwe time the pipe that goes to the H/C from the feline thing usuly slits where it is moulded to the block,it also payes to check the other rubber pipe that goes to the H/C as this does split where it comes from the other spout on the H/C,i just cut all of the octafeline thing pipes off then unplug the 4 push fit plastic pipes,easy peasy
regards malcolm

dnsey · Post by **dnsey** » 22 Sep 2005, 03:49

I've used metal tubing in the past for hydaulic repairs (hint: old aerials have their uses), and always carry a few lengths in case of emergencies - cable ties will secure the hose to them quite well.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 22 Sep 2005, 05:11

Bits of old brake pipe are about the right size as well
Jeremy

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 22 Sep 2005, 14:57

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by citronut</i>
i never remove driveshaft
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Neither did I when I did my BX, although I did remove the top mounting so that the engine could be jacked.

oilyspanner · Post by **oilyspanner** » 22 Sep 2005, 23:10

I did mine while the motor was out, and it still took over an hour!
Stewart

pmhpmh · Post by **pmhpmh** » 26 Sep 2005, 12:30

For reference I posted the same starter comment on Citroenz.com and it attracted some interesting replies. I have put the link below to help an future searches.
Interesting note about Citroen time of 2.5 hrs, and a Cittroen mechanic who reckons he can do a GT in 50 minutes!
http://citroenz.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... 25ee49b155
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