BX Deisel

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DoubleChevron
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BX Deisel

Post by DoubleChevron »

Hi Guys,

there is a BX19deisel for sale out here (one of the few in the country). To be honest it sounds like a desperate heap of sh!t.

Does anyone know what sort of fuel ecomony they get. I could be tempted to get one for my run to work & back if they are really cheap to run.

Does anything need to checked on the oil burner ? Is the diesel reliable... common problems with it ?? Is it a guttless slug or drivable (we have an 8valve BX TRi --basically a BX8valve GTi with budget interier). How would performance compare to that ?

I'm undecided if I'll look at, but it would be good to have a cheap car to run to work & back (My work has just moved so is a 20km drive and the car must be parked in the direct sun all day ... Not something I want to do to my CX GTi Turbo).

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
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Post by bxbodger »

Easily 50 English miles to the gallon and will run on supermarket cooking oil!!! If its been looked after it will easily outlast the petrol versions with basic servicing- mine had new injectors at about 215000 and apart from oil and filter and cambelt changes, thats it!!

With the price of fuel here and the crap economy of the petrol ones, having had the diesel I would not touch a petrol one with the proverbial bargepole-Having said that, however, without the turbo it is desperately slow- thats the price you have to pay for economy and longevity.
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Post by sleepy0905 »

I get about 58 to the uk gallon out of mine and i also run it on vegetable oil at a 70/30 veg/diesel mix :D
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DoubleChevron
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Post by DoubleChevron »

Thanks Guys,

so your saying it might be "slightly" slower than my CX2500 GTi Turbo, but get "slightly" better fuel economy.

I think I'll go and look at the car in the next few weeks, it really does sound desperate though. I'll have to look into the cost of Vegie oil out here too.

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
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Post by adamskibx »

Ive got the estate with this engine. Only ran into problems recently but I think im just overly parranoid and a good cooling system flush will restore the water condition. The non turbo engine is much more ecconomic round town but it probably gets cancelled out on the motorways and returns the same as the turbo as it does 3100 RPM at 70 MPH as opposed to 2500 or whatever the turbos do due to the different gearbox. I think people get less from the turbo because they use the turbo! Drive one like a normally aspirated and expect its just as good. The advantage over the turbo so im told is that its quieter and more reliable and is a lot more ecconomic in town and on country roads. If your not obsessed with speed its a very pleasant soothing drive. If you get a good one and are prepared to change the oil etc regularly you can travel at 100 MPH but it'll be in the red- I found 80 MPH and 3400 RPM the best speed to travel on the motorway as youve still got the power to keep the speed up steep sections and it does 50 MPG plus easily. The official 0-60 is about 15.5 seconds and I tested mine once and did it in 16 so you cant really say its fast. However the good torque meens you can leave modern superminis in your wake when accelerating from 50-70 in 5th uphill on the motorway.
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Post by jeremy »

I run a DTR Turbo estate (1989) with 200,000 on it and a ZX 1.9D with 78,000 (1994). Strangely they weigh about the same as the Zx is a tubby little beast. I'd have said there was very little in it fuel wise - my estae gets pushed fairly hard and will easily do 48 on a long run - the Zx will do 55 but a bit slower.

The ZX is aerodynamically much cleaner than the estae which is noticeable if you lift off at 80 - the ZX seems to go on for ever while the estate seems to slow quite rapidly. The reason I mention this is that the saloon BX is aerodynamically better than the estate and this was reflected in Citroen's quoted top speeds. The Zx is perfectly acceptable to drive unless you want to overtake uphill on a fast road.

Once you've had the negligible fuel consumption of a diesel and the consequent huge range you'll never want a petrol car again!

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Post by BernieLugg »

DoubleChevron wrote:so your saying it might be "slightly" slower than my CX2500 GTi Turbo, but get "slightly" better fuel economy.
I think it will be a LOT slower on the accelleration than your GTi, but by the same token a LOT better in terms of £ or As$ in the pocket than your GTi.

I wouldnt willingly go back to a petrol car now I have had Diesels for 5 years or so Shane. :wink:
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Post by DoubleChevron »

Thanks Guys,

I'm not sure if/when I'll look at it... Things to check for ... can anyone add to this:

--interior condition (expect 'trashed')
--rear arm bearings
--strut condition
--cambelt change
--spheres
--hardydisk
--general state of bodywork ( I expect poor)
--windowscreen
--air-con (if it's fitted)
--demister fans
--cooling system (for oil contamination)
--oil (for coolant contamination)

Anything diesel specific I need to add ??

BTW: I kind of expect what it'll be like performance wise, I imagine it'll be similar to the CX2200 diesel wagon we have.

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
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Post by Peter.N. »

Check for head gasket leakage, if its a turbo it will be more prone to gasket trouble but they go like the proverbial train. The non turbo is a lot slower but less gasket prone.
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Post by AndersDK »

If it's any help the engine is the exact same as found in Peugot 205, 309, 405 - diesels. And the Rover diesels. And the Suzuki diesel. And the ...

Saying : even in Ozzie I believe you can find these engines for parts 8)

PS : They are definately more reliable at less service cost - than their petrol counter parts. A "slow" diesel means a slow accelerating vehicle - NOT a slow cruiser.
Anders (DK) - '90 BX16Image
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Post by bxbodger »

Theres nothing much to add ot your checklist thats diesel specific other than to boot it hard and look for smoke- there should be a small puff of unburnt fuel on start-up, but nothing in normal driving. You may get a little bit when its beling really caned uphill, but there shouldn't be clouds of it.

It depends on how its been used- they are in no way a performance car and are bought for economy, so a lot of owners drive them slowly-
the thing to do when testing it is to give it an Italian tune-up:its what we have to do before the annual UK smoke test.

Get it hot and then boot it hard in second or third until the governor cuts in- you'll know when this is as it'll just stop revving any more.

Keep it on the governor for a while, ignoring the noise, and it may smoke really heavily for a short while- that'll be the crap being cleared from the exhaust. It should, however, clear up after a couple of minutes- if it continues then you need to dig a bit deeper. It may be something as simple as a clogged air filter, or it may be that the injectors are worn- not expensive, in the UK anyway, but still a bargaining point.
It may also be that someone has meddled with the pump settings to get a bit more performance out of it. You'll have to judge that one by looking at the seller, however.

If its OK buy it- give it regular oil changes, filter changes ( fuel, air, and oil- lots of people neglect the fuel one ) and cambelt changes and it'll basically last for ever. Its very much an automotive tortoise- slow and lazy but loooooooooong lived.........

and welcome to life in the slow lane.....
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Re: BX Deisel

Post by Clogzz »

DoubleChevron wrote:My work has just moved so is a 20km drive and the car must be parked in the direct sun all day
My commiserations for this upheaval, Shane.
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Post by citronut »

first thing to do is whilst its stone cold crank it over with the rad cap off,and see if the coolant erupts,is so it has defenatly got head/gasket probs,then get it runnig put it up oh high an d stand back look at the rear wheels from the rear end of the car to see what angle they are,also feel how hard the clutch pedle is,pther than that they are a very good car and not as slow as every one is saying,unless they are not set up properly
regards malcolm
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Re: BX Deisel

Post by DoubleChevron »

Clogzz wrote:
DoubleChevron wrote:My work has just moved so is a 20km drive and the car must be parked in the direct sun all day
My commiserations for this upheaval, Shane.
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I was wondering how long it'd take someone to mention that. I usually come home at lunch time to get out of the building at work ... It's a 100km/h cruise nearly all the way, so that's 80km per day (if I come home at lunchtime). So it'll get expensive quite quickly if I drive the CX turbo. You guys don't understand our sun either. I'll take some photo's today of the BX's interior I have here. The CX has the same plastic quality :shock: If I left it sitting in that sun for a year or so it's interior would be totally destroyed :( I do NOT want to do that.

seeya,
Shane L.
'96 Big BX 2.1TD exclusive slugomatic (aka XM)
'85 CX2500 GTi Turbo Series II (whoo hooo)
'96 Xantia VSX slugomatic (sold !!)
and of course, lots of old Citroens, slowly rusting away in pieces ;)
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Post by fastandfurryous »

DoubleChevron wrote:I kind of expect what it'll be like performance wise, I imagine it'll be similar to the CX2200 diesel wagon we have.
I would have said the 1.9 D BX would out-perform a CX 2200D. Despite all the comments about being slow here, I find the 1.9D engine surprisingly driveable, with what it lacks at slower speeds around town easily made up for in it's mid-range torque. Even after driving a 1.9TD 405 most of the time, I find a 1.9D BX not at all shabby.

Expect performance somewhere between a BX14 and BX16, (in terms of BX) or something like a CX 2500D, but with more top end.
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