Citroen ZX

madon37s · Post by **madon37s** » 26 Sep 2009, 07:14

Hi All

I have just bought a Citroen ZX 1.9 Diesel car.

I have a couple of questions really!

First, the brakes don't seem quite as good as I think they should be and was wondering if there might be something wrong with them although it did pass an MOT in July! They just don't seem to bring me to a stop all that quickly (my other car has discs all round and that stops o a sixpence!)

Secondly, the car seems to pull slightly to the left constantly which I thought would be tracking but I rang a Kwik-fit up and he said that it may not be tracking! the drivers side front tyre does have some wear on the inside edge of it but the nearside tyre is ok! I am a bit confused about this.
I have put the right tyre pressures in as I thought that could be the problem but it wasn't.

Any help with my little problems would be very much appreciated and I thank you all in advance of this.

I must say that this little ZX is a great car and I have managed to get 60mpg out of it (which is why I bought it as I am commuting to work over 100 miles a day!)

Kind regards

Paul[/img]

Post by **myglaren** » 26 Sep 2009, 08:12

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum.

Firstly, although on this occasion he is probably right, I would take advice from KwikFit with a pinch of salt.
Some of the guys that work for them are great, but the rest - not so much and company policies are pretty suspect too.

I'm more inclined to use ATS but they are a big chain too and can suffer the same problems. My local one is great but I couldn't vouch for any other branch.

It is possibly a dud tyre. Try swapping them around and see what that does to the symptoms before embarking on possibly expensive remedies.

It could also be wear in the steering gear - a worn track rod end, for example.

Have you checked the condition of the braking system? There are quite a few factors that impinge on braking efficiency but the condition of disks & pads, drums and shoes is where to start.

The flexible hoses on the front brakes can deteriorate and soften, the braking pressure will blow them up like balloons although not quite as dramatically, so braking pressure is lost there.

If you can pump the brakes and have them work better then it is less fun and more expensive, usually points to degraded master cylinder components.

Having said that, I have never had a ZX or even been in one but my youngest son has a 306, which is comparable. He is fine with the brakes but they compare poorly to mine on the C5.

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 26 Sep 2009, 09:24

Pulling to one side or another can be caused by a number of geometry issue's , save some time and money by getting the car checked on a laser geometry rig. This will indicate any issues with tracking , camber , castor , shell distortion , wheel positions , in fact anything that isn't right will be revealed. Phone around your local tyre fitting centres to find one with this equipment , it's well worth it. The one I use in Worcester doesn't charge if there is nothing wrong with the car. I even use them to set up new suspension installations on high performance Jap cars , they can set whatever camber , toe in/out etc that I want.

Brake wise , I reckon you have a sticking caliper or 2. If it were mine I'd check the pads in the front calipers , clean them all out & copper grease them. Could also be a wheel cylinder or shoes on one of the rear drums.

madon37s · Post by **madon37s** » 26 Sep 2009, 19:46

Hi guys

Thanks for the quick replies. I shall do some changing of the wheels and see what happens!

I will also try and find a decent tyre garage to possibly have a look at the vehicle geometry.

Kind regards

Paul

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 27 Sep 2009, 02:43

If you've got a single brake piston with sliding calipers then pulling to the left could be caused by the sliding calipers on the front left not sliding properly. There are two metal shims/bolts on which the caliper slides and four rubber gaiters. Check the gaiters. If they've split then the caliper slide might seize and this usually causes one brake pad to drag and wear quickly. Try spinning the wheels to see if one drags. If you take the brake pads out you can check the slides by trying to slide the caliper with your hand.

Paul