Leaky BX Sunroof

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Roscoe
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Leaky BX Sunroof

Post by Roscoe »

I've got a '90 BX TZD that I brought over to Australia 6 years ago when I moved here. In the last couple of years, I've had major problems with flooding in the rear footwells and under the back seat - based on all the posts I've seen, it's pretty obvious the sunroof is the culprit. What I need to know is how to find the outlets of the drain tubes on the BX - my Haynes manuals (oh yeah, I brought those over too!) don't say anything about it. Also, my accumulator is kicking in almost constantly - every 10 seconds or so, and I've replaced all the spheres - any ideas on what the likely problem is. I've checked the obvious like LHM levels, leaks,etc. and don't see anything abnormal. Had the local dealer check it out and they didn't seem to have any good ideas that didn't involve replacing multiple parts.
Car has 134,000 miles on it, most of those in the UK (it doesn't have air conditioning [:(][:(]
Jon

Post by Jon »

What you need to do is remove both rear lamp clusters, you will then find both the drain tubes which (from memory) are balck rubber. Best plan is then to slide back the sunroof, then blow compressed air through the tubes to clear any blockages. Others recommend that wire be poked up both tubes to clear any obstructions, be careful here as the tube can tear easily.
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

Thanks Jon. I'll try that this weekend if it isn't raining - we get monsoons here compared to the gentle downpours in the UK!. [:)]
alan s
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Post by alan s »

As Jon says, the rear lights have to come out to acess the rear drains.
BX sunroofs have 4 drains, two front & two rear.
The rears are usually the culprits but if you need to get to the fronts, check out this site re: BX air/con as it also shows access to the front drains.
http://www.btinternet.com/~weird_world/BXinfo.html
Before you embark on a ny major demolition jobs though, open the sunroof & with a bright spotlight, look for the 4 holes at each corner. On the rear passengers side in particular, look out for a piece of Velcro (black) rolled up about the size & shape of a cigarette possibly stuck in the entrance to this drain inlet. This piece comes from somewhere inside the sunroof cover & seems to come adrift on all BXs & jams the drain as though it were made to do so.
As regards the accumulator; did you replace the accumulator sphere as well as the 4 suspension spheres & if so was it replaced with a new sphere or knowing Australia as I do, was it a regassed one?
Which State are you in?
Alan S
David W
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Post by David W »

Yep so likely to be the blocked drain tubes as Jon says. And as he mentions we all have our own way to sort this. I don't use compressed air as it is quite possible to blow the tubes off the connectors at the back of the sunroof tray...ie above the headlining.
I use a long old speedo inner cable which is nice and flexy with a rounded nose. This easily pushes up the tubes from behind the lights as Jon mentions.
If you pour a couple of pints of water into the sunroof tray you'll soon know when you've passed the blockage...and that will help wash the muck out.
Good luck.
David
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

Sounds like the 'velcro' stuff might be the culprit as I'm pretty sure the water is coming in on the passenger's side - that's the floor pan that seems to be getting the worst of it.
I did replace the accumulator sphere as well - it was a new one 3 months ago and they were all new when I left the UK - figured it would be easier to change out anything there that could go wrong than over here.
I'm in NSW north of Sydney on the Central Coast.
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

One other thing I forgot to mention - was reading a post on another site http://www.bx16v.com/ and someone on it mentioned that wiping down the fibre seal around the sunroof with petroleum jelly would swell it up and make it seal better. Anyone here heard of that or tried it...my seal is looking pretty sad and allows more water past it than it should given the amount I've had in the car.
alan s
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Post by alan s »

The only problem with the petroleum jelly caper is that once you get it on there, you've got a long term dust attractant that could cause your seal to chop out quick smart.
On clothes dryers & roller doors, it's considered a no no because of that & the fact that it causes things to chatter when opening & closing. They may get away with it in the UK because of the normal wet conditions, but out here with the heat & dry & dusty conditions, it would be risky.
I slackened the screws & then pushed the frame up on my sunroof & then retightened it & that improved my sealing.
If you need to have the hydraulics looked at, don't start playing Russian Roulette with some of the repairers in Sydney unless you know them. I'd suggest you firstly join the NSWCCC where you'll find a guy called (Nicknamed) Father Goose who is a TAFE teacher in mechanicals & is a Cit hydraulic expert. Failing that, there's an English guy called Tom Dolan who operates as Citromet at I think it's Penrith. Keep your enquiries limited to those two & you really shouldn't go wrong. Go elsewhere down there at your own peril!!
Alan S
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Post by Homer »

I used to clear the front drains on my BXs regularly by removing the trim from the inside of the A pillars (either side of the windscreen).
I cut a small hole in the pipe and pushed a length of wire up. Afterwards I would seal the hole with waterproof tape.
You have to be carefull with the clips holding the tim on though. And the trim it's self is fairly brittle.
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

Thanks folks. I've got a few things to try out now to stop the leaking and then it's on to other mechanicals. BTW, I found a cherry 'BX 92 16V GTi (or TRsi - I think) at a dealer hear with A/C and 92,000Ks on the clock - I'm getting tempted!
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

Well I pulled my sunroof out yesterday and threaded a nice piece of telephone wire up the rear drain tubes - couldn't see/feel any blockages. I poured some hot water down the channels on both side and it ran out the rear tubes with no problem...car was rear-down so couldn't get any out the fronts..or see them. I readjusted the sun roof and the actuator cams according to Haynes - the clearance is now as per book. Prior to this when it was leaking, the rear of the sunroof was down by about 4-5 mm, so in a heavy rain I suspect it was allowing too much water into the roof. After spending an hour getting all the adhesive from my 'temporary tape job' off the roof, cutting it back and polishing...I can hardly wait for a rain storm!
Thanks for all the tips on this...now my next job is accumulator sphere - I suspect it has had it as front is rock-hard and doesn't sink - this sphere was changed a few months ago but after looking closely at it I think it was a regassed job.
alan s
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Post by alan s »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Roscoe</i>


...now my next job is accumulator sphere - I suspect it has had it as front is rock-hard and doesn't sink - this sphere was changed a few months ago but after looking closely at it I think it was a regassed job.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I wouldn't be worrying too much about the accumulator; have a closer look at your front suspension spheres & an even closer one at your front struts.[:0][B)]
Alan S [;)]
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

Will do Alan. I read somewhere that pouring a small amount of LHM into the hole on top of the front struts will stop them creaking and groaning and smooth up the action...is this a good idea? They only creak occasionally when changing the height from low to high or vice versa, but the front is definitely harder than it used to be..I replaced the front spheres last year and since then only did about 5000 miles or so.
alan s
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Post by alan s »

The "LHM trick" is more myth than fact. LHM is a good hydraulic fluid with what is best described as "limited lubricating properties" so it will kinda work for a while.
I recently did both of our BXs but not with LHM.
Lift the gaitor on the outside of the strut & expose the shiny part up top & either grease or as I did, coat silicone grease on it & then do some aerobics (move the suspension up & down) and you'll soon hear & feel the difference.
Most struts go in teh slide bearing, however, I think in our dry climate, Aussie ones tend to bind a lot in the plastic ring between the inner & outer cylinders.
Alan S
Roscoe
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Post by Roscoe »

We had a nice downpour last night so this morning I checked out the car - dry under the rear seats, rear floor pans dry, and boot dry - I'm a happy camper! This weekend its under the car (on stands) to clean/lubricate the height adjusters and clean the LHM filters. If that doesn't fix the front suspension, I'll be changing the spheres.
On a bit of a different topic, I noticed posts on the general forum on mileage..I bought my BX 2nd hand at 90K miles when it was 4 years old, and since then I've put on 43K miles (I've had it 6 years), so my mileage is way below average. Mainly due to it not having A/C and since bringing it with me to Australia, been using my 4x4 for most driving as it has A/C...and the company is paying for the fuel!!!
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