Towing with a Citroen BX td

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Sl4yer
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Post by Sl4yer »

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


I understand that the BX does not have a temp gauge (just a "game over" light?) <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Ha! My 1.4i ZX only has one of those! Really, what do they save by putting these cheapo panels in the low-end models?
Shane, that video is mint!
DLM, my ZX TD has two fans (I just noticed tonight). I haven't 'annoyed' them into action yet...I might try it this weekend before the weather gets too hot. I've only had it two months, and I have no evidence of them working (or not!).
I've never considered towing personally, but the trailer tent sounds like a good idea if I can grow the patience to tow it!
DoubleChevron
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Post by DoubleChevron »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">As for it not getting out of second, clearly the models you have driven have been lacking a turbo, or just badly maintained...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Nah, you don't understand our local car industry. The average family car weighs about 1700kgs (ie: XM sized cars), they have at LEAST a 3.8 litre V6, if it's smaller it's a quad overhead cam 3.5litre bent 6. Many are 5.7litre bent 8's. My CX2500 GTi Turbo would struggle to keep a base model local car in sight. Eg: a 10,000pound new Ford Falcon, no electric window, no options, cheapest model you can possibly buy. 0-100km/h in 7.8seconds (no, that's not a mistake, 7.8seconds for the 0-62mph sprint [:0] ). With that sort of sheer power and brute size available for very little $$$$ (much, much, much cheaper than a C5) could you imagine how utterly crazy people would think you are trying to tow a caravan with a 4cylinder 1.9 litre car that weighs barely 1000kgs Image Image
Now you can understand why I was concerned, especially given the sheer mass of a 16' caravan out here (see previous picture).
seeya,
Shane L.
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

Right Shane -
The average family car size here in DK ranges from C5 size 2L's down to Korean 1.2L mini's, all with towbars fitted.
That's of course mainly caused by tax issues, as everebody can see it's sensible with as big as possible an engine/car to tow a nice large caravan.
As an example, in-laws are driving a really nice '98 1.6L Skoda Octavia (VW/Audi derivative) Estate, towing a 17' one-axle caravan.
You cant really compare directly, as Europeen cars are loaded by higher tax on purchase, road tax, fuel tax and initially the high personal income tax.
It's like american visitors, laughing out our small cars, and keep asking for a decent size car, until he have to pay for it himself, either purchase or lease [8]
lewpy

BX TD Towing

Post by lewpy »

Towed all sorts of caravans superbly but watch the weight.

Took car and 16ft caravan to local weighbridge both fully laden , car 1300kg - van 1250 kg but I am well experienced .

Citroen original radiator is garbage and silted up despite flushing , after market replacement much better
( chinese !) and much cheaper

Changed the [b]Coolant AND thermostat every 2 yrs [/b], it did the head gasket once due to stuck - stat '

Fitted dashboard switch + warning light linked to fan relay via ignition circuit , allowing me to use fans BEFORE cooling temp got too high

I have had 4 BX's because of their towing qualities and would buy another if they still made them ! no stupid electronics to go tits up ! surpassed by modern machinery in terms of power , but not reliabilty.

Incidentally , the last of the line came with a steel instead of plastic bonnet , and ran a bit cooler !

Forot to add - When changing the CAM BELT on XUD engines including 1.7 , 1.9 + 2.1 , put a NEW WATER PUMP on as well , they suffer from cavitation and it makes a real difference to the cooling especially at lower rpm. e.g stop start traffic and labouring up hills .
Last edited by lewpy on 24 Nov 2006, 10:18, edited 1 time in total.
wrinklet1
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Post by wrinklet1 »

Just an idea for you,
why not run a wire from your cooling fans and put a warning light on your dash to tell you when the fans are working? I did it on my Bx and it was invaluable to me when I was towing, its easily done and you can use a spare warning symbol on your dash, thats all I did.
Paul
1xAmi,3xGS,2xBx,2xAX,2xSaxo,1xXantia mk I,2xXantia MkII,1xC1,2xC2,
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

Warning light is a good idea - and if the fans are running for any length of time when you're going more than 30 MPH I'd say you'd got problems - as the draft from the forward motion of the car should do all the cooling you need.
jeremy
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