Citroen AX Annoyances

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phil02
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Citroen AX Annoyances

Post by phil02 »

My 115,000 mile 1.0i AX has, apart from a thirst for new parts, a couple of irritating faults which my mechanic and I have both failed so far to identify and repair.
1. The engine has always since purchase 2 years ago with 101,000 miles on the clock "whistled" loudly under acceleration. It has recently started to get louder and is very noticable with the window open. I can't work out what is causing the noise. It only occurs when the accelerator is in a particular position about 1/2 way down.
2. The clutch has recently started to become quite jerky, coming off, particularly changing into 2nd from 1st, with a "clunk" and jerk, which is not nice. The clutch bangs quite audibly if you pump the pedal with the engine off but the mechanic says the clutch seems ok when he drives it, although it is intermittent.
3. Under load (such as going up steep hills) the engine clatters quite noisily. I think this is what is called "pinking" and it is very annoying. It stopped doing this after a dose of redex in the cylinders upset something, with a bang, lots of smoke and a head gasket change last year but it has since started clattering again.
Anyone got any ideas? Also, the starter motor keeps sticking - I can hear the solenoid click but the motor doesn't react sometimes. It has been to the garage 4 times with this and so far new wiring and a new solenoid have not solved anything. The motor is alledgedly ok. I have more or less given up on this though.
Thanks for listening...
Phil[:(!]
Rob Marshall
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Post by Rob Marshall »

With regards to your probs; can I have my ha’penny worth & so I can pretend I know something…
1. Could possibly be an air leak. Check the air filter, ducting and housing. Is the “carb” (or single injection unit: i.e. carb with an injector jet inside) got a gasket connecting it to the inlet manifold? These are troublesome and may have been taken off at some point by a previous owner, and not correctly refitted. Had this problem with a friend’s AX.

2. Engine mount? Is it soaked in oil & causing the drivegear to move about? Are the bolts holding the engine to ‘box tight? Could possibly be thust washers in the engine dying (unlikely but possible – does the crank pulley move in & out lots when the pedal is pushed back & forth??)
3. Put some Super Unleaded in it or add an octane booster to the petrol. Could be carbon build up. Back the timing off a little as a last resort. Are the spark plugs the correct heat range??

4. Regarding the startor motor, sounds like the solenoid. Sod it; get a recon one (about £70 from GSF I think), or go to a nearest Scrappy (or moonlit car park) & find a ZX, 205 etc etc with the same engine which looks like it has had a recent starter motor fitted & fit that. Test it works before you take it off the donor car. They are not the nicest things to take off though!!
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

The clutch does sound like an engine mount has gone- open the bonnet and get someone to go through the gears, rev it, let in the clutch, etc, while you watch- you should be able to see if there's a lot of engine movement.
However, I think the most likely cause is oil contamination of the clutch plate- usually caused by a leaking oil seal behind the flywheel- its quite likely on a small engine at this sort of mileage.
They are cheap to buy but the clutch has to come out to get at them.
My old Maestro became a right pig to drive when the flywheel oil seal began to leak at about 110,000.
Before you buy a new starter motor, take the existing one out and have a look at the teeth on the pinion and also the flywheel- it could be that the ring-gear is worn; this happened on a 205XS that I had, as the engine always stopped in the same position so one bit of the flywheel was subject to constant wear- and, surprisingly, a new
ring was available off the shelf at the main dealers for £22.00!!!!-again, not hard to fit, but the clutch, etc, has to come out......
Pinking, quite rare these days, is usually caused by carbon build up- also now quite rare, and thats what the redex probably shifted before- a change of garage may help, as you may be using cheapo fuel without the additives that prevent it.
With regard to the whistling, does it definately sound like air or could it be the alternator bearing starting to go???
phil02
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Post by phil02 »

Thanks for your replies.
I am not particularly mechanical - I can change the spark plugs and that's about it...! So some of your advice is a little beyond me but I'll forward it to the garage if it goes in for anything soon.
The starter solenoid and alternator are both quite new so they should be fine. The engine mount sounds terrifyingly expensive - the engine does move a little if I hold the engine block and rock it backwards and forwards, but not very much. The oil leak sounds about right, it does have a couple of small leaks.
I will try premium unleaded again - I put it in by accident before the pinking started again and it made the car go quite a bit better, so it's worth a try. I normally use BP or Sainsburys for petrol.
The starter motor is behaving reasonably well, apart from if the engine cuts out at junctions when it's been driven off having been run hot then left for a couple of hours (don't ask!). If this happens it can be reluctant to engage.
I'll keep your advice in mind, thanks for helping. We'll see what happens, but I'm reluctant to take it back to the garage AGAIN as it's getting rather embarressing turning up every 3 or 4 weeks, as has been the case. If the clutch really gets dodgy I will go see him though.
Thanks again.
Phil
cheesesliceking

Post by cheesesliceking »

ItDontGo
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Post by ItDontGo »

Mine pings a bit too. Its not healthy for the engine to let this go on all the way up a hill or something.
With regards the starter: I had exactly the same problem - every now and then it just wouldn't turn. Sometimes if I repeatedly turned the key it would eventually go but not always. Then one day it let me down for good and I realised it was the battery. I couldn't believe how bad the battery was even though it sometimes used to start. It must have just been on its last legs and occasionally it was too much for it. I dont think it takes a huge currrent to start an AX compared to a proper car as it wouldn't evem light the dash in my BX!
phil02
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Post by phil02 »

Battery? Now THAT's an idea. That would explain quite a lot of things, actually, and I think the battery is pretty ancient, if not the original...might be worth giving that a shot. Might be why it sometimes dies from cold on junctions and the wipers can be very slow sometimes.
That said, it doesn't get to go very far these days, no more than a half-hour drive at any one time, so it might just benefit from a really long run. I haven't seen the battery light come on yet, at least not since the alternator failed over a year ago...
Cheers
Phil
phil02
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Post by phil02 »

OK, well, long-term update is:
* New battery failed to do anything about the starter motor
* Garage confirmed clutch plate is probably contamintated with oil, so clutch plate needs replacing & gearbox oil seals need renewing, total cost of which, including labour of removing clutch & gearbox, will be too much so has been left to soldier on ad infinitum.
* Pinking helped by premium unleaded but came back when switched back to normal unleaded
* Still whistles!
In case anyone else finds this helpful for similar problems. Thanks all for your help.
Cheers
Phil
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

Pinking can be cused by a weak mixture - for example due to air leaks. Is this the cause of the whistle? probaly one of the vent hoses has come loose with age and all that is needed is a clip.
Starter - is the voltage in the correct range - ie engine stopped for a while is the battery voltage about 12.6 volts? if its low suspect a chargeing fault - start by cleaning connections. If its normal try connecting a meter reading volts between the negative terminal and the cylinder block (NOT the earth bolt) and then operate the starter. If you get a reading you have a resistance in the earth. You can try the same for the main power lead (positive terminal to thick feed on starter.) 20 volt scale is probably ok - you are looking for a volt or more.
jeremy
mbunting
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Post by mbunting »

I'm going to be really helpful here !
1) You say it happens at a particular engine speed, does it happen at this engine speed when you have the clutch pedal down ? It does sound like an air leak, although it could be the fan belt, or alternator.
3) I'm about to scrap a 1.0i because it suddenly ran out of oil, and started making funny noises from the bottom end ( like a really loud clicking, you know those executive cradle toys, with the metal ball crashing in one end, and the other coming out the other side - a little like that ).
We now have a 230k miler 1.5d AX, and on my 70 mile per day mixed commute ( 70% M/Way ), I'm getting 70mpg, where the petrol would get 50 with extreme caution.
CITMAN
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Post by CITMAN »

my zx 1.4i seems to suffer from pinking. My remedy when it starts is to add redex petrol treatment to a tank of petrol and then give it a longish fast run down the dual carriageway or motorway, using the revs more to get up to crusing speed of say 70 to 80 mph. I like to keep the revs at about 4000 rpm which equates to about 75-80mph. You may find this cleans all the crap build up out of the engine.
Did this on wednesday and the pinking has stopped for know.
phil02
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Post by phil02 »

Good suggestions. I regularly put redex in the tank, but the most it gets is a 70mph blast down the road a couple times a week - I haven't the heart or the earplugs to keep it at 80 for any time.
I expect the motor is down to dodgy wiring - everything else electrical seems to have gone wrong so that seems fair enough. It's tolerable now though so I'm not going to tempt fate by touching any more wiring - I've had my fill of blown fuses and short-circuits making the interior light come on with the rear wiper...
The whistle is definitely an air leak, but not one I've managed to find yet. I'll keep on looking.
This is a useful mine of info for other AX owners, so thanks to all of you.
And mbunting - don't tempt fate! If it heard the words "catastrophic oil loss" and "bottom-end failure" it'd try them out just for the fun of it.....:) I know who to blame if that happens now :)
Cheers
Phil
philhoward

Post by philhoward »

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

my zx 1.4i seems to suffer from pinking. My remedy when it starts is to add redex petrol treatment to a tank of petrol and then give it a longish fast run down the dual carriageway or motorway, using the revs more to get up to crusing speed of say 70 to 80 mph. I like to keep the revs at about 4000 rpm which equates to about 75-80mph. You may find this cleans all the crap build up out of the engine.
Did this on wednesday and the pinking has stopped for know.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
AKA...The Italian Decoke...
CITMAN
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Post by CITMAN »

tend to give it some every month or so and it sorts the pinking trouble out. at its mot the emissions where as follows co = 0 HC = 16 and lambda 1.00.
rubjonny
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Post by rubjonny »

The problems with the car cutting out, might be caused by your ignition switch which is a common fault on AXs. Replace this and it might also help with your starter motor problems?
There is another method to clean the carbon buildup from an engine, with the engine running slowly trickle a water into the top of the carburettor, and stop when the engine sounds like its about to stall. It might sound strange but it does work!
If you've ever seen the inside of an engine after a head gasket failure, you'll agree, it steam cleans it!
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