ZX 1.4 Questions

[beko1987]

Hi Guys.

I've owned my ZX for 3 months now, and have a few questions regarding mechanicals:

HANDBRAKE - Try as I might I cannot get the handbrake to work well. It holds the car from standing, although only mainly on the passenger side. Pulling it up whilst rolling does nothing. I've had the rear brakes apart, and the pads are fine. It was a bit rusty in there, so I cleaned everything off, de-rusting, copper greasing and new springs etc. The normal braking isn't much better, and neither is the handbrake. Does this sound like a stretched handbrake cable? If so, how much of a pig are these to change?

COOLANT - The expansion tank looks like it's never been changed in it's life, it's brown, gritty and pretty rubbish. However the temp stays bang on 90, never overheats and the heaters are nice and hot, so I presume a good flushing is in order. I've heard that the expansion tank needs 'lifting' up with a bottle or similar to bleed properly, any hints for this? Also, where is the thermostat located so I can change it as a precaution?

TIMING BELT - I don't think this has ever been done (on 73k now, but 15 years old). What do I need to do the whole thing properly (pulleys etc) and how difficult would it be for a slightly below-average spanner monkey to have a go at? (Got the missus's meriva to do as well so want some practice before trying that!). It is quite tickety on idle, but still goes fine.

POWER STEERING - Whines very loudly on either full lock. Would a fluid change fix this or is there another common remedy? The fluid is pretty manky...

That's the major things that are wrong with it, if anyone can shed some light I'll report back when I fix them! The MOT is due in the middle of Feb, so the handbrake is the only MAJOR thing to do, everything else is just needed!

Here's a (rubbish) pic of the expansion tank. Can I remove the tank completely to clean it properly? I don't think it's done the head, there's no mayo on the oil, sniff test proved negative etc.

And the power steering fluid -

Thanks!

Sam

[citronut]

is it drum or disc brakes at the rear end,
if drums the cables do fail and are quite easy to fit but they wont affect the foot brake performance,

the usual thing if they are Bendix brakes is the tinny stainless steel pawl/blade that locks the adjuster ratchet, which is located on the bar between the top of the brake shoes, this blade goes missing and when its not there the adjusters wont adjust the shoes up with wear,

the only place you can buy the adjuster kit on its own is the main dealer around £60 quid for the ZX,
but i just did the rear brakes on synergie and in talking to my local GSF they said they have just started a new line in ready asembled shoes, ciylinder and adjusters, this kit cost me around £78 quid very good price, as the adjuster kit on its own from citroen was £112 ,

the other possibility is a cylinder ias sticking maybe just one end only,

the first thing with the coolant would be give it a good flushing out then keep an eye on it,

and it wouldent nurt to flush the power steering as well,

i have mentioned the head gasket failure on these engines in your intro thread

were are you located

[beko1987]

Thanks for the advice citronut. The adjusting mechanism is moving freely, nicely lubed up with copper grease, however:

To get the hub back over the shows I wound the adjuster RIGHT in, but now think that it doesn't auto-wind itself out quite that far, so need to take it apart again and check. I think the handbrake cables are at fault, the braking with them is uneven, so I think I'll buy new ones, their cheap enough on ebay. The cylinders do look old, but seem to be moving. I want to flush the brake fluid through as well, but again that's a job for the warmer weather!!

Coolant is due a good flush, but atm it's a case of 'it's not broke, so don't touch it!"

[addo]

Adjust your drums so when dead cold they are just "hissing" on the shoes. You have the leading and trailing shoes correctly sited, right? Well-adjusted drums lock up perfectly on a handbrake pull unless either the equaliser is duff or cables are binding severely.

The "U" shaped brake flex hose that goes to each trailing arm is a shocker for internal collapse, this is one source of poor rear brakes under max load; when lightly laden it may have a proportioning valve that backs off pressure available.

[citronut]

if you had trouble re/fitting the drums they have probably got a lip at the outer edge of the working surface, clean/grind this away, so you can adjust the shoes out as much as possible before re/fitting the drums,

whilst you have it in bits again its worth checking to see if the tinny stainless steel pawl is still in placve on against the adjuster ratchet,

also look inside the cylinder dust boots to se if there is any trace of fluid,

if so you will need to replace them,
in which case i would contact GSF to see if they do the ready to fit rear brake kit, these are very good and a lot cheaper than buying the bits separately

[beko1987]

This sounds like the best plan, there is a massive lip around each drum. Will buy some grinding discs and have a play! The little pawl is still there on the adjuster, once I had it fitted the right way round it even worked!

Thanks for the advice. Will update when I do any work (still too cold and snowy to even contemplate doing anything!