Have I bought a turkey?

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portugeezer
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Have I bought a turkey?

Post by portugeezer »

Hi everyone,
I have just bought a BX diesel for £200. It's going to be used to visit my wife, who's currently working in Yorkshire.
The only problrm is that there seems to be a small drip when the engine is running, of it seems like clean thin oil, emmanating from the rear of the engine. Could this be the dreaded hydraulic system? and if so am I looking at serious wonga to put it right?
Driving back from Sutton was marvellous, the ride was silky smooth and the diesel was purring. for a 15 year old car it's great. Can anyone recommend a reasonable mechanic in South West London as I really want to keep this car, but fingers crossed the leak is not terminal. very grateful for any help and advise.
Regards
Portugeezer.
Homer
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Post by Homer »

What do you mean "dreaded" hydraulic system?
There is nothing at all complicated about it.
There is a simple way to tell if it is the hydraulics which are leaking, the LHM fluid is bright green and feels like oil. Well it is bright green if it is changed often enough, it can go yellow or orange if left for 15 years.
I suggest you re post in the citroen section with a few more details.
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uhn113x
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Post by uhn113x »

Is it a fuel leak? Suggest you examine it closely to see where the leak actually is; maybe clean the engine down first. Engine oil should be black-ish unless just changes, LHM green-ish unless it has never been changed often enough - i.e. dealer servicing.
The only folk that dread the hydraulic system are some mechanics more versed in the art of sucking air between their teeth than diagnosing faults on cars. It is a simple and elegant design.
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

No, that's no turkey. You are in the right place here because we know more about BXs than Citroen ever did. A good Diesel BX for £200 is a steal. You'll get years out of it. I'm with Mike on this. Spend a little having the engine bay thoroughly steam cleaned and then it will be possible to identify the source of the leak. From your description of clean, thin oil, this could well be the dreaded Hydraulic system but if it is only a small drip then it is not likely to be in the high pressure side and it is not likely to be expensive to fix. Clean it up, get a digipic if you can so we can argue about the likely cause. (Pictures can be posted here; 640x480 is probably the best size for the forum)
There are lots of people here just waiting to help.
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

Turkeys generaly have a Viking badge on the front. Citroen diesels are good for loads over 150k miles. My old ZX td had a small oil leak from the head gasket at the back of the enine. Drove it for 12 months like this just put some of that cheap leak stopper in, no problems at all, no over heating etc. Sold it for £500 for my new to me Xsara VTR. The guys on this site realy know their stuff about Citroens and their'quirky' suspension.
portugeezer
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Post by portugeezer »

Thanks for the prompt replies guys, comforting thought that there is the support out there.
On further investigation, it appears to be comming from a split small plastic pipe on the passenger side, between the lower wish bone and the chassis, as you say low pressure return, and the oil green in colour.
Just put a tray under it so as not to upset the neighbours with oily patches. Found a useful contact for a garage in Redhill Surrey, John Witty on 01737-644828 who apparently has a passion for BXs, anyone used them?
Just bought a haynes manual from e bay for a couple of quid so I'm on my way. Just a quickie, where's the fuse box as the heater fans not working?
Good to know about the mileage as mines done 128k and was owned by a father and son since new, however recent service history is a bit vague,so I'll look into getting a replacement cam belt, Citroen quoted me at £150 but I'm hoping to improve on that.
Apologies as I seem to have posted in the wrong section, and next time I'll know. Once again many thanks for your help.
Regards
Portugeezer.
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Your problem sounds like a failed front strut. New, they are quite dear but repair kits are available and there are lots of postings to look at on this site detailing how to strip and rebuild the one that you have. All you need to be successful is scrupulous cleanliness. I have rebuilt struts before, it is not difficult.
Cam belt is an afternoon's work if you haven't done it before. We have a dim view of Citroen service here as a rule but a cam belt replacement for £150 is very fair, as long as that is the cost of a cam belt replacement and not a replacement cam belt!
The fuse box is under the glove box and the heater fan fuse won't be the problem. There are again lots of threads about this topic because the heater fan circuit has a design fault on many cars which has been identified and corrected by the paramilitary wing of the Citroen Sorcerers' Society. They are a doddle to strip down and clean up which almost always fixes them.
bernie
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Post by bernie »

Rear of the engine, passenger side could be the rubber pipe that fits on the security valve.
Good luck[:)]
bernie
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Post by bernie »

Before you replace the pipe remember to depressurise the system.[:)]
DLM
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Post by DLM »

Just another thing - check out the link in the"goldmine of information" post in this forum section. This BX DIY site will tell you plenty of what you need to know.
drpau
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Post by drpau »

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

Turkeys generaly have a Viking badge on the front. Citroen diesels are good for loads over 150k miles.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
My Rover 220 sdi (t'diesel, intercooled) had 150000 miles on it and would have done a hundered thousand more Im sure the way it was running before I killed it by driving through a load of water!The biggest thing that went wrong was the alternator at about 130K. Never broke down on me so I wouldnt really describe them as turkeys.
But comparing the BX with its equivalent Rover/Austin, that would be the Montego in terms of era i think, you dont see many montys on the road these days mainly down to the rust factor so in terms of turkeys I suppose that was one.
Sounds like a good buy for 200 notes mate, London to Yorkshire, that is a trek!
portugeezer
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Post by portugeezer »

Yep,
It's 244 miles door to door, Fulham to Beverley.
I have been doing it on my motorbike (well actually a BMW C1), so a car with a heater(when I repair it) will seem like heaven.
Regards
Portugeezer.
drpau
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Post by drpau »

244 miles on a motorbike? How is your back after that sort of journey? Ouch!
DLM
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Post by DLM »

Porugeezer - you have heater problem on a BX? Do you mean the ventilation side of things? Does it blow but not provide heat?
I suggest you describe the problem on the Citroen forum where a number of us have debugged and fixed the BX heater/ventilation system (even when it proves embarrasing, like the very recent occasion when I removed the fan to clear out debris from around it and didn't notice I'd disconnected a lead during refitting).
Odds-on you should be able to get it fixed (and save time/money).
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

Rover used the good old PSA deisel engine later on but, those gruff perkins they first used, blimey!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME! (above the noise).
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