"Barn Find" 1982 or 83 CX D25

[alfaholic_155]

Hello everyone,
My name is Taras, I am from Norway, but my parents live in Tarbes, France. I am here on a slightly long term visit as I am switching jobs from one company to another.
While bumming around here in the south, I came across a CX sitting in the neighborhood. I dont have the slightest clue about these cars what so ever, as I have been working on Italian Fiats and Alfas for as long as I can remember. Neither have I ever owned a diesel either

So, for a good bottle of wine the CX is now in my garage in France, long story short, it does not run, I have taken the pump apart and out of two pumps (Roto-Diesel) I managed to build one, using the best parts from both. But still nothing, so the pump along with rusty injectors is now at Kennedy-Diesel in Tarbes, I should have them back next week.

The car came with a ton of spare parts, either as an indication to its condition or "just in case" donor car parts, we will see, if I ever get it going...
The spares consist of lots of various parts, some of which are new and still in their packaging, such as bearings, CV joints, suspension hoses, extra lights, clutch and speedometer cables and so on.

The engine, M25/629 does not have a timing belt or chain, instead, it has gears all the way from top to bottom, and I cannot seem to find the right position for the engine to be in, as the markings dont line up. Can anyone shed light on this? Cam and crank position, in relation to the pump position during the installation? My goal is to have it running by the end of the month and take it back to Norway.

As far as the condition of the car, she is 99% rust free, with all the lights in working order, along with very well kept interior.

Any help would be highly appreciated, I really need to set the engine to TDC so I can install the pump! Also, can anyone tell me if this is an interference engine or not?

[white exec]

Hello Taras, and welcome to the forum.

Looks like a fascinating find, and project.
For timing info, my guess is that the Haynes' manual will detail this:
https://haynes.com/en-gb/citroen/cx/1975-1988.

The manuals were extremely good on detail in the '70s and '80s.
There's one on Amazon.fr at the moment:
https://www.amazon.fr/s?k=Haynes+manual ... nb_sb_noss

[alfaholic_155]

Chris,

Thank you for the approval of my post,
It is indeed a curious car, never had anything like it, and its growing on me... Just wish I could get it going! And its a race against time before I must leave for the cold Norway..
Thank you for the links, perhaps someone has a CX with the same engine as mine, and could shed some light on the timing, or simply take a photo of the pages indicating the TDC setting? Anyhow, I shall order the manual!

[alfaholic_155]

Also, I noticed on the Haynes manual it says "Petrol", and will be no good for me I am afraid.

[Stickyfinger]

Maybe CCC Facebook pages could help in this instance as speed is of the essence..

https://www.facebook.com/groups/100130886699197/

[white exec]

Sorry, didn't see that.

Haynes did do an excellent manual for XUD 1.7/1.9 diesel engines, separate from the body-electrical-mechanical manuals for the cars. I can't see one for the 25/2500D engine, though.

You could try this...
http://ebaman.com/index.php/remository/ ... itroen/CX/
You'll need to Register, but it's free. PDFs.
(I have the 8 volumes for Citroen XM, actual Citroen pages.)

[alfaholic_155]

Stickyfinger;

Thank you, I have now sent a join-request to the FB group.

Chris;

I have searched far and wide for some info, and I will check out the link you provided.
However, I think the best knowledge may come from those that have this engine in their car So I have my fingers crossed that someone might help me out here, or maybe even knows someone in the south of France who might be able to assist.

[ekjdm14]

Excuse me whilst I scrape my lower jaw off the ground & attempt to pick the gravel out of my teeth!

That looks one heck of a good find, especially at the price. What worries me is, why were the injectors rusty? Has it suffered water in it's fuel per chance, or has the engine had a drink? With the injectors out, and the rust borne in mind, I'd be keen to do a compression test to see what state the engine is likely to be in. Obviously a cold test on an engine that hasn't run for some time is not going to provide the most consistent figures so don't worry about difference between them, but I'd hope to see at least somewhere around 300+ psi on all cylinders for it to be "startable".

Was there any back-story on the car, mileage, how it came to be laid up etc? I like it a lot!

[white exec]

You could also call these folk in Staines, UK, who are involved with CX (and other) parts/workshop.
Might be able to help with a lead to literature.
http://www.citroenclassics.co.uk/

[alfaholic_155]

ekjdm14;

Haha, I dont think it is that good, but certainly the body seems to be in good shape..

I could surely do a comp test, but sadly I dont have that particular tool with me here in France, but I can have a look at some for sale or try to borrow one from a local shop.
Once I get the pump + injectors back from the workshop, I would like to assemble all the bits and give it a world.

But I still need some expertise regarding the TDC, and the markings that are not lining up.. The cyl head looks suspiciously clean, but history on the car is difficult to obtain, as the original owner died, and left the car behind, mind you with 52 000 km on the odo.
However I can clearly see that someone has tried to get it going, but failed to get any fuel to injectors, as the Roto-Diesel pump had rust in it as well. Lets cross our fingers that the engine isnt rusted out on the inside, and has enough comp. I assume to test the comp I need to use the holes designated for glow plugs right?
Anyhow, its a cool car, and I would love to get it started and see what else might be working/broken.

Were these engines prone to the porous plague that I have been hearing rumors about?

[alfaholic_155]

ekjdm14;

On second thought, an engine with 52 or even 152k km should have pretty good comp tbh..

[white exec]

Peter N here ran CX's for quite a while. Wonder what Peter had in the way of a manual?

[alfaholic_155]

Chris;

Lets hope Peter can chime inn, fingers crossed that he knows the M25/629 engine, and can answer a few questions that I have.

[white exec]

Forget the Ebaman link above..... Have just downloaded Vol.2 of the CX manual there, which states that Diesel CX is dealt with in Vol.3 - which isn't there.
Sorry for the cul-de-sac.

[ekjdm14]

ekjdm14;

On second thought, an engine with 52 or even 152k km should have pretty good comp tbh..

That's true, but there are more reasons than wear that could cause low readings including valve timing incorrect/damaged valves/stuck rings etc. If the mileage is that low (and I'm inclined to think so, looking at how clean everything is in general) then wear's not likely a problem.

Unsure if these suffered porosity but sure Peter will know, when he sees this thread. It is possible that the head was removed to rectify some issue like this, shame the one who would know is gone It may just be clean due to being very well looked after & unfortunately got water/diesel bug in the fuel, given the low mileage that sounds feasible.

Hope the fuel system is the key & wish you luck sorting the timing marks out, perhaps if it still refuses to start once the injectors/pump are back in you could try just a "whiff" of easy start and see if it tries to start then. That would at least prove if it has compression and valve timing close enough to work