BXProject

[Cartman]

right.

vous avez une probleme!

got back to work to find a huge pool of lhm underneath the tge god knows what im going to do tbh, it seems like its dripping from the sphere down near the radiator and dripping from somewhere there. the octopus was replaced but im wondering if it might be something connected to that.

that repair was done a while ago and has lasted a while with no issues as yet, until now! as things stand it is low on lhm and i have not moved it... currently i have no car and am walking 2 miles a day to work YES WALKING

my dad is purchasing a stand in at some point soon to get me through but i fear as i work almost every weekend im going to have issues in sorting this out. the car was/is up for sale, and am unsure what to do!

it may well have to go for spares/repair

[Way2go]

Above the sphere by the radiator is the pressure regulator that has high pressure pipes fitted to it. Check that these havent unscrewed themselves as mine worked loose by themselves giving a drip.
It may be as simple as retightening these, like for me, unless you are unlucky and have had a pipe actually rupture.

If you did a proper replacement of the octopus it is unlikely that. Anyway the octopus only is on the return circuit and leaks when the car settles. The HP pipes will piss fluid out continuously as long as the engine runs and you have fluid in the reservoir!

[Cartman]

i think it might be something to do with return piping, as i parked it up at 9am all was fine, left it until my return at 4pm to find a oval patch of lhm about the size of a numberplate (but oval) dead centre, looked like itd been going for a while.

[Philhod]

As he said just check everythings tight, don't overtighten just everything nipped up.

Also check the pressure relief screw on the accumulator unit has not come loose as well

It actually sounds like a return pipe perhaps coming off the octo somewhere.

Either way it's no big deal and I take it you finish work before 8pm, coz if you haven't noticed it's light till past 9!!! Same with Sat/Sun, I assume you are home at tea time.
Just get out there man, stop panicking and check it out. We can only make suggestions till you give us more info.

[Cartman]

will have a better look 2 moro, but quite frankly havent got a clue. will be getting an estate soon anyway due to baby on way, so car might be up for grabs as it is spares or repair, i tend to work 10-8 6 days a week, usually doesnt give me much time for anything!

[Way2go]

i tend to work 10-8 6 days a week, usually doesnt give me much time for anything!

At this time of year , you have good daylight at 5AM , so you could have 5 hours BEFORE going to work for matters needing urgent attention. With latex gloves there should be no problem with oily hands either!

[Philhod]

We are talking about 30 minutes of your time here!!! If it is a return (most likely) it will be an easy fix (little cost).
Ya won't learn if you can't be bothered looking. Fuck me (dont go there) when I was your age and younger, I've been refitting a g/box at midnight, with a torch and the missis reading Haynes to me, to get it back on the road for a 7 am start.
As I see it you have an hour in the mornings and all one day at w/end

[Father Ted]

when I was your age and younger, I've been refitting a g/box at midnight, with a torch and the missis reading Haynes to me,

Once fitted a new gear box & clutch to a Plakka 90 in a tent for an eary shift, had no garage & was pissing it down, so pitched tent, wheeled bike in and set to - got it all done by about 1am (started at 10pm) with just me gas lamp and haynes BOL. - Tent was pretty FUBARed inside though afterwards.

[David]

car might be up for grabs as it is spares or repair

Dead arm bearing, needing welding in the boot, and an LHM leak of unknown quantity.

I'll give you 20p for it.

[Cartman]

phil wrote

We are talking about 30 minutes of your time here!!! If it is a return (most likely) it will be an easy fix (little cost).

i have had a look this morning and can see no evidence of a perished/broken pipe. logically speaking it has to be a return pipe i think as it dropped what it dropped after the car had been parked up for a while. i will be trying to sort it as best i can, but the car will be going in favour of an estate. any serious offers considered, or god-forbid it might be traded in!

[Fish_Botherer]

The occasional LHM leak is a rite of passage with a BX. You don't have PAS so there are less pipes to check in the area described - there's only one return from the accumulator/regulator area, one from the pump (though that won't be dead centre). More LHM if needed from GSF, probably Unipart too if one is local.

Suspect the lhm dropped will be less than it looks, unless collected in a deep depression. Put height lever to lowest if feeling nervous, flip the bonnet for better vis, start up with a clean bowl underneath to recycle any fluid to reservoir if you must (funnel, coffee filter), and see what happens. If nothing, flip up to normal ride height. If it's a return, and drippage at normal height is minimal, 2 miles isn't a long way home.

Either way, you should see what's happening - which you need to know, rather than guessing.

[docchevron132]

Take the 20p, you know it makes sense!

[Philhod]

farewell cruel world

[Cartman]

hi all,

the tge has been leaking lhm, i found a pipe to the reservoir split this morning so fixed that. topped up and put the car in high mode and did citrobics when it returned to normal, lhm started pissing out from just behind the osf wheel. took wheel off, and the offending pipe is rubber but goes into a thin metal brake line type pipe. it is just above the thick chassis where it meets the front suspension wishbone and strut.

i have no car, and only a jack and a few spanners, no pit or axle stands, and am nervous as to what the problem is. frankly i am worried it might be a scrapper. i am going to have to buy another car, anyone who wants it can come and collect it. feedback appreciated

[docchevron132]

Is the pipe thats split between the chassis and the suspension strut?
If so that'll be the strut return pipe. Cheap as chips and takes only a minute to fix.
If it's fucking that much fluid out though it does rather suggest the strut itself is fucked.

[Fish_Botherer]

it is just above the thick chassis where it meets the front suspension wishbone and strut.

If the metal pipe is one of a pair that lead under the inner wheelarch, then as per the doc's advice - GSF in Cheltenham should be able to get one.

On the other hand, if it's just above the level of the subframe, way into the octopus's lair, and a single metal pipe, then it's the octopus height corrector return, though it doesn't sound like it. There's flow through both on the way down from high.

None of these makes it a scrapper, nor indeed does the strut - a secondhand spare can almost certainly be found.

[Way2go]

lhm started pissing out from just behind the osf wheel. took wheel off, and the offending pipe is rubber but goes into a thin metal brake line type pipe. it is just above the thick chassis where it meets the front suspension wishbone and strut.

i have no car, and only a jack and a few spanners, no pit or axle stands, and am nervous as to what the problem is. frankly i am worried it might be a scrapper. i am going to have to buy another car, anyone who wants it can come and collect it. feedback appreciated

Calm down Cartman, you don't need to scrap the car for such a simple fault but you need to sort out your tool situation. Firstly as you should know it's criminal not to have axle stands and you can't work on a hydropneumatic citroen ever without them - get yourself down to halfords or wherever and correct this immediately!
As Doc says, if that much fluid is coming out of the strut returns then it is likely it is the strut and this has happened to me AND I had to change it at the roadside! It is not difficult when you stop panicking.
Ring Pleiades on 01487 831239 who will sell you a recon strut at at about £80 with the rubber returns already attached. They will post to you.
There are only 2 nuts to undo to remove the strut but both wheels must be off the ground with axle stands under the front jacking points. You can use the citroen jack to raise it onto the stands but remember to chock the rear wheels as your handbrake is on the front. Remove appropriate roadwheel for access.
It is not necessary to remove the top strut mount just the large top nut but you will need to get the right socket and a 2 ft breaker bar to shift it. The nut at the bottom of the strut is a pinch nut and once loosened you can remove the strut from the hub carrier first and then drop it out of the top mount.

Seriously Cartman, if you can't/won't tackle this job or buy yourself some tools then I would forget about buying that BX Estate as these cars are all going to need looking after. It's not going to be economic unless you tackle these jobs yourself and build up your confidence.

[Cartman]

My dad has bought me a vw passat td to run around in. I have nowhere to keep the tge and am struggling to keep track of whats what. Perhaps i should run a bx as a 2nd car when i get the opportunity. At the moment i dont have the time or knowledge to give the tge the tlc it needs. It is available to anyone who wants it

[Way2go]

I think we are all a bit surprised that BxDom has been such a 5 minute wonder for you after your earlier enthusiasm!

You will be upsetting CavMad when he sees that swearword (VW) that you've used.

[Fish_Botherer]

Ring Pleiades on 01487 831239 who will sell you a recon strut at at about £80

That's a very good price - I guess that's on an exchange basis? I know they've done that for some other parts in the past. I have a few sitting around doing not a lot for now.