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BX53CZU Progress reports

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Comments

  • Gib said:

    The next headache was the leg tie/ bumper iron. I snapped 3 bolts with out any effort at all so stopped.

    These bolts always snap the first time they are removed because the bumper steel was bolted on to the car before the galvanising process. You are better removing them all and replacing with new then you won't have the problem again.
    Gib said:

    I have cherried discs many times before at events and that is exactly what they are designed to do in fact you get far better pad transfer the hotter they get. The heat is dissipated out of the disc, the last place the heat will get is the bearing.

    This may be true in normal use but driving long distances with the handbrake applied is not normal use. In the fourteen years of running this forum we have seen enough instances of this to fully understand the cause and effect.
    Don't forget, you can't compare the Avantimes quirks with other cars.
  • GibGib
    Posts: 167
    So I took the sage advice and snapped all but one of the bolts which held the bumper iron on. A quick tweak with the persuader and it came away to show a few small patches of rust and a reasonable bit of galvanising. I will give the area a going over with a flap wheel and then some paint just for security before bolting it back together
    20210131_095541(0)
    20210131_095545

    As shown the radiator support was in remarkably good nick with very light surface rust, this has been rubbed back and painted. The only issue is the towing eye which was severely deformed. I have bent this back into shape and I know the arguments about pulling dead weights rather than just using it for recovery, but I will be honest I wouldn’t trust the eye and its location to do even basic recovery it just looks to femur.
    20210131_100813

    20210131_100814

    20210131_100816
    20210131_100830

    20210131_100833
    20210131_103430
    Dropping the bumper iron gave some more access but to be honest I could of worked around it the only benefit was that I could power wash from the back the air con rad. The front end around the alternator which has been stewing in oil for the last god only knows how many years was also washed off and I made a start of looking at where the LPG kit is going to go. The picture of the previous install show it as 90% OK but this was based on getting it in and working where as I would like to see if I can improve on this and make it a bit more factory and protected.
    20210131_103436
    I also stripped the HID kits out so I can make a couple of blanking plates with dimensions. This opens up non OEM units as scrap yard hunting is a no go at the moment and the universal kits are fine these days as long as the bulb is located fully which being D2S units is no issue.
    20210131_131205
  • GibGib
    Posts: 167
    LPG – From 6 months ago where my only experience was a local farmer in the late 80’s / 90’s with the ubiquitous Rangie with tanks in the back to now realising that the Uk market place is full of lies, chancers and rip off merchants which is odd as the key reason to swap is generally cost ( Possibly environmental these days but less so than cost in my eyes).

    So the first thing is the whole LPG certificate which is a complete joke, fortunately even the insurance companies are coming around to this way of thinking. I do not understand why there is no government framework in place for retro fits, which is a big enough market to warrant it.

    The key part with LPG is info is scant in the UK apart from a few forums and this is based on conjecture or with no back evidence beyond seat of the pants. The best factual info comes from Poland. After brushing up on the subject for wee while I have purchased the parts that I needed in addition to the set up which Sandy had removed from another V6.

    I managed to get a couple of lucky breaks buying a front end Kit and a load of new old stock OMVL parts which where cheaper than just buying a new gasket set for the reducer. Locally some one had up for sale some of the plastic tube required for plumbing the liquid side of the operation so I now have 10m of 8mm Faro pipe and the required connectors. The reason for going plastic over copper is its just easier to work with and more compliant, beyond that if I had got a good deal on copper I would of gone with copper.

    I have worked out the general locations for parts now and only have a better sized tank to get. The one I have is a four hole ~360mm dia by ~ 600mm long so short and stubby. Ideally I would like a ~315 by ~1000 which slots into the rear storage with only 200mm raised section which will be boxed in. The longest thing that goes in the car is the tandem and that is once in a blue moon.
    • The reducer is going in the space behind the front bumper out side the rails behind the horns. This is within the height of the rad and not the highest point so should bleed easily.
    • The water takes of is from the passenger heater matrix and will just be a line in / out as these matrix’s are not water flow controlled for heat.
    • The ECU will be around the battery exact location TBC
    • The interior gauge will go by the door lock switch
    • The filler point in the lower apron of the rear bumper hard attached to a frame behind the bumper and then through a cut out.

    The hardest part has been deciding where the injector solenoids and nozzles go. These are split by rubber hose and there is a whole raft of rubbish spoken about the lengths and locations suffice to say:
    If you had X amount of gas:
    1. A perfect install could get you 1000 miles
    2. An average following the guidelines will get 950 Miles
    3. An average instal in the available locations will get 900 -940 miles
    4. A stick it where ever as long as its not leaking will get 850-940 miles
    AS long as every other part is working 100%.
    So as long as you instal so so, you wil get, so so. Unless your tyre pressures are of and then you lose XX mpg

    I spent for ever trying to get a nozzle ( The bit that goes in the actual manifold) as close to and as in line or perpendicular to the valve stems. The valley manifold that I had had been badly drilled at any old angle which shows you can get a way with a lot and have it still working. And then I read papers that stated the best distribution is injecting across the airflow and others which stated into the airflow, but as with most studies the caveats were pretty limiting. As above making sure it is all logical , neat / tidy and able to with stand being out in the elements is key.

    As shown I managed to get the solenoids mounted above the manifold so the pipe length is 150mm for all. The solenoids are slightly angled so any residue should be purged into the manifold. Since taking the photo I have swapped the ends so both gas feeds come from the clutch end of the block.

    20210213_153543

    One of the only things that actually made sense was have as few joints as possible and when specifying filters I found instead of 12mm to 2 * 12mm with a “Y” connector, you can get filters that are 1 in 2 out and for not a lot more filters with inserts and purpose built bodies that can be taken on and off with out the need to disturb hoses. Overkill possibly but for the price well worth it in my mind. One minor bonus from the sales pitch is the bodies are 3mm plastic so heat transfer should be reduced compared to the aluminium bodies the reusable types are.

    20210213_153606

    More pictures and waffle to come
  • GibGib
    Posts: 167
    All change for BX. For the past few months work has been absolutely mad and free time has been non-existent, so all toys have taken to the back burner. Even my boat has stayed dry this year.
    This all means the car is going up for sale, I had put this off as I didn’t have time to finish of the lpg conversion which has meant the car was immobile (but out of the way). Then the day-to-day Avantime brought up 2 problems which needed attention in the form of the passenger side front wheel bearing and the inner tie rod. Both of which are relatively easy to do except I use the press at work this means at least one day when I need another car. Hence to fix the daily the spare BX was needed.
    The 3 areas to sort were:
    1. Remove the LPG relative parts
    2. Swap the Safrane headlights in.
    3. Refit the front end.
    So a long weekend of bits and pieces. All the LPG parts were easy enough to remove (and will all be for sale.).
    Removing the Avantime’ headlights was simple enough as I had the whole front support off and it was just a case of remove one then replace with the other they are plug and play.
    Refitting the front end was a bit more arduous as I couldn’t remember the wiring routing and ended up with both cars side by side and just copied the daily.
    And it started just like that no issues no problems. I then bleed the system, and this was where I hit the first snag. As I jacked the front passenger side up to check for leaks the exhaust started to be a bit louder.
    No water / oil leaks were found and a test run showed everything to be fine beyond surface rust on the discs being removed and the exhaust blow. I then used it to get to work and after 10 minutes on the A34 the exhaust took on a deeper note which by the time I got to work was full on fruity.
    Bar the exhaust which I had to live with whilst the daily was sorted and the roof everything works as it should. The motor I replaced on the roof “runs” perfectly but doesn’t support the one touch function. If you hit the button the windows all drop but the roof just cracks and then stops. Hold the button and the roof opens fully with no issues.
    The exhaust has rusted out at the joint by the flexi’s which weren’t far behind. I got 2 clamp on flexi’s which were then cut and shut onto the centre section leaving one end to clamp onto the down pipe.
    I will get some pictures of the exhaust.
    Other than this it just needs a tidy up inside and its ready to be sold on.
    Running a 2L and a V6 Auto back-to-back on the same work commute has shown a couple of points. The Auto is lazy and I think I need to try the manual. I did test drive a few including Colin Reynolds immaculate one but not for long enough to get a good feel. I just find that for my style of driving which is I tend to push on the tautness of a manual is far more encouraging also the 2T mpg seems to be stable where as the V6 seems to drop quite a bit when pushed or used around town.

    If you want a project car were most of the heavy lifting has been done or if you want an Lpg setup I will have For sale post up ASAP.
  • edited September 2021 Posts: 0
    @Gib Hi James, the sunroof probably just needs to be re-syncronised.
    To do this, fully open it then press the close button and hold it until the roof is fully closed but do not let go of the button for a further 10 seconds after the roof is fully closed.
    A similar procedure to the windows reset.

    p.s. What make is the LPG system? and what style of tank?
  • GibGib
    Posts: 167
    Thanks Mike i will give this a go as its smooth and fast as you like when you hold the button but then stops if released.
  • Tempest said:

    Maybe we all ought to open a page like this for our individual cars. And then have a live detailed history of it?.... just keep adding to it, and then if someone else takes ownership of the car, they can continue the history and have a reference to check back on?.

    Brilliant idea. I am going to upload a history of my car and what I do to it .Then, if any other members know of it's past life they can let me know.

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