Bx Octopus/spider?

[dean]

Evening gents,
I'm looking at a K reg BX 17 TZD, my brother seems to have his heart set on it If he does get it , the return pipework is leaking on the octopus, How much of a sod is it going to be to do??? also any nasty Bx problems other than door straps and throttle pedal mounts coming adrift???

Thanks Dean

[Ken newbold]

I'd normally allow about 2 hours to fit new Octopus. They tell me it's easier if you remove the o/s driveshaft. But my hands are quite small and I've never had to do this.
It will be leaking from the height corrector return pipe. This pipe is only about 4" long in total with a 180 degree bend. It usually cracks where it fits onto the height corrector, so if you can find a bit of rubber tube the right size, fit it to the h/c and then bend a piece of brake pipe to shape and insert into the octopus and the new bit of rubber tube, you will probably have fixed the leak.
OK it's a bodge, but I've know this bodge outlive the car! You'll need a very strong handlamp and pretty good eyes to see where the leak is coming from. But once you've found the h/c just find the return pipe and you've found the leak.

Other common faults, A pillar rust, Rear arm bearings, not a bad job. Front to rear hydraulic pipes, especially up the side of the fuel tank, where they are difficult to see.
Rust in rear corners of the boot floor, front and rear inner wings (both easy to see) and lately I've seen a few with a bad rot in the floor, just under the near side rear footwell.

As with all the XUD engines, watch out for excessive pressure in the water system.
All in all a good car despite their age, bad ones are fairly easy to recognise.

Good luck.

[dean]

Hi Ken

Thanks for the tips, i wouldn't call a fix that outlasts the car a bodge, more of a semi permanent repair There seems to be some interest on the BX club forum but my bid has been placed on the car, so will just have to wait and see how the auction goes.

Many thanks Dean

[Ken newbold]

Any joy on this one?

[dean]

I Picked the car up from oxfordshire yesterday, its a really clean genuine example my brother is really pleased with it, will be taking it to my house next weekend for a new cambelt, service, and see where the leak is coming from.
I will let you know how easy it is to fix

Dean

[dean]

Hi Ken

You were spot on with your diagnosis, it was the return from the H/C, the pipe has half split right after the jubilee clip, but that is one hell of a congested engine bay, Ive forgotten what its like trying to work on some of the bigger engined cars. Having a 2.0 8v in a great big car like the xm has spoiled me i think.
Managed to join it without too much hassle though, any nasty surprises to look out for when i do the cam belt?, obviously i will do the water pump and tensioner at the same time but can i rely on the Haynes book of bed time stories

p.s does anyone have a green drivers side wing???
Thanks Dean

This post has been edited by dean on February 08, 2008 02:45 pm

[dean]

HI all

I got the cambelt finnished last night , the tensioner is a pain in the arse to replace without letting the spring out of the mount, and the idler shares one of its bolts with the mount too, also the draper locking kit i have does not fit the flywheel when it says it should, so i had to use an old 7.5mm drill bit (snaped to make it short enough to get passed the oil filler pipe, but no great trouble.
Only problem is when i was fixing the pipe from the H/C that had split i must of knocked onother one, it has split where it joins a rubber block, they are all so brittle i think im not going to get away with the quick fix, and it is new octopus time

Regards Dean

[Ken newbold]

Yeah, can be repaired the same way, but.

There are 3 pipes together there I think, so chances are you'll also damage the other one as well.

I can normally change an octopus in about 2 hours now, so allow a bit more if it's the first time you've done one, but realistically it's probably better and quicker than messing about doing the repairs.

Last time I bought one it cost about £20, so they're not expensive. I also find, taking the front o/s wheel off and working from under the wheel arch is the best way of getting at it.

[demag]

Just out of interest. What IS an octopus? Don't they live under the engine somewhere? And I'm sure I've read about people lifting the engine to get them out! It all sounds a bit extreme.

[dean]

Its just a series of pipes carrying the returning fluid from various components, but several pipes 'T' out of one and its wedged in a rather inaccessible place down the back of the engine.
Got a new one coming from gsf (£28), i will have a go at patching it up again tonight so it can be used for a bit.

Thanks

Dean

This post has been edited by dean on February 28, 2008 06:36 pm

[dean]

Hi all

Wont be getting the new return pipework till next week, i couldnt patch it up it was really badly cracked and perished everywhere, i think i will need to borrow some small hands to get past the drive shaft
One quick question though, what causes blue smoke???? i fired the bx up in light for the fist time to get it up to temperature yesterday and when revved, it would produce large quantities of pale blue smoke and an almost unnoticeable amount at idle, i have changed every filter and fluid and it starts and runs easily and with no noticeable power loss, I'm sure it wasn't doing it when we got the car, when hot the smoking stops though after 5 to 10mins. any ideas? i always thought blue smoke was engine oil burning(although in this instance i am hoping not )

[dean]

Hi all

All done, got the octopus in last weekend, it was not that bad a job, and i haven't got small hands, i left the driveshaft in too, but took the track rod off the hub carrier and moved it to one side to give a little more room. the only struggle was getting the two plastic pipes that run from the back of the car to push into the Oct, there was some swearing at that point , but generally OK

Thanks for the help

Dean

[Ken newbold]

See, it's not that bad, there's worse jobs on a BX td. But we don't want to talk about them.

[techmanagain]

So, by the dating of your reply, it took you twelve months and a fortnight to get the job done?

[dean]

collected car on the 19th jan 08, back on the road by 16 march 08, nowhere near a year, am i missing something here techman?????