[engine_work] Zx16V Daily Runabout Upgrade Project

[welshpug 1,622]

Realised earlier that I had never posted a great deal about my Citroen ZX, though I had on a few pther forums, so I'll start by going through what i've already done in the last 4 years I've had the car.

 

I bought the ZX on a whim once January weekend back in 2007, as the time my 405's heater matrix was playing up and was on SORN, and I was getting ever frustrated with my 205's engine wiring issues, and I needed a car to get to work and back reliably.

 

So what else does someone needing a reliable a-b car do than buy a £250 ZX 16v off ebay The clutch was slipping like anything and stunk, but the pedal felt stiff as anything so I gambled on it just being the cable...

 

Which worked! for a few weeks anyway, when it finally gave up wanting to hold under any more than half throttle in all gears! Got an o.e Valeo clutch off ebay for £50, stuck it win with help from my mate Richard up the road who's a mechanic, then ran it for another few weeks before one day I saw the dreaded plummet of the oil pressure gauge whilst going round a pretty tight left hand bend at 30 mph.

 

Not too long after a small rattle emerged, which turned into quite a knock, suffice to say I was quite annoyed, but made me get on and sort the Motronic conversion on my 205!

 

At this point I wasnt sure what to do with it, whether to break it fix the engine or find another engine.

 

Obviously I thought it was far too good to scrap, as I really did like driving it, theres a few subtle differences between the way a 306 and a ZX 16v handles (lighter for a start, and different rear beam geometry as has been mentioned on here plenty) My friend AdamB described it quite well after he had a quick drive of it, "like a big 205" much shorter more direct feeling steering, quite a bit firmer than the 306, plus the different geometry on the beam afects the way it behaves on turn in.

[welshpug 1,622]

So I looked for a solution, I knew that a rebuild would cost at least £300 dependent on what had actually gone and how badly, and that the prices that S16/Mi16 engines go for that I should maybe got for an XU10J4RS, the GTi6 engine

 

so I went hunting for one and found a side impact damaged car being broken on ebay, located on the Gurnos estate in Merthys Tydfil!

 

 

65k miles, £350

 

I got the full front end wiring loom from the car as well, but when I got home I noticed it was a little different:

 

306 loom goes straight on here not left! DOH!!

 

 

Whilst stripping the dead lump apart I thought I might as well drop the sump off, and have a look,

Took the caps off the crank and conrod bearings starting at the flywheel end, all looked fine till I went to take No4 conrod cap off, as soon as i gave it a prod it rattled about!

 

a spun shell was what greeted me, luckily they hadnt welded themselves to the crank and they could be prised off carefully with a screwdriver.

 

 

suffice to say these pair are dead!

 

so out it came;

 

 

did the usual of painting everything in sight on the engine to make it look at least half decent, and clean 15 years of leaky RFY engine residue from the engine bay!

 

Dropped the replacement engine in after a new belt kit, then cracked on with deciphering the wiring, wasnt particularly easy as it was classic Citroen, a small handful of colours and no numbers!

[welshpug 1,622]

This was quite a slow process in the end, when I started the project I was struggling to find any work, then worked at a Haulage company for 50 hours a week on min wage so when I got home I was knackered and still fairly skint!

 

I eventually got the car on the roar in February 2009, after some braided brake lines from Miles at pugracing, and all the solid pipes from the bottom of the bilkhead to the back of the car over the fuel tank, including the prake pressure limiters (this car uses ones like the 1.9 205 gti, but with a much higher knee point at 30 bar as opposed to 22 IIRC!)

 

Some Koni dampers, wishbone buskes and balljoints towards the autumn of 2009.

 

Forward to December 2009, got some C5 alloy wheels, the ones everyone wants as theyre quite light and look like steel wheels

 

 

New year 2010; the ever so slight HG symptoms I had been ignoring for a while suddenly become terminal

 

My own fault really, I'd neglegted to change the watrer pump when I fitted the engine, and the heater matrix and the used radiator also decided to leak putting more strain on the headgasket.

 

Strangely a few weeks prior to this the Rallye I had a play with also popped its HG, though that one was terminal once the head was off as it had suffered the EPIC cylinder bore wear these engines can be susceptible to, that carby then was back on the road, with an ES9J4

 

Thankfully mine wasn't too bad at all bar needing a fair but not excessive skim off the head (8 thou, 0.20mm)

 

I got a local firm JSE to skim, pressure test, check the valves and fit a set of new stem seals for £100 all in + £16 for the seals (sourced from Peugeot)

 

I have recently been doing a fair bit of reading up on the clearance issues these engines have and came across the possibility of increasing that clearance by machining the standard pistons to allow more valve lift at TDC (which is what happens when you try and open a valve for longer and earlier with an aftermarket camshaft)

 

Seeing as I was still out of work at the time and didn't need transport I thought sod it I'll get them done, so I sent them off to Martin at Bridgecraft engineering (members may know the CRF 450 user name) and for the princely sum of £80 he sorted me some larger cutouts

 

 

A few weeks go by and I use my JSA to sort out some shiny bits so I can put the engine back together;

 

timing belt kit, headbolts and a water pump from GSF

 

 

 

 

 

and from Peugeot a set of big end bearings, a standard MLS 1.2mm XU10J4RS gasket and an exhaust manifold gasket (lost the pictures I took of these!)

 

And a set of piston rings from South Wales pistons, these turned out to be a set for the 2.0 Mi16/S16 engine which uses a 1.75mm thick middle ring whereas the gti6 used a 1.5mm ring, thankfully they had some suitable middle rings on the shelf so swapped them for the ones I had.

 

I took the piston oil spray jets off and honed the bores quickly to deglaze them then re-fitted the spray bars and sorted the rings and a few other bits whilst it was raining.

 

Whilst I was at it and had it all in bits, I thought it would be rude not to fit the Newmans PH2 inet cam I'd picked up barely used on the 306gti6.com forum, I decided not to use the exhaust cam as I couldnt afford to get the map adjusted, and reckoned that the standard management would cope well enough as the cam is still fairly mild.

 

At the same time as doing this little lot of work I managed to get some 283mm front brakes at a reasonable price, and some genuine citroen boxed brake pads, these work very very well and I've yet to want anything better

Edited August 30, 2011 by welshpug

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Finally! I'v always wondered about your zx, I used to dislike the shape but now really like it, Super retro!

[welshpug 1,622]

Eventually got back on the road in November 2010 after oncentrating on completing and selling my 309 Goodwood, and I was really enjoying driving the car a lot.

 

Back when I was helping adam with his 306 Rallye, he'd been involved in getting the settings sorted for AST's sportline 1 damper package using his car as a test mule so to speak, and I really liked how they performed nd though this was an area where the ZX was really good, but could be improved on even more.

 

I couldnt afford a set at about £850 though I knew they had done some for the 205 and 309 previously, so when a set of front damper appeared on ebay at £300 unused under quite a random title I didnt hesitate in giving the seller a call to secure them!

 

[welshpug 1,622]

More commuting till a bus decided to pull out of its stop before I was past fully :roll:

 

 

Thankfully minor damage but a write off as far as the insurance companies were concerned (this was 22nd of December, and is still ongoing!!)

 

Then 4th of January, 200 yards from home in the morning on the way to work;

 

 

:cry:

 

I think the Micra came off worst to be honest which is highly amusing, it was left there idling whilst all the coolant from it had pissed out on the road

 

 

Thankfully the shell is still straight, the suspension unaffected and the leading end of the inner wing had only dropped 25mm or so, it has now been DIY straightened, the chassis leg and front lower crossmember were unaffected, so the search for new parts was on.

[welshpug 1,622]

A few weeks earlier I had happened upon a new front panel on ebay for £15, so that was already in stock in my bedroom!

 

A dealer search by the ever helpful Ed at Warners in Tewkesbury traced a Wing down to Rigbye's in Chorley, Lancashire, the system also said there was one 16v bumper in existence at the same dealer, but they couldn't find it

 

As usual a grumpy Facebook status ensued, and an old school friend piped up "what's the part number, I'll check at work..." note I hadn't seen Richard for some 12 years though I remember he had done motor mechanics at the same college I had done Art at!

Turns out he had gone on to do an apprenticeship with Citroen working on the ZX's and still worked at a small Peugeot/Citroen dealer in the small Town I went to school in in North Wales as a tech, few days later another 16v wing was found in their stores, and a short while later I figured I could use a Bumper from a Phase 2 Furio/SX model with a few small holes added for the arch trims, as it happened, they also had these and the bumper brackets on the shelf!

 

 

my mate Rich doing the welding ( I can weld but I'm not confident enough to do panels!)

 

 

all done!

 

 

shiny new bumper allpainted up;

 

 

plus the wing painted and fitted and it now looks like this

 

 

 

a VIC followed as it had been declared a cat C by the insurers, and to this day neither incident has been resolved fully and have been with my insurance companys solicitors for the past 3 months!

 

Future plans involve getting a DTA S40 ecu I'd picked up last christmas on ebay for a good price wired in and mapped, and most likely fit the PH2 exhaust cam, I was also recently given a Longlife exhaust from a Phase 2 xsara VTS, which turned out to be about 4" too shirt due to the longer cat they used to accomodate the twin lambda management system, so that needs some work before I can use it!

 

Source some decent road tyres and re-fit the C5 wheels as I had picked up the Indianapolis wheels for a good price last winter and they had much better tread than what I had at the time, but they are bloody heavy!

 

A Hybrid Anti roll bar arrived this morning as well, so that'll help sharpen things up a ittle more, and I'm looking to up the front spring rate as the AST's were specified for a 206 gravelcar, and hence only have 180 Lb springs, Adam's set ran 285 Lb!

 

 

 

so there you have it! my daily runabout project toy thing to keep me amused and whitter my cash away whilst I should really be saving up to get my 205 fixed up, looks a bit tatty now, but its fun to drive and nobody know what the hell it is

[kyepan 291]

Nice, you don't give up easy do you!!!

 

J

[Anthony 1,000]

Excellent read

 

I have a bit of a soft spot for ZX's and miss the old Volcane 1.9i that I used to have a few years back - they're no looker (although the 16v kit improves things significantly over the lesser spec ones) but as above, the reduced weight and different geometry makes a big difference over a Phase 1 306 of the same era. ZX Volcane and 26v's must be getting scarce now though, other than a handful of Volcane TD's that crop up for sale every now and then.

 

Oh, and what isn't really mentioned above is that Mei's ZX goes surprisingly well - I was chasing it around Llandow a couple of years or so back and it was probably one of the quickest cars there, and reading the above it should be a fair bit more capable now that it's on AST's etc.

[custard-rallye 25]

Ha ha ace I have a zx of doom for a runaround its a volcane 1.9 td i had it a week and hit a deer so now its black with a green bonnet

[Alastairh 47]

Nice read. Following on from Anthonys comments. I would take one these over either of the newer model donors.

 

Al

[welshpug 1,622]

 

Oh, and what isn't really mentioned above is that Mei's ZX goes surprisingly well - I was chasing it around Llandow a couple of years or so back and it was probably one of the quickest cars there, and reading the above it should be a fair bit more capable now that it's on AST's etc.

 

i think theres a few dozen left if that now, cant remember when i saw another petrol volcane let alone a 16v! still see the odd diesel and the rare estate.

 

that trackday was fun, and youre right its come on a long way since then! at the time it was running the standard rs engine, apec pads in the stock s16 type brakes, accelera tyres and very tired standard suspension!! so i was very pleased with the machinery it kept up with, scared myself once or twice when the pads gave up and i was still closing rapidly on a 106 rallye through the chicane

 

got my hybrid arb in the post yesterday, pretty hefty thing! not too impressed with the quality though i must say, i had an arb end plate to hand earlier and i can press it fully home by hand also theres no m8 hole in them to pull the plates on with, so i've made a start on drilling them ready to tap a thread in, hopefully having a bolt in one side will make up for the poor fit on the splines

 

oh and ive got to swap the heater matrix sometime soon before it gets too cold!

[welshpug 1,622]

oh and a few have commented how comfy the seats are too

[custard-rallye 25]

Seats more like a sofa

[feb 47]

Nice read and very rare car indeed

I remember reading in car magazines back in the early 90's about the ZX (even the 1.4 models) having the best steering in its class described as "sharp as a razor" and amazing handling.

As already mentioned the geometry is different from the 306; it has passive rear wheel steering which helps in the turn-in and makes it playful.

I used to have a 1.9 TD Aura(?) and even that was a great handling car.

Edited August 31, 2011 by feb

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Not the old thick and thin ARB? Not worth fitting really as it's only as good as the thinest point, I'd just get some bigger holes in the pins and lob a 30mm one in

[S@m 156]

I have always been interested in that ZX! Its a car i have always wanted to own, especially the french one that had the xu10j4rs engine as standard. Yours looks like a quality car...especially for surprising people!

 

Sam

[welshpug 1,622]

ycracked on with sorting the missing threads on the hybrid arb last night, not quite perfectly central but i dont know anyone local that could sort it for me, itll still work fine, going to fit it in the morning

 

 

http://m.flickr.com/photos/welshpug/6106938151/sizes/m/

 

not figured how to work flickr mobile yet!

[Leet205 48]

not figured how to work flickr mobile yet!

 

 

its looking well

Edited September 3, 2011 by Leet205

[welshpug 1,622]

thats the one, not figured how to get the img url to post a pic yet, right click function not available

 

i'd always wondered why it felt prone to understeer on the limit and never really did oversteer unless i was being very silly, highlighted when i fitted the ast's even though they came with quite soft 180lb springs, so i was amused to find this when i went to swap the hybrid arb for the stock 24mm item....

 

http://m.flickr.com/photos/welshpug/6108212411/

 

not had chance to see what its like yet as all my tools are in the boot!

[steve@cornwall 100]

Only just read this - tragedy is there's been a couple of ZX Volcanes through the local scrappy this year - can check if there's anything left if you're in need of panels / trim etc.

[welshpug 1,622]

cheers steve, i need a black phase 1 bonnet as it happens!

 

also need a few of the arch trims and if i find any a pair of doors as theyre a bit dented now

 

got my c5 wheels and michelin pe2's all round inc the spare so yhats near 30 kilos off the kerb weight, and quite noticable as its rotational

[steve@cornwall 100]

cheers steve, i need a black phase 1 bonnet as it happens!

 

also need a few of the arch trims and if i find any a pair of doors as theyre a bit dented now

 

got my c5 wheels and michelin pe2's all round inc the spare so yhats near 30 kilos off the kerb weight, and quite noticable as its rotational

 

 

 

Will be out there early this week - will see what's left!

[cybernck 400 1 Cars]

Check if they have engine management bits on their engines as well .

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

A good read ..... well done!

 

My bro' had a ZX TD a few years back - did this to it after 3 weeks EDIT: (damn this was 11 years ago now!!)

 

 

 

after a couple of years tucked away on my parents land, we cut it up into quarters, loaded it onto a trailer off to the dump.

 

Edited September 5, 2011 by Simes