Citroen Ax Gti

[GeorgeXS 32]

Well then, following on from this thread here is my latest purchase. Replacing my faithful but really rather dull Citroen ZX, I fancied something with a little bit more go whilst also having the spirit of my old Peugeot 205 XS which is sadly no longer in my care!

 

The 205 and ZX back in January:

 

So having a decent amount of money coming my way this next year (courtesy of a placement year at Cummins which allows me to live at home for nothing ) I decided to splash out a little while I can.

Some random stumbling through Pistonheads led me to my Citroen AX GTI, having never really seen one before I did some reading up and got quite interested by it. My dad and uncle went over to view it for me and I decided to go for it once i'd confirmed insurance wasn't going to be horrendous (Incidentally my current insurers for the ZX endsleigh wanted £9000 to insure it , insurance companies are insane sometimes!)

 

So here she is:

 

Things that need sorting out for me to be happy with it:

Speedo Cable needs replacing, is very noisy.

Radio wiring is a joke, only one speaker working, complete bodge.

Slight hesitance on part throttle, noticeable at all speeds, rather irritating.

Electric windows not working.

Tracking needs a tweak.

Steering rack gaitor split.

 

Other than these bits it is in very good condition, the underneath is absolutely fantastic and mechanically is very solid.

 

Couple of questions that hopefully someone can answer:

What could be causing the hesitancy at part throttle? Previous owner has replaced many sensors which apparently made things much better but its still definitely there.

Are they quite a harsh ride as standard? Feels very firm at the front, quite crashy really, feel its possibly unlikely they were sold as standard like this.

Edited May 25, 2012 by GeorgeXS

[calvinhorse 870]

Looks very tidy!

I'd try swapping the fuel filter then plugs and leads

[GeorgeXS 32]

Thanks man!

It has had a recent new fuel filter, new bosch leads and coilpack fitted. So i'd hope this could rule them out.

The last owner put a coilpack and injectors from an early saxo on, he seemed to reckon they were better? Said the saxo injectors had a better spray pattern.

Anyone know if theres anything behind this?

[GTIJIM 10]

ha i know this car its on the ax forum used to have bright white wheels lol

he did always have problems with the running since he got it the forum kept telling him to change the injectors to the original ones but he never did so i would look into that if i was you

[GeorgeXS 32]

Ahh thats very good to know thanks jim, thats a good place to start then!

[GeorgeXS 32]

Thanks to Jim here I know a little more about the car. Namely found the previous owner on the AX forum and even the Ebay ad from when he bought it in november: http://www.ebay.co.u...I-/260884897077

Also going to keep an eye on this as its local to me atm and would be perfect for original injectors and spares elsewhere!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120921475207

 

Getting some thoughts about white 106 rallye steels as well, tyres dont have loads of tread on them and I think they will look awesome, some inspiration.

Edited May 27, 2012 by GeorgeXS

[GTIJIM 10]

that looks great was planning on getting some of them for mine until i decided on BBS wheels lol,

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

Give us a shout if you take those gti rims off mate. If you don't want too much I will take em, go with my Visa GTi rims

[GeorgeXS 32]

Trying to further your collection of rare wheels ed? We'll see its just a pipedream for now.

Speaking of rare wheels, I bet a set of them lovely 13" PTS wheels you have would look great

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

<p>Not specifically trying to further it, they are just the same as the Visa wheels which bolt straight on for me Saves me searching for 13's in pug specific sizes as they are pretty hard to come by.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I wish I could find another two PTS wheels and then we would be rolling, they have so much caliper clearance!</p>

<div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"> </div>

 

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Love the white AX on white wheels

 

I have a set of S2 106 Rallye steel wheels for sale

[impne 2]

Sorry don't get on this forum often but came across your post.

 

I was thinking about looking at this car, wish I had, looks great.

 

Wish you didn't live so close as I might see it and have a cry

 

Just a note on AX Gti alloys are different fit to the Visa Gti alloys, centre is smaller.

 

I bought some for one of my Visa Gti's and found they didn't fit, you can have them machined to fit though.

 

This is one of my cars

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

No worries about machining wheel centre's I can do all of that anyway. That looks a very nice Visa you have there, get a thread up!

[impne 2]

Cheers would like another 205 and ax Gti but the other half has put her foot down lol

Love the white ax Gti very nice car

[jackherer 543]

That looks a very nice Visa you have there, get a thread up!

 

Seconded.

 

I bought some for one of my Visa Gti's

 

You have more than one? We definitely need to see a Visa thread

[BlueBolt 156]

Just out of interest... How does it work that the white wheels were on three stud wheels, and the alloys are on 4... Or is that not the same car?? Or has the previous owner gone to the effort of changing the hubs to put different wheels on???

 

Great looking car though!!

[BlueBolt 156]

Just out of interest... How does it work that the white wheels were on three stud wheels, and the alloys are on 4... Or is that not the same car?? Or has the previous owner gone to the effort of changing the hubs to put different wheels on???

 

Great looking car though!!

 

My bad... Different car!! sorry lol

 

Still a great and tidy looking motor you have!!!

[GeorgeXS 32]

Impne that Visa looks awesome! We shall have to meet up and look at each others cars!

Well some progress has been made on the AX, just starting to get to the bottom of a couple of things.

New downpipe has arrived as the current one is starting to look a bit like swiss cheese, should help quieten things down a bit.

Found out why the electric windows don't work, random cut wires in the drivers door, a previous owner has had a good play in there!

Doorcard is missing nearly all of its clips as well, little things like this annoy the hell out of me!

Whilst the doorcard was off I took the time to add some soundproofing to help make the car a bit more motorway friendly, using kyepan's excellent suggestion of roof flashing, which is just ideal for the job! Really sticky, flexible and not too thick its great. The doors and rear quarters now have a lovely deadened quality when you tap them.

Also changed the injectors over today form the saxo ones to the correct type which I got off the ebay auction above, an absolute steal, entire engine loom, injectors, ECU, sensors, inlet manifold, throttle body etc for £15, well chuffed!

Anyway the saxo injectors were f*cked! 3 of them were cracked right by the nozzle, glad I got round to changing them! Cleaned up the trottle body and swapped over the TPS at the same time to attempt to cure the hesitancy and its worked, can now drive below 2000rpm without jerking and is utterly smooth at part throttle, so happy a cure has been found.

New injectors a touch noisy so i'm gonna send them to Mad Professor on here to get them cleaned for peace of mind.

Car is starting to come together now, can't wait to finish all these little points and enjoy driving it properly!

[impne 2]

Some good progress being made

 

I noticed a couple on eBay but too far to go and have a look, same old story potential purchase always miles away from the north east :-(

[GeorgeXS 32]

Well I've had a frustrating day! Somehow after changing the downpipe the car has developed a misfire! Not a clue why at the moment!

The Saxo injectors:

The old downpipe, complete with bodge to help quieten it a little whilst i was waiting for the new pipe:

The new downpipe is made by Euroflo, not a make with the best reputation but I was finding it hard to even source a downpipe, Citroen don't make them anymore and I couldn't find a supplier selling a Bosal/Timax/Walker/Other reputable make. In fairness though it doesn't seem badly made, weldings all ok. The split down the pipe doesn't go nearly as far as the original though, the picture of the original above shows the split continuing till it almost meets the rest of the exhaust. The new pipe only has about 4 inches in total. Hey ho, what can you do!

Also when I was taking the old downpipe off, one of the bolts attaching to the rest of the exhaust complete with spring arrangement had departed. Me being tight and not wanting to stump £20 for the full fitting kit decided to make using a old valve spring and some big washers, worked a treat!

Whilst the downpipe was off it seemed rude not to take the manifold off and do something i'd planned to do on the XS when I had and never got round to. Getting the dremel out and tackling the strange protrusions that are in every TU manifold!

Why they are there, I would love to know, but I have been told before it can make a small difference to get rid of them. Which I have, but forgot to take after pics!

So the hunt continues tomorrow to find where the misfire has originated from!

[GeorgeXS 32]

Well bit of an update, finally got to the bottom of the misfire issue after many things have been tried, the very new bosch ignition leads are the culprit! One has a bit split down the silicone sheath and another has a loose connector, not what expected from bosch, always thought they were top dog. Swapped the leads over from the ZX temporarily et voila, perfectly functioning car! Unfortunately I sold the ZX this evening so I will have to go buy some leads tomorrow.

 

Got the electric windows working, the cut wires in the door loom joined back together made it work. Although the passenger side only works from the drivers side switch, cant figure out why, can anyone shed any light on this?

 

Injectors came back from the Mad Professor, very pleased with the service, fast and cheap. They weren't far off being right, but its nice to know they are spot on now.

 

Getting my good radio in is the next task, bought an ISO repair loom off ebay to fix the abortion that is the current wiring. Found the perfect place for the CD changer as well, the lower section of dash doesn't go all the way back to the bulkhead and there is a nice cd changer sized slot there!