1st peugeot purchase !!

ayden · Post by **ayden** » 12 Jun 2005, 05:48

Hi just bought a G-reg peugeot 405 gr 1600 with 154000 on the clock cost me dearly beloved 1992 astra 85k [}:)] and £250 bodywork is in good condition. i would love to hear from all who own 405`s the good bits and the bad bits thanks Ayden

Post by **CitroJim** » 12 Jun 2005, 13:28

Great cars, at 154000 yours is just about run in! I've had a few but now jumped the fence to Citroen. Good points? A workhorse, very simple mechanically, DIY easy, low maintenance, very rust resistant, comfy, reliable, handles well and very few inherent weaknesses. Bad points? They leak in heavy rain, saloons badly need a rear wiper, rear suspension is very soft and bouncy and not good for heavy towing. The soft rear caused my youngest daughter travel sickness problems and this was the only reason I moved on. Actually I gave my last one to my eldest son who loves it. There is a problem with the heater flap servo motor in later models that has a tendency to fail and leave the heating system in recirculate mode.
Gosh, I'm really struggling here to find good and bad. Shows that it's so good that there is little to say on either front. The car does not invade your life, it just keeps on doing it's thing competently without fuss. Wish I could say the same about the Cit but it more than makes up for it with it's suspension which keeps my daughter happy and is better for heavy towing...
Enjoy your 405 Ayden but don't negelect it even though being so unfussy about so much, a bit of regluar TLC will pay dividends... If you really come to like it, get a Turbo Diesel next, they're even better...

Post by **CitroJim** » 12 Jun 2005, 13:34

One other thing Ayden, You have the 1.6 with the XU5 engine. IIRC, It's all alloy (same more or less as in my 205) and one thing it hates is neglect of the cooling system. Always keep all parts of the cooling system tip-top, change the coolant yearly using good quality anti-freeze and make sure it never overheats. Check your cooling fans are always in working order. Neglect the cooling system and you'll become very familair with a head gasket changes...

PowerLee · Post by **PowerLee** » 12 Jun 2005, 16:33

Hi
The 405 is a good car, Look after it & you will get many years of service from it.
The important bits to watch out for are.
Electrical faults caused be dodgy connections & bad earths onto the body shell.
Keep the sunroof cables nice lubricated because they seize up with lack of use.
The series one 405 dash WILL creak in the hot weather, You have to live with that problem.
The early petrol engines with carbs had a Solex unit fitted from the factory, Best thing to do with these when they pack / play up is thrown it in the bin & stick a Webber carb on & be amazed at how better the car will now run.
The body is galvanised so it SHOULDN'T suffer from rust, BUT check the tops of the rear doors where they touch the rubber gutter seal, Grit gets in between the door & seal & rubs the paint off & starts rust if left unchecked.
The speedo needle will wobble about, either live with it or stick a new cable on.
Wiper blades can be expensive because of the washers being clipped to them, Bosch do them at £25 a pair, Valeo do them at £30 a pair & Autocare do them for £3.49 a pair from Tescos. Or use cable ties ( These look ugly though ) When you buy blades makes sure they come WITH the special 405 / BX clips.
The 405 handles very well for its size & will surprise a lot of modern cars & hot hatches.
Make sure you fit decent tyres on it when needed, The extra money is worth it in the end because decent tyres on a 405 last ages, The chassis set up is that good.
Make sure the timing belt is changed, If the belt snaps then its bent valves time.
Oil changes with a pukka Peugeot filter will pre-long the engines life as well.
The small plastic clutch pedal linkage can be a weak spot, Fit a new one & metal clip ( Less then £5 from Peugeot ) whenever you fit a new cable, Which will be a manual adjustment on this 405, Spanner under the bonnet to adjust it, Easy job.
The electric window switch bulbs are a trip down your local model / hobby shop & a small modification or a second hand switch down the scrapyard.
The heater blower fan sometimes fails, It either fails & wont work or it fails & goes flat out & it wont switch off.
If it goes flat out UNPLUG it before it burns the wiring loom out! It behind the glovebox, Just unclip the small piece of trim under the glovebox & its right in front of you.

ayden · Post by **ayden** » 13 Jun 2005, 04:06

WOW ! thanks guys have been out in it all day and im so suprised about this cars performance and how comfortable and quiet it is. there is only 2 problems i have encountered and questions for both of them #1 the sunroof cables have snapped and the whole plate on which it sits on is rusted an the sunroof is slightly open, is it poss to change the whole unit because some of the screws are right under the roof ? #2 it is idling way below 1000 revs and sometimes just cuts out, do i need to adjust the idle screw ? apart from that the car is pukka i can see me owning quite a few peugeots in my life [:D] thanks again guys

ayden · Post by **ayden** » 13 Jun 2005, 04:10

sorry just another question my 405 has what looks like a reciever for remote central locking up near the door lights being the GR model did it have central locking because i didnt get a fob when i bought it

Post by **CitroJim** » 13 Jun 2005, 11:45

Ayden, Yes most likely did have Central Locking but the "plip" transmitter fobs were poor and likely it'll be hard to get it working now. Should still centrally lock from the drivers door using the key though. One had to "aim" the plip very carefully at the receiver in the roof to make it work is it was Infra Red. Mine just worked on my 1988 phase 1 in 2000 but you had to be a marksman to do it!
CDan't help on the sunroof I'm afraid. Never been there but the idle I can, owning a 205 GTi. If yours has the Bosch LU2 Jetronic setup then yes, idle can be adjusted by tweaking the brass screw in the throttle body but check that the butterfly is completely closing and you can hear a well defined click from the throttle position switch from the black box on the side of the throttle body when the butterfly is completely closed. This switch tells the ECU the engine idling. If it does not click, either the throttle cable is too tight (someone trying to adjust idle by adjusting the cable) or the switch is sticky. Test by opening the butterfly by manually turning the throttle cable quadrant on the throttle body and then gently letting it return to the idle position. As it comes to rest you should hear the click of the switch.
These engines are a bit prone to inlet air leaks (they can occur anywhere south of the Air Flow Meter (AFM) and a buildup of "mayonnaise" (emulsified oil) anywhere in the breather system. It's a good idea to have the whole inlet tract and associated breather pipes off at regular intervals and give them a good clean up. Also give the Throttle Body, AFM (with great care as it's delicate) and the SAD (Supplementary Air Device) which admits more air when the engine is cold for fast idle, a good clean-up using carb cleaner.
Idle problems are legion on LU2 equipped XU engines, especilly in 205 GTi's and we get quite good at it. As a rule when cold the engine should idle at 1500 rpm for about a minute or so under the influence of the SAD and then drop to around 900 rpm when warm.
Hope that helps a bit and a warm welcome to the forum and Pug ownership!!!!

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 13 Jun 2005, 12:44

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ayden

sorry just another question my 405 has what looks like a reciever for remote central locking up near the door lights being the GR model did it have central locking because i didnt get a fob when i bought it
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Sounds like the IR type central locking. Replacement plips are in the region of £60 hand on that age of vehicle will have to be hard coded to the car. If the sunroof has been leaking then the reciever is probably ruined anyway so forget it.
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by citrojim

Never been there but the idle I can, owning a 205 GTi. If yours has the Bosch LU2 Jetronic setup then yes,
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I would guess on a G reg it will have a carburettor, like the BX16, not fuel injection. Adjusting the idle is pretty simple on these but it has probably been tweeked down to cut emissions.
I assume..
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">These engines are a bit prone to inlet air leaks (they can occur anywhere south of the Air Flow Meter (AFM) and a buildup of "mayonnaise" (emulsified oil) anywhere in the breather system. It's a good idea to have the whole inlet tract and associated breather pipes off at regular intervals and give them a good clean up. Also give the Throttle Body, AFM (with great care as it's delicate) and the SAD (Supplementary Air Device) which admits more air when the engine is cold for fast idle, a good clean-up using carb cleaner.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
refers to the EFI engine so I don't think it will be applicable.
On the plus side you won't have a cat to worry about.
I had 3 BX16s, the main engine problems I had were the automatic choke which I replaced on 2 of the cars (with a manual one). And you'll probably find warm starting can be troublesome.

Paulmi16 · Post by **Paulmi16** » 13 Jun 2005, 13:42

I've had 4 405's, 3 phase 1's all fuel injection and power steering, and a phase 2. The Mi16 donated its engine for my 205 GTi, but even though was bought for spares it still drove well, and I used for a month till the tax ran out. I became an expert on fixing the sunroof as well. They were all very reliable and everyone who rode in them commented what a nice car they were.
Perhaps the final word comes from my next door neighbour who bought a Vectra in 1998 on 50/50. Two years later the final 50% was due and more than the car was worth so they returned the car, and I lent then my 405 that I was going to sell as was using my 205 Gti more. After about 3 months I asked if I could have the car back soon as I was wanted to sell it. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door and my neighbour handed me a cheque for the car, and only sold it recently because he will be in Cambodia for 2 years.
Paul.

PowerLee · Post by **PowerLee** » 13 Jun 2005, 15:34

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ayden

sorry just another question my 405 has what looks like a reciever for remote central locking up near the door lights being the GR model did it have central locking because i didnt get a fob when i bought it
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
If you can find a MATCHED pair of receiver & plips on ebay or a scrapyard from the series two 405, These will fit, Fix the sunroof first though!
The infra red remote locking isn't really worth bothering with, It isn't very good.

Post by **CitroJim** » 13 Jun 2005, 16:33

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Paulmi16

Perhaps the final word comes from my next door neighbour who bought a Vectra in 1998 on 50/50. Two years later the final 50% was due and more than the car was worth so they returned the car, and I lent then my 405 that I was going to sell as was using my 205 Gti more. After about 3 months I asked if I could have the car back soon as I was wanted to sell it. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door and my neighbour handed me a cheque for the car, and only sold it recently because he will be in Cambodia for 2 years.
Paul.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Paul, I really think that 100% sums up the 405. Had it not been for my eldest blowing up his Fiesta and my little 'un being travel sick in it, I'd still have mine...
Ayden, Sorry if I gave you a bit of duff gen by going off in a typical 205 GTi owner way about XU and LU2 idling and you have a carb. These days I've practically forgotten that carbs ever existed as the last car I had so equipped was a Dagenham Dustbin back in 1993.

ayden · Post by **ayden** » 14 Jun 2005, 00:47

Hi guys ! thanks for the info jim dont worry about sending me off in the wrong direction i should of said that it wasnt fuel injected thanks for all the hints and tips from everyone really appreciate it. Just trying to think how im going to get that sunroof fixed. As far as i know the sunroof hasnt been leaking but maybe it went duff on the last person who owned it but who knows ! would it be an idea to go to a peugeot dealer about the sunroof ? or is that a big NO ! lol thanks again
Ayden

PowerLee · Post by **PowerLee** » 14 Jun 2005, 01:55

Hi
Avoid the Peugeot dealer at ALL costs, They will sting you a lot of money for fixing the sunroof.
If you drop the headlining down you can remove the whole sunroof assembly, Nearly all the 405 sunroofs are the same, Just pick another with the same set up as you have, Electric or manual.
Avoid any June 1995 onwards built 405s because these have the 306s better sunroof set up & are different to yours, Before you ask I DONT know if they are interchangable.
I warn you now it will be a long job to do.

reades · Post by **reades** » 14 Jun 2005, 03:01

Hi,
I got bulbs for window winder switches from maplin for less than 50p. (either PG77J or BT43W forgot).
Bought dash bulbs form RS components. Very satisifying all the lights come on in the dark.
I also replaced one of the fan relays for £1.49 from maplin. The relay terminals and connector had reduced to green powder. I replaced connector with four quarter inch lucar connectors.
Rod

ayden · Post by **ayden** » 18 Jun 2005, 23:24

Thanks for all the hints and tips found out what was wrong with the sunroof the wires havent snapped they have just rusted and wont move can i just replace them ? also had to replace the starter motor aparantly (said the AA man) the brushed were sticking stopping it from going round but my dad said it was the solenoid at fault but all changed £25 from a scrappy fitted meself. just another quick one noticed that when i brake that the ack end drops a little as if i was using the handbrake to slow down the front end stays up an the back end drops any ideas ? and could anybody tell me which colour wires do which on the towhook power supply ?? thanks again Ayden