I thought i'd post this info as it might be of help to some people out there. Allthough the 405 has it's faults, it has far greater benefits than some would credit. Here's my story. [:)]
I bought my first pug in March 2003, after driving my brothers (mechanic & MOT tester) 405 1.9 GRi, and I was more than impressed with the handling and the room inside. So I decided I wanted one but a TD, so I bought one for £170. It had been neglected and we knew we'd have to work on it. I could've got something newer but theres something about older cars.
<font color="blue">Here's what me & my brother have done:</font id="blue">
Replaced both bottom hoses. £69.00 from dealers
<font color="red">Leaking at the water-pump manifold. This started soon after I bought the car. A pain to do. The best way is to remove the intercooler and get somebody with smaller hands to push the hoses on, and to tighten the clips. Invest in a Teng 3/8" socket set (£34.00)</font id="red">
Replaced Cam-Belt. £30.00 incl. labour (family rates)
<font color="red">Obviously a must, unless you know for certain it was changed recently.</font id="red">
Replaced whole rear Sub-Frame. £40.00 from scrapyard
<font color="red">Both bearings on the way out causing both wheels to lean in from the top. Obvious signs on tyres. Easier to replace whole frame when there is 2 of you.</font id="red">
Replace all 4 tyres. £72.00
<font color="red">Had to be replaced due to uneven wear.</font id="red">
Replaced Tie-bar at front off-side. £3.00
<font color="red">The tell-tale sign of this was 'wallowing' where there opposite front corners pitch at different levels, going over road humps, giving a rolling effect, and uneven tyre wear on front tyres.</font id="red">
Fitted alarm & immobiliser. £45.00 un-used
<font color="red">Had to fit one for peace of mind. It took 2 days to fit, including taking the whole dash out. Would'nt do it myself again.</font id="red">
Repaired electric door mirror. £0.00
<font color="red">The motor & switch worked but the previous owner had caught it on her garden fence on the drive, damaging the cog runners and ball-pivot. Solution was to weld the two pieces of plastic together with a soldering iron.</font id="red">
Repaired water ingress from boot area. £0.20p
<font color="red">Water leaking in from previously badly repaired accident
damage, where panels join at the corner, so injected some black (to match colour of the car) bodyshop silicone into the gap to seal.</font id="red">
Replaced windscreen. £50.00 excess on insurance
<font color="red">Allready had a crack in, then started leaking, so paid £50.00 excess, instead of £120, and got Autoglass to do it. When replacing it, the fitter told me it was'nt stuck correctly anyway, and could've blown out while on the motorway with the window down.</font id="red">
Replaced broken rear window regulator. £25.00 from scrapyard
<font color="red">The rear near-side gave up one night, the cable had rusted and locked the motor up. So I had to remove the door trim, remove the mechanism, and put some string through the hole in the glass to hold it up, until I could find a replacement. Dealer quoted £109 + vat. So I went to the scrapper and got 2 incase the other side gave up for £50.</font id="red">
Water leaking persistently:
Head Gasket replaced and Head Skimmed. £130 (family rate again)
<font color="red">Due to the persistent build-up of pressure, the head was removed and inspected. The gasket was not at fault and the head was fine also. The cause of the build up was the fitting of the 'bleed screw' on top of the radiator. While the coolant is cooling, the lowering of the coolant created a vacuum, which sucked air through a tiny gap between the seal on the screw and the body of the hole. The expensive remedy to this is to replace the radiator, the cheaper option is to place a 'jubilee' clip over the shroud encasing the screw, and tighten, but not to excessive as to cause damage to the shroud. It works.</font id="red">
My 1991 405 1.8 GRDT has now done 271000 miles on the same engine, and it really is still going strong. My brother has an L reg 1.9 GLDT and my 405 produces just as much power as he's. I think it's testament to how good the XUD engines are. As for the handling, I once spent over £400 on SPAX adjustables and lowering springs for an XR2, and the 405's handling (un-modded) is more than a match for it.
Soon to replace PAS near-side gaiter, yi-pee. Bailcast.com here I come.
I hope this can be of help to some. [:D]
Some help to some
Moderator: RichardW