Peugeot 206 1.4 2003 - Advice

Gammy leg · Post by **Gammy leg** » 12 Oct 2009, 01:04

Chaps,

Just bought an '03 206 Verve 1.4 for the Wife & Daughter to fight over. I'm picking it up this evening. Looks tidy enough with no panel damage, good paint etc, engine starts and sounds sweet enough, pulls well and stops in a straight line.
Any chance of some constructive advice as to things to look out for once it arrives back at the ranch?

Thanks

Gammy

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 12 Oct 2009, 07:50

look for an oil leak on the forward face of the engine below the head to block joint, and along side the cam belt cover, if it is oily just there and no sign of oil comming down the head face from the rocker cover, this is a head gasket leaking at the main oil way joint,

another thing is noisy reverse gear,

body rot at the outrigers on the underside of the floor pan/s at the bottom of the bulkhead, as this is were non educated persons shuve a jack which breakes the body sealant, hence it rots away

regards malcolm

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 12 Oct 2009, 20:10

The main problem 206s can suffer from is rear axel issues. Usually sounds like your driving over loose manhole covers each time you hit a bump. So look out for that, as the easiest fix is a replacement axel.

I cant really think of any other 206 only problems, not sure what the 1.4 engine is like reliability wise.

My 2.0HDi 206 has been a great car, total reliability over the last year and 21K miles (now thats tempting fate!), really good fun to drive and reasonably economical, though not much better than the C5 HDi. Cant quite get over how hard the suspenion is for a French car though, unless mine is harder than normal being a 2.0.

Cant say ive noticed any rust, though they can develop rust on the underside of the bonnet. The 12 year rust warranty is only valid if checked by the dealer every couple of years....

They are certainly one of the better, more recent, small French cars in my opinion.

I think cambelts are every 5 years, so it will be due if its not been done.

Chris.

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 13 Oct 2009, 18:56

Malcolm has covered the head gasket oil leak & noisey reverse gear.

I would advise to check the clutch biting point....the clutch on our 1.4 Xsara (will be the same engine & G box in the 206) was very sharp...it was like a switch either on or off...with very little clutch pedal movement between the two....the cause of this is a weak pressure plate. This is livable with but it takes a bit of getting used to.

The 1.4 engine is a nice little unit that is easy to work on....the cam belt is a doddle to change which is always a bonus.

Do beware that it is a wet liner engine so if you do ever need to remove the head for any reason don't disturb the liners otherwise you will have to replace the liner bottom seals which are no more than thin O rings but are an astronomical £5 each

...don't ask me how I know...

Cheers.

Gammy leg · Post by **Gammy leg** » 13 Oct 2009, 20:32

Chaps,

Thanks for the tips. I have noticed a little oil below the head and will investigate when time and the dreaded lurgi allows. Doesn't seem to be much though and it hasn't ended up all over the bottom end of the engine which may be a positive.
No sign of busted underseal from bad jacking and the cambelt was changed in March this year. Rear axle is also quiet when going over bumps.
Agree about the clutch being a bit snappy though. I put it down to me driving a diesel for the last 6 years and I'm sure we'll get used to it.
Reverse is a little crunchy when engaging but is quiet when moving so hopefully all is not lost.
It sounds as if you were unlucky if you managed to dislodge your liner seals. In my experience, after time the seals seem to weld themselves solid and are all but impossible to break. But that is just my experience on R18's.

Thanks again

Gammy

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 13 Oct 2009, 20:38

so dont cook the engine as this can also cause the wet linners to drop, which in turn stops the head gaskert sealling,

also if the suspension is hard this is a good sign the rear arms have seized up,

as well as the engine being very easy to work on the clutch is easy to replace if required,

regards malcolm

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 13 Oct 2009, 21:49

Gammy leg wrote:....It sounds as if you were unlucky if you managed to dislodge your liner seals. In my experience, after time the seals seem to weld themselves solid and are all but impossible to break....

Gammy

More of a silly mistake than unlucky....I had a long piece of wood that I bolted down onto the block to clamp the liners down whilst I turned the engine over to get each piston to TDC to clean the carbon off........I forgot to refit the wood before I turned the engine which lifted the 2 center liners slightly

...so better safe than sorry I replaced all four seals.
The head was off to replace the gasket because of the oil leak from the main oil way like Malcolm describes....the oil leak was quite bad & it had covered the cam belt so it needed fixing.

Just recently replaced the clutch kit on our Xsara because of a weak pressure plate....like I said it's livable with but when you're getting out of a car with a good clutch you notice that it is very abrupt on the biting point....new kit cured the problem & made the normal notchy 1st gear a bit less notchy....but that could be down to the fresh oil in the box.

Cheers.

Gammy leg · Post by **Gammy leg** » 13 Oct 2009, 22:51

The mileage is recorded at 71000 and there is no mention in the service docs or receipts of the clutch ever being replaced. I may take a closer look and decide if its worth replacing before the mad people start driving it!!!

Gammy

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 14 Oct 2009, 08:49

if its crunching in revers just try adjustting it a bit first,

regards malcolm

Gammy leg · Post by **Gammy leg** » 14 Oct 2009, 18:12

Malcolm,

I take it that it's a manually adjustable clutch rather than an automatic?

Sorry for the rather basic Q's but I've never owned a Pug before and I don't have a workshop manual for it yet.

Thanks again

Gammy

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 14 Oct 2009, 20:54

im not 100% sure on that but i would think its the same as the AX, SAXO, cant remember seeing an auto adjuster on one of them,

hows your synagie problerm comeing along

regards malcolm

uncle buck · Post by **uncle buck** » 15 Oct 2009, 00:27

The Xsara 1.4 has an automatic adjusting clutch cable, not sure about the 206 tho.

Cheers.