Rescuing an abandoned 406 2.1 TD

[Goce]

Every so often i looked at car for sale near me especially peugeot. This car caught my eye, looks like it's been sitting for years but then i've seen it has the same engine as i have in my 605 the XUD11BTE, i have the ATE, only the injection pump is different and it's a good spec. So i call the guy, it's been sitting since 2009 it has only 112K on the clock. After long talk i agreed to buy it, tomorrow after work i'm going straight there to transfer it and loaded to on a flatbed, all i know about it some one had been there to look it, it fire up straight away and it has flat tires. It's been couple of years since i've had to rebuild a car from the ground up, i'm thinking this may be a replacement for the 605.

[SRDT]

The 406 is a nice car. I have read that the XUD11BTE injection pump can be reliable as long as you change the seals when they start to leak.

[Goce]

I did buy and got it transported home, it's been sitting 14 years, and has 187K on the clock. All 4 tires wore off the rims, i used a small compressor and hold the tires to get them to seal on the rims. Also had to buy new battery terminals and a battery it fires on the first engine rotation. With the engine running i've seen the charge light is on and the airbag light is flashing, i did put it in ger and drove it out of the hole it was occupied for more then a decade. The rear hatch hasn't been opened in long time and when i opened it there was liserts and lots of dirt in the cracks. The front fender and rocker has a dent and the front bumper is demolished. The hole where it was seating hasn't got any grass but i'm guessing it may have taken it with it. Noting i did not expect, only ting i can't figure out is the badge on the back "Davos" looks to be there long time and is aluminium, is that dealership of equipment level or something someone slapped on any ideas?

[Mike T]

Davos: Tourist sticker I think. I bought one from Kitzbühel for a friend once and it was similar.

[Goce]

First thing any new car project gets is a good wash, this one took lots of effort, the growing mold and all the grass roots was a real issue. I use an oven degreaser concentrate to get rid of the mold and some of the compound dirt. I did not focus much on the front bumper and the engine bay. They need a full day of attention and the front bumper is a loss cause. With soap on the tires i could see they had many many leaks from the dry rot, the driver's side had already defeated. So once i've driven it in the garage got that wheel off and changed the tire with a used one in better shape. Oh yeah since my last ribuld on this forum i've invested in equipment and tools.

[Goce]

Today i continue the clean up of this car, first i had to take off the drivers door panel, the window regulator broke and the window was down. After that i drove it back out, first used a vacuum to get all the loose staff of the engine then i pressure wash it, then i took off the front bumper, there was lots of dirt and sand got it all washed, the fog lamps fell off, all the mounts are broken, the bumper has been repaired many times and mount are destroyed. I'll probably be looking for a new bumper, so i took apart the old bumper and throw the bumper shell on the crap pile, but first i want to get the maintenance done on the engine its been sitting for 14 years and the timing belt is more then 20 years old. I started calling around for parts and seen the part prices have doubled in the last year and are 3X more expensive scene the corona virus hit.

[Goce]

Last few days i've been buying parts and i've done some more power washing, this time was from under the floor and suspension got a good wash. There is not real rust, only few small spots of surface rust on some of the sill edges. I'll treat them and protect them. I bought all new fluids, new timing set with water pump, new handbrake cables, rear discs, pads, filters, belts. Before changing anything i fix the interior blower, it was stuck and charged the A/C it seems to work on higher rpm only but also the alternator is not charging at all, i did connect a charger and seams to work fine when battery voltage is more then 12,5v. So i'm not that worried about it, i'll try fixing the alternator at the same time when i change the timing belt. The timing belt is more then 20 years old and i don't want to push my luck running the engine like this so i lifted the passenger side took off the tire and started preparing for timing job.

[SRDT]

A common fault with A/C on the 406 is the compressor clutch relay inside the BSI, you're not supposed to change it but it can be done as long as you know where to cut:

[Goce]

I've heard about this, but i don't think this one has that issue, simply the voltage is low. This car has seat for 14 years in the open and who ever come to look at it before me connected the jump leads backwards and fried the alternator and causes many electrical issues, the airbag light is blinking and i can't get my peugeot planet 2000 software to install, i've tried older laptop with windows XP still no luck any advice or where to get a working edition of peugeot planet 2000?

[Goce]

Today i started the timing belt change on this car, i had to take the air filter and starter off so i can lock the engine, for locking the fuel pump and camshaft i used M8 bolts. The old belt is in surprisingly good shape also the water pump and tensioner are almost new but i'll change them all. The engine mounts are both ripped, i did buy new mounts and will have to press in the new tomorrow. I thought changing the timing belt is tight in a 605 with this engine but this car is even tighter, in the photos look easy but everything is at an angle.

[Goce]

last few days i've been working on the timing belt, Its a very tight space, so my hands are hurting. With that finished i replaced the regulator on the alternator and installed it, i did left the top hose off and tomorrow i plan to flash the entire cooling system. I also remove the passenger side headlight and fender. I'm hoping the regulator fixes the alternator, the brashes looked ok. The engine mount was really blown and the torque mount was a bastard to press out.

 

[Goce]

Today was a long day working on this car, drove it outside, wash the entire cooling system. It was very dirty, i took off almost all the hoses and run pressure water and got all the dirt i could. Reconnected the hoses and fill the cooling system with fresh coolant. Then i drove to a nearby city and bought a new front bumper, its aftermarket but it supposed to be a good quality and is primed. When i got back i took apart the serpentine belt again, the alternator is not charging, took it off and tomorrow i plan to take it to a shop to test it, i'm hoping only the diode board got fried, from the stiker it was re manufactured in 2001.

[Goce]

Today i took the alternator to an alternator shop, it measured very bad, the diode board was bad and the stator shorted to ground. They can rewind it but parts and labor comes up to 150$ so on my way home i stopped by a car dismantler they had a smaller 80A alternator for 45$ so i bought it and mounted it. Now its charging, most of the electrical problems are now fixed only that blinking airbag light remains. Drove it a bit on my street and then i continued dismentling the fornt end, the headlights, bumper support and both wings, there is no rust but i plan of applying some underbody chip guard on the known spots to protect it.

[Goce]

Today i took apart the rear brakes, they need to be completely changed and refurbished. The handbrake shoes have plenty of friction material left so they may stay but for the rest i have and will have to buy all new components and i plan to treat and protect the backing plates because they get rusty quickly. So after a teral wirebashing i spray them down with anti rust acid, and will by some zink primer on my way from work tomorrow.

[Goce]

I've done a lot of work on the back suspension and the back brakes. I dealt with all the surface rust, apply zinc primer and some old black primer and paint, i'll go over with stone chip coating, the new brake discs got high temp paint, new brake cables i also had to buy and install the long cable to the front that means dropping the exhaust and the heat shields, new brake pads and assembling everything. Now i can park it down hill with no worries if it running away.

 

[Goce]

I'm usually all about the factory look at a car espacily at wheels, i also like the OEM quality the road are bad here but the factory rims for the D8 406 are very 90s. They look like sofa caster, any recommendation for a OEM peugeot, citroen, ford wheel that will look good on a 406, i don't mind running wheel spacers.

[Goce]

I started looking at OE wheels from other peugeot's. The drow back it this car has 4 bolt hubs almost all new models have 5 bolts, like on my other 6 series peugeot's. So my choice is very limited. Any advice, which of these will look the best?

                                                                                                                                         

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[SRDT]

15" or 16"?

[Goce]

16" or 17" i want to fit 225-245 wide tires. I hate wheel spin and with all the torque from the diesel, 195-205 mm tires just turn to smoke.

[Goce]

After few day of looking at broken, bent and destroyed peugeot wheels i found and bought this set of peugeot "Rinjani" wheels, they are more modern than the 90's on the 406. I like them because they are 7,5" wide and i can fit 245mm wide tires if i need. They come with almost new performance tires but they are small, i'll probably use them for this summer, is a waste to throw them away or sell them. Now i have to make couple of wheel spacers to get the offset just right. I did looked at two "challenger" sets of rims but they both have been welded also they are only 6" wide. With the one's i bought i'm thinking brighter red paint will go much better than the burgundy that is on it, any thoughts.

[SRDT]

As long as it's metallic paint why not, if it's non metallic red I'm not so sure.

[Goce]

I'm thinking, the solid red like the 205 GTI.

[SRDT]

Vallelunga red P3KB / EKB? I know solid red on big cars can be classy (Alfa Romeo...) but on the 406 estate if it's not the right shade it could look more like a former firefighter car:

[Goce]

Yeah, i know cherry red is out of the question. My father's 405 is solid red, i'll probably go closer to that. I want a deep red color, i'll probably go with acrylic paint 2K . This car will be daily driven so scratches, dings, broken bumpers are a way of life and solid paint is much cheaper and easier to repaint. How come the D8 on the picture doesn't have roof rails, i thought they come on all estate models.

[SRDT]

It's probably because of the lights on top.

Peugeot may have sold a special low trim estate to public services, they had a 205 with better brakes for the Police and a 4 cylinder petrol 604 for the government.