Guest Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 OK, first off, this looks like the best forum I've found so far that has any sort of North American membership, and covers the 505. If I'm wrong, point me to a better forum. I've owned a couple of Volkswagen diesels, but realized that my last one was a lost cause (let's see... tweaked unibody, rust holes, and things kept breaking that shouldn't have kept breaking.) So, I'm going to part it out, and a few months ago bought a 1992 Miata to replace it. However, I miss having a diesel around, and want something quirky this time around (and NOT another Volkswagen! ) Mercedes? Too well known. Volvo? Ditto, with the added downside that nobody seems to know that Volvo diesels existed, so they think you're filling up a gasser with diesel, and panic. Datsun? Ehh... I've already got one Japanese car, and the Maxima diesels have all turned to rust by now. Oldsmobile/Cadillac/Chevrolet/Pontiac? No. Just no. Peugeot? Hmm, liking this. Quirky, almost seems like nobody's heard of them, I like the styling... if it takes a while to get parts, oh well, I have a reliable daily driver in the Miata... From what I've found, I think I want a 1986, to get the updated interior and all. I also want the 2.5L turbodiesel engine. I definitely want a manual transmission. I think I want the sedan, for the styling (although I like the wagon's styling, too) and the suspension. (Although, it looks like I couldn't get a manual diesel wagon, so...) What are the big things to look out for, especially on the diesels? Any resources that I should take a close look at before getting one? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Hey man, All are welcome here - but you might find more technical resourses on the yahoo group Peugeot-L... It's a very active group with lots of diesel heads that are a weath of info... Must of us here are offshoots of that group that are more focused on performance of the 505 Turbos and such... From what I know - the 5-sp is only in the sedan, and the XD3T in the newer 86 car would be ideal - but I think they're rare with the newer dash... Good luck - as I'd love to join the ranks as well but there are none left up here... Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Thanks for the pointer - I thought there might be somewhere more focused on the diesels. I'll crosspost there. In my city, I've actually seen a 505 S turbodiesel sedan in decent shape, I believe with the newer dash (but it was a while ago, and I hadn't done any research into Pugs yet, so I didn't know what I was looking at really,) but with the automatic (I'm not a fan of automatics...) And, not for sale, anyway, as far as I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Keep in mind its an aluminum headed motor - check the antifreeze. The engine itself is a pretty good engine. It seems the diesels are the easyest to get parts for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Every motor I've ever owned has had an aluminum head, so I know to check that, but thanks. Good to hear about parts availability. (Still waiting to be allowed onto Peugeot-L...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Welcome, I too love the 505 diesels. The engines are quite indestructible, almost the only thing that can break on the diesels is the head gasket, but I hever had it. It's important to run it warm slowly before using all the HP's. Otherwise it is the most loved car in french speaking Africa, thath says something about their quality. Apart from that, I find the comfort of a 505 is several levels higher than of the german brands of the same age. Especially over speedbumps and bad roads it's 10X nicer than a mercedes for example. Most problems we have here in wet parts of Europe are rust on the 505's. Check the attachment of the front wings under the bonnet, the arms on which the rear wheels are connected, the sunroof and the bottom of the trunk. If that is all wel, rust is probably not an issue on the car. About parts in America I can't say anything, but I have done almost 100.000 miles in 505 diesels and never had to replace anything special. At the moment I'm preparing a GTDT from 1987 as daily driver (just fix a leaking radiator and change some rubbers). So that too had the new dash. But be aware, the dash was introduced in 1986 with the XD3T engine (95hp), one year later already (1987) they put an intercooler on it to make it the XD3TE engine with 110 hp. Might be worth to take into account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I'd love to be able to take that into account, but it appears that Peugeot didn't sell the diesels here after 1986 - many manufacturers stopped selling diesels here after 1986, because they only sold them to boost their Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings, not because anyone wanted them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I'd love to be able to take that into account, but it appears that Peugeot didn't sell the diesels here after 1986 - many manufacturers stopped selling diesels here after 1986, because they only sold them to boost their Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings, not because anyone wanted them. Not entirely. There was huge diesel boom from auto manufacturers from the late 70s 'til the early 80s. GM made the 5.7 diesel because the big 88s, Caprices, etc were big sellers and the fuel prices and potential shortages threatened that cash cow. I have several old car mags from that era; everyone was building them. All the Japanese mini trucks were avabile with a diesel. Hell, you could buy a diesel in a Toyota Camry, Corolla, Datsun 810, Chevy Chevette, VW Vanagon diesel, Nissan Sentra, Ford escort and Tempo, and even in a Ranger. Fuel prices went back down and the scare went away by the middle 80s, but during the early 80s it was hard to find a diesel by certain makes, there was a strong demand for a brief time. My neighbor ended up buying a used VW Rabbit diesel 6 months old for more then a new sticker because they were hard to get. Also, most of the Peugeots and Mercedes during the early 80s were diesel powered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 I should say, by 1986, almost nobody wanted them, from what I've heard - fuel prices going down, gas engines getting more economical AND more powerful, etc., etc. (I knew they were desirable in the 70s and the early 80's. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 I should say, by 1986, almost nobody wanted them, from what I've heard - fuel prices going down, gas engines getting more economical AND more powerful, etc., etc. (I knew they were desirable in the 70s and the early 80's. ) Exactly. They say the bad early GM 5.7 diesels killed the diesel market, but I dont buy that line. By 86 fuel prices were down and steady and GM even canceled terminating the big Caprice and Caddy Fleetwood. Even Mercedes diesel sales(among the best) were down to almost nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Not only that, but with proper maintenance and a water separator added, the 1981 and later GM diesels weren't even bad! And, pre-1982 VW diesels were rather bad about blowing head gaskets, yet nobody remembers anything other than slowness about them being bad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Not only that, but with proper maintenance and a water separator added, the 1981 and later GM diesels weren't even bad! And, pre-1982 VW diesels were rather bad about blowing head gaskets, yet nobody remembers anything other than slowness about them being bad... Exactly. The '81 & later models had the mains drilled deeper, and around that era they went with larger headbolts. I was told the later ones were good engines. Although slow, a large luxury car getting 25 - 30 mpg is still good by todays standards. I know a diesel shop owner who swears the 4.3 V6 version was a darn good engine. I thought the early VW diesels (around 77) were the bad ones, they didnt fix them until 81 (when they had the 1600 with larger headbolts ?) Someone told me the 6 cylinder versions of the VW diesel (used in Volvos) didnt last well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 81 was the first year of the 1.6, but it still had the smaller head bolts until 82. The issues with the Volvos mainly relate to an excessively long oil change interval (7500 miles on a CC-rated dino oil, same as the 4-cyls - on my 1.6, I was doing 7500 on a CI-4+-rated synthetic, and knew that was approaching the limit,) and a very poorly designed cooling system in the Volvo application. And, back then, the emissions controls that the American carmakers put on gasoline engines made it such that the 5.7 diesel was just as powerful as many of their V8 gassers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugsley Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 81 was the first year of the 1.6, but it still had the smaller head bolts until 82. The issues with the Volvos mainly relate to an excessively long oil change interval (7500 miles on a CC-rated dino oil, same as the 4-cyls - on my 1.6, I was doing 7500 on a CI-4+-rated synthetic, and knew that was approaching the limit,) and a very poorly designed cooling system in the Volvo application. And, back then, the emissions controls that the American carmakers put on gasoline engines made it such that the 5.7 diesel was just as powerful as many of their V8 gassers. The early 80s cars were among the slowest. I inherited a low mile 81 Pontiac Catalina (that sits on my property in a barn) with a 231 V6. Its a nice car with a very smooth ride, but 3.8 liter 110 hp V6 pushing 3800 lbs and tall gearing kills the fuel economy - it struggles, literally. Back then they thought making them underpowered and tall geared made them fuel economy champs I know somewhere they changed to larger headbolts on the VW diesel; I was told the good ones would go 350-400K if well maintained. Ive kinda wanted a Audi 5000 Turbodiesel also - but they are now over 25 years old and I havent seen one in years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.