For what it's worth...
My beloved 405 left to become an organ donor yesterday. After 250,451 miles. The grinding diff and sagging trailing arms finally forced the decision. But still very much a runner. The 1.9 XUD atmo was still willing, though, even with blowing headgasket, and it was most satisfying to blast it along the dual carriageway on the way to the breakers...
Lessons from this?
1/ BE3 gearbox (fitted to many French machines) has a weakness in the diff area. I have seen a pinion broken through the casing. Bored its way out,in fact. Use synth oil (which also helps with notoriously bad cold gearchanges - which puts strain on the weak linkage..)
2/ As per David Woollard's wise advice, the best way to avoid problems with the XUD head is not to let the thing overheat in the first place. Check those fans! The earth at the front of the Pug can pack up. No fans. Cooked head. And it never seems to recover from the trauma, despite skimming.
3/ Trailing arm. I understand than a grease nipple can be fitted to the needle roller bearings. There is a company called "Pleiades" or similar (Cit Specialist) who does the work on XMs for £10/side. Much cheaper than replacement torque tube. Providing you can find one. And get the old one off.
Finally. I got £50 for the machine. A 405 GRD 1.9 which had "seen life" in terms of body panels and interior. Fair? However, I did buy it for 4.5K in 1994 with FSH and 88K.
Not bad, I suppose.
And the XM? I am still in "honeymoon" mode. A 2.5 VSX estate with FSH and one very careful owner. Gallic wackiness with dollops of torque.
I'll let you know how I get on.
Thanks to everyone who helped with the Pug.
Rob
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There is a company called "Pleiades" or similar (Cit Specialist)
www.pleiades.uk.com/
Also try
www.chevronics.co.uk/
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Very interesting that. Thanks for sharing.
How much did the car cost over its lifetime then?
£500/year depreciation aint too bad!
I wonder if new pugs have the same weaknesses?
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Keith,
I did not keep a costed-out service history, but simply a record of the work.
It began to get (relativly) expensive towards the end (last 15K)with radiator, drive shafts, heater matrix. These were all bought on the understanding (at the time) that the basic mechanicals were sound. However, once the driveshafts were replaced, the diff bearing finally let go. Pooh! Plus the camber on the rear suspension began to increase due to bearing wear.
There comes a point where you realise that the machine will not reach 300K as you had hoped.
Plus there was a long list of nigglies like noisy engine mounts, (new ones put in but still problematic as suspect inferior materials), poorly sunroof (quite common), and worn drivers door hinge. This makes it sound like a true banger, but it could still hit 95+, give 45+mpg, and give me enough confidence to do 700mile business trips around the south.
Ironically, the emissions and MOT-critical stuuf was fine, so it would probably have passed in April 03. The danger was the transmission or rear suspension suddenly letting go at an inconvenient time/place. (Now watch some chap slam a younger 'box/diff. in it and run it for another 20k. Shucks.)
But the XM. Gourgeous. Gallic gizmo barge. Bucketloads of wheelspinning torque, relaxed ride, Wembley Arena of a loadspace. Distinctive looks. Sure, there may be heartbreak ahead, but I ran a British bike in the late-seventies, so got used to the love/hate cycle and dirty fingernails.
Rob
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There comes a point where you realise that the machine will not reach 300K as you had hoped.
I've still got a P-reg on 356,000m!
And a K-reg 287,000m one in the garage for spares, front end smashed but engine ok.
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Dave,
Yep, the local taxi firm ran a fleet in the late-eighties and most went to 300K+ with just driveshafts and usual consumables.
For mine, the latter days were a lesson in the "change versus keep and spend" decision.
I've been monitoring the yahoogroups Peugeot discussion for over a year. It's wierd to see that the yank members treat any 405 as rare and exotic.
rg
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From years back I remember "Buying Cars" magazine - before it was bought and quitely subsumned into some Haymarket publication - which used to run a "reader's cars" column.
One of the submissions I can remember was from an American couple living & working in the UK at the time and raving about how amazing their 405 was compared to what they'd driven back home....
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