50p Engine Cover Fix Guide

[FarmerPug]

The Engine cover clips are rubbish on the 406, The top screw on things are very flimsy and hard to get off, then the rubber bolts on the bottom just snap and break letting the engine cover rattle over the place which in my car caused the engine cover to pop the dipstick up which isn't good, so instead of spending £15 for replacements from the dealer, or even £7 off ebay i just decided to go to the hardware shop and spent 50p on the solution, which is 4 bolts, i cant remember the size but i measured them in the digital caliper and they were 5.42mm ish (just take the old engine cover clips once they have been unscrewed and most hardware shops will be able to get the right bolt),the best length of the bolts were 40mm, i had to cut them to this size, but in the future i would get 40mm ones to avoid this.

I began by taking out the old engine cover clips and throwing them into the bin (the best place for them) they are bolted into place so a wrench is needed to get them out.

After cutting the bolts to size, 40 mm is best for the job, i set them onto the engine cover, and painted them black to match the engine cover:

Then there was the issue of stopping rattles, the old cover clips were made mainly of some rubber thing and absorbed rattles well, but i just made my own, there are them rubber things used to hold screwdriver bits so I took a Stanley knife and cut it in bits and put the bolt through it and it acted as a shock absorber quite well:

It may not look great when cut into the right size but its hidden when the engine cover goes back on, plus the screwdriver holder was actually black not red like in the picture, but the bit of rubber just slides onto the end of the bolt when its on the engine cover:

The bits of rubber also stop the bolts falling out of the engine cover, the next thing to do is to screw the bolts into the holes where the old clips were bolted into:

And that's it done the engine cover is on good and tight there is no rattles or problems with this and these bolt heads are much tidier looking than the old clips especially if painted in matte black they match the colour of the cover, and they sit nice and flat unlike wing nuts which was something I considered:

That's it a cheap but effective solution to the engine cover problem which seems to have happened to all 406's I come across there is no more problems with the dipstick popping up.

[eoin27]

Or you could just get rid of the engine cover like I did. Its a less pretty sight but it isnt louder with it off.

[FarmerPug]

No theres no problem with loudness when the engine cover it off, but with it on again it keeps the engine bay looking tidy, and the peugeot logo somewhere under the bonnet is nice.

[Quinny1]

Nice job.

One of the offending rubber do da's has just split on my 406, and they are around £4 each at the stealers, (Well the Citroen ones are as I've just bought 2 for the wife's Xsara.) and I'm toying with the idea of just renewing it, or seeking an alternative, and your idea is brilliant.

Would it be just as easy to source rubber grommets or thick rubber washers to put underneath rather than fabricating the rubber the way you have?

[DaiRees]

There's an alternative fix from our own Jasper5 involving renault exhaust mounts. Have a look here.

[teamster1975]

It's ironic that home grown solutions are probably better than the original!
Good job there mate

[FarmerPug]

I couldn't find thick enough rubber washers or grommets in my shed, and the screwdriver bits holder was the best thing I found, but I would say cutting a bit of garden hose might even do the job but im sure a trip into B&Q or some hardware shop will get what you need and not be expensive.

[rwb]

I was feeling flush so I got some 'proper' ones.

The new ones have a slightly different construction to the old ones. On the old ones the rubber is attached to the top of the bolt head. On the new ones the rubber covers the bold head and is moulded into a hexagonal shape. The rubber deforms as you try to screw them in; I couldn't get them in all the way. I think the new ones will last longer, but when they break the stumps will be harder to remove.

The old stump is on the left, the new one is on the right.