Just bought another 406 estate!

[dirtydirtydiesel]

This one is amazing - the handbrake works, I feel inclined to take it apart and find out why.

Peter


Told you before that the handbrake can be good if properly adjusted & setup

Congratulations on the purchase, looks to be a great buy & you stole it at £250.00

With regards to the prices though,
If / when I move mine on I will want north of £1000.00 for mine, I've lost count of how much I've spent 'properly'
maintaining it, but I have kept a folder of the work carried out with the receipts for the part's.

For example, I have paid £40.00 for a good rust free bonnet & more than you paid for your new car
getting it properly painted to match
I like to keep on top of the jobs/work needed so that it never feels like an impending list of doom

I was pretty close with the head gasket job though, just the amount of other work that I had already done + the price
I would have got if I had sold it with a failing head gasket twisted my arm

But I know my car inside out & it has no faults, I'm the second owner & it's done 127k, 60k of those with me

[PeterN]

I will have to take my belt off sometime to see if I can find the source of the noise, I think I will have to take a photograph of it.

Peter

[jasper5]

This one is amazing - the handbrake works, I feel inclined to take it apart and find out why.

Peter


Told you before that the handbrake can be good if properly adjusted & setup

I've been saying that for many years...check out the knowledge base!

After all my 49 years working on motor vehicles and now into retirement, I've got rid of my Renault Twingo (the stupid clutch cable broke on my way to the new owner, cost me £45 and a trip to Manchester) and now only have our Peugeot 508. I won't be buying anything else.
I have zero interest in messing about with cars

[PeterN]

Re the hand brake, on my first one I fitted new shoes and drums/discs, cleaned and lubricated the adjusters and set it up exactly as per Haynes manual , no better than before. I have even changed the cables, the long one broke when the MOT man was trying to get a 'pass'. Immediately after I have adjusted it there is an improvement but it doesn't last long but its nothing like the new one. I have often driven off with the handbrake on and its only because its been flashing lights at me that I noticed.

I have been maintaining my cars for over 60 years and I have never had this problem before. Since I had this car I now know its possible for the handbrake to work, it can even stop you pulling away but I have owned four 406s and driven at least six and they were all the same. My son has a coupe and his handbrake is the same Even my MOT man says the handbrake on these is useless but if I adjust it up immediately before I take it in it just about passes.

So what am I doing wrong, is it the type of linings, are they to hard? What linings do you use?

I have a Merc now with a foot operated parking brake which I think is the same system and that's not much better. I drove XMs for about 15 years and that parking brake also foot operated was superb, but that worked on the front calipers not the stupid little drums that the 406 has.

The only time the 406 brake works well is after the car has been driven in the rain and left standing but of course as soon as the rust wears off it reverts to 'normal' hence my thoughts about the hardness of the linings. I had thought about installing and 'auto watering system'.

Help!

Peter

[mjb]

I have a Merc now with a foot operated parking brake which I think is the same system and that's not much better.

Mine's got that thing too, truly awful ain't it Mine's both utter crap at holding, but also really doesn't like releasing either, so I end up driving one-handed for the first half mile while pulling at the handbrake release handle with the other

[rwb]

It's German; if it wasn't supposed to do that then they wouldn't make it that way.

[PeterN]

Mine is the same, you pull away and something screams at you and the parking brake is on. Mine needs a bit of maintenance - when it stops raining, I will let you know how it goes. Is the ratchet supposed to click when you apply the brake? Mine doesn't but it holds OK.

I agree with RWB, pretty everything else on the car works brilliantly.

Peter