New 406 Owner

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cwhaley
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New 406 Owner

Post by cwhaley »

Hi all -- just thought I'd introduce myself as a new 406 owner!

The reasons behind me becoming one are through pure chance. After owning a Focus 1.8 TDCi for years I bought a 2008 Titanium estate with the 2.0 TDCi engine. The car turned out to be an absolute money pit (new injectors, new EGR, investigations, etc.) and it still smokes blue and stalls when cold. It's a shame because I loved my Ford and cherished it, changing the oil every 5k, only using Ford parts.... oh well!

As a result of all of that I wasn't left with much money. Looking out for a new motor for a few weeks I eventually found my new Pug for £800. It's a little tatty inside and out but has full service history (at 156,000 miles) and only two owners each for around 10 years. I gave it a wash today and will do a full detail in the week -- in doing so I realised a lot of the damaged bits of trim are readily-available on eBay at and the local salvage yard.

I must admit so far I'm pretty impressed! Everything I've tested works well, the engine purrs (even if incredibly slow in 1st and 2nd!) and steering is pretty sharp. It feels like a well-loved taxi and so far I've not found anything that makes me worry. Hope to be on the forums sharing bits and pieces.

First job is to try and work out why the central locking doesn't work!
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GingerMagic
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by GingerMagic »

Hi, welcome :cheesy:

I nearly bought a Mondeo a few years back, but chose a 406 instead as it was cheaper, service history and new timing belt - and I've stuck with 406s ever since.

The 406 is a great value car, much underestimated until you own one and realise how much of an all rounder they are.

Is yours a diesel? If so you can unplug the MAF sensor to see if the car has more ooomph - if so, replace this sensor - it's a flat grey plug just behind the air filter box

Yours is what we call a semi-multiplex, which basically means it has a BSI (body systems interface I think!) to control some of the creature comforts, but without going all out fully multiplex like the later models which can suffer from electronic gremlins.

Does your central locking work at all? Driver's door, passenger door, key fob?

Also, there are fewer and fewer 406s around, which means spares are not as plentiful as they used to be, but not exactly gold dust either.

Best of luck with the car - the forum isn't as active as it used to be but have a read of the knowledge base on the forum home page, lots of help there - and try the search engine at the top of the page, you may find some pointers there too 8)
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Doggy
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by Doggy »

Hi & welcome aboard. 8)

Your 406 looks pretty tidy. They're wonderful mile eaters and load luggers with few serious problems.
As GM says, the forum is your friend - almost any issue you encounter will have been seen and probably has a documented solution.
Enjoy.
2002 HDi 2.2 Exec Estate, (2008-12) (wonderful)
2003 HDi 2.2 6-speed Exec Estate (2012-19) (also a gem)
2009 Citroen C5 2.0 HDi VTR+ Estate (godawful heap)
2008 BMW E91 330i touring (great fun - murdered by a reversing SUV)
2007 BMW E91 325i touring (slower smoother quieter)
cwhaley
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by cwhaley »

Thanks for the welcome. Great to see a community out there still active and offering advice! Lots of little jobs I'd like to do over the next few months so I'll share progress.

Mine is the 90 hp diesel yes. I'll try unplugging the MAF sensor -- I did that on an old Fiesta I had once and the default readings the ECU then reverted to were far better performance-wise. It may just be the car but there's no enthusiasm whatsoever about starting off from stopped!

As for the central locking it seems to be totally absent. I can't lock the car at all using the spare key (no buttons) and the main key fob's buttons fell off and it seems to be dead. I'll disassemble it and try a new battery to begin with. I've seen a few posts on here too which I'll look through.

Thanks again.
PeterN
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by PeterN »

Probably the best car Peugeot ever made, certainly the most reliable I ever had, they also have good ride quality compared with most modern cars. I ran 406 Hdi estates for about 10 years and never had to worry about them, just got in and drove.

We now have two C5 estates as the ride on those is superb, even the steel sprung ones, not as reliable or easy to work on as the 406 but oh so comfortable. We would still have had one 406 but the brake servo failed on it, not a job for the faint hearted, unless you need the engine out for something else. :frown:

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Doggy
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by Doggy »

As regards the lack of oomph, it's probably worth checking the throttle cable for excess slack at the throttle position sensor, (near the brake servo).
With diagnostic kit you can accurately tell if you're getting 0 - 99%, but even without you can usually remove almost all of the slack by adjusting the spring clip on the outer cable sheath.
2002 HDi 2.2 Exec Estate, (2008-12) (wonderful)
2003 HDi 2.2 6-speed Exec Estate (2012-19) (also a gem)
2009 Citroen C5 2.0 HDi VTR+ Estate (godawful heap)
2008 BMW E91 330i touring (great fun - murdered by a reversing SUV)
2007 BMW E91 325i touring (slower smoother quieter)
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Welly
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by Welly »

Not sure what the deal is with those Ford TDCi engines, you either get a really good one that's quiet and behaves itself or a shitter that sounds like a bag-o-spanners and smokes.

I suspect some have seen the odd dose of Petrol on occasion which never goes down well, and maybe poor servicing routines.

HDi's are ace in comparison and will not leave you stranded if cared for; all that's needed is oil changes and checking over for leaks and funny noises etc
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trufflehunt
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by trufflehunt »

Welly wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 3:46 pm Not sure what the deal is with those Ford TDCi engines, you either get a really good one that's quiet and behaves itself or a shitter that sounds like a bag-o-spanners and smokes.
They're Fords, sir. They're all shitters after a few years.
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steve_earwig
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by steve_earwig »

Perhaps it's more a case Monday morning Ford... Some people love 'em and I'd have thought they'd have had to have dealt with the "100k miles = death" manufacturing quality by now, or they'd have gone out of business long ago.

I've only had 1 Ford myself, a 2.0 S Cortina, looked like crap but went like stink. It had KC daylighters on the front, a SIerra 5-speed and a good stereo. Unfortunately it also had Ford's "one key fits all" locks, so it went walkies. I tried t haggle with the insurers but they would only give me the book price, which at the time was something like 55p.
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Doggy
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by Doggy »

steve_earwig wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 5:28 pm ...looked like crap but went like stink...
If it looks like a duck...
2002 HDi 2.2 Exec Estate, (2008-12) (wonderful)
2003 HDi 2.2 6-speed Exec Estate (2012-19) (also a gem)
2009 Citroen C5 2.0 HDi VTR+ Estate (godawful heap)
2008 BMW E91 330i touring (great fun - murdered by a reversing SUV)
2007 BMW E91 325i touring (slower smoother quieter)
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Welly
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by Welly »

steve_earwig wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 5:28 pm I've only had 1 Ford myself, a 2.0 S Cortina, looked like crap but went like stink.
I remember being taken for a blast in two 2.0 S's in me yoof...they did indeed go like stink, Google suggests 97 BHP? not much by today's standards but when you factor in the low weight (mainly thanks to most of the metalwork falling off through rust) then it would indeed make a gutsy motor, those 8-Valve Pinto engines were very punchy from low revs.

Father_Welly has run Fords for 30 years and hasn't had a single problem with any of them, although he seems to overlook the horrid depreciation :roll:
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by steve_earwig »

Doggy wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:13 pm If it looks like a duck...
It was known to my mates as the 2-liter Mess.

Word of warning: If the cops ask why the roof of your car looks like someone's been jumping up and down on it, do not tell them you were dancing on it the other night when you were drunk, for some reason they just don't seem to like that sort of thing :?
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Doggy
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by Doggy »

TBF I had an x-reg 1.6 'GT' Capri as a daily driver since I couldn't get 3 bods into the Lotus for commuting.

AKA 'Uriah' (the heap).

When the door lock froze & wouldn't close I kicked it till it shut, then climbed in thro the window.
2002 HDi 2.2 Exec Estate, (2008-12) (wonderful)
2003 HDi 2.2 6-speed Exec Estate (2012-19) (also a gem)
2009 Citroen C5 2.0 HDi VTR+ Estate (godawful heap)
2008 BMW E91 330i touring (great fun - murdered by a reversing SUV)
2007 BMW E91 325i touring (slower smoother quieter)
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Welly
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by Welly »

I kind of miss 'sh*t' cars from the 80's, that feeling of utter amazement and respect that you completed a 100 mile journey without it breaking down. The weekends of 'tinkering' to make it through the next week's commute. The vibration of the engine. The feel of non power assisted steering.

My first car; a P-reg (1976) VW Golf 1.1L was a proper shitter, blue smoke from the eggsauce, oil leakage, rust, you name it. My best mate at the time drove into the side of it at parking speed and mashed the driver door....how we laughed :lol:

We've only ever owned one Ford - a 1990 Orion Ghia no less, that was alright to be honest but I broke 2nd gear by being rough with it...the gearbox lost.
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cwhaley
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Re: New 406 Owner

Post by cwhaley »

Only just seen all these replies!

Since I've had the car I've done around 150 miles in it and it's been brill -- great on fuel. It struggled to start this morning (slow cranking) but as it was sat a month before I bought it and needed a jump start when buying, I'm presuming a battery issue so going to put it on a 24 hour trickle charge. I'll also check the starter motor out and give it a refurb if necessary. Other than that and possibly needing new engine mounts it's been great.

As for Fords I had a great experience with my 1.8 TDCi (until 100k) and the one I've just got rid of again started failing at 100k. Every garage either just look for codes or replace parts until it works. This Peugeot although relatively modern, still feels like it's from an era where you could open the bonnet, find the issue and do it yourself. My first car was a 1988 Astra 3-door estate and that was exactly the same.

It's sunny tomorrow so I'm going to give her a good wash, polish and wax!
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