Can anyone help. Bought a Peugeot 405 diesel estate from a garage whilst on holiday. Had it on the road for 3 weeks and less than 400 miles, requires new engine – apparently pistons damaged by water. We are told L reg upwards can’t just replace pistons so need recon engine. Trying to get money back from selling garage who are being, to say the least, uncooperative.
Is there an expert out there who could throw any light on why this might have happened? The garage where the car sits for possible repair says it could be any number of things. Could something have been bodged to last 400 miles?
For info, water temperature gauge showed very high temperature, fan came in, stopped the car, no water pouring out, temperature dropped after a time, car went into our local garage for repair.
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Hi Dee - Your engine has obviously been previously overheated and the head gasket has blown. If the head has not been checked for warp and cracking, the chances are it would blow again. XUDs are noted for gasket blowing, particularly when the cooling system has been neglected by not having changes of coolant every two years. Also Pug 405 of this age were also noted for getting blockages in the radiators.
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Makes me think of my 309. I think its service history is good (book not stamped but original owners contacted via V5 claimed they had it done regularly, and the oil was clean when i bought it.)
HOWEVER the coolant is an odd murky brown colour and obviously the changes have been neglected.
Do I have fresh coolant put in, or have the system flushed then filled with fresh coolant?
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Hi Dave - The murky brown colour comes from the rust in the system, the deposits of which do the damage. I would suggest that you drain it completely, use a cleaning compound and then flush until clear. Change the coolant every two years.
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Not Peugeot with gasket problems again????
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Dave, brown coolant can also result from the addition of a radiator sealant, so it is just possible that the car has suffered a coolant loss problem at some point.
I agree with John that flushing the system and putting in new coolant would be a very good idea, however this may show up any coolant loss problem. But if radiator sealant cured the problem before you could use this again, very preferably Bars Leaks. I have used this product in the past with excellent and long-lasting results.
If you do need to use a sealant, it is probably best introduced into the system on the outlet side of the radiator if this is possible on your car, e.g. into the hose connecting the bottom of the radiator to the engine. I haven't heard of any problems with this product, which has been around for many years, but I'm still a bit wary of putting any semi-solid stuff straight into the radiator where it may be forced to pass through the tubes whilst it is still lumpy. A good second-best is to thoroughly mix it with water before you put it in the radiator.
Hopefully you won't find any coolant loss problems; my notes are 'just in case'.
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Hi JohnD
Thanks for your help. Is it unusual for water to have got into the 'bottom of the engine'(according to repair garage) and damage the pistons? >> Hi Dee - Your engine has obviously been previously overheated andthe head gasket has blown. If the head has not been checked for warp and cracking, the chances are it would blow again. XUDs are noted for gasket blowing, particularly when the cooling system has been neglected by not having changes of coolant every two years. Also Pug 405 of this age were also noted for getting blockages in the radiators.
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DEE,
Sadly it is common to hear such a story with this engine type that was fitted to so many cars. They are super engines but need coolant levels regularly checked and the correct cooling system maintenance carried out.
After repair work folks have been known to leave air locks in the system that are themselves capable of causing the sort of failure you mention.
Yes it is possible for the water to get into "the bottom of the engine". Usually it doesn't cause damage there though and a new/machined head (plus gaskets etc) is all that the car might require.
Good luck with it.
David W
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