1989 Peugeot 405 GLx4 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Oil pressure sender failed along with the sump seal.

Loss of oil took out the crank and conrods bigend shells etc.

Piston bores were as new so that was OK.

New crank and pistons/rods sought from donor car.

Car ran fine for 1 week.

Ignition module went. Then again then again. Fault was sourced to a faulty distributor spiking to the head blowing the module.

Piston skirt literally fell off (been mechanic for 15 years, never seen that happen ever even on race engines), piston never hit anything, just the bottom dropped off.

Head gasket kits a ripoff at £60 for a head gasket on its own!!!

BMW 6cyl is only £60 for a completed head set including bolts.

4 weeks from rebuild no 2 cam went, no apparent cause, just worn lobe, replaced cam and valve cap.

Car has run fine since.

Manifold cracked, starter motor solenoid seized (new starter fitted).

Total repair costs so far £800, I've had it a year.

All of these faults however were not caused by poor maintenance, just bad luck at first. I suspect the car had FSH when bought and I've known the vehicle for the last 4 years with no problems.

I've since taken it off the road and bought a BMW - I needed something reliable. Mind you my car before the Pug was a Lada Riva 1.2L. Ran that for 30000 miles and finally sold it for banger racing. The car had had no service history and I only changed the oil twice and it never went wrong, not even a blown fuse. It cost me £20 LOL.

Reliability bah humbug!!!

We got a 1.8 GL (94 L reg) and we loved it... till we saw the dip-stick keeps popping out, CAT collapsed, gearbox annihilated itself, break in water-pipe, split in the brake hose, new pads needed after only 1500 miles... let's face it... it's a modern-day Cortina... give me back my Astra!

Buy an mi16 my friend and you will never look back.

Well yes, so long as you buy a non-thrashed, well-maintained Mi16.

Otherwise look forward to regular trips to the garage.

Dec 15,2002 Original owner of 1989 405 with 60,000 miles. Our only complaint is assorted electrical problems. A nuisance, but we have never been stranded. I am looking for an oil dipstick to replace cracked one. Driving position and feel still wonderful.