406oc.co.uk

Hi all,
Just hobbled back in my newly bought 89k 406 1.9 TD. It sound rough when warm and what is worrying is that the coolant temp needle hardly sets off from the 70 degree mark.

I drove it over 40 miles A roads at a decent speed and the coolant did not get any higher than the lowest mark on the gauge. The hot air blower puts out decent heat quite quickly.

Is this normal? Am I looking at thermostat or coolant sensor failure?

Got a million more as.

My old XUD did the same thing when the thermostat was stuck open. Sounds likely

Aha, did the temp go to mid gauge after that? I have changed thermostats before, pretty easy.

I had the choice of 83C or 93C stats, I went for the former, after which it sat spot on

The 93C is probably fine too, but I had a coolant leak from the radiator at the time which the higher temperatures made worse (subsequently also fixed).

I had an old 306 with the XUD engine - we had it for 13 years and the needle NEVER went past the 70, I assumed this was normal although the heater was never as hot as my 406 Hdi.....

OK, thanks Jon and Ginger. I think an 83 degree thermo is on the cards. I am a heavy motorway user (about 95 miles per day, 5-10 miles of it at 30mph town work) so that should be right.