406oc.co.uk

looking for a 406 or a c5 estate and 2.2 seem loads of spares or repairs. i presume its some emissions control problems sending them into limp mode or similar.
is this engine inherently crap or can it be tinkered with for a reasonable cost to make reliable or am i better getting a 110hp model.
the 90 is a great engine but c5's are 110hp and I like the self-leveling suspension and auto box.

Inherently unreliable? I don't think so. True it has more stuff to go wrong (DPF, swirl flaps, throttle bodies and their associated vacuum spaghetti) but most of that can happily go in the bin. It's probably the DPFs that are killing most of them as they're expensive but if you delete them you'll kill another 6,000 people (or is it 9,000 this week?) with all the foul gasses you'll release.

thanks for the info. will look into what's needed and if it can be done to pass an mot minus cat internals and other gubbins removed. the 2.2 feels fast and i drove one and it felt much torquier than a 110 . all the 2.2's I've found on Autotrader etc seem to be spares or repairs, is it too late by this stage to get going again?
does the emissions system on the 110hp give any problems as ive read all c5's have emissions control dpf.

thanks annie

I had a 2.2 C5 and it drove very nicely but I got rid of it because the fuel consumption was so poor and replaced it with a 2.0. which was much better, having said that my son has recently bought a 2.2 coupe and that is pretty good on fuel, not as good as the 2.0. but certainly better than my C5.

The 2.0. 8 valve engine has no DPF at all.

Peter

Now that I don't know about, I only seem to know about 406s for some reason....

I guess it depends how much else has been neglected.

thanks for help. ill stick to the 110hp if i get a c5, looking for a nice 406 estate would be nice with good spec 90hp and get chipped. i bought a xsara picasso a few months ago with the 90hp and its been a great engine, done 5k miles in 2 months and get 50mpg. the trouble is now all 406's ive seen or well worn and not worth spending money on but the picasso is too high and boomy inside

Hi Annie, take a look at my project thread - I bought a 2.2hdi for £400 and you can sort of get an idea of what paths I took to simplify things....
I would copy the link but I'm on my phone and crap with technology....
I have a Picasso for t'wife, it's been good as gold for 2 years, only an injector chuff has been it's only complication.

thanks, just started reading it now.

Hi Annie

I have bought two nice 406 estates in the last 6 months, the first was £400 trade in from a garage south of Bristol and the one I bought a couple of weeks ago in Cornwall I only paid £350 for, it not perfect but not at all bad.

You have to be determined, I looked at all the cars on ebay, Gumtree and Autotrader for nearly 6 months before I found the right one, there are a lot advertised, some are rubbish and the ones that aren't are usually far to dear, the same ones keep coming up week after week, if you see what looks like a bargain you have to jump on it, the further you are prepared to travel the more likely you are to find one, I'm very pleased with both of mine but I looked at at a lot and rejected them.

I favour the 110 hp engine because not only is it slightly more economical but the road tax is cheaper because the emissions are lower.

Peter

I've had a 90 and a 110 hp and I found the 110 slightly faster but it vibrated more than the 90. prob dmf on way out.

Could be, my last 406 had done 246.000 miles on the original, depends how its driven of course.

Peter

so if the engine is smooth and a reasonable mileage i dont need to worry about the dmf in the 110?

If it drives OK and the clutch doesn't slip you should be alright. I also had a 110 in a C5 and that had done over 200k, just have a good drive of it, if it feels OK it should be.

Peter

I agree with Peter, although the 2.2Hdi is a great engine with more than enough power - but it will never be as frugal as a 110.

I do believe later 110s had a DMF, earlier ones had a single, but a solid flywheel from a 90 can be used instead when its time to do the clutch.

cool. i didnt know you could use a solid flywheel from the 90 if the dmf goes kaput.
looking at c5 autos 110hp deisels. getting a bad hip after a car accident a few months ago and really want an economical auto diesel but 406 auto is so rare and there are more c5 autos around.