406oc.co.uk

My windscreen washers packed in a couple of weeks ago and research told me the washer pump likes to fail without notice.

So all fired up with confidence, off to buy new jack, remove the wheel and wheel arch liner on the WRONG side of the vehicle, inspect arch cavity with nothing in it. replace liner and road wheel.

Jack up the CORRECT side of the vehicle and proceed:

New Jack £25.00 Halfords (down from £35) that'll do for me:


The reservoir:


That's the level sensor, the pump is buried behind the reservoir (great):


This bit of undertray pulls down just enough to reach the pump....:


....to reveal this looking up from underneath that undertray, the pump just pulls out and the wire feed is long enough to fetch the pump around the front of the reservoir to work on it:


And finally the Ford-Branded pump, found a new one on ebay for £14.42 delivered.


Yet another Ford item breaks. Everything that has failed on this car has had Ford stamped on it. Note to self: DO NOT buy a Ford.

I doubt Frod actually make their own pumps, like many things they're probably bought in from a generic supplier in, erm, China. So I wouldn't be put of by the FoMoCo branding, it's probably no more crap than anything else you could buy off of ebay.

Anyway, you needn't worry about finding modern Volvo's littered with shoddy Ford parts any more, they're now owned by the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of China. Better? Worse? No idea.

I guess it's more about the policy behind the FoMoCo label i.e. 'make this part just good enough to do its job'. Fine for Mr Financed-Focus for the first 3 years, not so good for long-termers like me.

When this 'failed' on my 406, it turned out to be a burned out fuse. I guess it tried to pump frozen wat.. uhm.... ice through and failed.

Mine picked up a small pebble that blocked the outlet to the front screen, it still worked but only sprayed the rear whichever way it span (which was a bit pointless if the front's the one covered in mud.)

Weird thing was the bottom of the reservoir had quite a few small stones/grit inside but the only way in is through the sealed filler cap there is a strainer mesh on the pump inlet, which is nice.

It look's like Halford's didn't have a special offer on a set of axle stands.....

Mustard mit, I have the same views about Frod.
Reasonable? Rational? Of course not, but I know welly and I is right.

Axle stands not required. See 'wheel under car' for top safety measures

I used to work with a guy who's car fell on his face (fell of its Jack). Scarface we called him.

Now I feel paranoid and need to buy axle standz.

Welly wrote:Axle stands not required. See 'wheel under car' for top safety measures

I used to work with a guy who's car fell on his face (fell of its Jack). Scarface we called him.

Now I feel paranoid and need to buy axle standz.

I use a ramp with a lump of 4x2 on top in place of an axle stand.

Don't make Peter post that picture again

I thought about that too

What was it again? 2 x oil drums and 2 x thick planks?

I liked it though, practical engineering and common sense to get over a difficult to achieve issue.

Welly wrote:I thought about that too [emoji38]

What was it again? 2 x oil drums and 2 x thick planks?

I liked it though, practical engineering and common sense to get over a difficult to achieve issue.

I don't need that with the jimny, 4x wheel ramps and you can pretty much walk undeneath it ;)

Iv'e just been using it, one of my 406s failed the MOT on rear tie rods and both front strut bearings, simple I thought - how wrong you can be.

Peter