cambelt change

[lovecarslovepeugeot]

Hi guys

I've just picked up a 1999 2l 406HDi estate. It has 140,000 miles on the clock, but doesn't have any history with it, so I don't know when the cambelt should have been changed. I've had a quote from the local Peugeot dealer of £495 to change the belt and the ancillaries, which seems a bit steep. I presume it would have had one change at some time in it's life. When are they usually due? Would it be about due now? Grateful for any advice, this is my first 406. Have been after one for a while and got this for £600, which seemed good for a car in the condition it's in.

Thanks in advance.

[teamster1975]

Welcome in mate!
They should be replacing all the pulleys at that price, I'm not a diesel man myself so I'm not sure of average cost for the job.
Check the condition of the crankshaft pulley & the aux belt before you get the job done, if they are shot get them changed at the same time!

[rwb]

I just had mine done (with tensioners and water pump) and I'm glad that I did.

Given that its a £600 motor maybe its worth just running it till it drops?
But if you're planning on holding on to it then I'd get it done.

[Gary406]

shop around at local garages, i personally wouldnt use peugeot dealers their labour rate is crazy

you should be paying about £350-£400 max for cambelt change

as for doing water pump = personally again i wouldnt do it (you know the saying if it aint broke dont.........fix it)

i just paid 3 months ago £250 for cambelt changed along with a new aux belt , mines a 1.9 diesel

i think HDis are a little bit more but wouldnt pay what you got quoted

but with 140k on i think you will be ok . its probably had 1 done arond 80-90k so you should be ok

[lovecarslovepeugeot]

Guys
Thanks so much for your responses and the friendly welcome. I have to say I'm very impressed with this site, I only found you last night and it's great to find it's packed with useful information.

I'll give it a few thousand more miles and see how it goes before I decide whether to do the cam belt. I had no intention of using the Peugeot garage, but wanted to have a reference point for the cost. The car's in really good nick - I did change the rear stabiliser bars as there was a knocking noise, but I'll post about that in the right part of the discussion board, as the noise is still there! A few issues are to be expected on a car at this price (it was £680, not £600, from eBay).

Having run a 405 for over 4 years, which was undoubtedly the most reliable car I've ever had (cost me a hundred quid and gave me 40,000 miles with only one breakdown when the power steering pump packed up at Le Mans), I wanted to follow it with a 406 estate as I travel to the south of France a lot and so need the space. Peugeot diesels rock.

[highlander]

Your car is a bloody bargain at that price. The HDi is fairly well sought-after in this age of austerity, diesels will typically retain their value for longer, and I'd be surprised if you couldn't sell it on Autotrader for double what you paid for it.

If you intend to keep her going for several years and use her 'til she falls apart, then replace the cambelt, pulleys, tensioners and the water pump - the car will do you another 80,000 to 100,000 miles, or 8 to 10 years, easily (at that point the cambelt should be changed again if she's still going by that point), given regular normal maintenance (oil and filter changes).

The 406 may have its odd little niggles, but for the most part they're damned reliable, very comfortable, extremely practical and they are a pleasure to drive. The design also hasn't dated as much as the 405 has - the 406 D9 still looks like a fairly modern car, despite rolling out 11 years ago.

[lovecarslovepeugeot]

It's funny, but when I used the 405 regularly I didn't think it had aged in the slightest. I also thought it was lovely to drive. But it had got to the stage where it needed money spending on it and I didn't think it was worth it. I took the (good) battery off and removed the sound deadening from under the back seat so I could make some anti vibration strips for the pre war car I'm restoring and off it went to the scrap yard.

Then I got in the 406 and I realised what an old fashioned tank the 405 had become. There's a few niggles with this one, like the knocking when i go over speed bumps and the air bag light staying on, but I think I've got a deal and I like that. Plus it's got a tow bar, so all told it's what I need and I do intend to keep it. if it's as great as the 405 was and lasts half as long, I'll be delighted.

Cheers.

[highlander]

the knocking when i go over speed bumps

Anti-roll bar drop-links - that happened on my old '99 saloon. Cheap parts - I'm told they're easy to fit, too, but I'm crap like that, so it went to a local garage and they did it for me

the air bag light staying on

Happened to me once too, the connectors under the drivers' seat needed to be unplugged and plugged back in again (reseated) as they had worked their way loose over the years. Not an issue since then.