My god I've bought a barge!

[mjb]

We've got ourselves a new car... Not another snarling V6 unfortunately, in fact quite the opposite - a HDi 90! An xmas pressie to SWMBO...







Not bad at all APART FROM THE COMPLETE AND UTTER LACK OF POWER!!! ARGH!

It's really quite a gutless engine isn't it? Sliiiiiight bit of life around 2500-3500rpm, but otherwise it's going nowhere quickly. Mind you, it did give me 52mpg round country lanes, 50mpg on the motorway at 70mph, 64mpg on the motorway behind a truck, and nearly 80mpg on a 40mph cruise Over 70mph economy truly nosedives though. At speeds which probably wouldn't cause a copper to pull you on the motorway, it gives just 25-30mpg. The V6 is more frugal at European speeds than this thing! Got to retro-fit cruise control - even on the motorway it loses speed going uphill! WTF? This thing needs a remap!

Happily, despite sounding like a bloody tractor from the outside, it's really not too bad noise-wise inside - especially on the motorway. It's a hell of a lot better than the TDi engine in the Golf. I'm going to get an engine cover too - see if I can reduce the noise even more. Maybe grab an undertray too

I do like the BE4 gearbox. (a.k.a. BVM5, BE4R, BE4-5L). The gear lever is a lot shorter than the ML5's, it doesn't have the ML5's synchro issues going into 1st and reverse, and it's just a whole load tighter.

Got to do a cambelt change on it urgently (might use it to take some stuff to the tip tonight while the 24hr insurance is still in effect - I recommend http://www.dayinsure.com for all your car buying needs) which I'm very VERY happy will cost £67 for the kit, and at 181k it'll need a clutch soon which I'm pleasantly surprised is also well under £100 because I didn't buy a 110/136 with their DMFs I remember people saying it's possible to do these DW10 clutches with the gearbox still in the car? I really hope that's true! Expect HOWTOs

Otherwise, it's not too bad:

* Cambelt change needed
* Clutch change needed
* Handbrake needs adjusting (shock horror!)
* 2/3 MFD bulbs gone
* Bulb in ashtray gone
* AC untested
* Rear heated screen untested (oops!)
* CD player doesn't work and there's no changer. Not a biggie - got another stereo I'll whack in instead
* Flaking lacquer on a patch on the bonnet and on the devilfuel filler flap
* Paint completely missing from a large section of the (plastic) spoiler for some reason...
* Cruise control DESPERATELY needs retro-fitting!!!
* Remote central locking needs sorting - probably just needs a new battery in the key and a re-sync
* Engine cover needs sourcing from ebay - and probably clips too...
* Might have to find a set of exec leather seats - what's the point in a non-coupé without armrests?!?
* Remap required
* I really missed my auto-dimming mirror. Going to have to retro-fit one!
* Needs a clean. Really. Even just the windows. My god it's horrible at night!
* Windscreen wipers urgently need replacing with quality flat blades.
* Will be wanting new shocks+springs sometime as it's a bit wallowey when chucked around
* Roof bars look manky, as they usually do. Any ideas on re-blackening? Remove and paint?
* Got to improve the lighting in the boot. Meant to do it with my old estate but never got around to it
* Will probably replace the engine mounts - there's a bit of vibration through the pedals, especially at bite point. Not huge though
* Wheels need re-balancing. Not massively bad - almost no vibration at 60mph, but it's noticeable at 70.


The good bits?

* It's an estate. I miss P126ONO - my tubby estate and wish I'd never scrapped it. 406 estates handle well and give supreme visibility when the windows aren't coated with 3 inches of crap. Cavernous boot!
* 3.5 good tyres (osf is a little worn)
* Tidy "corail" alloys
* Nice interior, for cloth. Missus prefers cloth though. Grrrr
* I do like the "ebony" trim - much better than the wood (which I believe is real wood, although everyone assumes is print?)
* Mechanically sound from what I can see without dissecting it in the garage. Oil filter looks fairly new, which is a good sign
* Got some roof rails with the thing
* D9 with no COM2000
* MFD has no dodgy pixels/lines
* Nice steering wheel. Might have to nick it for the coupé
* Sensible, although a little steep purchase price.
* BE4 gearbox
* Rear centre seatbelt hasn't jammed. Yet.

All in all, a very competent motorway cruiser, which is impressively frugal around town. But it's no racer...

Amusingly, as of 8pm tonight I'll be uninsured, and I won't be putting any insurance on it for nearly three weeks (hopefully)! Why would I do that? Missus takes her driving test then - I don't want to insure it myself for a reasonable amount then find out it'll cost £5000 to add her after she gets her license... If I really need to use it in the meantime, I can always dayinsure it.

[jonsowman]

Very nice, looks pretty tidy. Mind me asking how much you paid?

[sirwiggum]

Nice! Looks good! :thumbs:

I found with my HDi 90 it didn't really get better than 40mpg. The lack of speed didn't really concern me in town but the chewing-gum engine mounts drove me mad and made me buy an automatic.
Was a good cruiser though, Belfast to Silverstone and didn't feel exhausted at all!

Would leave the cover off it, it just gets in the way when servicing it!

[Doggy]

Looks tidy, like that colour.

Taking those cross bars off the roof rails might release a little pent-up performance.

I'm intrigued to know how you persuaded your good lady that a 406 estate wasn't just a tad on the big side, specially as she hasn't passed her test yet.

AFAIK, there's no such animal as an HDi 90 with cruise, (unless anyone knows different), but I guess there's no reason it can't have.

[mjb]

Taking those cross bars off the roof rails might release a little pent-up performance.

I'm going to remove the towbar too - should make the barge about 5 tonnes lighter...

I'm intrigued to know how you persuaded your good lady that a 406 estate wasn't just a tad on the big side, specially as she hasn't passed her test yet.

We do need an estate (for going on holiday at least), and I've been singing the 406 estate's praises in terms of visibility and ease of parking ever since I had mine all those years back.

AFAIK, there's no such animal as an HDi 90 with cruise, (unless anyone knows different), but I guess there's no reason it can't have.

This one will have cruise control, even if I have to tap into the speed sensor and send fake throttle pot values to the ECU...

[scotty73]

Looks very much like mine but it's a 110, i didn't realise i had bought such a big car until i reversed it up onto a ramp made for lorrys... it didn't look small on there ... on the suject of mpg i done a 140 mile round trip in mine today and got a nice steady 54.4mpg.

[Bailes1992]

The only time I find the HDi90 even just a little bit interesting is 40-70mph in 4th!

But nice looking motor

I haven't looked yet but I can't see why you couldnt retrofit cruise control, it's the same engine as the HDi110 afterall!

[steve_earwig]

That looks very nice A bit of corrosion under the bonnet - lived outside a lot?

it's the same engine as the HDi110 afterall!

Engine yes, it's the control systems that could cause issues... Just checking it and oddly SEDRE makes no distinction on the diagram between Bosch and Semen's, looks like you'll need the second brake switch (and wire ) plus on/off switch & control, umm, stalk?

[sirwiggum]

I thought cruise was a COM2000 module, on the other side of the audio controls?

[waue1978]

That looks very nice A bit of corrosion under the bonnet - lived outside a lot?

I'd be more inclined to put that down to the bonnet rubbing the panel. I've got a couple of small patches like that. Looks a bit dusty in the engine bay, but it looks honest & free from any mucky stuff.

Looks to be a good old bus. Little one finally got too big for the back of the coupe then?

[mjb]

Engine yes, it's the control systems that could cause issues... Just checking it and oddly SEDRE makes no distinction on the diagram between Bosch and Semen's, looks like you'll need the second brake switch (and wire ) plus on/off switch & control, umm, stalk?

Yeah I've looked in the footwell and the clutch switch is there but the brake pedal switchplate only has one hole (obviously populated by the brake light switch), so I'll need a plate, switch and I'll need to route the wires to the ecu. Shouldn't be too difficult. It's a bosch ecu, couldn't get it out to have a look for specifics, although it's the single plug type. Haven't plugged in yet, but I'm hoping the ecu has a cruise option, else I'll grab a 110 ecu and try shoving that in (although i am concerned that doing that without plonking an intercooler in may cause it to run rich...)

I thought cruise was a COM2000 module, on the other side of the audio controls?

It's not a COM2000 car (by choice!). With these things, the stalk is just a dumb switch with a load of plastic around it.


I should also mention that this car had NO advisory on its last MOT I didn't think that was possible...

[mjb]

That looks very nice A bit of corrosion under the bonnet - lived outside a lot?

I'd be more inclined to put that down to the bonnet rubbing the panel. I've got a couple of small patches like that. Looks a bit dusty in the engine bay, but it looks honest & free from any mucky stuff.

There's stacks of surface rust (nothing more!) under the bonnet, which I put down to the lack of an undertray. Some muckiness around the oil filler cap, which seems to be down to either a duff cap, or someone not putting it on right in the past... Everything else looks great

Looks to be a good old bus. Little one finally got too big for the back of the coupe then?

Nah, he's fine in there. Missus needs a car, and there's sadly (VERY sadly!) no way the coupé can carry all the stuff we need to go on holiday - camping stuff, beer, coolers, and then all the little guy's stuff like high chair, pushchair, etc

[Bailes1992]

mjb, looks like you have a Bosch ECU which all the 110's have. So can't see you having too much of an issue with cruise control. I wouldn't know where to start with my seimens thought

[waue1978]

Engine yes, it's the control systems that could cause issues... Just checking it and oddly SEDRE makes no distinction on the diagram between Bosch and Semen's, looks like you'll need the second brake switch (and wire ) plus on/off switch & control, umm, stalk?

Yeah I've looked in the footwell and the clutch switch is there but the brake pedal switchplate only has one hole (obviously populated by the brake light switch), so I'll need a plate, switch and I'll need to route the wires to the ecu. Shouldn't be too difficult. It's a bosch ecu, couldn't get it out to have a look for specifics, although it's the single plug type. Haven't plugged in yet, but I'm hoping the ecu has a cruise option, else I'll grab a 110 ecu and try shoving that in (although i am concerned that doing that without plonking an intercooler in may cause it to run rich...)

If yours is a non-COMM2000, that would put it in the same age range as mine (2000/X-2001Y) & I've a sneaky feeling that you may not have all the prewiring in place for the cruise like mine didn't. If you have, then that means I got really unlucky with the lack of wiring on mine. If you haven't got all the wiring though, I'll be interested to see if you manage to get the cruise fitted as I pretty much wrote the idea off when I found none of the wiring in place. If it's any help, you probably won't need the ECU change as we still found the option to switch the cruise control on in my car (with PP2000) even though I have no wiring for it.

[mjb]

I've a sneaky feeling that you may not have all the prewiring in place for the cruise like mine didn't. If you have, then that means I got really unlucky with the lack of wiring on mine. If you haven't got all the wiring though, I'll be interested to see if you manage to get the cruise fitted as I pretty much wrote the idea off when I found none of the wiring in place.

Given there's no brake switch I'd be inclined to agree. It's not a huge problem though - don't forget I'm one of the ppl who did the trip computer retro-fit for the tubby, so I'm not hugely adverse to drilling holes through the bulkhead and cutting wires on the ECU harness

If it's any help, you probably won't need the ECU change as we still found the option to switch the cruise control on in my car (with PP2000) even though I have no wiring for it.

I expect it'll be there, but I've still not plugged the PP2000 in yet...