I have a dim memory from decades ago of reading a comment on the Peugeot 403/404 engines, which said that they were excellent and would have been good racing engines for their size class - if they hadn't had rubber seals (o-rings?) between the wet liners and the block (head?). Consider the possibility that somethong has gone wrong with these seals - if the engine has wet liners (wet meaning in contact with the coolant).
I learned to drive partly on my father's 403 and drove it a lot. I owned a 404 and a 304. They were very nice cars except for * the bronze differential ring gear in the 404 which was overstressed by radial tires and forced the use of bias ply tires - I found this out the hard way. * the very tight engine compartment in the 304 which was hard to work in - you had to take off the header tank to get at the spark plugs. * the rubber driveshaft covers in the front wheel drive 304 were expensive and hard to replace - but it was absolutely essential to replace them *before* they developed a hole which they tended to do at a certain age; otherwise the shafts would quickly need replacing. I think Peugeot was later than other manufacturers in moving to rust resistant steel for the North American market but I think by 1981 they may have started to adapt - anyways in New Mexico you shouldn't have that much trouble. I was in Montreal and Ottawa. Doug Woodard St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Brian Rodgers wrote: > October 7, 2005 > > Hi everyone > > After three months of wishy washy thinking and anxiety over money to > invest in my biodiesel project, this very moment my dream has been > realized. I am now the proud owner of a 1981 Peugeot 505 four cylinder > turbo charged diesel vehicle! I know what you are thinking, " What's a > American "good ol' boy' doing with a Peugeot?" Well, it is a long > story, the short version is: If we live our lives in a spiritually > wholesome and environmentally friendly fashion, we can expect good > things to come to us. We don't need much and we have patience. Anyway, > I said this is the short version right? We now have this car sitting > here at the Ranch in northeastern New Mexico. It has only one > mechanical problem that I can see; It is very hard to start, when it > finally does it bellows blue-white smoke, and the coolant lines slowly > begin to pressurize. The radiator hoses balloon up, very scary and we > shut it down before they blow. At first glance it looks like a leaking > head gasket. It is now sitting in front of my little workshop and I am > so excited to finally have a car that I can make my own biodiesel for. > Nevertheless, my rash days are past and I am content to ask first > before I tear into anything mechanically. I ask for information. I am > relatively new to Biofuels, but I do have a fine set of Mechanics > tools, much updated from the days long ago when I was a factory > trained VW mechanic. Please don't give me the negative perspective. > If you do, I can take it. But I still have that wonderful glow a guy > gets when he gets a new car to refurbish. > > How's that line go? "Sing me the bad news!" > > > > So far I have zero cash investment in this really cute little car. I > have three Mercedes gas powered monsters which have been steadily > moving closer to the ranch dump. I toyed with the idea of buying a > 1982 300 Turbo Sedan that a friend has offered for $2000.00. I don't > like the body style, too heavy, and we couldn't afford it anyway. > This Peugeot is almost 1000 pounds lighter than my 1980 480SE. And > damn, did I say it is sleek and in mint condition? So yeah that's the > good news. Anybody out there have any experience with these? Looks > like a very clean engine, but that may be because the radiator already > washed it off with a steam bath. I have extended experience with > petrol vehicles. My tools are metric and I love to read first then > spin nuts after I at least think I understand. > > > > Diesel engines, this is only my second. I won't say what I did to the > first one. I intend to make this motor sing again! So, I have heard of > carbon buildup in the cylinders causing issues in dino-diesel motors. > Any ideas? Things I could check. I suppose checking the compression > through the spark plug holes is out of the question, lol. I will be > looking for the factory service manual, unless it is written in French > of course. Nah, I have factory service literature on the Benz and it > is not in German. See how wishy washy I have become? Maybe it is the > fog this morning, yeah fog in New Mexico, go figure. They have fog in > France right? > > > > So how did my bio-diesel processing chemicals and WVO collecting go > this week? Not well, physically. I talked it up pretty good, whatever > that is worth. I think I know what I need to find for the test > batches. A couple of little bottles of Heet (methanol). Blue or > yellow? There is a bit of confusion in the biofuel group about this, > and a jar of Red Devil drain opener (lye.) A five gallon can for > transporting the WVO back to the ranch and a 12 volt pump for filling > my container at the rear of the Mc Donald's. Oh, and I have to ask > Vince, the owner of the local McDonald's, if is ok to use some of the > WVO from his business. > > > > Ok, I am so excited about our new diesel that I am totally torn > between writing and thinking about it and going out into the fog and > starting? something, anything? How about learning? > > Sincerely, Brian Rodgers > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
