That's very interesting. Maybe that's what's going on. Oops. The bearings did feel loose before I put them in. That means I have blamed ECP for 2 loose bearings when it really was just my fault. Its weird though because the other hub bearing is not loose at all?

Hopefully it will sort its self out when I get the next new bearing fitted.

Thanks for the tip !!

Well today I have been building one of the struts back up. I am very pleased with the results. I will let the pics do the talking.


Old spring vs new spring. Look at the height difference!!!


The new and refurbished parts.


Strut built ready for the hub.


Complete with Hub !

Only managed to do one side today as I foolishly left some parts at work. Could not get it on the car due to the weather either. Roll on summer !!

Looking good! Where did you get those spring compressors from?

I am sure I got the spring compressors from Halfords. They were £20 as I recall. Any good motor factors should have some and probably cheaper than that if you need some. Alternativley ebay.

Looks nice and shinny

Have you got them on the car yet?

Been on holiday in Paris. Just got back 20 mins ago actually. So I have no more updates yet and they are not on the car.

Will hopefully be picking up some bits from peugeot and my freshly refurbed ARB a bit later on.

Intended on using my last day off (with the exception of the weekend) to make a good go at getting on with the 405. Unfortunately this is Scotland and the weather got the better of me

Still, did manage to pick up my nice shiny ARB and some new bolts etc. from peugeot to fit it. Sadly though they did not get everything I ordered and will need to harass them to get some of the missing parts. Got some pics for you anyway.


Shiny ARB pic 1


Shiny ARB pic 2


Shiny ARB pic 3


Box of Bits......


..... to replace these

Forgot to mention my nice battery tray too. Its a bit rough but it will do. No before pics I am afraid.


Painted battery tray

In between showers I had a poke under the arches to see how everything looked. Not much corrosion to be seen which is good news but it will need a bit of effort to get it all looking a bit nicer. At the moment it almost seems a shame to put those nice shiny struts under there !! Will clean it all up and may waxoil it before I get the struts in. Saw some clear waxoil today. Anyone used it??? I don't want black arches.

Yeah it's alright. TBH though I tend only to use such stuff in areas that are hidden. I've got the pump that you can get and it is good for filling nooks and crannies and the sills. My arches are painted with red smooth Hammerite, mainly because the colour is so close to Cherry red that it makes the car look new.

Finally got a bit of good weather today Unfortunately I was not feeling my best but I was not going to miss my first good weather day in ages.

The aim today was to get the struts on the car. Started by giving the arches a good wash and brush out to get rid of all the muck etc. Then I found the rust

At first it looked like surface rust but on closer inspection the rust had got behind the underseal and was rotting the arch from the inside. This put on hold my plans to do the struts and changed to sorting out the rusty bits.


What was under the dirt.


Rusty bits on the inner arches.

I scrapped away the underseal where it was peeling until I got to good underseal that was not peeling away easily. This left a nice patch of rust under the strut turret. Wire brushed it out and treated with some anti rust spray.


Strut turret with underseal peeled away.


Anti Rust Spray


Treatment in progress 1


Treatment in progress 2

Finally topped this off with some nice Regency Red courtesy of Halfords.


Red and non rusty arch.

I plan on having another close look when I am back down and do any further painting that is needed. Then will get some clear waxoil and seal it all up again.

Whilst I was waiting for the paint to dry I painted my driveshafts.


Painted driveshaft

I then took off some bits and bobs from under the engine bay to get shotblasted and painted. I will do some before and after pics later.

Finally, I removed the timing belt. I had a suspicion that I had the wrong belt fitted (114 rather than 113 teeth). This proved incorrect however so I will need to go back to the drawing board to determine the cause of the rough running. Will slap a new belt on whilst I am there

Thats all for now folks. I am off to bed as I feel terrible. Did not even drink last night !

Familiar sights there.
Least you're doing a thorough job of it.

I had a busy day yesterday


Suspension back on


More suspension

Got the suspension turrets all waxoyled and then got it all fitted back on. Looks great I think.

Also took this lot


Cleaned awaiting painting 1


Cleaned awaiting painting 2


Cleaned awaiting painting 3


Painted brackets etc.

And fitted it back on. Took this lot off last week when I removed the timing belt. Got the belt back on yesterday and the engine is timed. I way even get to start it today .....

Fingers crossed.

Todays jobs are start it, fit the front brakes and remove the rear brake slider that is seized on.

It Runs !!!!!!!



I am very happy today as I tried a start and it ran. Runs reasonably well for a car that has been off the road for 7 years!!!

Today got the brakes rebuilt on the drivers side, wheels on all round, removed rear calliper slider, replaced alternator and tried a start. Needed to put fuel in it. And almost dropped the car with no wheels on! Jacking the car up on grass is not fun

Still, I moved it today, albeit only a few feet back and forward. Cant move it far without brakes!!

Went to put the calliper on the passenger side ad I realised that I have misplaced it Oops! Think they might be at work.

So next job is brakes. Need to get them rebuilt all round and bled so I can move the thing from the grass to the driveway again.

After that its rear hub replacement and ABS fixing time.

Interestingly whilst I was under the back I saw more rust than I have ever saw on a 405. Will have to get a good look at that later on and sort it out.

Nice sunny weekend and I am on night shift testing the generator. It figures.

Still, I got some done today. Not found the missing callipers yet though.

Today I replaced some perished fuel hose. The old one was leaking when the car was running right onto the exhaust manifold


Perished fuel hose


New hose fitted

Also had a go at fixing the sunroof. This is going to need further work and possibly full replacement. Currently taped shut !!


Sunroof motor


Gears all gummed up.


Taped sunroof.

Found some old pics of the car when it was on the road. I wonder if I can make it this nice again.


Car now.


Car in 2001 when I took it off the road.

Bewt!
Hey what's the ride height like with the new springs?

Ride height looks to be ok but it has spent very little time with all 4 wheels on the ground since it went back together. It probably could do with being driven a short distance to let everything settle out. Got to find these calipers first though.

Will take a pic of the ride height once its on the ground again.

My sunscreen motor was like that too.

The splines between the cogged wheel and the motor itself were gone so it would just spin around.

I just cleaned them up, mounted in position and got a friend to fry it a little with his TiG welder, worked perfectly for 6 years since

In my case even though the motor looks a state it runs fine. It cleaned up pretty good. I think with my sunroof its the cables that are seized. When I took the glass out I could see part of the cable where the metal cover had corroded away. I can only assume that the seal was old and was not sealing the thing properly as it is very badly corroded. The cable was very rusty and sticky with grease. Doubt it will move again.

Getting a spare from AlexN

I had a semi productive day today. Spend a fair bit of it looking for those callipers I have lost. No luck there unfortunately. Its annoying as the brakes are the only thing stopping me moving the thing. Sods law dictates that I will get some from a scrappy and then I shall find my ones. Grr

Anyway, disappointed by my own memory (seeing how I have put these callipers somewhere and forgot) I decided to do something productive and prepare the car for the sunroof replacement.

Removal of the sunroof requires removal of the headlining so I started here. Pretty easy to do actually.

Started by removing the front pillar covers. These more or less just pull off.


Front pillar cover removed.

Next I removed the rear pillar covers. Again just pull them off.


Rear pillar cover removed

Next I removed the centre pillar covers. These are a bit more tricky. First you need to undo the holding screws at the top and bottom and then pull off the knob for moving the seatbelt height. This takes a good hard tug but will come off. Then remove the seatbelt and pull the cover off.

There are couple of wee bits to do now, front and rear compartment lights, jacket hooks etc.

Then the headlining should just pull down. Mine was held up by Velcro but yours may have glue so watch for this.

On inspection the headlining has some light damage. The fabric is hanging down a bit and the foam material it is made from is perishing in places it appears. Will need to repair this lot before I put it back together.


The headlining


Saggy bits.


More Saggy Bits

Once this is removed you can get access to the sunroof assembly. I did not remove this as it will leave me with a big hole in the sunroof. This can be done another day when I have the new sunroof.

Spent the rest of the day faffing with my 406. ABS is not working. The garage said its a faulty wiring loom and wanted £760 to replace it !! I will fix it myself I think. Found a faulty connector today. Will need to pay a visit to a scrappy to get the bits I need.

Hope I get good weather tomorrow.

You've got balls doing that lot!
Could you take a picture as if you're lying down in the car looking up at the roof with the headlining off? Always wanted to see what it looks like.
I have thought of ripping it all out and having the sunroof hole plated over but I guess it would be hard to have something original looking covering up the hole.
Also it looks like if you want to replace any of the door seals half the blasted interior trim needs to come out.

Are you tempted at all to reline it with new fabric?

P.S. what camera are you using to take these pictures?

Here you go.


Rear of sunroof with headlining off


Front of sunroof with headlining off.

I am tempted to replace the fabric although I am not sure what I would use. There was a guy on the 406 coupe forum who used black suede but I am not sure that's my sort of thing. Might just get some spray glue and stick back the original. It will need a good clean whilst its off too.

My camera is a Canon Ixus 750.

Ahh weird, I wonder how much that lot weighs! Tempting thing about some black suede type stuff is you can't see the dirt .

How is the headlining held on? Looking at that first pic I can see a very shiney surface witn no adhesive marks.

EDIT: Ahh Velcro???!!!! Crikey surprised that stuff has enough strength to hold it there!

Also like to see some pics with the whole assembly out please.

Just remembered, I saw some brand new 405 calipers on ebay recently.

Yeah I saw them and bided on them but was not wanting to pay too much. They went for £41 as I recall. A bargain for 2 new callipers but I have refurbishment kits for old ones.

Went to the scrappies today to see if I could get replacement callipers for the ones I have lost. Sods law dictates that I will now find my own callipers. Managed to get a front one but not a rear one.

Also looked for a rear load compensator spring to no avail.

Will start refurbishing the new calliper tomorrow hopefully. I don't get the bank holiday unfortunately

Why don't you get a bank holiday?

Are you going to take pictures of the caliper refurb job? I'd lik to see how it's done please.

I don't get the bank holiday as at my work we get this bank holiday on the 2nd of Jan. Helps with the hangovers I guess.

I can take pics of the calliper refurb. No problem.

The hardest bit is getting the bleed nipple out without snapping it.

Been there and done it
Will be interesting to see pics as well though, as I'm doing this in a few weeks, got the seal kits already just wont have the time to get it done for a while.

Some calliper refurbishment pics as requested

First of all I took my very rusty calliper that I got from the scrap car at the weekend to work where I sandblasted it. I was left with the following.


Not so rusty calliper

Notice that I paid particular attention to the bleed nipple and main hose. If you can clean as much rust and dirt from the threads before you start it makes it alot easier and you are less likely to break anything.


Clean threads on nipples

These were loosened using a brake pipe spanner and a socket. As expected it was very easy as the threads were clean. If you cannot clean these up then I suggest alot of heat before attempting to remove he nipples. Otherwise you will round or snap them. This has worked for me on all the other callipers and I have 'yet' to break a bleed nipple


Tools required

Next step is to get the piston out of the calliper. I find an old foot pump works well here. Push the end of the hose into the pump and pump like mad. The piston should pop out.


My old foot pump.


Pop !!

This leaves you with the following.


Calliper and piston

Inspect the piston for signs of rust and damage. This one was nice and clean but will require a little dressing on the seal groove especially.


Piston before cleaning.

Following this remove the dust seal and inspect the calliper bore. In this calliper the seal was stuck in with rust and took a bit of getting out. The seal itself was intact but the rust over time can tear the seal and damage the bore.


Dust seal removed


The old dust seal.

It is important that all the rust in the seal groove is cleaned away before fitting a new seal. The calliper bore should be spotless. The piston seal in the bore should also be removed and replaced.


Dust seal and piston seal.

This lot all comes in a nice calliper overhaul kit from Peugeot. You get both seals. I have a bit of cleaning and painting to do before this lot is ready to go back together. Watch this space!!

Still need a rear passenger calliper if anyone has one kicking around???

Thanks for doing that!

Just one thing, what about the slidey bits that the caliper moves about on, how do they come to bits?

Thanks! Doesnt look too bad. I did one a couple years ago but thought some picture could only make it easier i think this is scheduled for next weekend.

The slidey bits come apart very easily. The following pictures are from the rear slider but you get the idea.


The slider before disassembly


Pull on this bit


This is what you end up with

Notice the above picture the grease is clean, moist and there is no signs of corrosion. Look at the other side.


The dark side

This side the grease is pretty dry and there are signs of corrosion. This was not seized but was on its way there. You get new grease, rods and rubbers with the overhaul kit so I will replace this lot as a mater of course.

Prepped my calliper for painting last night too.


Prepped for painting.

I have a couple of coats of Hamarite on now and will continue with more tonight. Cause its so hot in my flat today its not drying very well though



Good luck with your overhaul. Its dead easy as you pointed out. Hardest bits are the bleed nipples.

So once the caliper is off the car they just slide out? One of my fronts slider's boots is cracked, wonder if pug still sell them.

You are right. Once the calliper is out of the way they should just pull out with a bit of a tug. Unfortunately that's the theory, the practice is that they are rusted solid and will need a little persuasion with some pliers.

Pug still sells the boots so that should not be a problem. Or you can get them from good motor factors. Or try http://www.brakeparts.co.uk/. They have everything you could possibly need. A bit pricey (not as much as pug though) but they have an excellent website with loads of great info on it.

http://stuartmcguire.co.uk/pug/ for the pug part no for your boots if you want a pug part.

Got a rear calliper today from the scrappy. £20. Not bad. Its a bit rusty though seems to move well enough. Will take it to work tomorrow and get it blasted so I can paint it.

Hope the weather is good tomorrow.

Yeah, well worth getting some new seals and cleaning them up asap if one of yours is split kris. I knew one of my rear calipers was a bit rough, but left it for ages and by the time i took it off the slider was so rusted it snapped, so had to buy a new one lesson learned.

Had a reasonable weather day so I was quite busy.

Got my rusty rear calliper and took it to work along with my failed attempt at painting my wiper arms. I blasted these back to bare metal and the calliper looked great!


Blasted calliper


Blasted wiper arms

Set about checking out the calliper. I had unfortunately managed to get some blasting grit under the seals so I had to strip it. I have the overhaul kit so I am well to use it.

Stripping a rear calliper is a wee bit different to a front. It has a threaded rod inside (which is why you have to rotate it when pushing it back in if you have ever done your rear pads). So removing the piston is a case of putting the wind back tool on and winding the opposite way. The piston will just pop out. Then remove the dust seal and the piston seal for replacement.


Rear calliper in bits


Closeup on the threaded rod.

Got this lot masked up and painted.


Painted bits

Meanwhile I put my front brakes back togther. Note I still have a rusty old brake disk and pads. I intend on changing these but I want the brakes working for now so I can move the car onto the driveway. The eagle eyed among you may have noticed the car is on the front lawn so my brother can use the driveway. His MG ZR does not go up it so it sits empty so the 405 is going back over.


Brakes back on.

Still got to make up the new brake pipe. My pipe flaring tool is slightly bent and is making poor ends Will see if I can get another die tomorrow.

Aim for tomorrow (assuming the weather holds out) is to get the brakes working and the car back on the drive. If I get that far I may give it a wee wash and get rid of some of the green moss growing on it

Looking good. Puts my efforts to shame, now just hurry up and get it finished

Yeah it's been interesting this. Nice also to see someone restoring an SRi.

Glad you guys are enjoying this. I certainly am enjoying doing the work. Learning loads too.

Part of doing this was to learn the skills to do something a bit older and more unusual in the future. Will probably wait till I have a house with a garage for that.

As it happens I am very keen to get this finished ASAP. My 406 is being a pain in the neck and is costing a fortune in repair bills. I am sick of it. Its a shame too as its the car I always wanted since it came out. What a disappointment it has been.

So my plan is to get the 405 going and flog the 406 whilst its still worth something. Then I will save some pennies to get my next car. Looking at an alfa 159.


Next car (maybe)

Not driven one yet. So still to make the final decision. They do seem to be much more reliable than alfa's of the past. Not quite as nice looking as the 406 IMHO but I still think its very nice. Good thing is that it comes with a warranty so if it breaks its someone else's problem (Unlike the 406).

Didn't you overhaul handbrake mechanism?

I didn't touch the handbreak mechanism in the caliper at all other than give it a brush up and paint. Would not know where to start to be honest. Seems to work ok though

Remove seeger ring inside of the caliper and then take threaded rod and other bits away. Next remove bolt, which is at the end of the spring. Then you can pull away that rod, where handbrakecable attaches.

That operating rod tends to get rusty and jammed. Rebuild with good grease. I highly recommend to rebuild that mechanism, or you need to do that later when it begins to get jammed.

Had a productive day today. Mostly good points but a couple of extra issues to sort out.

Started off by finishing rebuilding the rear brakes.


Calliper back in one piece


And back on the car

Next I put on my nice shiny painted window wiper arms. What a difference they made.


Shiny window wiper arms

I then proceeded to bleed the brakes. I purchased I Gunson one man bleeding kit. Never seen one like this before. Basically uses pressure from a tire to pressurise the brake system at the cap to enable you to go round each wheel and just open the bleed nipple. Worked well on the front brakes but did not do a thing at the rear. I suspect my compensator valve is closed at the rear. I need a spring for it but they only sell the whole thing. It costs around £70

Whilst poking around at the front brakes I noted that I have managed to catch a bottom ball joint whilst fitting. Bugger. That will have to be replaced for the MOT. Noticed as well that I had not tightened the other side. Found out why. It appears that that balljoint is the wrong size . That will be 2 new balljoints then please I hop[e I get them undone on the car. Don't want to have to take the hubs off again.

Anyway the front brakes working enabled me to move the car back onto the driveway. This will make jacking alot easier in future. The brakes did not have any feel at all though. Suspect its cause of all the air in the system at the rear. Need to sort that out.

The car run reasonably well although it does sound a wee bit off at idle and all the stop lights flash. The dash does not read the water temp either. As well as this the thermostat housing bleed screw needs replaced. Job for another day. Here is a wee video of it running.



Next I decided to give the thing a wee wash and make it look like a car again rather than a greenhouse. Some before and afters.


Green bits


Nice clean car


The side is clean too !!

This was a very rough wash. Will clay it and give it a right good going over once its a bit more together.

What to do next ....

Interesting stuff. Not heard of these getting jammed before. Callipers are back on the car now but will bear it in mind for a rebuild next time they are off. Thanks!

great to see another 405 coming back to life!

this thread will be a real help when I start to sort out my brakes etc. Im noticing alot of rust etc. under the car every time I have a look. cant believe it only passed the MOT in march.

Glad it helps out!

I am just pleased that there are others interested enough to read my ramblings

Found a link yiou posted before on how to strip the rear caliper further. Interesting pictures. Pity I don't speak Finnish I get the idea though.

Had a mess about tonight trying to bleed the rear brakes after reading some tips I found earlier using the search. Got a wee bit fluid through to the back but not enough to do anything. Will have to get the new compensator I think.

Whilst I was under there I was shocked by the amount of rust at the back. That will need some serious work to sort out. Considering dropping the rear axle to improve access to do a good job of it. Will give me the opportunity to get that painted too.

Took it for a little spin 50 yards up the road and back. Brakes worked (the front ones anyway) but the engine definitely is not right. That will be a bugger to fault find I think.

are you trying to bleed the rear brakes with the back off the ground?

you wont get much fluid out of it at all if you are, my local PSA specialist sorted it for me by putting it on a 4 poster with the rear wheels off and using a trolley jack to raise the trailing arms, and pressure bled the system both ways to get all the air out.

Sounds like a good tip. Will need to sort the compensator first though I think. Raising the arms will do nothing if the spring is not connected

Will try and get round to ordering it today.