Ownership Verified: My 1992 Peugeot 405 Mi16

That would really be a simple and cheap fix. Hope it?s that.
 
After a period of inactivity I fired the car up with a battery booster, and replaced the battery with a fresh one. I could probably have the old one tested to see if it's worth using, but right now a new battery helps proceedings. In other words the car starts when needed, which distinctly wasn't the case when it died on me on the roadside. And as far as I know, nothing has been done to it to fix that, meaning the fault is intermittent and as such sounds electrics related. But that's another can of worms, as there are some maintenance jobs that another shop will take care of as the car is prepared for MOT.

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To-do for now: oil change, PAS fluid change, PAS belt change, that-one-expensive-coolant-hose change, rear bump stop fitting on both sides, emissions check. The shop where I dropped the Mi16 off charges about a third less per hour than another shop I visited, so I'm trying to get all irritating jobs done there as well as baselining the current situation regarding leaks and creaks. I also picked up winter tires from storage and will swap them under before any inspection attempts.

In the future, I'd like to get the door hinges overhauled so the doors won't sag and creak as much as they have; after getting the car inspected I plan to just drive it until the running issue resurfaces so it can be properly diagnosed and rectified.
 
Some updates: the car now has that one expensive coolant hose changed among other jobs mentioned above, and the steering doesn't sound like a dead mule anymore. The shop also tackled an issue with a rear light cluster wiring and changed a lower balljoint, and the emissions were up to par. I'll now have to change the tires to less slippery ones, and it should sail through the inspection whenever I book it.

I also got some hard-to-get parts like a spare Valeo ECU for the automatic temperature control, which costs hundreds new if it can even be sourced. I'll have it checked by an electronics shop here, so I'll know if it's any good. Another part was a new driver side window switch; replacements are usually sort-of-generic, meant for every position in every door, but this is meant to control the driver side window in the driver side door with an one-touch up and down function unlike the rest of the window switches.
 
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I already had a couple of steering wheels in store to replace the tatty and ripped original leather wheel in the car. However, the 205 GTI one of those turned out to be lighter grey and faker leather than desired, so I kept looking for a proper black Mi16 one. I finally found one on eBay UK for ?50, which is a lot less than people ask for black leather 205 GTI ones ? the seller recognized this as a 405 one, which is slightly larger and he wasn't sure if it would fit a 205 ? a non-issue for me. I got it today and it's just as good as it should be; it needs no refurbishing whatsoever.

The grey 205 one can go into the 205 XS, it still looks correct for it. The Momo wood wheel I'll hold onto.
 
The old one is out and the new one is in.

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The hand-blackening powers of the leather were immense. I might rip out the tatty leather and see how the plastic is underneath it.
 
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So, inspection time. I felt pretty confident especially since I already had an emissions printout, but stuff can always come up.

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But it's a pass, with no complaints!

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The plan now is just to drive the car and enjoy it working. If it starts acting up, it only means I can have something diagnosed: no-one knows yet why it died on me in the summer.
 
Improvements continue: the headlight/horn stalk is disintegrating just like the steering wheel was, and I found out you can replace it without having to remove the steering wheel. Cheapest new stalk was 30 euro shipped, so I ordered one; should be pretty easy to click into place as long as the column plastic comes off without anything snapping.

I also ordered a practically unobtanium front door metal moulding strip from the UK to replace a weirdly bent one.
 
Great news! The seller also managed to find a bumper trim piece for that blemished one you can see in the passenger side front corner.
 
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Long time, no update. The car's continued to work: when it was time to change to summer rubber, I picked up another set of junkyard 205 GTI wheels. These Speedline SL299 wheels are 15", and I had them shod with manufacturer specified 185/60R15 tires, Hankook Ventus Prime 3:s this time. I could have stuck with the ZX SP3 wheels, but the old Hankooks on them are a bit too tall for the car and the speedometer error is unfortunate. I sprayed the new old Speedlines with some wheel-silver plastidip, and the result is nice and consistent. The original five-spoke Speedlines should be media blasted and restored, these can do without for the time being.
 
Nothing Finnish-registered this year, it's not logistically possible :p
 
public;n3542210 said:
The old one is out and the new one is in.

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The hand-blackening powers of the leather were immense. I might rip out the tatty leather and see how the plastic is underneath it.

Today I did just that: washed the wheel a little and started undoing the seams.

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The wheel is practically as-new with minimal glue remnants left from the leather. I can now use it as is if needs must, or use the leather as a guide if someone retrims the wheel with new leather.
 
I should have done this earlier and mailed the wheel to Slovenia along with the panel...
 
public;n3548964 said:
I should have done this earlier and mailed the wheel to Slovenia along with the panel...

That was silly... :D
 
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