IN RESPONSE to the two readers who wrote in about their vehicles stalling on a hot day, I can report that I had the very same problem last year with my Peugeot 406 (2000 model, V6 engine). To cut a long story short, this is what I did - and please consider that I had never serviced a car or even worked on one before! The guys at a Peugeot dealer told me that it could possibly be dirty fuel injectors. I had a good look at the engine after removing the covering shroud on top, and I noticed two pipes that are presumably part of the crankcase ventilation system. On closer inspection I discovered that these pipes were totally blocked with the sludge coming out of the engine. So I removed them, cleaned everything with petrol and carburettor spray, did an engine oil change after flushing out the sludge from the engine, put in new petrol and oil filters, treated the tank with a fuel injector cleaner ... and voilà, the problem is gone! My car even revs like a brand-new one.
IN RESPONSE to the two readers who wrote in about their vehicles stalling on a hot day, I can report that I had the very same problem last year with my Peugeot 406 (2000 model, V6 engine). To cut a long story short, this is what I did - and please consider that I had never serviced a car or even worked on one before! The guys at a Peugeot dealer told me that it could possibly be dirty fuel injectors. I had a good look at the engine after removing the covering shroud on top, and I noticed two pipes that are presumably part of the crankcase ventilation system. On closer inspection I discovered that these pipes were totally blocked with the sludge coming out of the engine. So I removed them, cleaned everything with petrol and carburettor spray, did an engine oil change after flushing out the sludge from the engine, put in new petrol and oil filters, treated the tank with a fuel injector cleaner ... and voilà, the problem is gone! My car even revs like a brand-new one.
Good luck to the readers. I feel that if they do what I did, it will work. Trevor
COMMENTS:
Trevor, many thanks for your valuable feedback. The Peugeot 406 (1996 - 2004) was one of the success stories of the French motor industry, rivalling the German luxury cars at a more affordable price.
The first models imported into South Africa had a 2litre 4-cylinder engine (the D8 engine, in Peugeot code) which had a strange habit of sometimes losing power in scorching hot weather, to the point where the car would barely be able to stumble along at 40kmh.
If you then pulled off the road, waited for half an hour and started the engine again, all would be well.
The Peugeot technical team in South Africa struggled to get to the bottom of this problem until they discovered by chance that it was the oxygen sensor at the catalytic converter that was malfunctioning at high temperatures.
Your car has a different engine and your problem was different. Congratulations for solving it.
The fact that we are talking of a European car makes it all the more commendable, because European cars are not DIY-friendly.
Your report also highlights the importance of keeping the crankcase ventilation system on a car in tip-top condition.
The job of the system is to get rid of the oily vapours that build up in the crankcase.
If there is no outlet for these gases, pressure in the crankcase will rise to the point where gas, carrying oil mist, will find its way out by the route of least resistance, past an oil seal, via the dipstick tube or into the rocker cover.
To prevent this, provision is made for crankcase ventilation.
Peugeot stipulates a 30000km oil change interval , but with the important proviso that only a fully synthetic oil is used. If you use ordinary multigrade oil, without drastically shortening the change interval, you will get sludge, unless the car is operated under ideal conditions of long trips only and very little stop/start driving.
So Trevor, I suggest you watch the oil change intervals.
CHANGE YOUR OIL
IN RESPONSE to the two readers who wrote in about their vehicles stalling on a hot day, I can report that I had the very same problem last year with my Peugeot 406 (2000 model, V6 engine). To cut a long story short, this is what I did - and please consider that I had never serviced a car or even worked on one before! The guys at a Peugeot dealer told me that it could possibly be dirty fuel injectors. I had a good look at the engine after removing the covering shroud on top, and I noticed two pipes that are presumably part of the crankcase ventilation system. On closer inspection I discovered that these pipes were totally blocked with the sludge coming out of the engine. So I removed them, cleaned everything with petrol and carburettor spray, did an engine oil change after flushing out the sludge from the engine, put in new petrol and oil filters, treated the tank with a fuel injector cleaner ... and voilà, the problem is gone! My car even revs like a brand-new one.
IN RESPONSE to the two readers who wrote in about their vehicles stalling on a hot day, I can report that I had the very same problem last year with my Peugeot 406 (2000 model, V6 engine). To cut a long story short, this is what I did - and please consider that I had never serviced a car or even worked on one before! The guys at a Peugeot dealer told me that it could possibly be dirty fuel injectors. I had a good look at the engine after removing the covering shroud on top, and I noticed two pipes that are presumably part of the crankcase ventilation system. On closer inspection I discovered that these pipes were totally blocked with the sludge coming out of the engine. So I removed them, cleaned everything with petrol and carburettor spray, did an engine oil change after flushing out the sludge from the engine, put in new petrol and oil filters, treated the tank with a fuel injector cleaner ... and voilà, the problem is gone! My car even revs like a brand-new one.
Good luck to the readers. I feel that if they do what I did, it will work. Trevor
COMMENTS:
Trevor, many thanks for your valuable feedback. The Peugeot 406 (1996 - 2004) was one of the success stories of the French motor industry, rivalling the German luxury cars at a more affordable price.
The first models imported into South Africa had a 2litre 4-cylinder engine (the D8 engine, in Peugeot code) which had a strange habit of sometimes losing power in scorching hot weather, to the point where the car would barely be able to stumble along at 40kmh.
If you then pulled off the road, waited for half an hour and started the engine again, all would be well.
The Peugeot technical team in South Africa struggled to get to the bottom of this problem until they discovered by chance that it was the oxygen sensor at the catalytic converter that was malfunctioning at high temperatures.
Your car has a different engine and your problem was different. Congratulations for solving it.
The fact that we are talking of a European car makes it all the more commendable, because European cars are not DIY-friendly.
Your report also highlights the importance of keeping the crankcase ventilation system on a car in tip-top condition.
The job of the system is to get rid of the oily vapours that build up in the crankcase.
If there is no outlet for these gases, pressure in the crankcase will rise to the point where gas, carrying oil mist, will find its way out by the route of least resistance, past an oil seal, via the dipstick tube or into the rocker cover.
To prevent this, provision is made for crankcase ventilation.
Peugeot stipulates a 30000km oil change interval , but with the important proviso that only a fully synthetic oil is used. If you use ordinary multigrade oil, without drastically shortening the change interval, you will get sludge, unless the car is operated under ideal conditions of long trips only and very little stop/start driving.
So Trevor, I suggest you watch the oil change intervals.