Hasta La Vista

 

 

Today is the end of a chapter in the life of this Peugeot 407 and my wife, the owner decided to sell it to the mechanic who came to repair the power windows. It just covered 61,755km over its 11 year and only recently had its 60,000km service where the timing belt set and all brake pads were replaced. I told wifey I was kind of sad because it was mainly me whom she left to use the car and allowed me to customize it so I became very attached to it but everything has a start and an ending and this is one of them. She has been a most reliable girl and never broke down short of when the first battery died at home and second at a parking lot of the neighbourhood business district centre.

Maintenance: Air-Con Cleaner Treatment

 

A spray can of air-con cleaner was bought from Lazada and upon receiving it, the cover under the glove compartment and the air-con side cover was unscrewed. The pollen filter compartment cover was removed and the pollen filter pulled out. Next, foamy air-con cleaner was piped into the pollen filter compartment until it was completely filled. This was followed by a similar job for all the 4 air-vents until the foam reached the air vent's fins. After the pollen filter compartment was closed, I gave a 15 mins wait for the foam to melt before the engine was started with the air-con switched ON with the windows wound down. A new pollen filter replacement was later inserted after which I closed the pollen filter compartment with its cover and screwed back the air-con side cover as well as the cover under the glove compartment.

Maintenance: Rubbing Compound rejunevates a 10 year old paint coat

 

The above photo shows half a bonnet yet to received a rub-down while the other half gets an elbow treatment before the remaining rubbing compound is completely used having earlier down a rub-down on our 7 year old BMW 320, the other car. Autocolor recommends and I followed the guide not do apply the rubbing compound when the body is hot or under direct sunlight so I carried out my jib as early at 7am for about 1 1/2 hours before calling it quit. It takes about 2 1/2 days to complete a whole car inclusive of the area around the door when it is opened.

REPROGRAMMING THE REMOTE CONTROL

 

I did not know so made a Google search and found out that if the remote control is having issues, the owner can DIY and reprogram the remote control himself and feedbacks from others are positive. One does not need to rely on Peugeot Service Centre who charges a fortune just for that as quoted by some.

Puspakom Inspection

 

I had the car inspected at PUSPAKOM as it exceeded the JPJ grace of 1 year of no road tax renewal because at the time, we had one car too many. When that happens, PUSPAKOM locks the JPJ road tax renewal system until a proper inspection of the vehicle had been made. There is notcustom window tinting on this car so there was no issue there. Thankfully, the car custom exhaust system got Scot free probably because both mid and rear muffler followed the stock muffler dimension, only that they werey made of stainless steel and the exhaust note under 2,000rpm is more quiet than the stock due to the more efficient release of exhaust gas.

Modification - Window Tinting Issue

 

When PUSPAKOM came over to the house (upon my request) to do an inspection of the car as the road tax expired beyond the 1 year JPJ grace period, they showed concern for  the engine chassis number and body chassis number. But as they were there, they decided to check the level of window tinting. The car never had any tinting because we were satisfied with the 40% factory tinting (so I was told by the salesman). When a stone cracked the original windscreen, it was replaced with a Grade A type from China which is technically of similar quality to the original windscreen except for the original tinting. This incidentally makes it much clearer to view the road especially in the night. If one goes by the accuracy of the inspection:

• The front windscreen tinting is 32%. 
• The rear windscreen tinting is 41%.
• The front right side window is 39%
• The front left side window is 36%
• The rear right side window is 43%.
• The rear left side window is 37% 

I personally think there could have been some human error on the part of the PUSPAKOM officer and the tinting of the rear windscreen, front and rear side windows are actually 40%. However, as the result of the tinting inspection shows a variable result, it is wiser not to totally follow the JPJ tinting approval limit BUT to choose a gross tinting limit (window plus tinting film) at least 5% less than what is allowed. That way, no way can JPJ find fault in our custom tinting done.

Maintenance - Display Screen Unit Replacement

Our salesman did advise us to cover the display screen when parking in the sun as it is sensitive to heat and we did do it from Day 1 but the car eventually had to park in the sun daily for lack of parking space under the house porch. From the 8th year, the screen display began to fade and by the 10th year, impossible to see anything. Surfing AliExpress, a brand new compatible display unit is available for RM275 (not including transport cost) as above. There are other cheaper options but with less features e.g. no dual zone air-con setting and not 12 pin version. Looking at YouTube clips, it is also easy to install. I plan to invest in this unit in the future and have to start saving having just spent RM1000+ to do the 60K general servicing.

 

Modification: Plastic cracks fixture

 

I saw some YouTube clips how plastic cracks effectively "joined" back plastic cracks by sealing the cracks/gap with a mixture of baking soda and cyanoacrylate or what is popularly known as super. Thus, I decided to experiment and instead, use a mixture of baking soda and Dunlop contact-glue simply because I always keep a tin of contact-glue in the house. As my kitchen plastic rubbish basket already had a big crack at its base I had a guinea pig to work on. I initially covered the cracks with contact-glue. Secondly, I generously sprinkled baking soda until it covered the contact-glue then slightly tapped on the baking soda to ensure they mixed. After the contact-glue dried, I simply shook the baking soda off and a seal had nicely formed closing the gap that once was there. Conclusion: It works!

Modification: Third Brake Light Cover Trim Fixture

After several trials, I found the best places to locate the magnets here but later I plan to add a 6th magnet to equally distribute the magnets for a more sturdy grip.

5 paired magnets will hold the cover firmly in place even with the front windows fully open and traveling at 90kph.

As the car is parked in the sun daily at home, we are not surprised the car plastic accessories will quickly become brittle and prone to crack as what happened to the gear shift and replaced twice (not including the original unit). Now, both cardboard thin plastic hinges and alignment studs cracked off the third brake light cover trim. 

In Plan A, I tried on 3 separate days and used black outdoor double-sided tape to attach the cover trim to the third brake light housing but every morning, the cover trim fell off. 

In Plan B, I ordered 10 magnets costing RM10 ( plus transport cost) from Lazada  and Dunlop contact-glued (shoe glue) them inside of the cover trim and on the opposite side facing on the third brake light housing making sure the magnetic polarity were correct. The next day, I opened the front windows, took the car for a spin and am happy the experiment was a success, still I plan to add a few more magnets to balance the distribution of the magnetic bases.

For reference, the original third brake light cover trim although not available now at Lazada was sold for RM100 which is not cheap for cosmetic.

Maintenance - 40,000km general service

There was ready nothing much about this general servicing except that additionally, the Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) need to be replaced per 20,000km whereas spark plugs need to be replaced per 40,000km. I was advised by key mechanics here and there that the original ATF needs to be used because the automatic gear box is rather sensitive as against the engine block because it needs a certain amount of friction. Too much viscosity and the gear might slip and that would cause serious damage to the gear box. In fact, I was about to buy automatic gearbox additive but cancelled that idea after reading the comments below the advertisement where the ATF viscosity became too smooth and the gear slipped.

For more
details on the ATM replacement I did, click here

Maintenance - 60,000km service

 

First trip after 60,000km service: To Puspakom Padang Jawa

Although the mileage clocked 58,500+km, it underwent the 60,000km service on August 2021 having spanned 10 years and not changed brake pads nor timing belt since Day 1. However, upon inspection, we found surprisingly, the front brake pads hardly wore (I guess this is because I tend to brake to a slow halt by letting the engine revs down). The mechanic said they were still good and advised me to keep them for future replacement. The timing belt, interestingly, still looked good but upon close inspection, the mechanic said there were already small signs of minor crack in-between the teeth and would probably snap 3 months down the road. The job tasks carried out by my regular neighbourhood mechanic were as follows:

1. Replace fully syn. engine oil/oil filter RM30 (per 10K as regularfully syn. engine oil was used) 
2. Clean all spark plugs RM20 
3. Replace timing belt set RM200 (per 60K)
4. Replace all brake pads, bleed brake nipples and top up brake fluid RM80
5. Flush and top up radiator coolant RM60
6. Replace ATF RM50 (per 20K compulsory)

Total labour charge: RM440 and took 2 full working days.

New right brake pads

New left rear brake pads

The spare parts were acquired mainly from Lazada. The timing belt set and oil filter sellers were referred to the car's JPJ grant to check the engine chassis/year of manufacture, thus, ensure the appropriate version were obtained. Items bought include the following:

• Fully syn. engine oil 4L RM90
• Oil filter change RM25
• Brake fluid DOT4 2L RM50
• Timing Belt Kit RM420
• Radiator coolant 2L RM 45
• Front brake pads RM102
• Rear brake pads RM60
• ATF 4L RM150
• The gear knob wore from heat because the car is parked in the open sun (RM10) but lacked the internal white plastic sleeve that wraps around the gear shift. Thankfully, I glued hard the previous one to the gear shift.

Total spare parts cost RM952

The air-con cooling coil and compressor were fine just a gas top-up for RM50 was needed, the first time in 10 years.

 

 

Giallo Ginestra 407

 

One day, if I have the good fortune to respray the 407, it will look at this. The yellow is a popular Italian Sporty colour called "Giallo Ginestra" translated means 'Yellow Broom' based on the typical yellow Mediterranean vegetation found up to a height of 200m above sea level and create a special atmosphere.It is also has such a fresh cheeky personality and coupled with the throaty exhaust sound of my 407 will definitely give it a sporty image.

 

UPDATE

 

Lately, after much thoughts, I decided to be more practical and choose the slightly brighter Y12 Majestic Yellow which is a default colour among Perodua Myvi cars because it is easy to acquire this colour in a spray tin from Lazada in Malaysia.

Maintenance: Power windows

It pays to surf FaceBook. I eventually found a hands-on man from Pedas, Negeri Sembilan who does on-call repairs.  Azlan Mohd Noh (013-4333512) mail-orders repair kits from Turkey allowing to repair specific components or total power window kit thereby helping customers greatly reduce their bill. However repairs are case-by-case merits because not all cars face the same issue. This service is not even possible by any official nor unofficial Peugeot service centre because local spare part distributors only sell a complete repair kit (expensive).

Peugeot 407 Maintenance Schedule

I refer most of the following to Peugeot 407 Nazim's Warranty & Maintenance Record Booklet. Distributor Nazim Sdn. Bhd. recommends, base on Malaysian weather, Peugeot cars stick NOT to the "Normal" but "Arduous" condition or slightly earlier schedule:

• Change engine oil                                10,000km (4 lit)
  
• Change engine oil filter                         10,000km
  
• Change air filter                                   20,000km or Air Jet-blow
  
• Change ATF                                        20,000km(4 lit)
  
• Change spark plugs                             40,000km (4 units)
  
• Change passenger compartment filter    1 year
• Change brake fluid                               2 years (DOT4) after brake pad change
  
• Change coolant                                   120,000km or 4 years
• Change timing belt                              120,000km or 10 years
• Change water pump pulley gear            120,000km or 4 years
  
• Change engine block bush                   Check for wear
  
• Change brake pads                             Check for wear

We can see:

• per 20,000km important because of the need to replace the ATF;
• per 40,000km important to change spark plugs
• per 60,000km important to check brake pads (personal experience)
• per 100,000km important to check timing belt condition
  

Warning appeared for the first time

Last week, when I tried to start the car, this radiator icon appeared. The Driver's Manual did not clarify what it is and I knew only a electronic diagnosis could give me the answer. Then 2 days ago, when I tried to warm up the engine, that icon disappeared. Only then I recalled before  this issue came about, I flushed the engine bay as I have done before on many occassions but I that was the first time water infiltrated the radiator sensor contacts. Had it been a replacement of the radiator sensor, I would need to say goodbye to RM100+ though I think the car does need a radiator flushing since I've only topped up the coolant since Day 1. I learn something new everyday.

Maintenance - Headliners

 

A common phenomena among continental cars, cloth-sponged headliners give way after some time. Our 7 year old Peugeot 407 had its replaced in 3 1/2 hours stretch which was estimated to be completed in the usual 4 hours.  A dent in the pocket but at least no more falling sponge bits which I suspect could be cancerous.