Peugeot 1.9 205 Gti

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…is currently recovering on the workbench after a dodgy internet purchase!

Car: Peugeot 1.9 205 GTi Year: 1987 Owner: Chris Manning

Work on the Peugeot 205 GTi is showing progress as I have now removed the 406 turbo engine and gearbox that had been badly fitted into the engine bay. Extracting it was easier than I expected, chiefly thanked by a proper engine hoist I had borrowed from a friend which made life a lot easier than the block and tackle and triangular three pole frame that I have used in the past.

Some remedial work is still to be done removing the old fuel lines and one brake pipe is very rusty at the back of the engine bay, but I will leave that until later. I decided to turn my attention to preparing a 1.9 GTi engine my son Oliver had purchased on a popular internet site and collected by a family friend handily visiting Newcastle where the buyer was located.

First things to change would be timing belt and as the water pump is driven by the belt as well, replace that at the same time. I removed the top cam belt cover and was horrified to discover the belt was sheared in two.

My son had been told by the internet seller when he asked about the condition of the engine, saying: ‘’Yes mate, it runs okay but the spark is a bit weak.’’ This was obviously a lie as the engine was a complete non-runner and it does somewhat dent your faith in human nature when somebody can be so blatantly dishonest to make a sale and pocket the money.

I had no option but to now remove the head as well to check for any damage to pistons or bent valves. Thankfully, on removal, I could see no visible damage to the piston crowns and to check the valves, I replaced the plugs and poured white spirit into the recesses in the head the valves sit in, to see if there was any leakage which would reveal bent valves.

Thankfully, all was well but it has added extra cost to the rebuild as head gasket set is required plus a new set of cylinder head bolts as they are the stretch variety that cannot be used again.

With gearbox removed I could now lock the flywheel and remove crankshaft bolt and then remove rest of the cam belt covers and rest of broken belt and eventually get to the water pump. The tool used to lock the flywheel is one I made 20 years ago when I owned several Citroën BX’s which used the same XU series of engines as the Peugeot. Just shows it pays never to throw anything away!

Similarly, when it comes to replacing the timing belt, I still have the set of special bolts I made to lock the engine and camshaft to make sure the timing of the engine is correct. To my surprise the crankshaft bolt came undone without a struggle and on removing the water pump, part of which was sheared off, I think I have discovered the cause of cam belt breakage, as it was stiff to move and the housing and impeller (as the picture shows) was in a sorry mess (caused by incompatible conventional long life OAT anti-freezes-ed).

A blessing with the Peugeot being a relatively modern (and popular in its time) car, I have managed to source all the new parts I need to rebuild the engine from my local parts supplier, Motex.

A complete cam belt kit with water pump, plus gaskets, and stretch bolts wait to be fitted. I have a lot of cleaning to do and as the anti freeze has crystallised in so many places will pay particular attention to all the small bore water hoses the engine has with a good blast of compressed air to clear all the debris. Let the cleaning commence.