Wordless Outtake: 404 Error
– Posted on December 1, 2019
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No error here.
Being a design by engineers steeped in the French school, this owner is following the correct order for removal of the fourth sparkplug, namely, open boot, remove blanking plate over differential, crawl down transmission tunnel to loosen plug from below, and then open bonnet for final release.
That said, it is because of such thinking that I will not buy a French electric toothbrush.
This particular car is equipped with fuel injection, made by Kugelfischer.
Guess what the achillesheel is of these engines.
The BMW 2002 Tii and Ford Capri 2600 RS were also equipped with this type of injection.
Thing is these mechanical systems do not like modern leadfree gasoline and also hate not being used on a regular basis.
O rings dissolve and stuff like that.
I would be interested to learn your thoughts on how the absence of lead in the gasoline makes problems for the mechanical fuel injection system, please.
It isnt the absence of lead per se, but the nature of the organic additives put into modern fuels to raise the octane instead of lead that tend to dissolve older rubber and plastic components such as O rings
I agree with you, though I would lay more blame on the oxygenates (d’ethanol, etc) in today’s gasoline. But that’s not the assertion Rammstein made; he specifically called out the “leadfree” gasoline, and I’d like to know the basis for that, because I think there isn’t any.
I agree with you however leadfree is the most common term to name modern fuels which have very little to do with real petrol or gasoline.
Other aggressive chemicals were used that dissolved rubber components.
Way back when these fuels were introduced Leyland had a call back as they built series of cars with fuel hoses which dissolved when lead free was used.
Current fuels aren’t any less (or more) “real” gasoline than the fuels of the past.
I wonder if those early lead-free fuels had a higher than 10% ethanol content, or contained methanol. I don’t doubt there was some experimenting with octane boosters and valve protectants in those days. Could have been acetone, too. A lot of things can eat rubber parts.
An extra benefit of a flex-fuel motor is how it’s fuel system is more tolerant of corrosive additives, since it’s designed for 85% alcohol content from the start. I forget which flex fuel vehicle I had it was, but its fuel system had all braided hoses and stainless parts, and looked impressive as well as being almost indestructible.
I don’t think that’s it, either. When unleaded gasoline was introduced in the US (beyond the one company, Amoco or Standard or one of those tentacles, who had been selling it in some Eastern states for years) in 1974, alcohol of any kind was still considered an adulterant—a contaminant—in gasoline. Later in the 1970s the idea of stretching oil supplies by cutting gasoline with alcohol began to gain traction; the stuff was called “gasohol” and considered a different product than gasoline.
The Kugelfischer was also on the 504 Ti. It is reputed to work excellently, and for years at a time, but when finally worn, it is as expensive to overhaul as the timed diesel pump it resembles.
Probably not a Kugelfischer problem here. By my theory, his feet would be sticking out of the exhaust pipe for that.
I think the KF6 engine with Kugelfischer injection used a different block from the XN1 engine with carburetors.
Carefully avoiding anything French in this comment: “What a bloody palaver!”
Non! Not the Blue Hood of Death!
Nice!
In my years of owning several 404s, I never experienced a 404 Error, as in a breakdown on the road. And that included a lot of long trips and in remote desert areas of CA. But then I never had a Coupe, unfortunately. I came close to acquiring a Cabrio, but not quite close enough, sadly.
Blimey, you did alright. Mine admittedly never left me stuck either, but they did seem to fritz the indicators or blow the (weirdo) fuses or have a door lock go on strike every week or so.
And as on any other Frenchie I’ve owned, the oddness involved in many such little repairs required patience and inventiveness and, in the case of that infernal lock, 13 fingers and a dislocatable thumb.
A few breakdowns are worth it when a car looks that good. On the other hand, when the hood’s up on an old car, it’s often up for a simple fluid check, or to see how a repair’s holding up. Of course, sometimes it’s serious. 🙂
As a person knowing computer and Internet first ( in late-90s as a little kid ) and Peugeot 404 a bit later, I almost thought this website would randomly miss articles and display a 404 page.
That’s what I thought….isn’t 404 a “page not found” error (in addition to being a Peugeot model number). Guess that’s also why we have Porsche 911 instead of 901, since Peugeot started the model names with a zero in the middle.
Worse things happen at sea……no one is hurt, we have a man on the case and he has somewhere to sleep…..
This is what you get when you try to access a dead link at http://www.hemmings.com:
I spotted this in a parkade in…Georgia, I think it was, when I was there for an SAE conference some years ago.
BEAUTIFUL car. Even the trunk hinges and the bracing under the hood are beautiful. Every line and curve is just right.
Lovely coupe. Nice headline.