ES9J4 V6 engine

Demannu

Demannu

Demannu-facturing!
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Fellow Frogger
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Dec 7, 2002
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I've pulled the engine out of the 406 Coupé over the weekend, and have set about resealing all the leaks from it that are known to plague these engines.

And I just had to comment on the design and workmanship of the ES9J4 V6 engine. It is stunning!

While the timing belt is very long, the tensioner and roller system is very elegant and does not leave any long stretches of unsupported belt to 'flap' about and affect the timing.

The machining of the two-piece cam wheels is beautiful, allowing for precise setting of the cam timing.

The intake tract is a very direct route to the top of the valves, and despite looking a bit ungainly, the exhaust manifold arrangement does provide exactly equal length runners before the two banks combine.

Even the layout of the complete powertrain in the engine bay facilitates easy removal. I had the whole engine and gearbox out in less than 3 hours work, without access to a hoist. I reckon that with a hoist it would have been an hour less.

I've taken some photos of the process sofar, I'll post them up tomorrow night.
 
Gerry,

Unfortunately it's just the D8 model, not the ES9J4S from the D9s.

I expect that the J4S would be more complex with it's variable valve timing system on the end of each camshaft. I'm not entirely sure what arrangement they use.

Some photos of the task sofar:

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I put the car back together on Thursday. It now drives like a new 406!

So, while it was apart, it got:

Auto transmission overhauled, new torque converter, oil pump, solenoids, clutch packs, bearings and filter.
New timing belt, tensioners (x4), water pump, camshaft seals (x4) and crankshaft seals (x2).
Removed cam boxes and cams, cleaned and resealed all mating surfaces.
Resealed sump.
New spark plugs x6.
New steering rack boots.
New brake discs on the front.
New anti-roll bar link rods.
New oil filter and fully synthetic 10W40.

We figured that after 200,000kms it was about due for some proper maintenance. Hopefully it will give us another 100,000 without me opening the bonnet for anything other than routine servicing!
 
aahhhh I gota love it. Pull an engine out for a good service. If only all engines were all meant to "disconnect" to give a thorough service.

Well done!
 
PugMonkey said:
engines were all meant to "disconnect" to give a thorough service.
Click to expand...

I reckon there should be a single 'umbilical cord' that carries all of the fluids and electrical connections needed.

Unconnect that and the engine mounts and then pull the engine out.
 
Nice job. I just had the cam covers re-sealed on my D8 coupe with 200,000km.
I got sick of the oil leaking onto the stainless heat shield making a disgusting smell.
Much nicer now but the degreaser used still stinks a bit.
The mechanic did it in-situ...your method looks a lot easier.
 
mandc said:
Nice job. I just had the cam covers re-sealed on my D8 coupe with 200,000km.
I got sick of the oil leaking onto the stainless heat shield making a disgusting smell.
Much nicer now but the degreaser used still stinks a bit.
The mechanic did it in-situ...your method looks a lot easier.
Click to expand...

That was part of the original plan too, but it turns out that ours was leaking between the heads and the cam boxes, as well as between the cam boxes and cam covers. So the camshafts had to come out to do the job properly.

The engine is lovely and clean now, hopefully it will stay that way for a while now!
 
Uffee said:
I reckon there should be a single 'umbilical cord' that carries all of the fluids and electrical connections needed.

Unconnect that and the engine mounts and then pull the engine out.
Click to expand...

Actually Toby, the 406 isn't too bad. Not like a 505 SR with so many vacuum hoses and pipes that you really get lost in the web. Exhaust, radiator in and out, fuel in and out, throttle, 2 electrical connections and the aircon compressor and you have an engine sitting just on it's engine mounts. Undo them, pull the driveshafts and the engine is hanging free.
 
Demannu said:
That was part of the original plan too, but it turns out that ours was leaking between the heads and the cam boxes, as well as between the cam boxes and cam covers. So the camshafts had to come out to do the job properly.

The engine is lovely and clean now, hopefully it will stay that way for a while now!
Click to expand...

Yeah. same here...cam covers and cam boxes and the cams had to come out with mine as well.
He put it all back together and an occasional misfire started because all the oil had degraded the spark plug leads to the rear bank of cylinders (their removal had caused a break)..new leads needing an inlet manifold removal (again) and all was good.
 
Last edited:
Heck - i wish my car looked that tidy after 200k!

There's a huge amount of difference between the V6 and the 4cyl - you can almost stand on the front cross member and work inside the engine bay in my car...(not that I would condone such)

Me thinks I might de-sludgeify my top end when the belts are due next!
 
Joel,

There is certainly less room in the engine bay of the V6, but at the same time I can't see why you need any more room - there's as much room at the back of the engine as in the 4 cylinder, so exhaust gasket access is the same. The oil filter is the only thing you'd want to get to from the front of the engine, and that's perfectly accessible from underneath. And if you're taking the engine out, you've still got to get to the same things which are equally accessible on both the 4 and 6 cylinders. The only other comment I would make is that there is quite a bit more clearance between the timing belt end of the engine and the strut tower and chassis rail on the V6 than there is on the 4 cylinder.
 
Dear friends,

Can i convert my Peugeot 406 2.0 D8 using ES9J4S engine? I have es9j4s halfcut. Will it work?

Thank you.

Best regards

Faysal.
 
Bump....
I want to reseal the cam boxes and covers myself, serious leaking in the rear ones.
I am currently stripping off stuff to possibly change the timing belt.
I have seen a good video of how to lock things in place before taking off the belt, but i am not sure about re-tensioning a new belt.
And how do you remove the camshafts to re-seal the boxes and keep everything in its right place?
What type of gasket goo/silicone is best to seal the boxes and covers?
I don't have a Haynes book, i think i might need one, are they worth getting for the V6 engine?
I am terrified of getting the timing wrong when i put it all back together.
Thanks in advance.
 
The simple answer is that you don't keep the timing gear in the right place when you remove it. So long as you lock the crankshaft in position (relative to the camshafts) before you remove the cams, there is no chance of valves hitting pistons. When re-assembling, just put the camshafts back in at the same position, and fit the pins when the camshaft bearing caps are all tensioned.

They're actually a very easy engine to time, and with the newer style tensioner, very simple to get the tension on the belt correct, without a 'SEEM' tester.
 
ok thanks for that, some worries relieved.
tensioning the belt is easy, ok, but how do you do it?
No idea what a SEEM tester is.
I spent the last hour searching the net for manuals, Haynes don't have the V6 engine in their manuals, is that correct?
My car is a December 98 build, that's a D8 i guess.
Been doing a lot of searching and finding nothing, if i find something it does not have enough detail for a novice.
Do I really need a torque wrench, and what bolts need to be torqued? stuff like that, there are no answers i can find.
Wish that good video wasn't in bl**dy french!
 
If you have the early model tensioner, you need a SEEM tester to adjust the belt. It measures the minuscule changes in distance between teeth on the belt as you tension it, allowing you to get the tension perfect.

On the later style tensioners you simply have to line up the arrows on the pulley and tighten the lock-nut. The later style tensioner can be retrofitted onto the earlier engines, and this is the only way I would do it now.

I have a manual for this engine, if you send me your email address I will send you a copy.

I would say that a torque wrench is vital for the task of re-sealing the cam boxes. The boxes themselves double as the camshaft bearing caps, and torque needs to be correct on these, otherwise the boxes may warp, damaging the bearings and causing more leaks.

Have you considered removing the engine to do this work on it? If you have the right tools on hand, it only takes about an hour to take the engine out, and about the same to put it back in. The amount of time it saves in actually resealing the boxes and doing the timing belt means that it is the only way I would do it now. Plus, you can give everything a good clean, and also re-seal the sump while it's all out.
 
Thanks Demannu that's really helpful.
Unfortunately i can't lift the engine out, working out in the open yard.
So if i buy a new style tensioner i can fit that, grrrr.. i only bought the belt and not the full kit, i will make enquiries tomorrow.
My motor must be an ES9J4 as well, according to info i found from the VIN number , VF3 8EXFZP xxxxxxxx.
Thanks so much, i will PM you with email address.
Okey dokey, off to buy a torque wrench tomorrow, damn i was in Super Cheap Auto today already.
Are those amateur looking ones with the knob you turn on the bottom any good?
I had one years ago and thought it was crap.
The 404's i had back in the '70's were a lot easier to work on!!
 
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