peugeot 504 question

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2pac

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Fellow Frogger
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hello
i went to see a 76 peugeot 504, found it had regular water in its radiator, not sure for how long it's like that.
i suppose the cylinder head can be repaired, but what's the chance that the engine block would be useable?
thanks
 
In 1976 Peugeot 504's were delivered with straight tap water in the radiators. Peugeot admitted they would not use coolant because of the sensitivity of the cylinder liner seals. The quality of the water is important. Mineralised water is destructive, tank water ideal.
 
A lot of those 504s also suffered from serious corrosion problems after a few years.....I worked on a few.
Eventually tank water or demineralised water picks up metal ions or even rust from the block. Even if you use coolant, it gets a bit dirty after 2 years and if not replaced, starts to get rusty after 3 or 4.

Years ago, I used to buy and sell 504s and 505s and when I looked at a car, the first thing I would do was look in the radiator.
If it did not have coolant, I would just walk away. I have seen too much corrosion.

Having said that, there are ways to assess how much corrosion may be in there.....look carefully at the thermostat housing. If possible, undo the radiator hose where it goes into the housing, and look inside at the aluminium.
Take off a water hose going to the carby, and look at the aluminium fittings on the carby where those hoses go on...

The block will be OK.....it is the aluminium bits you need to worry about. And the surface of the head where it joins the block...:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
So what do you guys recommend ?
De-mineralized water (that comes from AC condensation & therefore contains no salts) or coolant (for rust protection & water pump lubrication) or just tap water ?
 
The last official statement from Peugeot that I saw was in 1978 when their testing had not approved any type of coolant apart from water for use with the 504. Perhaps someone knows what type they eventually approved.
 
We used the GM brown tablets in de min water


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Never tap water, apart from temporarily for a couple of weeks.

I have used coolant + demineralised water in various 504s and 505s for over 30 years and never had a problem....with cylinder liners or anything else. And various local Peugeot dealers have too.
 
The problem of 504 cylinder head corrosion received a very public airing when an owner sued Peugeot UK for the cost of a head repair in the late 1970's. During cross examination the Peugeot technical representative who had been called admitted they did not put coolant in their cars because of concern with the cylinder liner seals. After 1975 Peugeot UK became very tough on out of warranty claims and would fight them in court never mind the publicity. Previously Distributors Peugeot had a good reputation. They ended up in court again when they delivered a 504 with a rusty sub frame and refused to do anything because only the body was warrantied against corrosion. Normally car companies settle such claims on the steps of the courthouse.
 
Use coolant without glycol. Glycol is only there for antifreeze and can accelerate corrosion if not in sufficient concentration. Clean Team has a glycol free coolant, never had any corrosion problem using it.
 
Russell Hall said:
The last official statement from Peugeot that I saw was in 1978 when their testing had not approved any type of coolant apart from water for use with the 504. Perhaps someone knows what type they eventually approved.
Click to expand...

Well that's interesting. Had none of the Canadian market 504s had anti-freeze coolant, there'd have been a lot of cracked blocks here. As it turns out, Peugeot sold their own branded anti-freeze which was in fact "Esso Atlas Perma-Guard", in 1 litre cans. Canadian cars needed a 50-50 mix to survive the winter. There were no tragic liner failures or any other ill effects.

I wonder why in the hot countries it was insisted that anti-freeze would make all hell break loose? Bizarre.
 
The original liner seals were quite thin and looked like cardboard. I used to be amazed that they sealed for long at all !

Not sure at what stage they were changed over to aluminium (if at all), but the replacement ones certainly were.
 
Case was in UK. Refer to the Autocar report. Verdict not reported - out of court settlement. We bought two new 504's and both were delivered with Melbourne tap water in the radiator.
 
Beano said:
The original liner seals were quite thin and looked like cardboard. I used to be amazed that they sealed for long at all !

Not sure at what stage they were changed over to aluminium (if at all), but the replacement ones certainly were.
Click to expand...

today in some kits you get nylon seals.
 
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