Engines Peugeot ES9, ES9A, ES9J4, ES9J4S
Content
From 1974 to 1998, the French companies Citroen, Peugeot and Renault equipped their top car models with the famous PRV six. This abbreviation stood for Peugeot-Renault-Volvo. Initially it was a V8, but there was an oil crisis in the world, and it was necessary to “cut down” to two cylinders.
Over the long years of the existence of PRV, two generations of this internal combustion engine were born. Each of them had a number of modifications. The "highlight" are supercharged versions, but only Renault got them.
Since 1990, the PRV engines have remained only with the French, the Swedish company Volvo switched to a new six-cylinder design, and eight years later the French began to develop a new engine, in this likeness, the PSA and the ES9 series appeared at Peugeot. It is noteworthy that they did not have many modifications, as was previously the case with their predecessors.
The engine has a traditional 60° camber instead of the 90° it used to be. Also here, the wet bearing was replaced with dry liners. The company plans to develop a 3.3-liter engine, but everything remained at the level of talk, as Europe lost interest in large internal combustion engines, and Renault switched to a V6 from Nissan, after concluding relevant agreements with the Japanese manufacturer.
ES9J4 and its problems
These are engines created for Euro-2 and they gave out 190 "horses". These were extremely simple power units. This 24-valve version did not even have a variable valve timing system.
Its intake system was devoid of swirl flaps and a system for changing the length of the intake manifold. The throttle worked directly from the gas pedal through a cable. Was installed only one catalyst and only one lambda probe.
The ignition worked from two modules (they differed for the front and rear row of cylinders). The most complex element is the timing drive, it was driven through an intricate tensioning mechanism, but its replacement was required after about 120 thousand kilometers or every five years.
This simple design made the internal combustion engine extremely reliable. The first half a million kilometers were given to the motor very easily. Today, such engines can be found with problems with the wiring of fans, with oil leakage through the valve cover gasket, with leakage of the hydraulic clutch of a manual transmission.
But this reliability has two sides. The absence of constant breakdowns is good. But the lack of new components today is bad. They no longer produce the front part of the muffler with a catalyst or the idle speed controller, cylinder head, camshafts, crankshafts and valve covers. But for some unknown reason, you can still get new short blocks, pistons and connecting rods. Spare parts for these motors are difficult to find on the "dismantling".
Another interesting problem is the thermostat, it sometimes leaks here because of the gasket. From Renault you can get a thermostat, but without a gasket, and from the PSA group you can buy a gasket and a thermostat. But even here everything is not so simple, since it should be borne in mind that the thermostat differs depending on the gearbox (“mechanics” or “automatic”).
ES9J4S and his problems
Around the turn of the century (1999-2000), the engine began to be transformed and made more modern. The main goal is to get under the "Euro-3". The new motor was named ES9J4R by PSA and Renault by L7X 731. Power turned out to be increased to 207 horsepower. The guys from Porsche took part in the development of this version of the internal combustion engine.
But now this motor was no longer simple. A new cylinder head appeared here (not interchangeable with the first versions), a system for changing the intake phases and hydraulic pushers was introduced here.
The biggest vulnerability of the new versions is the failure of the ignition coils. Reducing the interval between glow plug replacements can slightly extend the life of the glow plugs. Here, instead of the previous pair of modules, small individual coils are used (one coil for each candle).
The coils themselves are affordable and not very expensive, but problems with them can provoke disturbances in the catalyst, and it (the catalyst) is very complicated here, or rather there are four of them, the same number of oxygen sensors. Catalysts can be found today on the Peugeot 607, but they are no longer made on the Peugeot 407. In addition, because of the ignition coils, motor tripping sometimes occurs.
ES9A and its problems
The latest evolution in the series of these engines is the ES9A, (in Renault the L7X II 733). The power was increased to 211 horsepower, the motor corresponded to Euro-4. From a technical point of view, this ICE was similar to the ES9J4S (again, the same four catalysts and oxygen sensors, as well as the presence of a change in intake phases). The main difference is that you can still find new original components for this motor without any problems. There is again a new cylinder head and it is available on the market. The biggest problem here is the penetration of coolant into the gearbox oil through a leaky heat exchanger, there are also other problems with the “automatic machines”.
Specifications of ES9 series motors
| ICE marking | fuel type | Number of cylinders | Working volume | Internal combustion engine power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES9J4 | Petrol | V6 | 2946 cc | 190 hp |
| ES9J4S | Petrol | V6 | 2946 cc | 207 hp |
| ES9A | Petrol | V6 | 2946 cc | 211 hp |
Conclusion
These French V6s are extremely promising, and some of them are also very simple. The only problem is finding spare parts for old versions, but in Russia this problem is easily solved, because you can always modify something or pick it up from something else. With proper maintenance, these motors easily go 500 miles or more.
A car with such an engine is worth buying for those who like to do repairs themselves. Minor malfunctions will appear here, due to the age of the car, but they will not be critical or fatal, and fixing them in a car service can seriously hit your budget.
The ES9 era ended with the advent of Euro-5 standards, these engines were replaced by a 1.6 THP (EP6) turbo engine at Peugeot and a 2-liter supercharged F4R at Renault. Both engines were powerful and with acceptable fuel consumption, but these "newbies" were far inferior in terms of reliability.
