Free-oh-six. The adventures of Sporty's free WBoD. Seized beam or shocker? Place bets NAO.

[sporty-shite]

Anybody want a free Peugeot 306 DTurbo? It's not been run in a few years* and has a cracked windscreen. Collection from the North Manchester area.

 

 

 

 

*Ran when parked. NO OFFERS I KNOW WOT IVE GOT!!!"!"!"!"

So I'd been half looking for a more economical car when this came up. I like a 306 so I thought I'd take TDB up on this kind offer and help him to clear a parking space. I've bottled it a bit, though, because I've arranged someone to transport it for me.

 

More to follow soon-ish.

[billyboy406v6]

Arranging someone else to shift it is an instant collection fail, restart your mission and proceed in the correct manner !

[sporty-shite]

Arranging someone else to shift it is an instant collection fail, restart your mission and proceed in the correct manner !

I know. But my tame tester doesn't work Saturdays, so I can't "pre book" a test.

[sporty-shite]

Loaded and ready to leave...

 

[sporty-shite]

Now home at Sporty-Towers. Itlooks like a good catch, although it's made itself at home by spunkung PAS fluid on the drive!! I'll give it a wash and investigate tomorrow, I think, seeing as Mrs S seems to have the right arse.

 

Thank you to TDB a thoroughly nice guy and A1 Peugeot donor. WOULD USE AGAIN.

 

[sporty-shite]

This is the greener of the two sides. However, it is not green anymore after a good jet wash session. I haven't taken pictures yet, but will do tomorrow. Also, I thought I'd have a quick go at getting it running. Hooked up the jump leads, primed the bulb and then gave it three cycles on the glow plugs. It only bloody fired first time. WELL CHUFFED.

 

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I do like a D Turbo. I had a s1 in diablo red a few years back - lovely thing to drive. Pugrot got it right with these. Wonder what it'll need for a ticket?

[sporty-shite]

So I had a couple of hours spare this afternoon, so set to checking the 306 over, and getting ready for test.I managed to cure the PAS leak earlier in the week, by bypassing the very rusty PAS fluid cooler that runs along the front crossmember. Just cut the feed to it and looped it back to the return to the reservoir.

 

Today's first stop was the back brakes. The handbrake was high, and seeing as the car has been stood for a while, I thought it would be prudent to clean the brakes up too. So, rear wheels off, brakes cleaned and adjusted, and all brake pipes and ferrules wire brushed and given a layer of copper grease. Whilst I was there, I also unseized the load sensing valve at the rear. This had shown up on previous tests, so thought it would be prudent to give it some attention. Problem then arose when I tried to test the mechanism by moving the suspension. It's seized on that side. Tried jacking the hub up whilst the car was on stands, and it just lifted the car but not the hub. 

 

I've had a quick Google tonight, and there have been cases of seized shockers on the 306oc. I'm hoping it's something this simple, rather than having to get involved in changing the beam. I'll have another look over the weekend, and report back. As ever, any advice or experience is welcome.

[AMC Rebel]

Not much help, but I walked away from an otherwise nice 306 a trader had for sale near me when I couldn't bounce the rear suspension - or indeed move it at all, made me a bit dubious about the brand new MOT

[lisbon_road]

Good luck with it.  These are great cars and almost indestructible.

[D Spares & Tyres]

It will be the beam that is seized.....

 

Fill the boot with bricks then drive over some speed humps..... It won`t be a permanent fix but it will give you a few months. After you have unseized it keep a concrete slab in the boot under the carpet so that the car will bounce a little more and use more of the bearing travel. 

 

But, changing the axle is pretty simple job really.

 

306s are great cars 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I may be wrong but I reckon ALL 306's even really tidy ones with a years ticket have rear beams that are over 50% knackered. I fancy getting one and rebuilding the rear beam just to experience what the ride quality is really supposed to be like.

[Supernaut]

I still miss both my 306s...

[Anthony]

I may be wrong but I reckon ALL 306's even really tidy ones with a years ticket have rear beams that are over 50% knackered. I fancy getting one and rebuilding the rear beam just to experience what the ride quality is really supposed to be like.

Mr_B is bang on the money with this one, speaking as someone that's rebuilt dozens of beams over the years.

 

If there's no history of a (quality) beam rebuild, it's best assuming that it's dead or dying sadly even if it's not showing any tale-tale symptoms of failure - by the time that they've seized, showing excessive negative camber or have play/knocking, they're goosed beyond the point of being rebuildable. By extension, taken any claims of a used beam being "good" with a sizeable pinch of salt - unless it's been stripped down and the bearings, seals and shafts inspected, it's best assumed to be in need of a rebuild, regardless of whether it was recently MOT'd or not (as long as it isn't completely seized or has loads of play then it'll pass an MOT)

 

Any thoughts that it's a seized shock are rather optimistic I'm afraid.

 

In terms of ride quality, I don't tend to find that suffers as much as you'd think until the point where they're really tired, but handling that the cars are famed for certainly does - with a rebuilt beam and some decent beam mounts they really do drive nicely, far better than what most owners thought was "normal". Obviously by the point where the bearings have disintegrated and it's seizing up then ride quality becomes non-existent.

[The Moog]

I had the 405 one replaced by a garage in Burnley that fits refurbished ones. Was about £230 all in. 2 year warranty

[cobblers]

Same goes for 106s, every one of them has a fucked out rear axle and it's that which made me give up with them, 106 axles are even less repairable than 306 ones too. 

 

My mate had a VTR and needed a new axle so we went to the scrappers and bought a couple of them which seemed OK on the floor off low mileage povvo spec cars with the plan of make one good axle out of three with his disk brakes and the housings and trailing arms off the 1.1 ones.

 

Got them home, both absolutely knackered on opposite ends. I was all for cutting the bastards in half and welding to two good sides together but he wasn't having any of it and just scrapped the car.

[sporty-shite]

It will be the beam that is seized.....

 

Fill the boot with bricks then drive over some speed humps..... It won`t be a permanent fix but it will give you a few months. After you have unseized it keep a concrete slab in the boot under the carpet so that the car will bounce a little more and use more of the bearing travel. 

 

But, changing the axle is pretty simple job really.

 

306s are great cars 

I did wonder if there could be a way to free it off a bit, just to get a couple of months, but I'm a bit reluctant to risk having limited travel and the chance of it seizing again.

 

Any thoughts that it's a seized shock are rather optimistic I'm afraid.

 

I know, but for the sake of dropping a shocker and checking, it can't do any harm...

 

I had the 405 one replaced by a garage in Burnley that fits refurbished ones. Was about £230 all in. 2 year warranty

Sounds pretty good. Have you still got details?

[Eddie Honda]

Same goes for 106s, every one of them has a fucked out rear axle and it's that which made me give up with them, 106 axles are even less repairable than 306 ones too.

 

Every one? Cobblers! A lot maybe. I've a 106 out back with 93k axle and the pins are fine. Er, I just haven't put it back together yet. I didn't need to take it apart, I just did. And they're just as repairable, just need access to a big bastard press, job jobbed.

[cobblers]

I'm probably being a bit pessimistic, but axles bit me in the arse a few times and I don't have a press, just hammers. 

I've spent full weekends swinging sledgehammers at the end of torsion bars only to get the things apart and they're scrap. This was years ago and nowadays there are companies that'll do a recon beam for £250 or so.

[Eddie Honda]

I'm probably being a bit pessimistic

Just a tad, yes a lot of them axle get fooked. To change the pins, what is needed are a suitable implements including a welder and massive tool like this:

 

 

and some scaffy pole offcuts, chunky nuts and threaded bar and in just over 3 minutes...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAzAk9m6jZs

 

http://www.ruville.com/fileadmin/user_upload/redaktion/pdfs/Technische_Info-Flyer_Fahrwerk/GB/TI-1106_GB.pdf

 

PS He's using this stuff when putting the pins on

so he can have the customer back again for another chiselling.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Hey I enjoyed watching that film, nice find EH

[Eddie Honda]

That was the short edit. There's a director's cut 13-odd minute long one too and a 9 minute one from the same company, but the guy has a welding helmet with flames on it.





Nearly 600 quid for that kit. I wonder for how little could an AutoShite version be put together? It would certainly save a bit of manhandling if not some time in not dropping the whole axle.

Oh look, this is what's in the box...

• 2 long threaded spindles (part no. 1002221), M20x1.5x800mm
• Coupling sleeve (part no. 1002224) M20x1.5x100mm
• Short threaded spindle (part no. 1002222) M20x1,5x400mm
• Thrust tube (part no. 1002216) 57x65x-240mm
• 2 thrust pieces (part no. 1002217 & 1002218) 50.6x56.5/65x11mm and 47.7x56.5/65x11mm
• 2 thrust pieces (part no. 1002220 & 1002227) 21x33/50x20mm and 21x27/50x20mm
• End piece (part no. 1002219) 21x56.5/65x20mm
• Protective tube (part no. 1002223) 25x2x-150mm
• 2 axial bearings (part no. 51204)
• 2 tool nuts (part no. 31305)
• Lubricant (part no. 71343) Molykote GN+

[The Moog]

http://www.axledirect.com/citroen_axle/

 

They were great about it. Quoted me a price, I got there and they said they should have said plus fitting (used o get free delivery or free fitting) but would do it for the price.

 

Then spent all day on it as everything was rusted. Didn't charge me a penny more

[D Spares & Tyres]

Or what I have done on another is drill a hole in the top of the axle and filled it with oil. It freed off nicely and had full travel but then pissed oil everywhere!

 

some thicker oil or grease pumped in would probably have worked but I just changed the axle in the end but it gave me a bit longer

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Those rebuild kits are about £50/side, I presume the big challenge is getting the pin out of the cast iron casing? And getting the new one in without mashing it of course.

 

I imagine if you have a oxy-acetylene burner or a bad-ass blowtorch you could draw the pins out fairly easily with a bit of scaffolding tube and some big threaded bar and nuts.

 

Its making me want to give it a try!!!

[Dave_Q]

I think the real challenge is summoning up the will to spend £100 and several hours/days bashing away at it when a recon beam is only 200 or so.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Know what you mean, it seems suspiciously cheap though, £200 for a recon axle when the parts cost £100 alone?

[Dave_Q]

One of the places in Poland that does them has a video of the process on YouTube, basically once you're set up with a sand blaster and a BFO press then there's probably about 1-2 man hours going into the refurb process.

 

Obviously the tools, factory etc aren't cheap, but I expect they are still making something at 200 quid, margins won't be mega but not much automotive is.

 

I would wager the outfit in Moogs link make more from the 50 quid fitting than they do from the actual axle.

[twosmoke300]

Ive used beams from IM axles and they are top notch , about 250 ish iirc

[dean36014]

I've got a disc braked rear beam from a zx which I think will fit a 306.