Is Peugeot Build Quality Getting Worse?!?

[buchanan84 1]

we all know that with the 205, which is about 20yrs old now you expect to rebuild the rear beam

 

but at less than 6yrs 2 friends have replaced beams on there 206's (1.4 diesels) and now i think my X reg hdi 306 is going to need one too!

 

symptoms are, handling doesnt feel right, on right handers it feels like the rear is steering around behind my, the front left tyre is raping the outside edge and again on right hand corners the back has stepped out way too early in the wet. also seams very sensitive to camber on the road

 

overall not very inspiring on the twist's

[Anthony 1,003]

306 beams are often dead or dying now, which is no real surprise given that they're the same basic design as 205/309 ones, but with a heavier car and higher spring rates wearing the needle bearings quicker.

 

That said, on 306's, check the beam mounts as these tend to fail after a few years and causes the beam to have fairly noticeable rear steer - there's some rear steer as standard, but with the mounts on their way out its much more pronounced and makes the car feel vague and unpredictable. Other symptoms you might get from dead mounting bushes is a noticeable clunk under braking from the rear of the car.