Rear Suspension Doesn't Look Right

[Lankylad78 0]

Picked up my first ever 205 last week and, amongst other things, the rear ride height just doesn't look right. TBH it looks just like the one off Wheeler Dealers (minimal gap at the rear of the arch, compared to quite substantial gap at the front). Coupled with this the offside rear tyre is fouling on the back of the arch (rear valance) when I "give it the beans" round a left hander. There is quite a noticeable black mark where this is occuring (especially given that the car is white).

 

Now I'm not massively mechanically minded (though eager to learn), but I do have a modicum of intelligence to realise that this isn't as it should be.

 

Is this just a simple case of someone having a go at lowering the rear (front looks untouched) and bodging it up, therefore just a matter of returning it to normal via the TB's. Or could it potentially be something more serious? I've searched through previous threads and can't find anything specific to this, just general adjustment of the TB's.

 

Any advice and/or previous experience of this would be appreciated.

 

P.S. Rear camber looks OK, although it's never been done and now on 155k and counting.

[James_m 0]

If the beam has never been touched after 155k and one side is different to the other it sounds ominous for the life of your rear beam...

 

Try searching 205 gti rear beam on google then click the links to this site and there should be loads for you to read up on

[Lankylad78 0]

Cheers James. Can you actually believe that I had to type 3 numbers and had a choice of 2. It's actually 115K. SUnday night tiredness creeping in.

[Anthony 1,002]

If it's touching the back of the arch/valance, it's not just that the car has had a knock at the back at some point in its life is it? I've got a car at mine at the moment that's noticeably closer one side than the other, and that's had a knock and the rear bumper/valance isn't aligned/secured properly as a result.

 

A big giveaway is that the clearance around the front of the arch and the sill is about even either side. If the beam is on the wonk, the gap will be different on each side.

 

However, at 115k, it's likely the beam is well past it's best even if it's not showing camber, assuming it's not been rebuilt previously.

[Lankylad78 0]

I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a knock at the rear and the gap on either side looks pretty uniform to me, but I'll measure it properly today.

 

The previous owner had the car for over 5 years (from around 60k), and before that it was owned by a family from new as a 2nd car. I queried the rear with the seller, he said that as far as he knew it had always been like that. He also said that he hadn't touched the beam, and I'm 99% sure the previous owners wont have touched it either.

 

Looks like I could be replacing the beam then . Is it wise to do this as a matter of course even if it looks ok? Prevention better than cure and all that.

[shalmaneser 26]

I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a knock at the rear and the gap on either side looks pretty uniform to me, but I'll measure it properly today.

 

The previous owner had the car for over 5 years (from around 60k), and before that it was owned by a family from new as a 2nd car. I queried the rear with the seller, he said that as far as he knew it had always been like that. He also said that he hadn't touched the beam, and I'm 99% sure the previous owners wont have touched it either.

 

Looks like I could be replacing the beam then . Is it wise to do this as a matter of course even if it looks ok? Prevention better than cure and all that.

 

Replacing like for like is unlikely to get you anywhere, you're better of getting a refurbed one from someone on here (Jord normally has them at very reasonable prices) or doing the job yourself.

 

The job's not hard but it is a hassle, depends how confident you are and if you have access to a big ol' press - i needed 8 tons of pressure ton pop my stub axles out and apparently that's at the lower end of the scale.

[MrG 3]

I'd rather buy one thats been done by someone who knows what they're doing. I'd buy one that needs a rebuild and get it done then swap yours over with that one, minimal down time that way.

 

Our first 1.9 had a larger gap at the front than the rear, same both sides though, it all did what it was supposed to so we left it well alone (pre internet/205drivers...).

Edited June 15, 2010 by MrG