Marlon 0 Posted February 6, 2006 Hi, This is my first post in this forum so bare with me, I brought a 205 XS off someone here actually, it was in fair condition, apart from the split brake hose and battery terminals needing replacing. However as I am a member of a rallying club I need to drive the car fairly hard and I also need to have complete confidence in the cars' ability to behave itself. For insurance reasons I had to get my mother (who owns a 205 Diesel) to drive it back to southampton for me via the M3 and when she got there the complained to me about how it felt when changing lanes at 70+mph, (oh and the fact that the brakes were bad, which was soon diagnosed as the split hoses - Yes I know I should have test driven it myself instead of getting a mate t o do it, we learn from our mistakes). I thought she was just being a wuss untill I started doing events in the car. The 1st event wasn't soo bad as it was very heavy rain and so I was hyperplaning all over the place just hoping the road kept going where the car was. So I didnt notice the problem untill the 2nd event which was dry. The problem is very difficult to put into words, but I'll try none the less, when I'm going in a straight line, the car may jus start vearing from left to right (both ways), it doesn't seem to make a difference whether i'm braking, accelerating or just keeping a constant speed. It only does it sometimes, and its not constistant - its just annoying cos its always in my head and so cant really relax. It sometimes does it roung a corner, but this is less frequent than in a straight line. On the motorway it's just plain scary over 70mph, but again its tempermental, I can sometimes get to 85 without experiencing anything (havn't tried faster cos im scared, which says something because I got my mum's 205D to 104mph lol). The car is relatively standard, apart from the gti front brakes and alloys, and master-cylinder (fitted when brought). My friend suggested it might be due to the greater grip created by the bigger alloys but I find this hard to believe that people put up with this when they change alloys. Theres a nasty big clunk that comes from the rear every so often too. So if any of you guys know of what may be wrong with it, it would be greatly appriciated if you could let me know. Because I'm looking to sell the car because of this problem. Also its definitely not my driving as I've rallied my mum's 205 and that was completely fine. -- Marlon -- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted February 7, 2006 sounds like your rear beam is seized to me. theres a lot been written on the subject so get searching and theres also some articles on beams on the main website http://www.205gtidrivers.com/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christopher 5 1 Cars Posted February 7, 2006 sounds like your rear beam is seized to me. Would a seized rear beam cause a wavering at speed? I wouldn't have thought so...What about the wishbones?... Are you sure the clonk is from the back? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maturin23 10 Posted February 7, 2006 Mine was like this when I bought it. Refurbed main beam sorted the clunking and extreme LOOS, new droplinks, shocks springs and mounts fixed most of the problems at the front, but I still have some directional issues which are down to worn wishbone bushes. If you're rallying the thing I suggest you competely refurb the suspension front and rear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marlon 0 Posted February 7, 2006 Are you sure the clonk is from the back? Yea its definitely coming from the rear, its a very loud clunk too, often at low speeds. A full suspension refurb is probably much much more than the car is worth, and so I'll prolly sell it as I said. Thanx for your help people Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted February 7, 2006 Would a seized rear beam cause a wavering at speed? I wouldn't have thought so...What about the wishbones?... yeah a beam will def cause the probs he describes, it sounds as if its sticking and then releasing every now and then to me. I don't think its the wishbones as he says: it doesn't seem to make a difference whether i'm braking, accelerating or just keeping a constant speed. It only does it sometimes, and its not constistant A full suspension refurb is probably much much more than the car is worth, and so I'll prolly sell it as I said. this is an XS right? I'm sure you can get a secondhand beam for £30-50 for an XS and its no more than half a days work to fit if you've not done one before (1.5 hours if you are familiar with them). you could also fit a 1.6 gti beam as a simple cheap upgrade without any issues I believe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaveW 6 Posted February 7, 2006 yeah i would fit a another beam to it, rather than try to sell a car with a seized beam. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted February 12, 2006 Agreed. Theres a good article on the 'articles' bit of the gtidrivers main page on how to do the changeover. I always suspected that a rear beam changeover would be a bit of a knightmare but it dont look too bad... Ive not done it yet but I guess most of us are going to have to do this at some point knowing our older pugs! Nate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stu_woac 1 Posted February 14, 2006 you could also fit a 1.6 gti beam as a simple cheap upgrade without any issues I believe. your fined that many xs's have already the 1.6gti beam fitted due to the xs needing to handle alot better than all the other low models it sounds more like the front wishbones to me are very worn or like my xs the subframe is lose the knocking could be your wheels hitting the inner arch mine did alot before I got the hammer to them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
