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Q. I can hear a knocking noise from the front of my car,
especially on bumpy roads. What is the problem? A. You most likely have a worn anti-roll bar drop
link. This is common on the 205 and 309 GTi models. You
will need to replace the drop link.
Q. I hear a clonk from the front of the car when
I drive off after reversing. What causes this? A. You have a worn ball joint or worn taper on
the hub. You will need to replace the ball joint or if
the hub is worn, unfortunately a replacement hub will
be required.
Q. The handling of my Peugeot has become
unpredictable and it sometimes feels like the rear end
is wandering during cornering. What is wrong? A. There are two possibilities here, and both need
resolving immediately:
1. Check the rear sub-frame rubber mounts as they often
split in half, particularly on older models.
2. Check for play in the trailing arm bearings. These
are the bearings that the trailing arm pins locate in,
inside the rear suspension tube. They allow the trailing
arms to move up and down smoothly. They regularly wear
out, particularly if moisture has got inside the bearing
tube. You can test for play with the car raised off the
ground at the rear - try and move the wheel in and out
of the wheel arch. It should only move up and down, not
in and out (small movement of the wheel when grasped either
side could be a worn wheel bearing). Replacement of the
bearings is a specialist job. Often the bearing surface
of the pins will be worn as well, and if so, they must
be replaced. It will probably be more cost effective to
replace the whole sub-frame with a reconditioned unit.
Beware when buying 2nd hand sub-frames, as the bearings
are generally in poor condition once past 5-6 years old.
Lowering
Q. Do I have to change the standard shock absorbers if
I fit lowered or uprated springs? A. You can get away with
keeping the standard shock absorbers when you fit lowered
or uprated springs. However, the handling, roadholding
and ride will not be optimised. For best results, fit
a quality suspension kit because the springs and dampers
will have been designed and tested as a set for optimum
performance.
Q. If I fit lowered springs, do
I have to have the torsion bars adjusted? A. Yes, you must have
the torsion bars re-set to match the new ride height at
the front. Most Peugeots run torsion bar rear suspension.
This set up is designed to be very compact and give lots
of rear seat space, whilst giving excellent control of
the trailing arms. Make sure you know what you are doing
here, or take it to someone who does, or you could end
up with a different height each side. The torsion bars
must be fully released from their splined locations at
both ends of each bar (after removing the anti-roll bar
and rear dampers etc.). This allows the trailing arms
to droop freely. The adjustment must be made by measuring
the length of the shock absorber mounting points - 'dummy
shock absorbers' should be used for accuracy, and to hold
the trailing arms in place during re-fitting of the torsion
bars. There is a ratio to consider for the reduced ride
height to damper mounting distance - ie. if you want to
lower by 30mm, don't reduce the damper mounting distance
by 30mm or your car will be sat on its sills! The torsion
bars should be spun round and tested at each spline location
until the best sliding fit is located.
Common mistakes include:
1. Attempting to adjust the ride height with one end of
each torsion bar still fixed in place. Result - one side
higher than the other.
2. Not replacing all the bolts and adjusters when re-assembling.
Result - incorrect tolerance at trailing arm bearings
and dangerous rear suspension.
3. Lowering too far. Make sure that there is still sufficient
suspension travel at the rear, before the trailing arms
hit the bump stops. You will have seen many Peugeots with
the rear wheels right up in the arches: looks cool, but
they effectively have no operable rear suspension, resulting
in appalling handling.
