Rear Suspension

[bombhead88 0]

Heres some pics of how it is at the moment;

 

Not square on and getting alot of camber wear on the tyre and top end of tyre is sitting rather close to inner arch

 

Where as the other side;

 

Whats the best way to fix it? New rear beam or will i just need certain parts of the setup?

[welshpug 1,645]

its needs to be stripped down before you can diagnose what's up.

[Baz 421]

If it even comes apart...

[AdamP 0]

That beam isn't looking too healthy! Replacement beam time methinks.

[Anthony 1,002]

If it's showing excessive camber on the drivers side, then OSR shaft will be dead, bearing will be dead, and there's a good chance the tube will be dead.

 

Full rebuild of the existing beam or source another beam, and I'd strongly advise rebuilding that before it shows signs of death (as the costs and hassle increase massively)

[welshpug 1,645]

Agree totally with what Baz and Anthony said! you can get the basics to prolong the life of a servicable beam for about £35+ vat.

[joe1joe 3]

would have thought that atleast the drivers side is goin too have damgae too the tube, prob gona be in poor condition that beam!! might be mor wise to buy a second hand beam and rebuid that then its only a few bolts to fit the beam...

worst case is that if the second hand beam has something wrong then u should be able 2 peice togther a good beam between the too.

[bombhead88 0]

Cheers guys

I knew it was bad, but wasnt sure just how bad it is. Not had much dealings with them.

[bombhead88 0]

Ive sourced a 1.6 rear beam complete with drums still on.

Now im just wondering if i should swap the discs over onto the replacement beam or stick with drums?

I know discs are meant to be better and all, but would they be noticabley better than the 1.6 drums?

[shalmaneser 26]

Ive sourced a 1.6 rear beam complete with drums still on.

Now im just wondering if i should swap the discs over onto the replacement beam or stick with drums?

I know discs are meant to be better and all, but would they be noticabley better than the 1.6 drums?

 

Have a good read of the rear beam refurbishment guide on the main site.

 

In terms of discs vs drums, to swap them over you will need to use the same swingarms that the brakes attached to - the mounting is different for drums and discs. Looking at the amount of camber, you've certainly got knackered spurs on the disc swingarms. If you want to use these again then you'll need to replace the spurs - i think they're about £35 each? Need to be pressed in with a good few tons of pressure too so factor that into the cost. If the drum spurs are OK though you can use them but you'll have drums at the back.

 

In practise I don't reckon there's much difference in braking performance, although discs do look a lot sexier. Drum brakes however definitely have the best handbrake out of the two. They're 10mm narrower though, but that doesn't make much difference.

 

TBH if the 1.6 beam is in OK condition then i'd just wack it on.

[Tom Fenton 1,536]

No you don't need to swap the trailing arms. These are identical whether drum or disc. To convert a drum beam to disc all that requires changing over is the stub axles, wheel bearings, caliper bracket, and disc and caliper itself.

 

HOWEVER I would recommend you save yourself a lot of potential work for nothing and have the 1600 beam rebuilt before you fit it. These days nearly every 205 GTI beam I dismantle requires work of some kind or another to either repair it, or prolong its life.

[shalmaneser 26]

No you don't need to swap the trailing arms. These are identical whether drum or disc. To convert a drum beam to disc all that requires changing over is the stub axles, wheel bearings, caliper bracket, and disc and caliper itself.

 

HOWEVER I would recommend you save yourself a lot of potential work for nothing and have the 1600 beam rebuilt before you fit it. These days nearly every 205 GTI beam I dismantle requires work of some kind or another to either repair it, or prolong its life.

 

 

You start to think that you know what's what then you just get it all wrong...oh well, still more of the learning curve to go!

 

[bombhead88 0]

No you don't need to swap the trailing arms. These are identical whether drum or disc. To convert a drum beam to disc all that requires changing over is the stub axles, wheel bearings, caliper bracket, and disc and caliper itself.

 

HOWEVER I would recommend you save yourself a lot of potential work for nothing and have the 1600 beam rebuilt before you fit it. These days nearly every 205 GTI beam I dismantle requires work of some kind or another to either repair it, or prolong its life.

 

Ive stripped the drums off the 1.6 beam and taken the drum stub axles out.

Now when i come to eventaully fit it all together, when fitting the disc elements from nackered 1.9 beam will i need new wheel bearings? or can i use all the parts from my the old beam (stub axles, wheel bearings, caliper brackets, discs and calipers)?