Rear Beam Dilema..................

[Guest TSL 333]

I had previously posted on this subject and am fairly certain that my rear beam is in need of a major overhaul. I understand that this will cost approximately £500 to rectify. On this basis, I took the decision earlier this week to cut my losses and sell the car.

 

So I washed and chamoised it today and took it for a spin to get the last drops of water off, in preparation for any would be buyers.

 

Mid drive, I got all sentimental and realised that I cannot do it - no way is this 80's classic going to the dogs!!!

 

Notwithstanding, if I am to spend £500 on the car, I must be certain that the rear beam is indeed faulty.

 

So I would be grateful for your comments; symptoms are as follows:

 

Car basically handles like a bag of sh1te

 

The back of the car feels like it is 'rolling' when turning corners

 

When doing the warm up lap on a trackday, the weaving in and out to heat up the trres is the worst - the car is all over the place

 

There is NO grinding

 

The wheels look normal APPART from the n/s rear wheel which sits with some negative camber

 

The car is so stiff at the rear, you can hardly push it down; the ride is particlarly harsh

 

The shock absorbers are a white colour externally

 

The height appears to be normal

 

Hopefuly, you guys agree - I want to get it fixed but do not want to be throwing good money after bad!!!

Edited April 22, 2006 by TSL 333

[jonD6B 0]

It is definitely not necessary to spend £500 on a rear beam. You will be able to pick a beam up in good working order for around £150 you might just have to wait a while to find one. There are plenty of threads on here about how to check the beam for definite.

[bren_1.3 1]

you can pick up a reconditioned one from SPN for about 250- 300 on an exchange basis. where did you hear that a new one would be 500??

 

you REALLY need a strip the thing down to assess the state of it.

its no use saying 'ahh the rear beams shot ill sell the car' youve got to get under there and see what its like. theyre a piece of p*ss to do.

 

theres more than enough topics that can be found on how to recondition a beam. and the part numbers and the prices.

[rooster 0]

i spent £500 and that was for a refurbed beam and a full set of shocks front and rear from 205 parts

 

my car now runs like its on rails

[d-9 0]

If you have camber at the back SOMETHING IS WRONG. Either you have a shagged beam (and camber is usually the obvious sign of a shagged beam) or you have a bent stub axle from soemone parking the car sidways into a curb. Whichever it is, you need to get it sorted but my money is on the beam, unfortunalty if its showing camber its probably too late to refurbish.

 

does it do a little backend wiggle when you change lanes at 80/90 on the motorway?

[Guest TSL 333]

If you have camber at the back SOMETHING IS WRONG. Either you have a shagged beam (and camber is usually the obvious sign of a shagged beam) or you have a bent stub axle from soemone parking the car sidways into a curb. Whichever it is, you need to get it sorted but my money is on the beam, unfortunalty if its showing camber its probably too late to refurbish.

 

does it do a little backend wiggle when you change lanes at 80/90 on the motorway?

 

Just a tad!!!! Put it this way, anything above 60 mph is plain scary!!!

 

Regarding cost, it was usggested to me by someone on here that if a garage were to do it, then there would be some change (not much) from £500. Therefore, as a not too great DIY mechanic, I was going to leave this to the garage and set £500 aside for this.

 

I have read some of the threads you refer to. I am fairly certain the car is showing signs of a defective rear beam however it is not displaying all the signs. As noted above, there is no grinding which is what concerns me.

Edited April 24, 2006 by TSL 333

[GLPoomobile 958]

If you have the right tools (of which you only some basic ones) and you follow the guide on the main site, removing and refiiting a rear beam is a piece of piss. So you can rule out that part to save your self some money and just stump up for a recon beam and fit yourself.

 

First time I did it was with a mate. I then swapped my 1.6 beam for a 1.9 last weekend, on my own (with one trolley jack as the other has lost oil and no longer lifts). Was a bit of a struggle but if I can do it on my own then I'd say pretty much anyone can).

[Guest TSL 333]

If you have the right tools (of which you only some basic ones) and you follow the guide on the main site, removing and refiiting a rear beam is a piece of piss. So you can rule out that part to save your self some money and just stump up for a recon beam and fit yourself.

 

First time I did it was with a mate. I then swapped my 1.6 beam for a 1.9 last weekend, on my own (with one trolley jack as the other has lost oil and no longer lifts). Was a bit of a struggle but if I can do it on my own then I'd say pretty much anyone can).

 

Yeah, to be honest, it did look quite easy, however, the guide is for a 1.9 with discs, mine is for a 1.6 which has drums. Are the procedures much different?

 

Also, can I use any 205 from the scrappy as a donor car?

[d-9 0]

I have read some of the threads you refer to. I am fairly certain the car is showing signs of a defective rear beam however it is not displaying all the signs. As noted above, there is no grinding which is what concerns me.

 

If the car has camber on the back, then its almost certain that the beam is shagged, and its quite possible that the beam is unrepairable. It doesnt matter if a beam isnt showing all the signs of being shagged, its not uncommon to take apart a beam that is in "fine" condition with no camber or nasty noises and find its totally shagged.

 

The procedures for cracking a beam open are the same regardless of what brakes are on there as you dont need to mess around with that end of the trailing arms.

 

Personally Id try and source a refurbished beam from somewhere, they usually cost £100-300 as swapping a beam is easy for a DIY mechanic.

Edited April 24, 2006 by d-9

[Anthony 1,003]

If the beam is cambered and the ride bone shakingly stiff, then the beam is almost certainly beyond salvaging.

 

Only difference for swapping a drum braked beam over a disk braked one is that you'll need to disconnect the brake lines from the drums and disconnect the handbrake cables from inside the car. The brakes will need bleeding on refitting as all the brake fluid will drain out when the lines are disconnected.

 

You should be able to pick up a serviceable 1.6 beam for £50 or so, as they're far less sought after than 1.9 or (particularly) 309 items. How long that £50 beam will last is another matter entirely though, as most 205 beams are at the end of their lives now and need refurbishing.

 

Generally speaking, if it shows any of the following symptoms then assume the worst:

• Excessive negative camber on one or both rear wheels
  
• Siezed or partly siezed (no suspension travel and rock-hard ride)
  
• Groaning, creeking, or squeeking over bumps
  
• Any play between the trailing arm and beamtube
  

[rooster 0]

Regarding cost, it was usggested to me by someone on here that if a garage were to do it, then there would be some change (not much) from £500. Therefore, as a not too great DIY mechanic, I was going to leave this to the garage and set £500 aside for this.

 

i had my CTI done at 205 parts by anthony this was for a refurbed beam fitted then new blistein streetline shocks front and back and it came to just over £500

 

rear beam was £320 fitted

 

i reccomend doing both at the same time if you dont already have good shocks on

 

the difference is amazing

 

hope this helps give 205parts a ring or go to www.205parts.com

 

ooh i see your in glasgow so it may be a bit of a trip

[Guest TSL 333]

So, if I was to find one in a scrappy, can I use any old beam of a base model, or does it need to be GTI?

 

There are loads of standardish 205's in a scrappy close to me..........

[jonD6B 0]

It will need to be a GTI because of the size of the torsion and ARB's. I should look at uprating to discs aswell whilst you're doing it.

[Ahl 4]

It will need to be a GTI because of the size of the torsion and ARB's. I should look at uprating to discs aswell whilst you're doing it.

He'll be able to use his existing torsion bars and ARB, if he doesn't mind stripping it.

[Guest TSL 333]

He'll be able to use his existing torsion bars and ARB, if he doesn't mind stripping it.

 

Is this easy then?

 

So I can get any old back axle then?

[Rob_the_Sparky 10]

AFAIK a poverty spec car has no anti-roll bar at the rear. The Outer tube can be used but there are cosmetic differences. Anthony should be able to confirm/correct me on this as he has done so many of them...

 

Rob

[GLPoomobile 958]

As far as the actual procedure of removing and refitting the beam goes, I think that refitting a drum braked beam will probably be more difficult on your own and you may need an extra pair of hands, due to the weight of the drums causing the beam to hang down when jacking it up.

 

I had no problems when my mate and I refitted a 1.9 beam the first time, because we had removed the calipers as per the guide. But when I did it the other weekend I was having major problems getting it up (oo err) as the arms were hanging down and causing the beam to rotate. Once I removed the calipers and disks to lighten the load it was easy. Hence I think it would be difficult with a 1.6 beam with the drums in place.

[Anthony 1,003]

AFAIK a poverty spec car has no anti-roll bar at the rear. The Outer tube can be used but there are cosmetic differences. Anthony should be able to confirm/correct me on this as he has done so many of them...

The beam tubes are interchangeable from any 205 beam, regardless of whether it's poverty spec, XS, GTi or whatever. The GTi tubes do have a fatter "bulge" in the middle, I assume for strengthening, but it makes no odds at all and I've seen rallycars built with base model tubes with no problems even after a complete season of abuse.

 

The shafts however you need to be careful with. All the base model beams with an ARB are fine, but some of the non-ARB equipped shafts are sized so that you can't get the ARB endplate and bush into the end of it - I think this is confined to the early cars, but I've not seen enough of these oddball shafts to be able to say for definate.

[Foltan 0]

Just to give my input, id like to point out that rear beam work is alot easier than you'd think, in terms of taking it on and off etc. I did it with a friend with absolutely bugger all experience of working on cars and we had shed loads of fun and did it all ourselves. With simple guides you can just get stuck in and work it out for yourself. Some things, like taking a beam apart, where parts get stuck etc, can be harder but just ask for advice and itll be ok.

[Leon 24]

You want camber?

 

 

 

I got camber

 

The tyres rub the inner arch when cornering gently with a full tank of fuel, and they rub badly if you lob it round a roundabout hard. There's no creaking but there is a mighty banging every now and then (I believe the ARB bolts have sheared too, not had time to look)

 

Car drives relatively well still, gets a bit lively on bumpy surfaces and under breaking, like it's on the verge of breaking away, but motorway change lanes and so on are fine.

 

It's done 193,000 miles...... wonder if the ends of the shafts will have begun wearing through the tube before 200k?

[Anthony 1,003]

Good effort there

 

To be honest, so long as you use the car regularly it's not going to get much worse than it already is - if you leave it parked up for any length of time it'll likely sieze solid though as the bearings will have long since turned to dust with that amount of camber.

[Guest TSL 333]

Right then, time to bite the bullet. There is a Hot Hatch day in 3 weeks and then there is not another one for a couple of months. This is the time I will get it repaired.

 

I will take off the rear beam myself (with my brothers help.)

 

I am in Glasgow - anyone know where I can take my old one for refurbishment or should I go for a second hand one - saw one of e-bay for just over £100 - withno guarantees though.........

[max0 5]

Right then, time to bite the bullet. There is a Hot Hatch day in 3 weeks and then there is not another one for a couple of months. This is the time I will get it repaired.

 

I will take off the rear beam myself (with my brothers help.)

 

I am in Glasgow - anyone know where I can take my old one for refurbishment or should I go for a second hand one - saw one of e-bay for just over £100 - withno guarantees though.........

 

Hi Mate just seen the topic. Im in the middle of refurbing my beam with help from nick (cheers nick) i have a 1.6 as well. My old tube had worn away at the top so i had to source another one.

 

I got a rear beam from the scrap yard from a diesel 205. Im using my GTI anti roll bar and torrsion bars. I paid £40 for the whole beam. Was a lucky git as the shafts are ok which is the most expensive parts (about £60 a side. biggest problem i had was finding a ford wheel bolt so far as most modern fords are on studs not bolts these days.

 

Its taken me a while to do the refurb only because ive never done any thing like this before and when something wounldnt come undo etc i decided to think it over for the night then attack it the next day. (Using the angle grider method to cut though the base model torrsion bars prob wasnt the best idea deffo was fun tho)

 

Its not that hard really (however nick has helped me loads) ive learnt loads and would deffo say if you feel confident have a ago your self. If you get stuck, stick a post up or email me andrew.j.hey@gmail.com and ill try to help you out... if i cant im sure somone else on here will know the answer!!

 

If you go to the scrappy it would be a good idea to check the conditon of the tube / shafts before paying money for it as it could be f***ed.

 

If your cross tube is ok, 2 new shafts and all the other parts are about £180

 

you might need a few new brake pipes as well as these sometimes dont come off and twist.

 

Would recomend a long breaker bar as well to undo those rusted bolts

 

If your intrested if got some pictures of the beam refurb clicky keep a eye on it as im gettin my new parts 2moz - whoooo hooo.

 

The new shafts will need to be pressed in with a machine - im hoping the pug dealers will do this for me and will let you know how much they charge for a rough guide.

 

Hope my nipples bleed ok

 

Hope this helps mate

 

Andy

 

PS good luck

Edited May 1, 2006 by max0

[Guest BrainFluid]

Both the scrapyards I use around glasgow have no quibbles return policy if you get somthing of them. In fact of all the scrapyards I've been to around the country have always given me my money back if the part was wrong or shagged.

 

Nate.