Is My 205 Bent?

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Hey guys,

 

I finally got my 205 booked into the bodyshop for a check on straightness on a jig. Got a call to say that it was all straight, and invited down to see it up on the jig for my own satisfaction. Don't what I was looking at though, just a big ruler with sticky-up things that mounted to my 205's mounts, the rearest beam mounts (where the blocks go) and the rearest front subframe bolts.

 

My concern is that the rear beam still sits pissed, the drivers wheel sits further back than the other side by about 5-7mm. It did'nt do that before! And on driving the car to the shop, Anthony commented on how the suspension/steering was totally rogered, hard to steer left but light going the other direction.

 

Now, I have a lot of money's worth of bits to chuck on this car but don't want to waste my time if its twisted.

 

There is no evidence of bent/twisted chassis, and all the gaps are as good as you'll get on a 205. But I still can't see how the shell stays straight when I managed to bend the beam crosstube.

 

The only thing I have left to check is the replacement beam I chucked on it, as the tube came from a scrappy car according to Anthony.

 

Has anybody got any experience in jigs, as the unit they had at this bodyshop seemed crude.

 

Only other thing I can do is get a 4 wheel alignment check?

 

Any other ideas peeps?

[welshpug 1,622]

is it/was it a 1.9? has the rear beam been off for any reason?

 

1.9 beam front mountings are offset, and if fitted to the wrong side can cause the beam to sit further back than intended, but furthermore if a 1.6 bracket is used these are not offset at all!.

 

one way to tell if the beam is sat correctly in its mounts is to look at the slots where the bush is bolted to the beam, if the studs are towards the back, or uneven then there's something awry.

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Its a 1.6 originally, but had a 309 beam on it when I crashed at the 'Ring. I had another built 309 beam in the garage and swopped it over. I can't remember whether I swopped the front mounts or not though, but I did put my rear GrpA solids on it.

[welshpug 1,622]

sounds worth checking out then, firstly just to see what the rear mounts look like.

[jackherer 543]

Are the trailing arms definitely a matched pair? I ended up with an early 309 and a late 309 arm (I think) and one side had more toe and camber than the other.

 

In the end I put a spare known good beam on and then knew it was worth fixing mine. If you can I'd do the same, it doesn't take long if everything is unseized.

[Toddy 7]

There is no evidence of bent/twisted chassis, and all the gaps are as good as you'll get on a 205. But I still can't see how the shell stays straight when I managed to bend the beam crosstube.

 

Where did the beam tube bend?, surely this would have stressed the mounting holes? is the boot floor totally straight around these and not deformed slightly?

[Guest smokinslim]

Where did the beam tube bend?

 

Beam tube bend...? Surely its much more likely to be a bent stub pin, cant see a tube bending unless its completely f*cked from rust.

[Anton green 12 1 Cars]

What you said about the steering pulling easilly to one side but not the other is a symptom of severely ovaled front hub carriers (and probably a load of other things too, but if they are oval enough you can grab the road wheel and move it about with the car up in the air. Also have you checked your wishbone bushes for play) - My 205 did this at one point with the steering, I changed the hub carriers then it went away.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

Alan,

 

I have a similar problem sometimes on my cti as one wheel sits forward compared to the other. It now seems to have swapped sides so the passenger side sits more forward than the drivers :s I need to get it off and have a look at the beam mounting plates. They were brand new Peugeot ones at the back, I didn't change the front. Ineed to chck if they were 1.6 or 1.9 ones though from the receipts. Pretty sure they are 1.9 though, so I may swap to 1.6 ones for extra "wheelbase"!

 

Interestingly my closeness one one side went when I rebuilt the beam. I think it may be something to do with the front beam mounts. Alternatively if you have put the same solid mounts on you had before when you crashed it.... are these bent now?

Edited November 19, 2007 by Henry Yorke

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

The crosstube is defo bent.....I put a straight edge on it. Its bent around where the inner bearing sits.

 

Where the beam mounts the shell, there is no evidence of rippling or other damage. The bodyshop guy, Wally, even mentioned this as usually the boot floor go's when they have a smack like mine. There is no evidence whatsoever, except for top of the B pillar as it meets the roof on the outside, you can see a small indentation.

 

There are faults on the front too, the drivers wishbone is bent too. The other steering components are probably rogered too, hence a full replacement of the steering (new rack too), and the suspension. I'm hoping the dampers are'nt bent as these are £140 a go!

 

Should be getting it back on Friday, and have got the weekend off work again. So will start with the beam......

Edited November 20, 2007 by Alan_M

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

It pulls to the right under medium to hard braking, probably the same thing that is causing the light/hard steering.

 

I'm hoping to pull the beam off this Sunday, maybe today and check these mounts out.