Handling on a worn out rear beam?

[JTaylor2005]

Hi guys. What sort of handling symptoms would I be getting if I had a shot rear beam? I think I have negative camber on the passenger side atm and I get a clunking noise when I go over bumps but thoughts that was from the front. It may not be though.

What sort of handling issued would I notice with a worn rear beam?

Thanks all,
Jack

[Toms306]

An upredictable loose rear end...

[JTaylor2005]

Hahaha sounds dodgy.

And okays yeah does sound like mines definitely on its way out. Just been out and had a good look and got these photos haha. Not the best place to take photos on the gravel drive but it still looks bad :/

[Poodle]

Could be a bent stub axle, usually the drivers side that goes first on the beams as far as i've seen. I found i had to make frequent corrections to my steering angle mid-corner when pressing on with a knackered beam, because the car wasn't reacting as i'd expect. Push it harder and the back end will let go very easily too. Then again this will be hard to tell if you've not driven a 306 with good, stock suspension.

[JTaylor2005]

I know exactly what you mean about the mid corner corrections haha. Common issue with mine im forever changing the steering as I go round stead corners. I feel it sort of start wandering. If a new rear beam corrects that it will make it so much nicer to drive haha.

This car has very little miles and spent all of its life in London It's most likely bouncing up and down curbs and stuff is what I'm thinking?

How would I go about finding out about a stub axle?

[Iceman299]

The camber doesn't look too bad. I went to view a 306 once and i swear they were at 45degree angles!

Edit: just saw the difference between both sides lol

[powerandtorque]

How would I go about finding out about a stub axle?

Generally speaking, you normally end up bending stub axles by sliding sideways into curbs and the like.

It's hard to accurately check them on the car if they're only slightly bent, but usually the give away is that a bent stub axle will normally end up giving positive camber (sometimes with some "interesting" toe angles) whereas a dead trailing arm shaft and bearings gives excessive negative camber.

A bent stub axle will also leave the brake disk running out of true with the caliper and brake pads, so you'll sometimes get brake binding or odd brake pad wear too.

[JTaylor2005]

Hmm now that u have mentioned about the brake pad wear I have had problems with that. The one side wasn't doing anything. When I replaced the brake disks and pads one side wore the markings off before the other. As for toe angle the rear right seems to toe inwards more than the rear left. But that maybe just my eyes haha.

Will the stub axles be replaced as well when getting a refurbished rear beam??

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Am I correct in thinking that having a bent stub axle would make the camber go positive negative as I spin the wheel when jacked up?

[powerandtorque]

Typically not, no. They're not a wear and tear part as such and only typically get damaged due to impact damage.

Your brake pad wear sounds more like seized sliders though if one pad is wearing quicker than the other. With a bent stub axle they'll often wear at strange angles so you end up with cheese wedge shaped pads, although there's other causes for that too like sliders with loads of wear/slop.

[JTaylor2005]

Ahh it could be crash damage. The car has a dent on the left side lower rear door which is same side as the bad camber is on :/

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In the description on this page it says what these guys replace. These are who I am going to use I think

http://www.imaxle.co.uk/axles/xsara-esta...c-with-abs

[powerandtorque]

You're confusing negative and positive camber....

Negative camber is what you've got (ie wheel leaning in at the top) and is what you'll get on a typical knackered beam with dead trailing arm shaft and bearing failure.

Positive camber as you'd usually see with a bent stub axle is where the top of the wheel leans outwards, in the same way you see on some vintage race cars. That's the opposite of what you've got on the nearside of yours!

Stub axles aren't listed on that site as being replaced, although they may or may not be checked along with the arms - very difficult to tell with such a vague statement.

[JTaylor2005]

Hmm will have to email and find out. I'm booked in to get it replaced Wednesday so thought I would see what people reckon to the condition just from what I can go by looking at it now :/