Guide: Peugeot 306 basic maintenance kit

[306Puggy]

Right then, gonna put together a guide today seen as it's my day off and I have nothing better to do! (currently).

Basic kit for working on a 306. Now, this is what a lot of people forget about, but before we even get to tools, I am going to list these items:

Haynes Manual
Old/cheap digital camera
Internet connection
Membership of owner's club website (invaluable)

Now we have got those basics out the way, let's look at some basic tools and sizes. The following is basically an audit of the tools that I have built up over the years I have owned my 306. A lot of these tools have been "cherry picked" as and when I need them, a lot of them part way through a job! Hopefully this guide can give people a head start on what they need for the fittings they will encounter on a 306 so they can get them before the car is in pieces!

General tools:


3/8th inch ratchet:




Normal Spanners (10-19mm):


<no image>


Stubby spanners (10-19mm):




Swanneck spanners (10-22mm):




Adjustable spanner:




3/8th inch breaker bar:




1/2 inch breaker bar:




1/4 inch sockets 8-14mm (inc 3/8th to 1/4 inch adapter):


<no image>

3/8th inch sockets/1/2 inch socket assortment 12-22mm (inc 3/8th to 1/2 inch adapter):


<no image>

Deep sockets:


<no image>

Rear wheel hub socket (32mm):


<no image>

Front wheel hub socket (35mm):


<no image>

Socket extension bars (5 inch and 10 inch):


<no image>

Note: Only 3/8th and 1/2 inch 10 inch shown


Screwdriver set:





Ratcheting screwdriver:


<no image>

Torx key set:




Allen key set:



Torque wrench:



Brake caliper key:

<no image> (Basically just a 7mm allen key with a handle on it)


Pliers/grips:


Regular pliers:


<no image>


Long nosed pliers:


<no image>


Molegrips:




Waterpump pliers:




CV Boot pliers:




Miscellaneous:


Jack:


<no image>

(2.5 tonne more desirable)

Axle stands:


<no image>

Wire brush set:


<no image>

Threadlock:




Copper grease:




Regular grease:


<no image>

Penetrating fluid (read: diesel in a bottle):




Brake cleaner:




CV boot cone:




Multimeter:



Club Hammer:


<no image>

Regular Hammer:


<no image>

Hints and Tips

Tools

Right, now we've got that list out of the way, we need to ask ourselves, what is the best way to acquire these items? Searching for decent quality tools at the right price is a minefield.

I, personally, have bought cheap bits and pieces as and when I have needed them, but I would not recommend this approach as it can take ages and you have to chuck everything in a big 'ole tool box and it gets all disorganized. Also, cheap tools don't feel as nice in your hand, which is more important than you think when you are working with them for hours on end!

Therefore I would recommend a tool/socket set such as Halfords professional (they are on offer about 360 days per year anyway, make sure you get them when they are on offer) or Bahco.

And believe me, I have searched for tools online and queried a lot of experienced users on this website about them. The other premium brands are too expensive; cheaper brands from research appear to be non branded tools rebranded as their own brand (such as Rolson/Stanley/Clarke).

This is the Bahco combination I would recommend:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bahco-Socket-Pie...ch+ratchet

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bahco-Socket-92-...ch+ratchet

This will cover the sockets/normal spanners, adapters and ratchets/drivers all in one go, along with a nice neat case to put them in. You can then buy the other bits seperately.

Wire Brushes/Cleaning

When working on any old car, you will need to clean old rusted nuts/bolts and soak them in penetrating fluid before undoing them. This means that you will need a good set of brushes ranging from soft nylon/brass to hard steel bristled brushes.

You will also need a powerful cleaning solution such as brake cleaner, despite the name it can be used for cleaning a wide variety of parts from oil/grease. This combination is also good for cleaning out the threads of old bolts ready to be put back in.

Lubrication


Penetrating fluid works wonders on seized/rusted bolts. Ideally items should be left to soak overnight in penetrating fluid so it can work it's way down to the head/thread of the bolt to form a layer between the two metals and therefore allow you to undo the fastener more easily.

Grease can also be used in a wide variety of applications, such as lubricating CV boots when fitting over a driveshaft. Note that in some circumstances grease can be substituted for washing up liquid in applications where you don't want grease entering the system (such as fitting water hoses).

Copper grease is a form of grease designed to prevent fasteners seizing, which should be used on items that you don't necessarily want "lubricated" by a regular grease. Popular applications include brake pin sliders and various nuts/bolt fittings on the car which are prone to seizing up after being left for a long period of time.

Threadlock

Threadlock is a locking compound that is designed to prevent nuts/bolts from shaking loose. On fittings where nylock nuts are used, threadlock is not necessary. Some fittings such as cambelt pulley bolts should have threadlock applied as a matter of course. In fittings where there are nylock nuts, threadlock should NOT be used as a replacement as there are engineering reasons why they manufacturer used a mechanical locking mechanism.

Torquing Fasteners


Generally, use a torque wrench where you can. There are risks both with under tightening (leaving the bolt to shake free) and over tightening (stripping thread or causing the thread to stretch and therefore making the bolt loose again), but, in some circumstances it is not possible. For these scenarios I would recommend using threadlock and doing the bolts reasonably tight. You should get a 1/2 inch torque wrench for doing things like hubnuts, wheel bolts and suspension/shock absorber bolts, all the heavy duty stuff basically.

Basic electrical fault finding


The voltmeter listed in this tool kit can be used for crude electrical fault finding purposes. It allows you to measure resistance (in OHMs) Voltage and amps. You need to put the red pin on a suitable live wire and the black pin to earth. Set the dial to the lowest setting relative to what you are measuring. So if you are measuring a car battery which is a 12 volt battery you would set the dial to 20 volts.

A common application for a volt meter in a car is continuity testing, which should be measured on a circuit that is powered down. If a circuit is showing high resistance, that means that something is restricting the flow of current going through the circuit. This could be due to grease on a wire or a ground fault if the wire insulation has worn away.

A multimeter is worth having even if just to measure your battery voltage.

Extra kit


There are a few things such as heat gun/drill/blowtorch which I did not include in this article because I think they go beyond the category of "basic tools" (which some may argue) but you can go out and buy these as and when you think you will need them. Also some jobs (such as a headgasket change) require oversized bits, such as a T55 torx bit for the head bolts. Again, when undertaking such a job you will need to buy any special tools in advance.

Popular shops/websites to buy kit from:


eBay
Amazon
halfords
B&Q
Euro Parts
Wilko
Toolstation
Screwfix
Maplins

Really, I would recommend online as the best value, but nothing can beat halfords in a pinch!

Please note, everything is this guide is from common sense/Haynes Manual/experience/reading what other people have said across a variety of forums found via Google, I am by no means an expert!

Okay I think thaat's everything, as always feel free to add things in the comments section
Edit: Had to remove some images, I have hit the image limit for this one! Oh well!

[Matt]

Good guide on basic tools and tips. Maybe get some detail in basic servicing work?

[Dum-Dum]

Guys it might be of use to somebody

Puggy i might interrate this with the other tools and basic mechanical principals guide if you dont mind

Maybe get some detail in basic servicing work?

You know we have a how to service a 306 guide with pics right?




My only thought is we dont want too many nearly identical guides on here as it just gets confusing for newbies.

[Matt]

Yep, just thought it might be an idea for him to stretch the guide abit, with a few bits, and how dos

[Rich306]

Mate, i think you're about 100 tools too short on this list A Peugeot needs a great combination of the entire stock of Halfords!!! :p

[Piggy]

missing a vital spanner...8mm!

this is just a list of tools though...not really 306 specific. but good use of idle thumbs on a day off

---

PS and copper/hide hammer

[306Puggy]

Heh, just realised after I posted this that I could have put it in two parts to get over the image limit. We could try that if a mod is willing? Edit: Yes it is essentially just a list of tools but some of the things are easy to forget like wire brushes and some specialist items that I keep remembering every time I need them but then forget about them until the next time I need them which is annoying! Edit 2: Yeah Dum-Dum, feel free to merge this guide with the other guides.

[kernow_joe]

I see no hammers?! how do people do work without hammers?