beam

[pug306driver]

2 l hdi estate, What would be a fair price for a rear beam, s/h but ok, with no calipers on it but otherwise complete ?

 I would be taking it off the scrap car.

[Toms306]

Careful taking it off a scrapper, difficult to tell how good they are off the floor.

I'd expect about £50 inc calipers though, so maybe £40 without?

[pug306driver]

chears, was thinking about that price.....

[Eeyore]

yeh £120 is a gti beam so standard beam without bits id say £50 at the most.

[Toms306]

£120 for a used beam!? Don't forget estate uses GTi bars as well...

[powerandtorque]

Define "OK"

Just because it isn't excessively cambered or seized does not make the beam "OK" by a long shot.

The only way to tell is to take them apart and inspect them. Most 306 beams are now dying in my experience, unsurprisingly given that most are now 15-20 years old with well over 100k miles on - the only question is how far along they are and whether you can still get away with a basic (cheap) refurb.

As far as I'm concerned, buying and installing an unstripped/checked beam is a false economy unless it's as a cheap stop-gap for a few months tops. With people like Stef205 supplying rebuilt beams for a little over £200 that should last years, it makes no sense at all to pay £50+ on something that's likely on its last legs (IMO)

[cully]

ive got a gti beam for sale no brakes £100 no miles since MOT pass

[pug306driver]

i would love to buy the whole scrap car as it looks better than ours!! but space etc dictates not.

will check beam before removing from the car as best as possible, whether the "wheels" are parallel etc. as well as general corrosion and the look of the arm seals etc.

its s/h so does not have a guarantee!

I will just have to risk it.

wanted to replace the beam on ours as there is a "slight lean" on the n/s wheel, but no noises, banging squeeking etc......overhaul ours and refit.

ours is in unknown condition but our estate ( spare beam from an estate also ) has a tow bar.

will crawl under ours next weekend and re check the mounts etc just in case they have "gone" and causing the lean.

I don't think the scrappy will let me take the beam away and strip to check it, it is sold as seen

[welshpug]

ive got a gti beam for sale no brakes £100 no miles since MOT pass

my 205 passed an MOT, the beam was completely donald ducked, had to replace the shafts and the crossmember.



I take the beams apart in the breakers, if its dead, I leave them there.


Mounts do not cause camber (excessive camber, they have some camber as standard)

[pug306driver]

Mounts do not cause camber (excessive camber, they have some camber as standard)

how much camber is standard please, either degrees or measurement from the vertical??  I presume the camber is negative ( leans in at the top of the wheel/tyre ).

will check the mounts cos if the near side mounts have "collapsed", this might show a lean in at the top of the wheel/tyre on the n/side and make the o/s seem "vertical" ??

as said no banging or squeeking etc heard and the system does not seem to have any "play", a bit difficult to check for ( rock about ) due to torsion bars.....will make a "roller" from scaffold tube etc and check.

[powerandtorque]

Should be roughly 1.2 degrees negative camber for a 306 beam, subject to the usual tolerances of course.

If you've excess negative camber, it'll be the bearings inside have collapsed/disintegrated/rusted away and there's a good chance that the beam is now beyond easy/cheap repair. The shaft on the side with excess camber will certainly be screwed and unless you catch it early the beam tube itself will be worn oval.

It's quite common to get this without other symptoms of beam failure like squeaking or play.

Mounts won't cause camber issues.