Front Suspension
 

Note that many bolts are 16mm so make sure you have the right spanner sizes.

Replacing Front Struts

the strut itself - has a plastic shield which can be assembled wrong way. The skirt should hang down over the top of the strut where the piston enters the damper.

this shows the parts of the strut assembly - it is essential that all the parts are assembled in the right order and the top nut (item 70) done up tight preferably with an impact gun.  A correctly assembled strut only has two threads above the top nut (see below).

The rebound washer (2) should NOT turn with the steering as the top of the strut shaft should be held from turning by the spacer bonded into the rubber mount (item 3)

this thick washer (item 6 - "displac limiter") is very important - if left out, the suspension will collapse.  When assembling, put the rest cup (item 4) on first, followed by this washer which must rest on the shoulder on the strut.

this is the whole strut assembly - it is easier to remove the whole strut rather then attempt to dismantle parts on the car.

It was very difficult to get the strut out of my wife's car because the parts had corroded together even though I did it "by the book".

This meant removing the strut and hub as a single unit and then separating them.

Note there is a locating tang (conveniently out of sight when the strut is on the car) which should locate well down into the clamp on the hub assembly.

also that the special bolt used has a square head to stop it turning when the nut is being tightened

if replacing the wheel bearing note there should be a magnetic reluctance ring on one end which activates the ABS sensor - it is all too easy to assemble it the wrong way around - and also some cheaper bearings don't have the reluctance ring.

double check the circlip isn't obstructing the clear view the ABS sensor has of the reluctance ring.

First - remove the hub nut - it should need unstaking.

As it is done up extremely tightly, I used a 30mm ¾" socket on mine helped by a 1 metre extension pipe.  The hub was locked from rotating by a long crowbar whilst the hub was supported by a bottle jack.

On replacing (as in the pictures), Peugeot say use a new nut.  Once fully tightened this should be staked - to do this it needs hitting quite hard with a blunt but strong chisel!

The lower balljoint was well corroded in (why don't Peugeot use any assembly compound?) so I bought a spreader tool shown here.

Sadly it only spread one joint before it broke apart when I used it on the other side.  The arms were cast metal rather than made from a solid billet as I would have expected at this high-stress point.

 The larger of these two  for a ½" socket is far simpler and more effective; rotate to open up the joint.

After removing the clamping nut and bolt, the lower balljoint clamps were well corroded in place and took considerable force from a very long "pickle fork" to separate.

Once separated it will be necessary to pull down the lower wishbone to make space to drop the spring strut hub assembly out - Peugeot recommend this tool.

Bergen make a 1.2m Wishbone Bottom Arm Lever Control Removal Tool which is adjustable and fits our suspension layout well

The corrosion is evident on the main strut clamp

the long picklefork I had to use to remove the joint damaged the balljoint protector so I had to buy new ones - oddly, one protector was mysteriously absent.

this is how a new one should fit, with the locating tang located in the split in the clamp.

the strut and the hub were also difficult to separate because of the corrosion.

the dryness and surface rust on the driveshaft, track rod end and lower balljoint can be seen.

The track-rod end looked easy enough - except that the end threads were so badly corroded the nut would NOT come off and had to be ground off.  There was no possibility of the T30 Torx bit holding against the force required!

Use a wire brush followed by a thread file (or better, an M10 x 1.25 pitch die chaser) to clean up the threads

The ABS sensor is a tight fit in the hole after removing the securing bolt - lever up carefully using two screwdrivers!

Like everything else, surface corrosion made life unnecessarily difficult.

Compress the spring - three compressors shown as the first two didn't compress enough of the spring.  Since then I have used the safer compressor below.

WARNING: be very careful if using this simple type of compressor as they can easily slip due to the angle of the spring.  My old compressors that I had used for years were simply not safe on these springs.

remove the nut from the top of the strut - not so easy to do as it requires use of a spanner at the same time holding the centre rod stationary with a Torx bit.  I was able to wind mine off with an impact gun and 22mm impact socket.

this design is intrinsically safer (though still needs care!).  Many versions are available on ebay and elsewhere.

assembled like this, it is much harder for the compressed coil to escape.

Note that this picture shows three combinations - however only one can be used at a time

Compressing the spring and changing the top mount with its ball bearing inserted is carried out in the conventional manner.

On replacement, ensure the end of the spring abuts the end stop on the lower mount of the strut.   The top mount doesn't have a "correct" orientation and can be assembled in any position relative to the spring.  However to make life easier on reassembly, ensure the top mount and hub are approximately in the correct relative orientation.

showing a new top mount assembled with the nut tightened down

showing the strut reassembled and pressure released from the spring compressor.

and the drivers side strut mounted back in the car with the top rebound washer and nut fitted

The passenger side top mount: - this shows the locating pegs mounted nearer the outside of the car (see drawing and at position A on the right-hand picture).  This pushes the top mounts towards the centre of the car, giving negative camber and better turn-in.

Confusion had been caused by the mounts on my wife's 1007 which has the locating pegs in the holes nearer the centre of the car.  The incorrect assembly probably occurred when the front springs were replaced by a local garage after one broke.

the rebound rubber is slightly clear (about 2mm) of the inner wing; it doesn't turn with the steering

Note: there should be about 2 turns clear above the nut when fully tightened down, no more

the new track rod end nut comes with its own special plastic washer

Les McArthur discovered that when replacing the outer track rod ends, 1007's from 2008 onwards have the bore of the track rod larger than pre 08. Peugeot don't keep it in stock and motor factors only keep the pre 08 version with the later ones being a special order and nearly 3 times the price as well.

Drivers side and passenger side reassembled with two new Monroe struts, rubber top mounts and ball thrust bearings.

the lower coil of the springs have been waxoyled to reduce the likelihood of premature failure due to salt corrosion.

 see this page for details of the effects of salt corrosion 

Having gained more experience of the front suspension layout of the 1007 I find they are not easy to work on especially once they start to corrode and possibly as a result the local garage (not Peugeot agents) managed to get both struts on my wife's car mounted incorrectly.

When the Peugeot main dealers changed the front springs on my 1007, the estimate was around two hours but it took them four which rather suggests the dealers took a hammering.  I understand the reason now!