306 creaking rear axle

Hi all,

'96 306 diesel, 106000 mls... just got this car, and noticed that the
rear axle creaks when you excercise it over a large travel. When
driving the car, all you hear is the occasional clunk when cornering -
I guess the side which is lifting and travelling the most is doing
this, seems like its only the drivers side. Mostly its quiet. Also I
have been in the back for a run and the car was silent.

I have now read several posts touting knackered bearings as the
cause.. My questiton is : the wheels are sitting at the right angle,
so I guess its not too bad yet, how long can this situation continue
without major damage / failure ? Is it a certainty that it will fail
badly? I used to have a 306 non turbo, which also creaked but I paid
it no mind, it did this for years before It got written off ....

Cars not worth that much so I dont want to spend silly money on a
problem that might not cause major failure during the remaining life
of the car...

any opinions welcome!

Craig

 

One of a number of things you could do is to compare the radius arm
alignment by looking at the narrow gaps either side of the bearings
for tell-tale signs of misalignment due to wear. Wear can also be
indicated by rust staining from water which has entered and drained
out from the bearings. Having said that if you don't have the
facilities it might be better to pay the local garage a few pounds to
get it up on a lift and check it out for you.

J

 

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea... I jacked the car up and down
a few times last night, and I noticed that after doing this - i,e,
working the radius arm over a long travel, this morning I could bounce
the car with almost no creaking and clunking. In my foolishly
optimistic mind I wonder if maybe I have got a bit of lubrication
moving in there..

I think the thing will be as you say, to establish if there is
currently significant wear to be seen, and if not then deciding on the
risk vs reward scenario of either seeing how long it lasts, or doing
it now to avert disaster !

Is there no way to just loosen off the radius arm bolts and sneak some
grease in there to help things along ? Its a shame that on a car which
seems to reject rust (bodywork) and just keep looking like new, that
mechanical areas like this are not better protected against the
effects of water etc...

Thanks
Craig

 

Sounds like subframe mounts to me.

 

'96 306 diesel, 106000 mls... just got this car, and noticed that the

Yes, worth checking that everything is tight under the back end. Normally if
the bushes are going, you can see that the rear wheels are not parallel when
seen from behind.
You could also do worse than squirting some chain grease from an aerosol
into the joint where the bearing is. Just get any loose dirt out of the way
first. Then bounce the car up and down a bit to get it to penetrate before
it solidifies.
If only they had put a grease nipple in there to start with.
Grease nipple - what's that? Only older people like me remember them.

 

Thanks for all the advice folks. Im sure its coming from the bearing
though - I lay on the ground with my finger in the gap between the
radius arm and the torsion beam, and lowered the car slowly with the
other hand - I could feel the 'jumpiness' in there on my finger each
time it creaked.

I'll certainly try to get some grease in there though...

Hey, believe me - I know about grease nipples... My other car is a 95
mini cooper. Its got em everywhere!!!!

Cheers
Craig

 

Not to mention grease guns. I bet people of a younger age don't even know
why tins of grease come with a disk on top with a hole in it. To this day
I have one of the pump type grease guns in my garage and a real big bu##er
with a side leaver to pump it.

 

And i bet no one knows about the greese guns we use in the workshop
which are airfeed,very safe if you know how to use one,and not play
round with it , if found playing around its out the door,

 

Unfortunately I doubt you'll succed but it's worth a try.

Has it? Good Lord, I thought they stopped using them after the Marinas

 

That used to apply to air hoses, for blowing up tyres, as well and I assume
still does.