ZX rear subframe

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gradeafailure
Posts: 49
Joined: 24 Feb 2003, 15:49
Location: United Kingdom
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ZX rear subframe

Post by gradeafailure »

I have a 92 ZX Volcane 5-door which i fitted a set of pug205 1.9gti alloys to about 4months ago. all was fine though i did notice that there was quite a bit of negative camber on the rear wheels. about a week ago a sqeaking noise started coming from the driver's side rear when going round left-hand corners or when i had people in the back. i thought it was the wheel bearing but after jacking the car up i've found that the top inner sidewall of the tyre is rubbing on the inside of the wheel well. spoke to my local citroen garage who reckon the subframe bearings have gone and that the cheapest solution is to replace the rear subframe at a cost of £500 as the bearings are a pig to replace. the car's not even really worth double that as it is, so does anyone have any advice, or any tips on replacing the subframe myself? any help appreciated, cheers!
dave
Jon

Post by Jon »

Yeah, its the rear arm bearings at fault here. They are replaceable, but its not easy. If left they wear the rear axle tube as well, which means that the whole lot is scrap. Its a case of either changing the bearings if they are not too far gone, or trying to find a rear beam complete with arms from another Zx with lower mileage, I'm afraid to say.
Maybe find an independant specialist who will change the bearings for you?
David W
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Post by David W »

Dave,
As Jon says this is common now ZXs are getting older. The bearings are quite cheap but a fiddle to change and so often the tube is too worn to re-use. You are then faced with your car stuck at a dealers who is quoting all sorts of silly money to replace the tube and finish the job. The last one I heard of was going to be about £600 with a new tube and labour.
I would think hard about going for a whole rear assembly from a newer car too. Only thing is that the breakers have sussed this demand and can ask £200 for the thing.
David
gradeafailure
Posts: 49
Joined: 24 Feb 2003, 15:49
Location: United Kingdom
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Post by gradeafailure »

cheers for the advice guys, very much appreciated. have managed to locate a subframe for £120 but am wondering exactly how difficult it is to drop the existing subframe out myself and replace the bearings? or is this a job for the experts only?!
dave
Jon

Post by Jon »

<font face="Verdana">
Its not that bad a job, have a look in the common problems and fixes section re: changing ZX subframe mount bushes.That explains how to drop the rear beam.
In a nutshell, this is a case of disconnecting rear brake pipes, handbrake cables, dampers, and undoing the 4 mounts then lowering the axle tube complete to the ground.It is DIY possible given a couple of axle stands and a decent trolley jack, and some handtools.</font id="Verdana">[
gradeafailure
Posts: 49
Joined: 24 Feb 2003, 15:49
Location: United Kingdom
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Post by gradeafailure »

cheers for the information, have downloaded the instructions. also noticed the Citroen: Rear Arm Bearing replacement topic a few down from that - is that the bearing that i need to replace, as it says one of the symptoms is increased negative camber? oh, and do gsf stock the bearings i'd need?
have to say a big thanx for this, have not yet found a forum as helpful as this!
dave
Jon

Post by Jon »

the rear arm replacement topic relates to Xantia, XM and CX really, the ZX set up is a bit different, basically you have 2 bearings each arm, and external and an internal. Yes we do sell them, they are a mere £3.75 each plus VAT.
I've never done the bearings on a ZX, only replaced the whole rear beam.
If Dave Burns drops by, he may be able to advise further?
Dave Burns
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x 2

Post by Dave Burns »

Clock this thread for an outline of what you will be up against, note that other participants in this thread are talking about the BX system, and though I refer to the Peugeot 205, the rear suspension on the ZX is of the same design.
Dave
http://www.andyspares.org/discussionfor ... IC_ID=2541
Jon

Post by Jon »

<font color="blue">Thanks Dave.
I've put your previous reply on this matter into the Common Problems and fixes area for future reference.</font id="blue">
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