the "BOOK" method
No credit (or responsibility) is claimed for the following information - it makes it easier for me to find when I need it quickly! Replacing Front Struts - the "book" method
this shows the parts of the strut assembly - it is essential that all the parts are assembled in the right order.
The workshop manual method of removing the strut requires more dismantling and ends up with you handling the heavy strut and disc assembly - which still have to be separated using some force.
For the simpler method (if you are lucky) - see "Replacing Front Struts" on this page.
the locating pin on the top rubber mount should go into hole A so the top of the mount is pushed towards the centre of the car in the oval hole.
my wife's car caused problems mainly due to corrosion so I had to do 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.
first is to remove the nut nut - it needs unstaking as it is done up extremely tightly. I used a 30mm ¾inch socket on mine helped by a 1 metre extension pipe. The hub was locked from rotating by a long crowbar.
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!
the lower ball joint 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.
after removing the clamping nut and bolt, the lower ball joint clamps were well corroded in place and took considerable force from a very long "pickle fork" to separate.
the corrosion is evident on the main strut clamp
the long picklefork I had to use to remove the joint damaged the ball joint protector so I had to buy new ones - especially as one was mysteriously missing.
this is how it should fit, with the locating tang located in the split in the clamp.
the strut and the hub were difficult to separate because of the corrosion.
the dryness and surface rust on the driveshaft, track rod end and lower ball joint 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.
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.
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
and mounted back in the car with the top rebound washer and nut fitted
the rebound rubber is slightly clear of the inner wing
the new track rod end nut comes with its own special plastic washer