406 front struts - options?

Armidillo

Armidillo

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My 406 D9 SV has a leaking front strut, so time for change. Must be still plenty of 406s still on the road as I'm rather surprised by the bewildering choice available.

I should start by saying that, while I enjoy a winding road and don't want a marshmallow ride (have just fitted 16" rims and Bridgestone RE003 tyres) this car is my wife's and my first choice for safe transport on long trips (Port Macquarie, Blue Mts, Canberra) - so needs to be comfortable!

1. Genuine struts - available!! No info on brand/model - $616 per pair. No freight charge as I can order locally. (Q. - as an "independent repairer" according to my registration on Peugeot's Public ServiceBox am I entitled to order parts directly through the website? If so what form of payment do they take?)

2. EAI has Record Gas shocks - $185 per pair!! Some freight to be paid, but seems very reasonable

3. https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/oenumber/5202x8.html is where it gets a bit overwhelming. They list at least 16 brands (some with multiple models), including Bilstein and Koni, and ranging from 27 pounds per strut to over 200 for Sport Konis.
As an example, I could have a pair of Bilsteins for 82 pounds ($144). No doubt freight would double this - not willing to register unless I'm definitely buying something, and so far can't even find out if they ship outside Europe!


BTW - current struts are Lip Gas - so far can't find any listing for them.

Rear are also Lip Gas - should I ditch them for a set of the same brand that goes on the front?

Any thoughts? I'm sure I've heard good things about the OEM 406 shocks, but what about the Records from EAI?

Cheers

Alec
 
Thx for feedback - I agree $600 is a lot - esp as I'm thinking of replacing rears at same time - so would be about $1000!
Cheers
Alec
 
Records are good, perhaps a bit firmer than original. Not surprised the LIPs are leaking, if the originals had been left in they would probably still be working fine. Originals would be best, assuming they really are the in house Peugeot ones, and worth the money but a bit expensive when you have to replace the LIPs in the rear as well.
 
I put records in my sons 306 hdi due to a weeping shock he drove it for a week and we swapped them back two years later they are still in , I found the bound odd and noisy like most gas shocks , I have fitted these before and customers were indifferent about them , on a sv they have different shocks to standard 406s so I would be cautious ,how bad is it leaking ,depending on how much feel you have driving wise you may regret it as I said my p plater son hated it with no idea of driving.
Sorry graham I am a bit dusty this morning but always there to help [emoji106][emoji42]


Garage C5 X7 3008 XTE
Gone but not forgotten 206 GTI 180 306 XR SED 405 MI16 x2 xzara VTS 406 SV 206 XT Berlingo 2011 (best car ever) 306 HDI 307 XSE HDI touring
Fix it right the first time
 
Last edited:
Can you rewrite so we can understand please?
dmccurtayne said:
I put records in my sons 306 hdi due to a weeping shock he drove it for a week and we swapped them back two years later still in I found the bound odd and noisy like most gas shocks have fitted these before and customers were either or about them on a sv they have different shocks to standard 406s so I would be cautious how bad is it leaking I think if you run cheap tyres etc it would be fine but if you have good tyres and drive it hard you would notice .


Garage C5 X7 3008 XTE
Gone but not forgotten 206 GTI 180 306 XR SED 405 MI16 x2 xzara VTS 406 SV 206 XT Berlingo 2011 (best car ever) 306 HDI 307 XSE HDI touring
Fix it right the first time
Click to expand...
 
GRAHAM WALLIS said:
...

Originals would be best, assuming they really are the in house Peugeot ones, and worth the money but a bit expensive when you have to replace the LIPs in the rear as well.
Click to expand...

Looks like you've answered the obvious question, which was "Can I purchase the "genuine" items directly from the manufacturer?" Obviously not if they are an in-house item :rolleyes:.

Do not know why originals were replaced (before my ownership). Good to hear that Record are a quality item, but am tempted by the idea of returning the car to it's original ride.

As noted above, I have fitted 16" rims and RE003 tyres - does this change the thinking at all?

Cheers

Alec
 
Armidillo said:
Looks like you've answered the obvious question, which was "Can I purchase the "genuine" items directly from the manufacturer?" Obviously not if they are an in-house item :rolleyes:.

Do not know why originals were replaced (before my ownership). Good to hear that Record are a quality item, but am tempted by the idea of returning the car to it's original ride.

As noted above, I have fitted 16" rims and RE003 tyres - does this change the thinking at all?

Cheers

Alec
Click to expand...

Yes to me working in the trade I pay attention to what sort of tyres customers put on their car to what sort of spare parts that I will fit ,for instance if they’ve got garbage tyres I would recommend the cheaper shocks and brakes I hope that makes sense, but with re’s that tells me you are a driver not a passenger [emoji106]


Garage C5 X7 3008 XTE
Gone but not forgotten 206 GTI 180 306 XR SED 405 MI16 x2 xzara VTS 406 SV 206 XT Berlingo 2011 (best car ever) 306 HDI 307 XSE HDI touring
Fix it right the first time
 
Do you mean you put the originals back in the 306 despite them leaking? It's pretty bad that OE shocks past their best are better than new aftermarket isn't it?
 
They are just weeping but yeah that’s my point I pre delivered 306’s so it’s not like I got used to old feeling ones


Garage C5 X7 3008 XTE
Gone but not forgotten 206 GTI 180 306 XR SED 405 MI16 x2 xzara VTS 406 SV 206 XT Berlingo 2011 (best car ever) 306 HDI 307 XSE HDI touring
Fix it right the first time
 
My vote would be for Bilsteins, I put some of the “B6” dampers front and rear on my 180 and for driving on the street they are more comfortable than stock and just seem to be better overall for me.
Granted the 180 is a bit lighter than the 406, but I’m sure they would be valved differently for each application.
 
Maybe Auto correct got you.

dmccurtayne said:
I put records in my sons 306 hdi due to a weeping shock he drove it for a week and we swapped them back two years later they are still in , I found the bound odd and noisy like most gas shocks , I have fitted these before and customers were indifferent about them , on a sv they have different shocks to standard 406s so I would be cautious ,how bad is it leaking ,depending on how much feel you have driving wise you may regret it as I said my p plater son hated it with no idea of driving.
Sorry graham I am a bit dusty this morning but always there to help [emoji106][emoji42]


Garage C5 X7 3008 XTE
Gone but not forgotten 206 GTI 180 306 XR SED 405 MI16 x2 xzara VTS 406 SV 206 XT Berlingo 2011 (best car ever) 306 HDI 307 XSE HDI touring
Fix it right the first time
Click to expand...
 
B6s are slightly softer than stock I found in my S2 405 Mi16 but quite OK. Steer clear of B4s they will just be another LIP experience.

TiMi16 said:
My vote would be for Bilsteins, I put some of the “B6” dampers front and rear on my 180 and for driving on the street they are more comfortable than stock and just seem to be better overall for me.
Granted the 180 is a bit lighter than the 406, but I’m sure they would be valved differently for each application.
Click to expand...
 
Ride will be firm anyway due to the RE003s so just go Record I would say. I would be surprised if you can buy the original Peugeot shockers, never seen them, although many years ago you could buy them for 505s.
It used to drive Peugeot mad (in the days when they cared about such things) when people were talked into new shockers by service centres for no reason and of course they failed not that long after, when the original ones would still have been working perfectly.
I am using 150000km original Xsara struts in my 205, after the original ones started to leak after 26 years and they are brilliant.

Armidillo said:
Looks like you've answered the obvious question, which was "Can I purchase the "genuine" items directly from the manufacturer?" Obviously not if they are an in-house item :rolleyes:.

Do not know why originals were replaced (before my ownership). Good to hear that Record are a quality item, but am tempted by the idea of returning the car to it's original ride.

As noted above, I have fitted 16" rims and RE003 tyres - does this change the thinking at all?

Cheers

Alec
Click to expand...
 
My 404C has brand new Peugeot shocks in the front but for the rear I had to go with Records. I haven't driven it yet but I expect it'll be OK. I've had over 350,000 km on Peugeot shocks and they never seem to go bad.
 
I'm about to give the 51 year old fronts of my 404 a service, new footvalves as they were available, new guides and seals if needed and fresh oil. Should be good for another 50 years. I have put Konis in the rear, big improvement over the 51 year old Armstrongs that the Australian cars came with, but since then have got some DeCarbons so will fit them in future.
 
The dampers in my 280,000 klm 306 are fine. Same as the 33 year old 505 I drove recently. I'd go genuine if possible.
My Audi, at 80,000 on the other hand..... Rides like crap and the shocks are already leaking.
 
Replaced my front 306 front shocks with originals sourced from Dapco a couple of years ago. Was a straight forward transaction and price was very reasonable.


DAPCO AUTO FRANCE PH 02 9150 5833 f
WWW.DAPCOAUTO.COM.AU


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Should have had no branding other than Peugeot BART on them?

Pugfan306HDI said:
Replaced my front 306 front shocks with originals sourced from Dapco a couple of years ago. Was a straight forward transaction and price was very reasonable.


DAPCO AUTO FRANCE PH 02 9150 5833 f
WWW.DAPCOAUTO.COM.AU


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
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