grahamf505
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2004
- Messages
- 21
Ok, I'm going to confess. I went to look at a W123 230 TE yesterday. It was in a bit of a mess and I walked away from it, the main problem being corrosion, specifically to the front bulkhead where the pre-tensioner springs fix to hold the garage door (I mean bonnet....) open. These mounts were corroded away and the springs not attached.
I took it out for a drive and there was a strange wobble at about 45 mph which disappeared at about 50mph. Difficult to tell if this was wheel balance or something else as it felt a bit a bit vague. In fact, this is the most accurate way to describe the whole driving experience! The steering also felt loose and in-precise, particularly at low speed. True to form, the drivers seat base had also collapsed, making the seat feel a bit like sitting on a wooden bench!
However, on the plus side, the motor was quiet, very willing and the transmission smooth. I'm not sure what it would have been like at speed as I only took it up to 60mph, but got the feeling that constant adjustment to the steering wheel would have been been necessary to maintain a straight line. Probably OK on an empty autobahn or French autoroutes, but not so good on our congested motorways.
Maybe I have been spoilt by big car Peugeot handling and roadholding. I can throw my 505 Estate around without hardly any body roll and the ride is firm and very stable. The steering control is also very accurate. The only downside is that these big Pug Estates are a little low geared having a 4.1:1 diff,unless you get the GTI or GTD turbo diesel version witha 3.7:1 diff so tend to be noisy at speed.
I'd like to know if what I have experienced is typical of W123 charachteristics or whether this one was a poor example. If it is, then maybe a W123 is not the car I should be looking at. Any comments/help would be greatly appreciated.
Graham
I took it out for a drive and there was a strange wobble at about 45 mph which disappeared at about 50mph. Difficult to tell if this was wheel balance or something else as it felt a bit a bit vague. In fact, this is the most accurate way to describe the whole driving experience! The steering also felt loose and in-precise, particularly at low speed. True to form, the drivers seat base had also collapsed, making the seat feel a bit like sitting on a wooden bench!
However, on the plus side, the motor was quiet, very willing and the transmission smooth. I'm not sure what it would have been like at speed as I only took it up to 60mph, but got the feeling that constant adjustment to the steering wheel would have been been necessary to maintain a straight line. Probably OK on an empty autobahn or French autoroutes, but not so good on our congested motorways.
Maybe I have been spoilt by big car Peugeot handling and roadholding. I can throw my 505 Estate around without hardly any body roll and the ride is firm and very stable. The steering control is also very accurate. The only downside is that these big Pug Estates are a little low geared having a 4.1:1 diff,unless you get the GTI or GTD turbo diesel version witha 3.7:1 diff so tend to be noisy at speed.
I'd like to know if what I have experienced is typical of W123 charachteristics or whether this one was a poor example. If it is, then maybe a W123 is not the car I should be looking at. Any comments/help would be greatly appreciated.
Graham
