205 STDT Wrong front spring?

[veetail]

My 205 STDT turbo diesel(205 GTI lookalike) suffered a collapsed drivers side front McPherson strut.
The only suitable replacement strut I could find came from a 205 GTI.
Although the replacement strut looks identical to the original, the car sits slightly down on the drivers side.
The STDT and GTI bodywork, tyres, fittings etc, are identical, but the diesel engine will probably be heavier.
Is it possible that the 205 STDT has an identical size but stronger spring fitted to its McPherson strut?
Grateful for any information.

[icky1]

The springs are colour coded. some have the same part number as injection models and some are different. Can you see the colour coding on the spring itself on the original one you replaced ? Let me know and I will try and give you an idea on if its the same as a GTI or not. [e-mail]

[veetail]

Thanks for your reply.
The garage that changed the struts scrapped the original! So I can't refit the old spring.

I am about to give the opposite side original spring a good cleaning and hope to find a colour code on it. Will let you know what I find.

The guys who race 205 GTIs say the diesel spring free length is considerably greater than a GTI spring.
For someone who never thought about springs before this is all new information.

[veetail]

Found the colour marks on the pax side original spring. One red mark and one white mark. Presumably the drivers side would have the same marks.
Lots of spring suppliers on the web. But none list one white and one red. Nearest is two whites and one red, but the supplier lists the spring outside dia and the wire thickness ... so I will try to get a good measurement of the original spring on the car.
Found the other white mark, a bit faint but now two whites and one red, problem solved.

[icky1]

Those colours are unique to the diesel. The Peugeot part number is 500234 but is no longer available from Peugeot . The gti one you have on is not as strong as the diesel one. You need to find a breaker who has got a diesel in and get two springs? Hope this all helps.

[veetail]

Thanks very much icky1 ... Have found a supplier of Suplex springs Carfactors UK. They list all the Diesel and Petrol Peugeot 205 springs by colour marks, and by wiresize, coil length, and diameter. So I can get an exact match for the missing STDT spring. Cost per spring is £29.69 Suplex ref: S24022
However I will let the professionals replace my springs ... having once suffered from a wayward spring the energy released from a compressed spring is enormous.

[oldpug]

When they change the spring ask them to check/clean/grease/replace the top strut swivel bearing as they will have removed this to do the job.Its very common on old 205`s for the bearing to seize which can cause coil spring failure.(and stiff clunky steering)

[veetail]

Good idea ... thanks.