Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Weds on 11 March 2015, 16:48:41
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I'm 99% sure my drivers side top suspension strut bearing in knackered, I changed the wishbones last year, I changed the drop links last week and I'm still getting a bad knocking from the front strut, you can see and feel it when pushing down the front wing, also i'm now getting creaking when steering.
The question is how do you change them. Does the top nut inside the bonnet just hold the leg in place or also the spring ? Can i just drop the leg out and change the top mounts or do i have to compress the spring.
Can I preserve the camber setting by disconnecting from the outer ball joint (I had WIM setup only last month) and not by the strut mounting bolts..
Cheers
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You'll need to compress the spring. Which is very powerful, so ensure that your compressors are up to the job.
If it's been setup, then removing the whole strut/hub assembly is the way to go. It's probably the best way to do the job anyway.
If you haven't had new struts recently, now is the time to evaluate just how worn they are; they usually degrade slowly, so you tend not to notice it happening.
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Ayup weds
As Nick says, the preserve the camber setting you can remove the strut and hub/stub axle complete. Although the ball joint is a pita.
Or there's the camber replication guide via the socket method as the guide in maintenance.
Unless the springs are lowered by 30mm or more, spring compressors will be needed.
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I removed the strut from the hub when I did mine, but carefully marked the positions with a scribe and then reassembled to my marks. ;)
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I removed the strut from the hub when I did mine, but carefully marked the positions with a scribe and then reassembled to my marks. ;)
I was thinking the same, or even spray painting the area..
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I removed the strut from the hub when I did mine, but carefully marked the positions with a scribe and then reassembled to my marks. ;)
Why? Way too much room for errorses!
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90652.0
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It was quick, easy and it worked for me. :y
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Can be (carefully) undone with the car on the ground... Jack up and remove wheel, undo drop link and pull strut down until shock rod clears inner wheel arch, pop the old top mount off, refit new, reposition strut, refit wheel and carefully lower car to ground, ensuring shock rod sits into the hole in the top spring cup/top mount. Then get back on slam panel with heavy assistant and refit nut asap. Keeping weight on and rod held, tighten nut to the stop, refit top cover and upper bolt. Refit droplink.
Repeat tother side, job jobbed...
Clearly not the official method, but it saves realignment :y
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Do you mean, undo the top mount nuts first, before pulling shock down...? IE, first, before jacking car?
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Yup... Preferable to trying to use those horrific cheapy spring compressors that don't fit...
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By the way it is worth noting that not all top mounts include the bearing... So be sure to ask before committing :y
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By the way it is worth noting that not all top mounts include the bearing... So be sure to ask before committing :y
I've emailed All German Parts this evening because I was having problems accessing their site about a top mount, and got a reply within an hour saying if it was all right to confirm in the morning with an answer about stock.. Didnt expect that :)
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That's where I got mine from. Lemforders. :)
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Yup... Preferable to trying to use those horrific cheapy spring compressors that don't fit...
I'm with you on the compressors, but can't agree with the rest of it. You can hurt yourself really badly with a coil spring, and it's not something to bugger about with. The last person I know who got in the way of a spring spent 3days in hospital while they put his hand back together. If you have any doubts about the equipment, then remove the strut and take it a garage with decent gear to change the spring/mount/whatever.
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have to say it terrified me a little the other day - considering how high they bounce when you drop them (and probably compressing all of about 5mm in length or something like), at the kind of compression you have to subject them to in order to get the McPherson all back together they'd probably fly 50ft or more - and taking your hand with. Not saying its can't/shouldn't be done - I did one the other day. Took it slow, steady, only a few turn on each one at a time, and regularly checking each side was under a similar load/compression by the gaps.
But angle grinders also worry the hell out of me, I think they're bleedin horrific things, but same as with the spring compressors - nothing else will do. It's a decision everyone has to make for their selves whether they're willing to or not. I risk it, taking it careful, as I say. I've had one side slip once before when I was a kid, and the other compressor held/took the strain. Brown trousers moment, but as I say, perfectly doable if you take it steady.
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Releasing the tension in situ, with the full weight of the car on it from the other side of the wing is arguably safer than doing it on a bench...
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Take your logic there.
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Top bearings now fitted. Ordered yesterday turned up this morning at 10 job finished by 1.30. Quite surprised how easy they are. Because I didn't want to disturb the camber I dropped out the bottom ball joint. Left the steering arm connected bs just dropped the strut out.
Used spring compressors and mounts swapped over.. Found it easier to do than wishbones..
Can't believe how much quieter it is, steering lighter too.. No crashing and banging over potholes..
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Does the top mount come as a single unit or is it a box of bits that have to be assembled in order to replicate the original?
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9 is the rubber top mount
15 is the bearing
http://www.partsbase.org/opel/omega-b-1994-2003-11--7-6-6-front-shock-absorbers-r1000001/
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Thanks for that - I am just totting up how much £ and time is needed to keep mine on the road. It's rapidly becoming uneconomical on both I think.
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Thanks for that - I am just totting up how much £ and time is needed to keep mine on the road. It's rapidly becoming uneconomical on both I think.
Believe me, the difference to the way the car drives and feels is worth every single penny three times over :y
If the car is truly that much of a shed, it is uneconomical to fuel it, yet you'll keep driving it until the MoT or tax run out ::)
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Sad thing is it's not a shed - cosmetically. OK it has a few scuffs here and there but it's still shiny and bar the small burn mark on the seat the interior is great - the back seat has been sat on less than a dozen times I reckon. On the go it is sweet but things just seem to have happened all at once - over the last 8 months really. To fix the strut bushes, do the cambelt change, fix the cats and the oil leak, possibly the thermostat is going to set me back best part of a grand if I do it myself, and then it'll be worth less than that because people don't appreciate how good Omegas are. There is always the concern about what's round the corner as well.
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Does the top mount come as a single unit or is it a box of bits that have to be assembled in order to replicate the original?
They came complete, rubber bush and bearing in the same box.
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Does the top mount come as a single unit or is it a box of bits that have to be assembled in order to replicate the original?
They came complete, rubber bush and bearing in the same box.
Depends what you buy and where from :y
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Sad thing is it's not a shed - cosmetically. OK it has a few scuffs here and there but it's still shiny and bar the small burn mark on the seat the interior is great - the back seat has been sat on less than a dozen times I reckon. On the go it is sweet but things just seem to have happened all at once - over the last 8 months really. To fix the strut bushes, do the cambelt change, fix the cats and the oil leak, possibly the thermostat is going to set me back best part of a grand if I do it myself, and then it'll be worth less than that because people don't appreciate how good Omegas are. There is always the concern about what's round the corner as well.
I'm sure that there's plenty on here can save you more than a couple of quid off that bill in-particular, and I knwo what youmean, cambelt is the cambelt - but safe to say most cars on the roads will need them doing at some point.
Just remember the difference between a car you know, and costs you money, vs the cost of chucking it in the bin, replacing it with another car - and the associated gamble that the replacement car may/may not need work just round the corner. Also don't forget how easy (relatively) Omegas are to work on - and how much is still in the realms of the home mechanic. It almost terrifies me what'll be the state of play in 10-15 years, will bonnets be welded shut at the factory? :o