Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: steve6367 on 17 March 2015, 15:03:59

Title: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: steve6367 on 17 March 2015, 15:03:59
How on earth do I get it off?

Its all free other than the attachment to the central tie rod - I can't shift it!

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/61mui50x71i47va/AACaAoZSsBV5bmxGlFMU78Sma

Steve
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: Nick W on 17 March 2015, 16:32:40
Two big hammers to shock the taper loose. You can't afford to be gentle with it.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: The Red Baron on 17 March 2015, 16:34:22
Pair of hammers either side. Sharp blow.  :y
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: Bigron on 17 March 2015, 17:20:52
Remember that old joke about "bricking a camel"? Well, do it like that and if your hammers (preferably club hammers) are of different weights, place the heavier one behing the joint and smack the front of the joint sharply and hard with the other one and it will "pop"!

Ron.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 18:10:30
Two big hammers might shift it. Might be lucky.

 But if it's even remotely stubborn, forget it. There often isn't room to swing the hammers hard enough.

I'd then ask them to gas axe the centre tie tod off, get it home, ball joint splitter and an air hammer should shift it.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 18:13:29
Unless you take the whole assembley off the car, sterring box and all. Tap the outer rods off the hubs, idler already unbolted from the wing, unbolt the box from the other wing, unbolt the sterring soft from the footwell. ...think that's it.

Then you can seperate it once it's off the car. With tools etc.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: steve6367 on 17 March 2015, 20:33:45
Thank you all

Space seems very limited with car on floor to swing hammers. I have unbolted steering box and removed both adjustable track rods. The whole assembly still seems stuck though.

What is in the footwell?

Steve
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 20:37:16
Thank you all

Space seems very limited with car on floor to swing hammers. I have unbolted steering box and removed both adjustable track rods. The whole assembly still seems stuck though.

What is in the footwell?

Steve

Steering column (shaft). There is a rubber knuckle that connects the steering column to the splined input shaft on the seering box. Either bolt will do. Torx I think.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: Nick W on 17 March 2015, 22:14:47
All that just to liberate a used steering idler?
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 22:16:13
All that just to liberate a used steering idler?
It's a few nuts and boots and two taps with a hammer. The car is on the floor remember. Not jacked.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 17 March 2015, 22:16:52
All that just to liberate a used steering idler?
i was thinking that, get a new one :y
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 22:17:27
Also the rubber boot pictured is not available. Anywhere. At all. Tres are worth having too.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 22:18:00
All that just to liberate a used steering idler?
i was thinking that, get a new one :y

Only one that works is £110 retail. Well worth it imo.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 22:22:51
Tres are £35 odd for Delphi to £90(?) odd for gm. Each.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: Nick W on 17 March 2015, 22:23:38
How is it going to be fitted? By removing the headlining through the rear quarterlight? In the dark whilst wearing clown hands?
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: 05omegav6 on 17 March 2015, 22:24:51
How is it going to be fitted? By removing the headlining through the rear quarterlight? In the dark whilst wearing clown hands?
That could work... :D
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 17 March 2015, 22:26:19
How is it going to be fitted? By removing the headlining through the rear quarterlight? In the dark whilst wearing clown hands?

Nope. Two hammers. ;D
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: steve6367 on 17 March 2015, 22:58:15
I don't confess to understand all of the last posts.....

I was there removing other useful parts and I find it really useful to try removing things from a scraped car before I set about mine with the hammers! While I was having the track rods off I noted the idler was GM without play so thought why not  :y

Steve
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: Diamond Black Geezer on 18 March 2015, 00:38:34
I'm with you Steve on this - it's all down to two factors - cost and time. If you're going to spend an hour trying to get off a part the scrappy will charge you £20 for and brand new ones can be had for £5, well it's waste of time, clearly.

However, In the case of the steering idler for the size and cost of the thing, well - as you say at the very least, always worth having a play about to remove it, but the last one I did was in the scrappy, and in then end two of us hacksawed through the rod it was attached to. Took it home, sat it in the vice, a fairly light tap and out the taper popped! So it must have been a case of bad access, as has been said on here already. That idler had done 37k, and they last for approx 100k. Mine's (in theory) not even due to go wobbly for another 25k, but worth having as a spare.

Method of two hammers just didn't work for me, (but it has worked for many) in my case access was bad, and I'd have liked to have got some more pressure on it, and also the whole steering assembly was taking much of the shock, too.

Can't knock scrappys  :y
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 18 March 2015, 00:47:21
Thing is with these, the amount of power needed to remove these varies greatly with the two hammer method. Sometimes they pop off relatively easily, but still needs a bloody good swing. Others, I've seen the whole assembley removed from the car, a full flat out swing with medium sized bats (dont want to Do damage just apply shock ) and it still won't have it. They "can" be a real shit.

A splitter can damage the rubber boot as well of your not reeeeally carefull.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: joff on 18 March 2015, 00:50:47
In the end I had to cut the old idler off the MV6 with a grinder and then fit the new GM part. The one on the Elite I did 3-4 years ago came off with the 2 hammers ;)
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: chrisgixer on 18 March 2015, 00:53:46
That might be easier for the op. Extension lead and a disc cutter. Cut through the pitman arm and have the good bits away.  :y
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: Diamond Black Geezer on 18 March 2015, 09:09:10
Agreed - as you say it's 'one of them things' - I've popped ball joints off quicker than I can say 'ball joint' and I've fought with them for practically hours. I seem to think Mark DTM explained that with pressure on the idler, when you smack it with the hammers you then are making the hole slightly oval, for a millisecond, thus allowing the shaft to pop out - explained more eloquently than I.

Would add that I'd definitely be going down the route of 'the two hammers' on my own car, as suggested by several good OOFers, it was only due to time constraints in the scrappy that I went down the 'destroy everything in sight apart from the bit I need' method.
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: omegod on 18 March 2015, 14:46:59
Last time I changed one of these the balljoint splitter flew off at full tension and idiotted me right on the forehead knocking me clean out, I woke up on the floor with the neighbours looking down on me  :-[ ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: omegod on 18 March 2015, 14:48:48
Last time I changed one of these the balljoint splitter flew off at full tension and idiotted me right on the forehead knocking me clean out, I woke up on the floor with the neighbours looking down on me  :-[ ;D ;D ;D ;D

I didn't write "idiotted" but I bet you can guess what it was
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: 05omegav6 on 18 March 2015, 15:07:51
Last time I changed one of these the balljoint splitter flew off at full tension and idiotted me right on the forehead knocking me clean out, I woke up on the floor with the neighbours looking down on me  :-[ ;D ;D ;D ;D

I didn't write "idiotted" but I bet you can guess what it was
That place in Orkney I shouldn't wonder... ::)

Here... In fact...

(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/kevinmilkins/05_15_62.jpg) :D
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: omegod on 18 March 2015, 15:33:16
10 points to Taxi Al  ;D
Title: Re: Trying to liberate steering idler from scrap yard
Post by: steve6367 on 18 March 2015, 18:02:42
Must go there one day!

I will pop back tomorrow with the battery grinder and 2 hammers  :y