Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: 9jdm on 30 July 2015, 20:03:49
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Hi folks. Please help. I know there is loads of history on this but I need some simple advice urgently.
Had new wishbones on today and afterwards went to get it set up. All was fine apart from the camber which is visibly way out. The tracking guys say they can't adjust and so did the dealer who fitted the wishbones. They claim the wishbones have no effect on camber setting and say it must have been out before. I have had no tyre wear problems to date.
I have read on here that the camber is adjustable but not clear on how it is done. Please help as I have a long trip coming up and fear my tyres will be worn out.
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Front camber is adjusted by the 2 bolts that hold the hub to the shock, simply slacken them both and the top one will slide slightly to change the camber.
There's no real accurate way to adjust it tho unless they can do live readings on the alignment machine maybe?
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Hi folks. Please help. I know there is loads of history on this but I need some simple advice urgently.
Had new wishbones on today and afterwards went to get it set up. All was fine apart from the camber which is visibly way out. The tracking guys say they can't adjust and so did the dealer who fitted the wishbones. They claim the wishbones have no effect on camber setting and say it must have been out before. I have had no tyre wear problems to date.
I have read on here that the camber is adjustable but not clear on how it is done. Please help as I have a long trip coming up and fear my tyres will be worn out.
There are two big bolts that fix the shock absorber strut to the steering knuckle. The bottom hole in the knuckle is round. The top hole in the knuckle is obround. So you nip up the bottom bolt, and then you can push/pull the top of the wheel in/out till you've got the camber you want, then nip up the top bolt. Recheck, and then do up both bolts 'kin tight and hope they don't move/slip.
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Replaced most of my suspension a few months ago and had a similar problem
On mine, one wheel was miles out and the other was pretty much spot on.
What I did was drive the front end up onto a pair of ramps.
Next, I found a socket which (only just) fitted between the wheel rim and the shock absorber body.
If you have to literally hammer the socket into the gap then that's even better :y
Once you have the right size socket, remove it and shuffle your arse across to the other side and try to fit it in the same place ;D
It will either be a slack fit or it will be too tight.
Next, find the 2 bolts that hold the shocker onto the hub.
Slacken off the top one so that its quite loose and then just crack off the bottom one a little.
Get somebody to either pull or push at the top of the front wheel until you can fit the socket in the gap as per the good side ;)
Once its in there, tighten the 2 bolts up within a inch of there life's and remove the socket :y
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Hi folks. Please help. I know there is loads of history on this but I need some simple advice urgently.
Had new wishbones on today and afterwards went to get it set up. All was fine apart from the camber which is visibly way out. The tracking guys say they can't adjust and so did the dealer who fitted the wishbones. They claim the wishbones have no effect on camber setting and say it must have been out before. I have had no tyre wear problems to date.
I have read on here that the camber is adjustable but not clear on how it is done. Please help as I have a long trip coming up and fear my tyres will be worn out.
Find new garages... If they don't know how to adjust the camber then best change workshop ;)
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Ah thanks guys. Really appreciate the replies. I have had a bad day and needed some positive replies.
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Ah thanks guys. Really appreciate the replies. I have had a bad day and needed some positive replies.
Sorry... I didn't mean to be so blunt :-[
Whereabouts are you? May be a recommended place relatively nearby.
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Hi folks. Please help. I know there is loads of history on this but I need some simple advice urgently.
Had new wishbones on today and afterwards went to get it set up. All was fine apart from the camber which is visibly way out. The tracking guys say they can't adjust and so did the dealer who fitted the wishbones. They claim the wishbones have no effect on camber setting and say it must have been out before. I have had no tyre wear problems to date.
I have read on here that the camber is adjustable but not clear on how it is done. Please help as I have a long trip coming up and fear my tyres will be worn out.
Find new garages... If they don't know how to adjust the camber then best change workshop ;)
:y :y :y
Its really not hard to adjust as per the previous posts just two bolts and if the gge don't know how to adjust it on an Omega then I personally would not bother going back there.
Pulled both of mine right out at the top and they both came in on the alignment around the 1 degree 10 mark so told them to leave it as is and do the rest. Drives fine and doesn't wear tyre inners edges (which is nice).
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I appreciate the bluntness. I came to the same conclusion myself.
Does anyone have the bolt size to hand for the two bolts. Also when adjusting the wheel what would you recommend in order to get it within the parish. I read placing a socket between the wheel and shocker and somewhere else set the wheel to be about 10mm in board from vertical. Advice please.
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You can't get it right without the equipment. Where are you? Might be able to suggest somewhere you can take the settings to
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Nigel Langs... :y Assuming Bolton is still in Lancashire ::)
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You can get it spot on with a spirit level and some level ground, takes one or two iterations but works :y
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You can get it spot on with a spirit level and some level ground, takes one or two iterations but works :y
True, but I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the op wouldn't be able to do it as he had the WB fitted by a "dealer" :-\
Nigel Langs... :y Assuming Bolton is still in Lancashire ::)
This is why I'm asking ;)
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You can get these camber gauges but useless unless your car is perfectly level
http://gunson.co.uk/item.aspx?item=4034
Also what is the perfect front setting, it's not spot on level is it?
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Fronts -1.10' for standard and -1.15' for MV6/lowered/Sport.
Rear is a compromise setting, adjusted with rear toe, but generally -1.30'-40' important rear setting is that the thrust angle is 0. :y
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You can get these camber gauges but useless unless your car is perfectly level
http://gunson.co.uk/item.aspx?item=4034
Also what is the perfect front setting, it's not spot on level is it?
You need something more precise than that; the digital angle-gauge I use reads in tenths of a degree and that's about as coarse a measurement as you'll get away with. There's nothing magical or even difficult about camber adjustment, DIY equipment can do a good job. But we do need to consider that iit isn't the whole picture for suspension alignment, and act accordingly.
Using a socket to 'align' everything should only be considered as good enough to drive to the appropriate equipment.
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You can get these camber gauges but useless unless your car is perfectly level
http://gunson.co.uk/item.aspx?item=4034
Also what is the perfect front setting, it's not spot on level is it?
I've got one of those, but it's of limited use. It's magnetic, so won't stick to an alloy wheel. It'll stick to a brake disk, but since the car is usually up in the air with the wheels off by the time you get to see a brake disk....
If you've got a pair of steelies you can put on whilst you're faffing, then it can work reasonably well.
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I appreciate the bluntness. I came to the same conclusion myself.
Does anyone have the bolt size to hand for the two bolts. Also when adjusting the wheel what would you recommend in order to get it within the parish. I read placing a socket between the wheel and shocker and somewhere else set the wheel to be about 10mm in board from vertical. Advice please.
18mm for the bolt heads if I remember. Not heard of the 10mm inboard from vertical bit but just pull the top out as far as it will go then get a four wheel geo done on it to make sure all is where it wants to be, but leaving the camber at 1'10 or as close as poss.
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When i last did mine i took the measurement from the inside edge of the brake disc to the shocker using a set of verniers. Once i'd replaced my springs i reset to the same. Had no problems since with tyre wear and that was about 8k ago.
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When i last did mine i took the measurement from the inside edge of the brake disc to the shocker using a set of verniers. Once i'd replaced my springs i reset to the same. Had no problems since with tyre wear and that was about 8k ago.
But you had the luxury of a starting point ;)
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Thank you to all for feedback which I followed. In order to close the thread and to help others in the future let me add.
I have now got a well set up geometry. Just completed 1100 miles in a week and no tyre wear to speak of.
The adjustment described above is simple but does ideally need a start point. For what it is worth. The adjustment is very limited. Pull out the hub from the top to give the maximum camber angle on both sides. Using the spirit level as described I found that the top of the rim was approx 11 mm away from vertical on both sides on 18 inch rims. When checked on the alignment machine it was within tolerance and the toe was minimal adjustment. Thanks again you guys. As I said I did 1100 miles keeping up with modern machines all be it at the expense of mpg!
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As discussed in an earlier head, I am seeking a quick and reliable method or setting camber. Sadly I have since become distracted by breakdowns, MOT failures and failing head gaskets.
My current scheme is: jack up front of car on level ground, and support under wheel ends of front wishbones. I remove both front wheels and brake discs. I slacken camber bolts and set camber to minus 1.1 degrees as measured by a digital inclinometer magnetically attached to the hub, varying camber by heaving or tapping the hub.
Toe-in can also be set while the car is thus supported, by setting front wheel parallel to rear with steering wheel centred.
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Only snag with that method is that the wishbones aren't designed to be loaded in that manner :-\
Using axle stands under the brake disc hub would be better for the compnents, but wouldn't be especially stable and would somewhat complicate adjustment ::)
This is why the remote 3D approach works better... you can jack the car safely and adjust everything with reference to a set datum. Unfortunately this is not so easy to do at home, so any diy set up will ALWAYS be a reasonable guesstimate rather than cock on ;)
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Er no, DIY can be cock on but, it requires iteration (have proved this a number of times) :y.
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Few of us have used the diy option in one form or another with good results.
Just had a puncture repair done on a front tyre. Down to 4mm from new and even tyre wear across the tread pattern.
(http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k536/tidla1/20121228_181529_zpsf0a741fd.jpg)
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I did mine using an even more basic apparatus, and it gives good results.
As the camber can be read directly off the wheel, with the wheels on the ground, doing it any other way is making things much harder for yourself.
Terry's suggested method is not something I would attempt, as the wishbones aren't meant to be loaded like that, and loosening/adjusting the camberbolts like that isn't reassuring either.
Comparing the toe to the back wheels is no more than a good place to start adjusting it properly.
If you get everything close using these methods, then you can use the cheapest place with a machine to get it spot on. I paid £30, as it was only the tracking that was miles out. Further adjustments would have been priced separately. It is interesting to watch how all the readings change as one is adjusted.