Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: unlucky mark mv6 on 21 November 2009, 19:26:47
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What are the front suspension bushes like to change on a 3.2,as it was an advisory by the mot tester. :-?
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Which bushes?
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Dont really know lee,just on the advisory note,and says front suspension bushes.Could it possibly be the wishbone bushes or summat. :-/
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It will be wishbone - see Turks thread
do not get buypartsbuy ones
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change the wishbones. There is a guide in maintenance section. Pay special attention to the correct bolt torqueing procedure, wheels on the ground suspension loaded.
Beware of cheap pattern parts. Lemforder, £110 a pair delivered from autovaux, make the originals for vx who add a gm sticker and double the price.
Changing the bushes themselves is a bit of a mare and requires specialist equipment and experience. Very easy to damage them.
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Polybushes ? :)
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change the wishbones. There is a guide in maintenance section. Pay special attention to the correct bolt torqueing procedure, wheels on the ground suspension loaded.
Beware of cheap pattern parts. Lemforder, £110 a pair delivered from autovaux, make the originals for vx who add a gm sticker and double the price.
Changing the bushes themselves is a bit of a mare and requires specialist equipment and experience. Very easy to damage them.
Hack saw is main tool to fit poly bushes
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change the wishbones. There is a guide in maintenance section. Pay special attention to the correct bolt torqueing procedure, wheels on the ground suspension loaded.
Beware of cheap pattern parts. Lemforder, £110 a pair delivered from autovaux, make the originals for vx who add a gm sticker and double the price.
Changing the bushes themselves is a bit of a mare and requires specialist equipment and experience. Very easy to damage them.
Polybushes are easy. I used a blowtorch to burn out the bushes and a hacksaw to cut a slit in the metal sleeve, then prise one end over the other and slide it out. Some bushes have one sleeve others have two. The replacement polybushes push in by hand.
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Polybushes ? :)
They are available. Harsher ride though. And still a harder job to fit over just swapping new for old wishbones. Doable though.
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change the wishbones. There is a guide in maintenance section. Pay special attention to the correct bolt torqueing procedure, wheels on the ground suspension loaded.
Beware of cheap pattern parts. Lemforder, £110 a pair delivered from autovaux, make the originals for vx who add a gm sticker and double the price.
Changing the bushes themselves is a bit of a mare and requires specialist equipment and experience. Very easy to damage them.
The replacement polybushes push in by hand.
Surely not. Wont the arm rotate around the bush and ware prematurely?
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change the wishbones. There is a guide in maintenance section. Pay special attention to the correct bolt torqueing procedure, wheels on the ground suspension loaded.
Beware of cheap pattern parts. Lemforder, £110 a pair delivered from autovaux, make the originals for vx who add a gm sticker and double the price.
Changing the bushes themselves is a bit of a mare and requires specialist equipment and experience. Very easy to damage them.
The replacement polybushes push in by hand.
Surely not. Wont the arm rotate around the bush and ware prematurely?
Slide in easy and Powerflex state they will be the last bushes you fit to the car. :y
http://www.powerflex.co.uk/faqs.php
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Polybushes ? :)
They are available. Harsher ride though. And still a harder job to fit over just swapping new for old wishbones. Doable though.
Very slightly firmer, but also tighter steering, and that's no bad thing in my book.
Did mine on the car. Removed the front bolt and slackened the rear to allow the arm to pivot down. Burnt out the rubber bush and hacksawed out the sleeve, slipped in the polys and bolted it back up. Simples :y
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interesting read. Cant help think i would find them too harsh. For instance i have just re fitted one rear carlton donut bush, with some modification, and can instantly feel extra road rumble. However latteral movement is much improved, and far less tram lining that side. Always going to be a trade off it seems to me, and for a road car i dont want to feel too much of the road.
Having said that, i've not driven a polly car and would be very to see for my self.
However for the op, it looks like they only do the front bush on the wishbone? If both the originals need changing. He will still need to change the wishbone. Do i read that correctly?
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From what I gather, the front bushes are the ones that are prone to fail. The rear mini-donut bushes are not an issue.
They also do the front anti-roll bar bushes. Well worth doing them too. They eliminated the vague, floating sensation.
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From what I gather, the front bushes are the ones that are prone to fail. The rear mini-donut bushes are not an issue.
They also do the front anti-roll bar bushes. Well worth doing them too. They eliminated the vague, floating sensation.
The rear bush on the wishbone does fail. Most defo.
Usually shows when the car is jacked, the wishbone drops fully to show the bush twisting. If failed it rips...or shows as a rip or split.
May well look into the front roll bar poly bushes. I was looking the rear ones the other day, bolted to the top of the diff. Looks a pain to changed, if they do them for the rear? Dont suppose fronts are the same for the rear?
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From what I gather, the front bushes are the ones that are prone to fail. The rear mini-donut bushes are not an issue.
They also do the front anti-roll bar bushes. Well worth doing them too. They eliminated the vague, floating sensation.
The rear bush on the wishbone does fail. Most defo.
Usually shows when the car is jacked, the wishbone drops fully to show the bush twisting. If failed it rips...or shows as a rip or split.
May well look into the front roll bar poly bushes. I was looking the rear ones the other day, bolted to the top of the diff. Looks a pain to changed, if they do them for the rear? Dont suppose fronts are the same for the rear?
I suppose failure of the rear bushes is rare in comparisim to the almost guaranteed premature failure of front. ::)
Front anti-roll bar are "D" bushes. Don't think they are the same on rear.
I was surprised at the difference they made. Didn't bother fitting them at first as I didn't think they would do much.
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Have a look at these:
http://www.vauxhall-car-parts.co.uk/acatalog/VAUXHALL_OMEGA_DRIVERS_SIDE_FRONT_SUSPENSION_ARM_-_90576789T.html
Description says "this is a new Vauxhall part". They can't say that if it isn't. Ask them if in doubt.
£23.95 inc VAT.
There is also the option of fitting BMW E34 bushes as a direct replacement for the Boge front pivot bush. This will transform the handling and straight line stability.
The part you need is the E34's upper control arm bush. I have found heavy duty items from Febi Bilstein to be very durable. Meyle also make a heavy duty item, but I haven't tried these..
The Febi Bilsteins on my '99 2.5 estate have now passed two MoTs and still show no sign of deterioration or inside edge wear on the tyres. They were about £10 a side cheaper than Powerflex polys.
These bushes have the same external dimensions as the original GM/Boge item and don't increase road noise by any noticeable amount.
Easiest way to remove old bushes is to knock the rubber part out with a largeish hammer and socket then cut through the remaining outer sleeve with a hacksaw. When it splits it will just tap out. This is safer than burning them out.
You will need a press to fit the new bushes - a big vice isn't strong enough. I managed with a 6 tonne press. Make sure the arrow on the BMW bush points horizontally towards the centre of the car when fitting it to the wishbone. This will ensure that braking forces are correctly controlled by the plastic insert.
Did the job on my own car a while back and still happy with it...
Got some pics somewhere if anyone's interested.
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yes, all possible. There are a few of us on here that have the Meyle heavy duty bushes fitted thanks to Iggy21's research and Mark dtms press and drifts. I have a set in my wishbones.
Beware the Bmw bushes, i forget the model numbers but some of these give a differant bolt and hence wishbone position as the centre spacer is not central to the bush by 1.5 mill. Not much but enough to upset geometry. I also have a pair of these in my tool box unused.
But more than that consider the logistics of this operation. The danger is you damage or split a bush or wishbone in the re fitting/pressing process. Then your buggered. Car on jacks wheels and wishbones off and no way of fixing the car for work monday morning as the dealers and most factors shut at lunch time on saturday even if they have the parts in stock which they often do not. And if you've got as far as pressing bushes in the first time you do the job, its a good chance it will be well gone lunch time on sat by then.
In my humble opinion, far better to...
1. Acquire another set of wishbones second hand with good steering knuckles on them and pre press bushes into those first, once pressed successfully, fit those as a straight swap as the guide on here.
Or 2. Fit new wishbones, Lemforder or what ever as the guide. Then keep your old wishbones, get them pressed with the bushes of your choice ready for next time they fail.
Or there is a third option.
3. buy any cheap wishbones new, 30 to 50 quid a pair, and press new better bushes into those. Then fit as the guide. This is probably the only use for wishbones from the likes of buypartsbuy or firstline as the bushes in those are shite and will not last 3 months in my, and others, experience.
Its most definately possible to press new bushes. But you need a press of 10ton range (i'm told) suitable drifts that fit the bush to prevent damage to the new items and finding bushes as well all adds to the job. Not straight forward for most people, and not really suitable for a beginner(if you'll pardon the term) who is fitting wishbones for the first time on his drive without a lift or room to swing a torque wrench under the car when its on the ground with wheels loaded.
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Have a look at these:
http://www.vauxhall-car-parts.co.uk/acatalog/VAUXHALL_OMEGA_DRIVERS_SIDE_FRONT_SUSPENSION_ARM_-_90576789T.html
Description says "this is a new Vauxhall part". They can't say that if it isn't. Ask them if in doubt.
£23.95 inc VAT.
There is also the option of fitting BMW E34 bushes as a direct replacement for the Boge front pivot bush. This will transform the handling and straight line stability.
The part you need is the E34's upper control arm bush. I have found heavy duty items from Febi Bilstein to be very durable. Meyle also make a heavy duty item, but I haven't tried these..
The Febi Bilsteins on my '99 2.5 estate have now passed two MoTs and still show no sign of deterioration or inside edge wear on the tyres. They were about £10 a side cheaper than Powerflex polys.
These bushes have the same external dimensions as the original GM/Boge item and don't increase road noise by any noticeable amount.
Easiest way to remove old bushes is to knock the rubber part out with a largeish hammer and socket then cut through the remaining outer sleeve with a hacksaw. When it splits it will just tap out. This is safer than burning them out.
You will need a press to fit the new bushes - a big vice isn't strong enough. I managed with a 6 tonne press. Make sure the arrow on the BMW bush points horizontally towards the centre of the car when fitting it to the wishbone. This will ensure that braking forces are correctly controlled by the plastic insert.
Did the job on my own car a while back and still happy with it...
Got some pics somewhere if anyone's interested.
Says its a new Vauxhall part not a GENUINE vauxhall part as with most parts on this site if they have a letter N or T after the part number its isn't a Geniune VX part.
Thats not to say its no good but you have to be wary with certain pattern parts IMO :y