Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: richard1967 on 02 December 2009, 20:10:48
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Hi everyone, Im a newbie. Wonder of you can me. Ive got an 02 Omega Estate 2.2. Apart from the fuel economy its a fantastic car :-) Ive been having a problem recently that I can only describe as though Im driving on Ice. At any speed the back of the car will sometimes slide out slightly. Theres no knocking noise or bumps etc. The problem happens on any road. I was driving in the first lane of the M4 yesterday and it was a nightmare because the rear end was popping our every now and again. Any help or suggestions would be grateuflly received. Thanks!!!
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had same problem with my saloon turned out to be wheel camber....hope this helps
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Did a visit to your local tyre place resolve it??
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No idea where you are .. (might be worth sticking your location in your profile) ... :)
But the general consensus is that for ANY suspension/tracking/steering problems WIM (Wheels In Motion) http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk
Chesham, Bucks
are the best, and you get a discount if you tell them you are an OOF member.
I cannot fault them in any way
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Hi Im in Swindon. Perhaps I could do the trip on the weekend. I need a new tyre on the back anyway because of a puncture. Can you guys recomend anyone nearer to Swindon at all?? Thanks!
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I'm Swindon (well just outside) but went to WIM to have mine sorted .. hour and a half to get there and well worth it .. even though I had to go twice !!! First time Tony just told me the wishbones were shot .. no charge for the inspection.... changed them and went back .. car was transformed... :y :y :y
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Hi and welcome to OOF :y
I had this very same problem on my 98 V6 Saloon.I'd only had the car a couple of days when the handling issues started ie. back end going at low speeds at roundabouts and bends also hit some water on motorway(nearly s**t myself) my local garage found no fault,said it was my driving!! No way so I took it for an early MOT where he promptly found that the drivers side rear coil spring was snapped at the bottom!!
Had that fixed and now the handling is spot on in all driving conditions :y
Before I knew what it was I was thinking of getting rid it scared me that much!! 18 years of driving with no at fault prangs so I knew it was'nt me.
A quick way to check is to run your finger around the coil all the way to check as they are hard to see where they're seated.
I'm not saying yours is the same problem,just worth a check :y
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Thanks for that. Ive just had a look at their website, and theyre open on a Saturday, so I may do the visit then. As a matter of interest. Am I looking at a small fortune to have the wishbones replaced?? Cheers
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Wishbones you can do yourself ... I'm no spanner wielder but did both mine in a day .. there's a very good guide here. Parts were about £130 IIRC.
Would have been done in 1/2 the time if 1) I hadn't had just one bolt that would not undo .... brute force eventually won 2) I'd known what I was doing!!! The second one took half the time of the first one !!!
Always worth ringing WIM first and getting a time slot .. they do get very busy and being "booked in" is preferred
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I'm pretty good at english but can someone please define "camber" a little.
I have no idea what it means and can't find a decent translation anywhere
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camber .. the angle between the top of the wheel and the bottom
http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/tech-cambertheory.php
http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/tech-camberbasics.php
HTH
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Hi Cotty. Ive jusy gone out with a torch and scrambled around. I felt both the springs on the back. And the one on the off side, the paint on the spring has flaked off, on he last bend. This couldnt be it surely??
Interestingly enough when I look at the back of the car the bottom of the rear tyres seem to be stuck out alot further than the tops. So could this be a camber problem?????
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Entwood so ifI get it correctly camber is set up on machine when car is raised from the ground and they atach those arms to the wheels.
Am I right?
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Camber is one of the settings checked on a full geometry check, it is done with the weight on the wheels.
WIM uses a laser system to check the full geometry.. many places cannot check camber as they don't have the equipment, but if you read the camber basics write up on WIM ... camber can kill a set of tyres in 1000 miles .. :(
You'll need to find somewhere in Croatia that does "Full geometry" and not just "tracking/wheel alignment" ..
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At each end of the coil the spring curls round to a smaller end,you'de be best jacking the car up to take the pressure off the spring and tracing from top to bottom with your finger to make sure there are no fractures,breaks etc.
A bit of paint flaking off is'nt a problem unless there is damage there,you mentioned a gouge ?? is there an actual crack in the spring?? if so it'll need replacing.
If in doubt take it to your local garage where you should get a free inspection/quote.
I paid £80 for coil spring and handbrake sorting thats parts and labour. Hope of help :y
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Wait a second isnt that what you wrote setting of wheel geometry? When you put weights on the rims.
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weights on the rims of wheels is wheel balance ... to stop vibration at high rotational speeds ....
Geometry is the setting of all the angles of the wheels to the road so that the tyres run true.
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Hi thanks for that. Ive been out again ( I must look like a madman with a torch scrabbling aorund at this time of night LOL!)) Its definately just paint thats flaked off. Theres no crack around the spring. Ive looked at the rear wheels, and the bottom of the wheel is stuck further out than the top, so it must be the camber???????
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you dont mention any work done on the car that may be related, or how many miles its done. But chances are, with the age of these cars now, most bushes will be close to failure.
rear is only adjustable for toe, camber caster and toe on the front. Your local garage or tyre place wont have facilitys to set the omega correctly, no matter what they tell you.
Full geometric set up needed. However for this to be fully successfull you need good bushes front(wishbone bushes) and back(donut bushes). Check springs for breakages and steering idler for wear/play, and if your happy the front shocks are ok and not leaking get it set up.
You can just set it up without checking of course, but if the shocks need changing at the next mot, or any other related components need replacing, it really needs setting up again once replaced. So best to check first, set up once....
Have a search re set up and bushes. Well covered on here. There are also guides in maintenance for replacment. Hth
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Its been really well maintained. Only has 58,000 on the clock with full service history. I went on holiday recently and packed the car to the gunnels. Since then Ive been aware that the rear wheels have splayed out at the bottom. I need a new tyre on the rear (because of a puncture) so Im going to take it in tomorrow and try the camber first of all. If that doesnt work then a visit to Chesham awaits!!
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Do what I do when the weather's too crap for arsing around under the car-take it to a few different garages where they give you a free quote,when they find the problem ask them to show you where on vehicle.Get a price for parts and labour and compare prices. Work out how long it'll take yourself to do the job compared to labour at garage.
Either way you can't put a value on your life so get an experts opinion and go easy until it's sorted.
Take care :y
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Its been really well maintained. Only has 58,000 on the clock with full sh. I went on holiday recently and packed the car to the gunnels. Since then Ive been aware that the rear wheels have aplyed out at the bottom. I need a new tyreon the rear ( because of a puncture) so Im going to take it in tomorrow and try the camber first of all. If that doesnt work then a visit to Chesham awaits!!
Hmmm, due to the trailing arm design of the rear suspension, the rears should not lean in at the top when loaded or otherwise. Just trying to think what would cause that.
If you look down the sides of the wheels when kneeling down in front or behind the car and compare the vertical angle to the wheel behind they should be very similar, with a fraction more on the front if anything.
Has the problem coincided with the puncture?
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Hi, No the problem hasnt coincided with the puncture, that was just unfortunate- driving over a couple of nails. Im thinking that the way the rear wheels are further out at the bottom than at the top,must be the contributory factor. Ive been out with a spirit level !!!, and the rear tyres are different to the front. So Im assuming its a camber issue
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Its fixed! Ive had all of the tyres changed. Ive replaced the tyres ( front and back )with load bearing tyres, which have a squarer profile, rather than the contactsport ones I had on before. It now drives like a dream
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Hi Im in Swindon. Perhaps I could do the trip on the weekend. I need a new tyre on the back anyway because of a puncture. Can you guys recomend anyone nearer to Swindon at all?? Thanks!
Why drive to Chesham? Imperial Tyres, Elgin Industrial Estate, Swindon, have the full Optiline equipment, and have checked and adjusted my Omega geometry, front & rear, for the last few years. Very happy with them. :y
Cheers
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Hi Im in Swindon. Perhaps I could do the trip on the weekend. I need a new tyre on the back anyway because of a puncture. Can you guys recomend anyone nearer to Swindon at all?? Thanks!
Why drive to Chesham? Imperial Tyres, Elgin Industrial Estate, Swindon, have the full Optiline equipment, and have checked and adjusted my Omega geometry, front & rear, for the last few years. Very happy with them. :y
Cheers
I can only speak as I find ... but on my old miggy I had some steering problems and Imperial tyres tried to fix them .. they would always put the readings "into the green" .. but the tyres kept wearing.
When I joined the forum, and changed to this car, the consensus was/is that WIM don't just use the makers settings - "in the green" - but that Tony has used his experience and knowledge to refine those figures to match a "non-new" (for want of a better description) car.
Having had this car set up by Tony ... all I can say is the drive home was like being in a different car.... okies .. before you say it ... Imperial may have done the same ... don't know....
My choice would be WIM .. even though it costs a bit to get there.... just my views .. nowt else .. :)
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Hi Im in Swindon. Perhaps I could do the trip on the weekend. I need a new tyre on the back anyway because of a puncture. Can you guys recomend anyone nearer to Swindon at all?? Thanks!
Why drive to Chesham? Imperial Tyres, Elgin Industrial Estate, Swindon, have the full Optiline equipment, and have checked and adjusted my Omega geometry, front & rear, for the last few years. Very happy with them. :y
Cheers
I can only speak as I find ... but on my old miggy I had some steering problems and Imperial tyres tried to fix them .. they would always put the readings "into the green" .. but the tyres kept wearing.
When I joined the forum, and changed to this car, the consensus was/is that WIM don't just use the makers settings - "in the green" - but that Tony has used his experience and knowledge to refine those figures to match a "non-new" (for want of a better description) car.
Having had this car set up by Tony ... all I can say is the drive home was like being in a different car.... okies .. before you say it ... Imperial may have done the same ... don't know....
My choice would be WIM .. even though it costs a bit to get there.... just my views .. nowt else .. :)
Point taken about experience with these vehicles, can only speak as I find, and as I don't push it performance wise, I probably would not notice slight discrepancies in the settings, which, like yours, are in the 'green' :y
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Hi Guys, The problem has been fixed. Interestingly enough I went into Imperial. They said it would cost me £70 to have a geometry check, to include alignment, balance, camber ( front only). They said they couldnt adjust the rear Camber. However I went to another place, and they put the car up on a ramp and actually showed me where the rear camber can be adjusted!
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Hi Guys, The problem has been fixed. Interestingly enough I went into Imperial. They said it would cost me £70 to have a geometry check, to include alignment, balance, camber ( front only). They said they couldnt adjust the rear Camber. However I went to another place, and they put the car up on a ramp and actually showed me where the rear camber can be adjusted!
Can't understand why Imperial said they couldn't do camber on the rear, they certainly gave me different before & after camber readings on the rears in November when they set mine up. Of course they may not have actually altered anything except the readings! :-?
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Hi Guys, The problem has been fixed. Interestingly enough I went into Imperial. They said it would cost me £70 to have a geometry check, to include alignment, balance, camber ( front only). They said they couldnt adjust the rear Camber. However I went to another place, and they put the car up on a ramp and actually showed me where the rear camber can be adjusted!
Can't understand why Imperial said they couldn't do camber on the rear, they certainly gave me different before & after camber readings on the rears in November when they set mine up. Of course they may not have actually altered anything except the readings! :-?
They cant adjust camber on the rear because, as said before, its not adjustable for camber on the rear. I know this because, apart from the 15 odd times my car has been on set up ramps, the right rear camber on mine is out and they cant adjust it. It is only adjustable for toe.....on the rear....only.....nothing else.....no camber, no caster...... just toe...... on the rear. Bit like tracking, toe is the same thing. 2 bars on the rear with rose joints on each end, an adjustable bar with a hex to pull the wheel in and out. Hth
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Hi Guys, The problem has been fixed. Interestingly enough I went into Imperial. They said it would cost me £70 to have a geometry check, to include alignment, balance, camber ( front only). They said they couldnt adjust the rear Camber. However I went to another place, and they put the car up on a ramp and actually showed me where the rear camber can be adjusted!
Well avoid them then as they clearly dont know what the hell they are talking about!
There is no rear camber adjustment on an Omega
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Hi Guys, The problem has been fixed. Interestingly enough I went into Imperial. They said it would cost me £70 to have a geometry check, to include alignment, balance, camber ( front only). They said they couldnt adjust the rear Camber. However I went to another place, and they put the car up on a ramp and actually showed me where the rear camber can be adjusted!
Can't understand why Imperial said they couldn't do camber on the rear, they certainly gave me different before & after camber readings on the rears in November when they set mine up. Of course they may not have actually altered anything except the readings! :-?
They cant adjust camber on the rear because, as said before, its not adjustable for camber on the rear. I know this because, apart from the 15 odd times my car has been on set up ramps, the right rear camber on mine is out and they cant adjust it. It is only adjustable for toe.....on the rear....only.....nothing else.....no camber, no caster...... just toe...... on the rear. Bit like tracking, toe is the same thing. 2 bars on the rear with rose joints on each end, an adjustable bar with a hex to pull the wheel in and out. Hth
Msg received & understood :y