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1

Omega General Help / Re: Rear Springs

« on: 27 February 2011, 22:42:13 »

What suits someone best is the best method to use I guess 

 That jack is for a 2003 model the earlier 1998 jack  I have has a metal end where the nylon block is on the later one. (the nylon block turned and it then gripped the seam without damage)

 I've changed more springs than I want to remember and personally find this by far the easiest 

2

Omega General Help / Re: Rear Springs

« on: 27 February 2011, 13:01:24 »

Just changed a spring in 12 minutes, jack up car,axle stand, remove wheel, remove bottom shock bolt, use the standard omega jack to wind down the  supension arm, put spring in. Simple.

There is no quicker, safer or easier way to do this job.

http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx189/russbusa/27022011272.jpg

As you can see from the photo the spring is loose and uncompressed and goes in easily.  put the jack in the right place and it will not slip, also there is a flat part on the arm it is not all curved.

3

Omega General Help / Re: Rear Springs

« on: 20 February 2011, 10:58:09 »

The standard omega wheel jack will fit over the body seam under the wheel arch and you can wind down the suspension arm, it really is that simple.
 If somebody needs a guide to do that then they really shouldnt be allowed to take the wheel off. 

As for safety, not getting under the car at all has to be the safest for any job.

 next time I change one i'll post a pic of the jack in situ 

4

Omega General Help / Re: Rear Springs

« on: 20 February 2011, 10:45:36 »

Far easier than dropping the diff, lift car, remove wheel, remove shock absorber, wind down suspension arm. Simples 20 minutes max.

 As you say different levels of experience, I agree but would you want somebody with little experience dropping the rear subframe, messing with brake pipes etc. I think not. I've prob changed over 50 springs for a local taxi firm and this is by far the easiest, quickest and safest if you dont have a ramp to use.

5

Omega General Help / Re: Rear Springs

« on: 20 February 2011, 10:27:40 »

I've changed the springs using a bar (safer with 2 people) and with spring compressors (pain in the ar*e as very little room) last time I used the standard wheel jack, it fits onto the body seam under the wheel arch and sits nicely on top of the suspension arm, a few tries to get the right place then it will wind down easily  and its much safer and easier to do it this way.  I have never dropped the diff to change  springs. 

6

Omega General Help / Re: auto gearbox fault says the computer

« on: 20 February 2011, 10:34:06 »

I had the gearbox warning light come on but on a 2.5 V6. and it would go into limp mode. restart it and it would reset for a while. It turned out to be the throttle position sensor and nothing to do with the gearbox.

7

Omega General Help / Re: central locking

« on: 20 February 2011, 11:22:20 »

turn on the ignition and lock and unlock doors with the key fob to synchronise the cental locking/keys, make sure you do both keys !
I locked my keys in the car this week (pushed down button on drivers door as locking motor not working) the spare key would not open the central locking and due to it being an x plod the key would not turn the lock 
 I ended up smashing a rear quarter light window to get in - 

8

Omega General Help / Re: Upgrading Police Spec 3.2, Cruise, Htd Seats help.

« on: 24 September 2009, 20:31:35 »

Might help if you had a read here ...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.reynolds983/Manuals/Omega2002Manual.pdf

Covers the basics ..

I'm not confused, i'm looking at the dash light not the switch ! also had a play on some loose gravel. 

9

Omega General Help / Re: Upgrading Police Spec 3.2, Cruise, Htd Seats help.

« on: 25 January 2009, 16:47:23 »

No heaters in plod seats, just changed mine for heated leather, added seats and switches (drivers not working :-( , have to get my meter out ) Traction control wires were cut at back of switch, now soldered back on. Traction control only switches off  when the headlights are off (then stays off when lights turned on !) presume this stops you crashing in the dark ! lol

3.2 ave 33mpg and 37mpg on motorway at 70/80, better on fuel than my 2.5 auto by a long way.

Does anybody know what the plod have done with the door/ interior lights as they have a mind of thier own)

10

Omega General Help / Re: A few questions/Fuel

« on: 24 August 2009, 23:35:43 »

Just done a 1300 mile round trip to Ireland and back mainly on A roads with the usual boot full of junk that we feel the need to take along.
3.2 V6 manual and got 41.95mpg thats spot on calculated from the trip and reciepts. I don't think i'll be complaining about that ! (ex thames valley police 140,000 miles)

I typically get about 37mpg on a run, average 31mpg and never got much below 30mpg. I get 27mpg towing a 16ft caravan at 60mph phill and down dale.
My old 2.5 auto used double the fuel.

11

Omega General Help / Re: Mot fail. Rear subframe bushes...

« on: 28 November 2008, 10:02:09 »

Re rear bushes

I had to change these for mot, remove triangle and drop down arm, use a long bolt, thick metal plates (with hole) and spacers to pull out the bushes. Mine came out whole and were not worn. tester assumed they were worn because the bottom "lip" on the bush was coming away from the metal case. ( he later apologised !) the bottom lip only acts as a bump stop if you get airborne.
 Remove the triangle, clean off the rubber and metal and glue it back on, unless of course the bush is actually worn.
£35 each from motor factors and around 2 hours to change the 2.

12

Omega General Help / Re: Police special variant codes?

« on: 28 November 2008, 18:13:23 »

V5 shows special variant code etc

Pretty sure this would only show special if the work was done after registration

Ive got a brother inlaw who's a patrol driver so i'll ask him to see if he can find anything :-/

13

Omega General Help / Police special variant codes?

« on: 28 November 2008, 10:05:02 »

Hi

does anybody know the specifications for the  various variant codes for police specials ?

Russ

14

General Car Chat / Re: Insurance, just how do they calculate it?

« on: 20 February 2011, 10:21:25 »

Changed from a 2.5 v6 auto to an ex plod 3.2 special and insurance went down £35 despite adding the mrs who has an automatic license so is technically a learner in a manual car. Madness,,,,, just keep shopping around. Changed the mrs Jeep insurance and that went down as well. Aviva insurance seem to favour bigger cars, had a silly quote for her on a renault megane and a good one on a jeep !

15

General Car Chat / Re: whats the biggest thing you've hit.....

« on: 12 October 2009, 21:30:10 »

Whilst doing a night event rally many moons ago,  navigator calls a bend as flat right only to find it was a 45 right. so whilst doing about 80 mph we hit planet earth VERY hard. I dont think you can get a more immovable an object than earth........................... hence new rally car a few weeks later :-)