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[Craig_R]

Now this must sound Totally Daft
But After being to my local supplier to check on a Idler Arm He told me there was an Offside and NearSide Idler Arm, Is this True there are Two Steering Idler Arms on an Omega ? He did say it could be for left and right hand drive cars thats why two types showed up.

I am going to replace mine as my steering is alittle loose and I have vibration at 30mph and above.

If there are two do you only need to replace one of them if so which side ?

Craig

[TheBoy]

just 1, nearside....

[Craig_R]

Thanks TB

 

[curly]

hi mate,also check the drag link arm joints,but more commonly could be the lower suspension arm bushes as they give a bad vibration and excess free play,normally the back bushes of the arm tend to split away,put a small bar between arm and subframe and apply pressure to see if split or how much it moves the road wheel back&forth,good luck, curly

[geoff]

also check track rods aren't loose or worn,only one idler arm though nearside/passenger side

[Craig_R]

hi mate,also check the drag link arm joints,but more commonly could be the lower suspension arm bushes as they give a bad vibration and excess free play,normally the back bushes of the arm tend to split away,put a small bar between arm and subframe and apply pressure to see if split or how much it moves the road wheel back&forth,good luck, curly

What Do You mean by Drag link arm joints ? Drop Links ? and Lower Suspension arm Bushes ? Wishbones?

I changed the wishbones, front discs and pads this weekend checked the inner and outer track rod ends and they seem fine also replaced the rear tires and had both front and back wheels balanced but i still have some slight vibratin through the steering wheel its not as smooth as she used to be.

I guess all it can be is the Idler arm whats the best way of checking it ?

Craig

[JamesV6CDX]

Check for play -

Does the car tramline, or pull in any one direction? Have you had full alignment done, and is the wear and pressure across the front tyres consistent?

[Craig_R]

nah i have not done the full set up yet just waiting for the rear shocks to turn up to fit them first and front tires as i dont want to scrub them before i get the full set up done by Tony

It does pull to the left always has done i thought changing the wishbones would of gotten rid of this but never.

to be honest the left front tire is scrubbed on the inner side

I had the tracking donr about 6 months ago and i dont do that many miles only use the car at weekends

Also the steering does feel alittle loose

[Matchless]

Sounds like you may have a problem with the camber setting on the nearside which can cause un-even tyre wear, Tony will be able to fix that for you but you need to be sure that there is no play anywhere in the steering gear before you take it otherwise you are wasting his (and your) time.
Get someone to wiggle the steering wheel while you feel all the ball joints, move the wheel through the extent of the play at first then repeat the checks with a bit more movement. If a ball joint is worn you should be able to feel the play between the two parts.
Play in the idler arm bush is often the cause of steering wander and should be visible when doing the above check.
If the joints are OK then there may be wear and play in the steering box, it is possible to adjust it by loosening the lock nut and turning the adjuster slightly clockwise, but you must be careful, make sure that the screw does not move as you undo the lock nut and only turn the screw 1/16th of a turn then try the effect. 1/8th seems to be the absolute max otherwise you risk damaging the box.

Did you tighten the wishbone bolts with the car back on the ground? If you did it with the car jacked up the bushes will fail very quickly.

[Craig_R]

I have heard about the steering box on here from time to time but i thought they never or rarely went wrong.Where would i find the steering box ?

I did the Wishbones with my GF Brother he is a Mechanic and we did it his way which I hope is ok

With the car jacked up, The wishbones were only tightened once another trolly jack under the wishbone was jacked up to take the full weight of the car and the first trolly jack and axle stands as backup incase it slips.

And when I am saying Trolly Jacks I mean the big ones not the small 2 tonne ones.

I have been told if you tighten the wishbones jacked up or with no wieght on them its the circled part that fails as the rubber gets twisted after a load is placed on it.