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[platty]

Hiya,

I had some seriously vague steering on my car and it used to wander all over the road. Took the wheels off had a push and pull and saw the steering idler was worn. Quick look on here tells me they are £50+ at Vx or £30 online. Either way that's too much for my liking.

So i thought i would make a new bush for the original arm. Has anyone tried this before?? If you are interested there is some pics shown below and if anyone wants the dimensions of the bush, they should let me know!

Thanks, Platty

[IrmscherKris]

Not what you want to hear but, buy VX - do it once.  

or

If you are strapped for cash go to the scrappers (£10?).

[IrmscherKris]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vauxhall-Omega-Idler-arm-New_W0QQitemZ130148057933QQihZ003QQcategoryZ10404QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Buy It Now price:       £33.50

Appears OEM

[Marks DTM Calib]

Hiya,

I had some seriously vague steering on my car and it used to wander all over the road. Took the wheels off had a push and pull and saw the steering idler was worn. Quick look on here tells me they are £50+ at Vx or £30 online. Either way that's too much for my liking.

So i thought i would make a new bush for the original arm. Has anyone tried this before?? If you are interested there is some pics shown below and if anyone wants the dimensions of the bush, they should let me know!

Thanks, Platty

Not aware of anybody who has done this before, I guess you need a lathe to turn the nylon?

[platty]

Thanks for your offers guys but I'm not strapped for cash or struggling to find one... I just don't see any reason to line someone else's pockets when its something i can do myself.

I could go and buy a Vx one for £ X amount but i know it only cost them £2.50 to make!!

See how it holds out i guess!

Ps. Yeah you do need a lathe, but I just borrowed a friends for an hour and it was done, ill put the dimensions up this week.

[IrmscherKris]

Oh right! You've done it already have you?

Sould sell them on here if it's any good  

[Craig_R]

Ah so you have the nylon bush you made in the Idle arm in the photos ?

How much better does she handle now to before you did the nylon bush ?

Where did you get the dimentions from for the nylon bush ?i guess you would have to be pretty spot on as a worn rubber bush would only have to be worn a tad to give movment.

If this works you could make a few up and sell them on here, as this is my next step in my "hunt for Vibration" and pulling to the left. That sounds like a film title that Hunt For Vibration Ooo Errr Misses

[platty]

It has vastly improved the handling, it used to wander left to right if you held the steering wheel dead straight on the motorway, now it feels so much smoother when you turn and has eliminated all of the wandering about.

To work out what size to turn the bush up at i just knocked the old bush out (complete with metal sleeve inside) then melted all the rubber off the metal sleeve with a blowtorch and polished it up with a wire wheel. Once everything was clean I took the verniers to it all and ended up with a rough drawing of it.

Grabbed some cheap nylon (as cheap as it gets anyway) and turned one off. It fitted nicely, so i greased it up and whacked it on, only took a tap with the soft mallet and it was on. Whacked some loc-tite on the threads and tightened her up. Done 1000 miles on it so far and is still as sweet as a nut.

As i said before, ill scan the drawing in this week

[ffcgary1]

Sorry to rain on the parade but when it comes to the steering componants i dont reccomend  non std parts, as for making your own i hope you going to tell your insurance co in case of accident, then hope that the inspecting engineer or for that matter the plod dont pick up on it.I am all for saveing money but this has got to be a wind up.[has' :-?nt it]?

[platty]

Sorry to rain on the parade but when it comes to the steering componants i dont reccomend  non std parts, as for making your own i hope you going to tell your insurance co in case of accident, then hope that the inspecting engineer or for that matter the plod dont pick up on it.I am all for saveing money but this has got to be a wind up.[has' :-?nt it]?

That is a valid point but if i were to tell the insurance company, where would i begin... would i have to tell them about every single non-vauxhall component on the vehicle? That does seem a bit of a faff, plus which, if an inspection engineer can come and prove that i made the bush and that it was unfit for purpose i would be very surprised.

You could make the same point about anyone replacing their rubber subframe mounts, suspension mounts etc. with polyurethane ones... all of which are vital suspension components.

The way i look at it, it is a hell of a lot safer now than it was with a manky old bit of rubber in there, but i do appreciate your comments.

Platty

[Marks DTM Calib]

I actualy think its a good mod....one I am interested in!

[Kevin Wood]

I actualy think its a good mod....one I am interested in!

Put me down for one too if you go into mass production!

I can't really see a down side to this. Yes, poly suspension bushes can transmit a bit more vibration and shocks to the car body but I can't imagine much travels along the track rods to the idler, it can only make the steering more precise having a solid nylon bush rather than a soggy rubber one and it will last longer than the original rubber bush.

Kevin

[ffcgary1]

OK, let me put it like this, your home made bush fails at 70mph on the motorway and causes absolute carnage.police remove the wreck and inspect it to see what failed, find your bush and inform you of their findings and inform the insurance company as well.your not coverd in anyway and are prosecuted for fitting non APPROVED  PARTS .If you have fitted parts made for the car by a reputable co who will have spent thousands testing the said part and given licence to manufacture said part then should it fail and cause said carnage then it is the manufacturers problem and recourse to you to sue the a*se off them.You have no idea what stresses that bush is being subjected to in service and the thought of your family if you have some and yourself and everyone else on the public highway at risk because you did not want to line som :oeone elses pocket, fills me with horror

[ffcgary1]

PS please be aware that it is not that i dont think that the idea is not a good one it is the thought that anyone with a lathe and a bit of nylon can make a steering componant and fit it without comprehensive testing first.

[platty]

As i said before, i totally understand where you are coming from... but at the same time i didn't start this thread for us to go back and forth debating its safety or not.

People have asked if i intend on making some, absolutely not at all. I made it for my car which only i shall be driving, and its my money i shall be saving. As you said, without proper testing it is not suitable for mass fitments.

I wouldn't have made it if i thought it was in any way going to be unsafe, but i feel that i have made enough things out of enough different materials to realise that I was making something decent.

Thank you for all your comments

Platty