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[Jukeboxnut]

My CDX estate has now covered 137,00 trouble free miles miles with only the tyres, brakes, battery, exhaust and lower suspension arms being replaced, apart from the usual servicing items of course.  However I recently discovered a small amount of play on the steering drop link.  I rang my local Main Dealer in Chichester and they eventually found me one old stock item for half price which I thought was helpful.  However when I collected it I found that it has  AutoMega Q18-05 printed on it so it is obviously not an original Vauxhall item.  Will this be any good or should I just get a cheapo from ebay?  I have always tried to use original Vauxhall items because they seem to last well.  I have not posted for a long time because the car has been ultra reliable, perhaps I should not say that out loud.

[Jukeboxnut]

Perhaps I should have said idler instead of drop link.

[biggriffin]

Just fit it, from a dealer in a realbox,  so should be 

[Enceladus]

Hang on to the old arm, especially if it's a GM original. It might be possible to fit a new aftermarket ZF/Lemförder bush into it.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Any idea where one of those bushes can be sourced ? I would like to have Ione in stock for the inevitable MOT failure or vague steering scenario at some point in the future.

[TheBoy]

The original item is no longer available.  The last Lemforder I fitted lasted months, hence I went back to GM.  So it looks like only shite is available now, and will be a replace twice a year job

[Enceladus]

I've never tried it. The problem might be a press to push out the old bush and press in a new.

Somebody before mentioned that there was a person/company in Poland who could fit poly-bushes on an exchange basis. I don't have details. Might be Serek.

That said the ZF catalogue lists the standard bushes as:
BOGE = 87-020-A
LEMFÖRDER = 11602 03

They also list the bush as being Vauxhall /Opel Katalogue Nr. 9-20-361 with no GM part number. 920361 does not seem to be in EPC. That might mean that the Kat number is a, factory use only, number for the bush and since GM never sold it as a spare there is no GM part number assigned. All Vauxhall and Omega B/B2 models are listed in the application list as well as Carltons and Senators.

There are other makes available, eg Monroe L24006. Whether or not these are re-branded ZF parts I don't know.

There are plenty of sources for the Lemförder part if you google it. Including Amazon and ebay. Also I suspect that if you order the BOGE part number you get the LEMFÖRDER. Around £10-£15 depending on postage.

[Enceladus]

The original item is no longer available.  The last Lemforder I fitted lasted months, hence I went back to GM.  So it looks like only shite is available now, and will be a replace twice a year job

The question is about the bush on it's own not the arm. Whether re-bushing is any better an option than the aftermarket alternative arms, none of which seem to be anything like as good as an original. Nobody seems to have tried.

Original genuine GM arms have not been available for some years.

Actually I don't believe any Omega B and prior parts that have not been carried forward onto newer models are available from Vauxhall, Opel, Cadillac or Saab dealers at all. They're all NLS, obsolete and any surplus parts have been unloaded onto to however would buy them.

[biggriffin]

I've never tried it. The problem might be a press to push out the old bush and press in a new.

Somebody before mentioned that there was a person/company in Poland who could fit poly-bushes on an exchange basis. I don't have details. Might be Serek.

That said the ZF catalogue lists the standard bushes as:
BOGE = 87-020-A
LEMFÖRDER = 11602 03

They also list the bush as being Vauxhall /Opel Katalogue Nr. 9-20-361 with no GM part number. 920361 does not seem to be in EPC. That might mean that the Kat number is a, factory use only, number for the bush and since GM never sold it as a spare there is no GM part number assigned. All Vauxhall and Omega B/B2 models are listed in the application list as well as Carltons and Senators.

There are other makes available, eg Monroe L24006. Whether or not these are re-branded ZF parts I don't know.

There are plenty of sources for the Lemförder part if you google it. Including Amazon and ebay. Also I suspect that if you order the BOGE part number you get the LEMFÖRDER. Around £10-£15 depending on postage.

No longer available.

[TheBoy]

The question is about the bush on it's own not the arm. Whether re-bushing is any better an option than the aftermarket alternative arms, none of which seem to be anything like as good as an original. Nobody seems to have tried.

SOrry, I didn't make it clear

The point being is that its fair to say that Lemforder (or any other ZF group brand) arm will use Lemforder/ZF bushes. Which the recent lot are clearly very poor.

Serek has said he is currently unable to get better bushes, hence stuck with nothing but short life items

[Jukeboxnut]

Thanks for all the replies and observations.  Looks like I have an inferior part as it is in a plain plastic bag with no Vauxhall part number on it.  It is a real pity that there are no decent quality items available as I was looking forward to keeping this car for as long as possible because it has virtual no rust and runs a treat.  In contrast I recently bought an old Mercedes estate which is nearly 30 years old and there are still huge stocks of original parts available from the local Mercedes dealer albeit at a relatively high price. 

[Toledodude1973]

Vauxhall are well known for not looking after their heritage

[Nick W]

Vauxhall are well known for not looking after their heritage

Is any other mass-market manufacturer any different for a car(that wasn't their main market either) that's at least fifteen years old, and more likely over twenty?

[biggriffin]

Vauxhall are well known for not looking after their heritage

Is any other mass-market manufacturer any different for a car(that wasn't their main market either) that's at least fifteen years old, and more likely over twenty?

Ford realized about 10 years ago,and remanufactured escort panels,and other bits, Mercedes +porch have a Heraitage Dept.

[Nick W]

Vauxhall are well known for not looking after their heritage

Is any other mass-market manufacturer any different for a car(that wasn't their main market either) that's at least fifteen years old, and more likely over twenty?

Ford realized about 10 years ago,and remanufactured escort panels,and other bits, Mercedes +porch have a Heraitage Dept.

What percentage of those cars are worth less than £1000?


Actually, are ANY of those cars worth that little? Do we get close if we apply a factor of three?

[Doctor Gollum]

Even new genuine didn't last any think like as long as the factory ones.

Quit whining and fit what you can and treat the parts for what they are... Service items.

These, by definition, are parts that require periodic replacement. Keeping any Omega on the road isn't difficult, it just requires an admittance that the same jobs will need doing regularly in order to keep it going.

Either accept that, or move on to other cars...*

*Which will eventually require the same approach.

[raywilb]

Even new genuine didn't last any think like as long as the factory ones.

Quit whining and fit what you can and treat the parts for what they are... Service items.

These, by definition, are parts that require periodic replacement. Keeping any Omega on the road isn't difficult, it just requires an admittance that the same jobs will need doing regularly in order to keep it going.

Either accept that, or move on to other cars...*

*Which will eventually require the same approach.
[/quote  out of the three omegas that i have owned i have only had to renew one steering idler . i ordered one for next day delivery & it never arrived . i called the supplier ,so they sent out another which arrived ok. then a week later the original one sent arrived. the firm wasn,t bothered & told me to keep it. i have had it in my shed for approx ten years now. never up to date needed it

[Sir Tigger KC]

I bought my Omega with about 143,000 miles on it, but it failed the MOT a few months later on the steering idler so the garage fitted a new one for about £60. 

I now know that it was certainly a cheap pattern idler, but nevertheless stayed on for a decade and nearly 100,000 miles and was never mentioned again in MOTs! 

I used to give the nut a quarter of a turn now and again just to nip it up.   

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I bought a pattern one from ebay a few years ago as mine had failed the MOT and I needed to get it sorted in a hurry.
I fitted it, drove the 2 miles to the garage for the retest and it failed again. The new pattern idler had more play than the one I took off.
In the end I pulled one off an Omega I was breaking (around 125k on the clock iirc) and fitted it in desperation.
Back down the test centre and it passed.

[Doctor Gollum]

They need doing every 80-120k, just like the rest of the suspension, hence my service item approach...

[TheBoy]

They need doing every 80-120k, just like the rest of the suspension, hence my service item approach...

Clearly your idea of handling differs from mine.  Any driver will feel it long, long, long before it becomes an MOT failure, as the steering becomes imprecise.

I used to get about 60k from old Lemforder, and about 70k from the more expensive GM.  Thats after trying a whole heap of cheapies, that varied from 2 weeks to less than a year (about 12k back then).  The last Lemforder lasted about 18 months

Its not the cost of the part, or the time to do it which is normally quite easy/quick, but the cost in realignment after.  Hence I don't think annual replacement is acceptable.

[Doctor Gollum]

Idler shouldn't require alignment 

Although a regular alignment check could itself be considered a maintenance item

[TheBoy]

Idler shouldn't require alignment 

Machining differences means it does.  And if it was last done on a two week old Febi item, for example, it will way out, because the part is usually shagged within that timespan.

Although a regular alignment check could itself be considered a maintenance item

Only if continually using the shittiest parts you can find .  All mine have only ever really needed it when replacing components, after the initial setup.