Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[terry paget]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-ASTRA-H-ZAFIRA-B-LEFT-RIGHT-Inner-Tie-Outer-Track-Rod-Ends-Boots/322236021451?hash=item4b06c37acb:g:0NoAAOSwaB5XuhH-
Should these components cure my front end clonk?

[Doctor Gollum]

Depends on where the clonk is... If it's 100% track Tod's, then yes. If it's droplinks then they won't.

That said, if the track rods are worn, then you can reasonably expect to need to replace the lot

[dave the builder]

yes they are correct fitment 

Should these components cure my front end clonk?

If you have checked all the suspension and anti roll links and bushes and wheel bearings and they are OK then it should solve the "Clonk"
 if this is for the car that had repeated advisories for "steering play" 

you could remove the old outer track rod ends from the knuckle and feel for play in them and the inner tie rod joints to confirm if your struggling to diagnose it Terry

[terry paget]

Depends on where the clonk is... If it's 100% track Tod's, then yes. If it's droplinks then they won't.

That said, if the track rods are worn, then you can reasonably expect to need to replace the lot

Mot history has mentioned several times 'slight play in steering', but still passed MOT. Standing in the pit holding the track rods while wife above rocks the steering I feel clonks on both sides, so I suspect play either in the outer or inner joints. Next MOT is due in July, seems prudent to sort it now.

[Doctor Gollum]

You could probably identify which ball joint('s) worn, but whilst you're there it makes sense to do them all as they're most likely the same age/mileage

[Kevin Wood]

Yep, you should be able to feel play in the outer ball joints easily enough by holding them as the steering is gently rocked but it might be at ball on the rack end of the track rod or even some play in the bush at the end of the rack. Best to try and locate the source of the play before changing anything, IMHO.

EDIT: What you've posted seems to replace joints at both ends of the track rod but my comment still stands regarding possible play in the rack itself.

[terry paget]

Thanks to all for advice. My recollection is that the outer joints were free of play, so not needing replacement. Having said that, on my Omegas the adjusters to the outer track rods tend to rust solid, so may have to come off anyway. Years ago I had play in the splined connection between steering column and pinion. I have known play between rack and pinion too.

[terry paget]

For what it's worth, FV10, the first Astra 1.6 H I bought, in October 2018, then having covered 164273 miles, came with full service history and no mention of any steering gear repairs, though it had received new drop links. It has now covered 171557 miles, has no steering clonks or play, and is to have an MOT test tomorrow. The red Astra, an 06 car of 151000 miles, is the car with history of steering clonks and slight play. Make of that what you will.

[dave the builder]

Track rod ends are so cheap now that it may not be in the history , done when new tyres are fitted and tracked perhaps ,or DIY replaced by previous owner , or motorway miles , not many corners 
also, some people stuff their wheels into the curb every time they park, or jump the wheels onto the pavement and other bad practice that wears and damages parts .

£35 for the lot, delivered and a simple job to fit , worth getting the tracking checked  once fitted though (about £35),unless you have the kit and can check it yourself .

[Doctor Gollum]

If you don't disturb the struts or arms, you should get away with basic tracking adjustment.

If you wanted to be fussy, you could have the car measured as is* and have it reset to that exact set up once you have changed the parts.

*assuming even tyre wear and decent road manners.

[terry paget]

Track rod ends are so cheap now that it may not be in the history , done when new tyres are fitted and tracked perhaps ,or DIY replaced by previous owner , or motorway miles , not many corners 
also, some people stuff their wheels into the curb every time they park, or jump the wheels onto the pavement and other bad practice that wears and damages parts .

£35 for the lot, delivered and a simple job to fit , worth getting the tracking checked  once fitted though (about £35),unless you have the kit and can check it yourself .

Thanks for the advice , Dave, I'm sure you're right, but like the timing belt kit I haven't done one before so I am nervous. The 2004-2008 and 2008-2012 Haynes manuals differ in their instructions. Running 3 Astras I am sure I shall need those parts eventually, so I have ordered them.

[Doctor Gollum]

I would be inclined to work with the earlier manual, as the Astra J was released for the 2010 MY so there may well be some crossover in the manual. Also it may well include aspects of the Zafira B which continued after the Astra H... Which might explain the discrepancies 

[dave the builder]

I would not even read a manual to do inner and outer tie rods
remove nut , smack knuckle hard,TRE pops out , check for wiggle ,unscrew the lot from rack end (gaiter removed) ,adjust new to same length as old,re-fit ,drink coffee ,
swap to other side
not sure if the haynes manual says "eat cake or biscuit" during the drink coffee part  they do over-complicate things 

[andyc]

The most common parts i used to sell were top mounts, steering tie rods and drop links

Andy

[terry paget]

Thanks for further advice. As said before, the job looked easy on U-tube, complicatd in Haynes, especially the later manual. Curiously, the later manual has much better pictures than the earlier one. I am a printer, and can see the 2004 manual was 'flooded' with ink, making the half tone pictures very dark; the later manual is much better.

[STEMO]

Track rod ends are so cheap now that it may not be in the history , done when new tyres are fitted and tracked perhaps ,or DIY replaced by previous owner , or motorway miles , not many corners 
also, some people stuff their wheels into the curb every time they park, or jump the wheels onto the pavement and other bad practice that wears and damages parts .

£35 for the lot, delivered and a simple job to fit , worth getting the tracking checked  once fitted though (about £35),unless you have the kit and can check it yourself .

I park on the pavement because I have to. Better to replace TRE's than a whole side of the car from the bin lorry. 

[dave the builder]

Track rod ends are so cheap now that it may not be in the history , done when new tyres are fitted and tracked perhaps ,or DIY replaced by previous owner , or motorway miles , not many corners 
also, some people stuff their wheels into the curb every time they park, or jump the wheels onto the pavement and other bad practice that wears and damages parts .

£35 for the lot, delivered and a simple job to fit , worth getting the tracking checked  once fitted though (about £35),unless you have the kit and can check it yourself .

I park on the pavement because I have to. Better to replace TRE's than a whole side of the car from the bin lorry. 

That's OK , by the time you sell your astra to Terry, he'll know how to replace the TREs   

[terry paget]

Happy to report that Astra FV10, 171551 miles on the clock, easily passed MOT today, no advisories.
Next candidate is Rover Streetwise RA04, MOT expires 28th May. She will be tricky, last year she had 8 advisories and was marginal on emissions.

[Doctor Gollum]

Only tricky if you don't address the advisories soon after issue

[Nick W]

That's OK , by the time you sell your astra to Terry, he'll know how to replace the TREs

he will also have a selection of TREs bought off Ebay that won't fit.....

[STEMO]

Happy to report that Astra FV10, 171551 miles on the clock, easily passed MOT today, no advisories.
Next candidate is Rover Streetwise RA04, MOT expires 28th May. She will be tricky, last year she had 8 advisories and was marginal on emissions.

Streetwise? FFS, put it out of it's misery, Terry.

[dave the builder]

Happy to report that Astra FV10, 171551 miles on the clock, easily passed MOT today, no advisories.
Next candidate is Rover Streetwise RA04, MOT expires 28th May. She will be tricky, last year she had 8 advisories and was marginal on emissions.

Streetwise? FFS, put it out of it's misery, Terry.

probably wise words there from Uncle Stemo 
work out what it will cost in TIME and money to sort the list 
what are the advisories ?

congratulations on the MOT for the 10 plate astra though 
always nice to have no advisories 

[terry paget]

Happy to report that Astra FV10, 171551 miles on the clock, easily passed MOT today, no advisories.
Next candidate is Rover Streetwise RA04, MOT expires 28th May. She will be tricky, last year she had 8 advisories and was marginal on emissions.

Streetwise? FFS, put it out of it's misery, Terry.

probably wise words there from Uncle Stemo 
work out what it will cost in TIME and money to sort the list 
what are the advisories ?parking brake

congratulations on the MOT for the 10 plate astra though 
always nice to have no advisories 

parking brake little reserve travel
/o/s gaiter deteriorated
n/s gaiter deteriorated
wiper smearing slightly
o/s reversing light inoperative
sill covers fitted
centre exhaust corroded
temporary repair to front exhaust hanger
The gaiters and sill covers he mentioned the previous year too. Son Ben will deliver the car to me tomorrow to inspect.

[Nick W]

parking brake little reserve travel
/o/s gaiter deteriorated
n/s gaiter deteriorated
wiper smearing slightly
o/s reversing light inoperative
sill covers fitted
centre exhaust corroded
temporary repair to front exhaust hanger
The gaiters and sill covers he mentioned the previous year too. Son Ben will deliver the car to me tomorrow to inspect.

The worst of that is the gaiters. But which gaiters? Bottom balljoint, TRE or CV? They can't be that bad if they've been noted for two years!
Wiper is trivial even if it needs a new(which nobody ever bothers with) arm.
So you're looking at new rear brake shoes, an exhaust and some basic electrical fault finding for the lamp.
Quick cheap and easy.

[dave the builder]

parking brake little reserve travel

probably requires handbrake adjustment

/o/s gaiter deteriorated
n/s gaiter deteriorated

check all the gaiters , steering and CV are common ,
if they are not ripped / leaking / insecure then not a problem

o/s reversing light inoperative

get it fixed, probably a bulb or fuse , being a 2004 car , it does not require any reversing lights to work BUT it helps the driver and other road users if they do , so fix it 

sill covers fitted

has a radio fitted too , so what 
why testers try to cover there arses with such statements is beyond me, manual states they can not use tools to remove covers etc and the presenter must be given the benefit of doubt .unless the tester thinks the sills are rotten .

centre exhaust corroded
temporary repair to front exhaust hanger

if it's not blowing,and not likely to fall off ,leave it till it is

"wiper smearing slightly" and rOVER badge  are the final nails in it's coffin 

[terry paget]

parking brake little reserve travel
/o/s gaiter deteriorated
n/s gaiter deteriorated
wiper smearing slightly
o/s reversing light inoperative
sill covers fitted
centre exhaust corroded
temporary repair to front exhaust hanger
The gaiters and sill covers he mentioned the previous year too. Son Ben will deliver the car to me tomorrow to inspect.

The worst of that is the gaiters. But which gaiters? Bottom balljoint, TRE or CV? They can't be that bad if they've been noted for two years!
Wiper is trivial even if it needs a new(which nobody ever bothers with) arm.
So you're looking at new rear brake shoes, an exhaust and some basic electrical fault finding for the lamp.
Quick cheap and easy.

Constant velocity joint gaiters

[Doctor Gollum]

A pair of good used drive shafts is probably the most efficient way of dealing with that

[Sir Tigger KC]

You can get universal CV joint boots that slip over the old ones. 

Not the perfect solution of course, but they're cheap, easy to fit and will get the car through  the MOT. 

[dave the builder]

both good ideas 
IF the gaiters have split , and are not just "deteriorated"
it's not a safety critical item like brakes ,tyres, lights

[terry paget]

On examination the Rover Streetwise don't look too bad. All brakes work, and I have adjusted the handbrake. Front pads look good, rear is drum.The exhaust central section is blowing slightly, at £22 I shall replace that. I have replaced the reversing light bulb, now all lights work. The tyres should pass, the wipers no longer smear, and I can detect no play in the steering or suspension. There is no serious rust.

The CV gaiters are not split and look fine to me. The heater fan runs all the time at full speed, that's not a fail, is it?

I note in the past I have greased the brake pipes. However, I found a section I missed, and it is not rusty.

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

The improvised front exhaust hanger is to replace a hanger on the cat section that broke off. That can remain. The gauze around the flexible section is loose, but the flexi section is not blowing.

[dave the builder]

 The heater fan runs all the time at full speed, that's not a fail, is it?

Not a fail to have the fan on BUT if the heat is turned to hot, you may draw all the heat from the engine , so it will never get to tempreture , and may over fuel , causing emissions test fail , so turn the blowers to cold 

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

why do they need replacing ?

[terry paget]

 The heater fan runs all the time at full speed, that's not a fail, is it?

Not a fail to have the fan on BUT if the heat is turned to hot, you may draw all the heat from the engine , so it will never get to tempreture , and may over fuel , causing emissions test fail , so turn the blowers to cold 

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

why do they need replacing ?

They don't, but I dread losing the key, ever since I bought a car in auction with locked wheel nuts and no key.

[Nick W]

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

same as a Metro/Freelander/75/MGF etc. Standard part, readily available. I'll ask if the bloke I know who breaks then can spare some off his floor....

[terry paget]

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

same as a Metro/Freelander/75/MGF etc. Standard part, readily available. I'll ask if the bloke I know who breaks then can spare some off his floor....

Thanks. I only need 4.

[terry paget]

 The heater fan runs all the time at full speed, that's not a fail, is it?

Not a fail to have the fan on BUT if the heat is turned to hot, you may draw all the heat from the engine , so it will never get to tempreture , and may over fuel , causing emissions test fail , so turn the blowers to cold 

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

why do they need replacing ?

Thanks for good tip about the overcooling. The temperature control has failed too, it's an old style heater control sytem, using stiff wires from a plastic control panel. I set the temperature manually, hot in the winter and cold in the summer.
Last year at MOT this car boiled over in the emissions test with the cooling fan not working, made quite a mess in the testing bay. On tester's suggestion I took the car away when it had cooled down, replaced the engine temperature sensor, returned in the afternoon, and it passed.

[Sir Tigger KC]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROVER-STREET-WISE-2004-CLIMATE-HEATER-CONTROL/223500873228?fits=Car+Make%3ARover%7CModel%3AStreetwise&hash=item3409b0ae0c:g:L98AAOSwifBcyaEy&frcectupt=true

[TheBoy]

The heater fan runs all the time at full speed, that's not a fail, is it?

If its the same as the 25, it uses 3 pieces of coiled wire to make the resistance, and the originals are crap.  If its full speed on any setting, I imagine some mongrel has just shorted them out when they blew.  I might still have a spare set of better quality ones if you have a good enough iron to solder them in?

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

If they are the factory fit Rover ones, they are pretty robust, and aren't made of chocolate like GM ones.  However, if you want to change them out, new and second hand nuts are readily available.  Personally, I wouldn't bother on a Rover of that age.

[terry paget]

The heater fan runs all the time at full speed, that's not a fail, is it?

If its the same as the 25, it uses 3 pieces of coiled wire to make the resistance, and the originals are crap.  If its full speed on any setting, I imagine some mongrel has just shorted them out when they blew.  I might still have a spare set of better quality ones if you have a good enough iron to solder them in?

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

If they are the factory fit Rover ones, they are pretty robust, and aren't made of chocolate like GM ones.  However, if you want to change them out, new and second hand nuts are readily available.  Personally, I wouldn't bother on a Rover of that age.

Thanks TB. You have reminded me, I have seen those resistor coils. I changed that heater fan and had the controls apart a few years back; it worked all right then. But the control knobs are all plastic, so if turned too far they deform, and do not grip thereafter. I took the speed knob off and pushed it on again, and the speed varied. Fault cured.

[VXL V6]

When my dad had his 416 I had to repair the fan resistors (well cheapskate wire coils) with ceramic resistors, was an easy enough job if I remember correctly.

[henryd]

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

same as a Metro/Freelander/75/MGF etc. Standard part, readily available. I'll ask if the bloke I know who breaks then can spare some off his floor....

75 uses wheel bolts but any of the rest may suffice

[Nick W]

The car has locking wheel nuts, and nuts they are, that screw on to studs They have 19mm heads, not sure how to replace them, so they remain.

same as a Metro/Freelander/75/MGF etc. Standard part, readily available. I'll ask if the bloke I know who breaks then can spare some off his floor....

75 uses wheel bolts but any of the rest may suffice

Ooops, it's been a while.