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[Jim82]

Looking at getting new wishbones for my Omega and came across an Irish website called Micksgarage.com.

They have wishbones for £24 a side plus £5 postage.  Are these a bargain? Or just too cheap to possibly be worth risking putting on my car? Anyone used the site before? Cheers

https://www.micksgarage.com/d/wishbones/vauxhall/vauxhall-omega/omega-estate-1993-to-2004/19179-2-6-v6-180-2597/products

[Doctor Gollum]

https://www.atp-autoteile.de/de/product/65488-bestprice-querlenker-komplett-set-lenkungssatz-va

https://www.atp-autoteile.de/de/product/4022370-skf-lenker-radaufhaengung

https://powerflexstore.co.uk/vauxhall/omega-b-1994-2003/

Then get the alignment set properly. Consider replacing the shocks at the same time.

[Jim82]

Thanks for this, I was leaning towards the ATP kit but there seem to be mixed reviews on here. Good value though given that the track rods are included in that kit 

[Doctor Gollum]

What is listed there is what I fitted to mine.

If you want shocks, Sachs are the factory fit and cheaper than Bilstien and fit better in my experience, springs I can recommend Kilen HD.

Yes shocks and springs will take you to £800 territory but the rewards are in how the car drives.

[biggriffin]

I just use to refurb wishbones, set of poly bushes, new ball joints, and new rubber bushes, they will last longer than standard arms.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Thats what I did. Best option by far. 

[TheBoy]

I just use to refurb wishbones, set of poly bushes, new ball joints, and new rubber bushes, they will last longer than standard arms.

Exactly this

[Jim82]

What is listed there is what I fitted to mine.

If you want shocks, Sachs are the factory fit and cheaper than Bilstien and fit better in my experience, springs I can recommend Kilen HD.

Yes shocks and springs will take you to £800 territory but the rewards are in how the car drives.

I have a set of BOGE shocks I bought a while back which I believe are from the same factory as the Sachs ones.  Haven't got springs, how strongly would you recommend changing these (it's a 2003 estate with 90k miles on the clock)?

Cheers!

[Doctor Gollum]

If you're happy with how it rides and don't really use the car then  it's upto you, but equally, if you do change them then you will notice the difference. You have to remove the front springs if you change the front shocks anyway so it's only really the extra cost of the parts... Likewise the rears will practically fall out once the shocks are removed.

If it were mine I would do them if only for piece of mind, but you might get another 20-30k out of the springs/shocks as they are.

[Jim82]

I've managed to get hold of the ATP wishbones and steering arms. Spoke to my garage who usually do work on the Omega and they've quoted £780 labour to fit the above plus the front shocks,  I was expecting maybe 2 hours labour each side plus a wheel alignment.

Can anyone suggest if their price is reasonable, and/or can you recommend an omega friendly garage in the NW London - Oxfordshire area that might be able to assist?  Many thanks!

[Nick W]

£780!!!


I'd expect to spend less than 2hours per side doing the job in the street. I say that, because I have, several times. I still have a box with the few parts you don't replace(mainly the rubber isolators and upper spring cup) to build strut assemblies before starting the job, which makes an hour per side entirely feasible.


Personally, I wouldn't be reassembling a 90,000 mile suspension without replacing all of the wear parts: shocks, springs, top mounts, bump stops, strut bearings, wishbones and track rods. That's because at 90k, it's well past the nicely worn in stage, and is heading for distinctly tired. Most of these parts wear imperceptibly, and it can take someone who didn't recalibrate their brain as that happened to point out just how bad they've become. Changing them all, with a proper alignment utterly transforms how the car drives.


Estate doesn't make a difference to the front springs, as they're all the same. Rears are different to saloon, but fitting the non-self levelling springs is a good idea even if the levelling still works(it's essential if it doesn't!).


I could do this whole job if you don't mind driving around London and into Kent.




Have a pic of all the bits in almost the correct order:





1,4 & 5 are the only bits that are reused.

[Doctor Gollum]

Whether their quote is reasonable or not depends on their labour rate, but I would take Nick up on his offer.

Just make sure it's not raining when you go or he might be inclined to charge more

[Jim82]

£780!!!


I'd expect to spend less than 2hours per side doing the job in the street. I say that, because I have, several times. I still have a box with the few parts you don't replace(mainly the rubber isolators and upper spring cup) to build strut assemblies before starting the job, which makes an hour per side entirely feasible.


Personally, I wouldn't be reassembling a 90,000 mile suspension without replacing all of the wear parts: shocks, springs, top mounts, bump stops, strut bearings, wishbones and track rods. That's because at 90k, it's well past the nicely worn in stage, and is heading for distinctly tired. Most of these parts wear imperceptibly, and it can take someone who didn't recalibrate their brain as that happened to point out just how bad they've become. Changing them all, with a proper alignment utterly transforms how the car drives.


Estate doesn't make a difference to the front springs, as they're all the same. Rears are different to saloon, but fitting the non-self levelling springs is a good idea even if the levelling still works(it's essential if it doesn't!).


I could do this whole job if you don't mind driving around London and into Kent.

I'm trying to get the right balance of replacing the right parts and not spending over the odds on what is now an old car.  It seems to have had new shocks all round at some point in its life, and the rear self leveling system has been disconnected.  However I don't know if the springs have ever been changed. Interestingly both rear springs were advisories for being "worn" at the MOT in 2019, but not mentioned in 2020 when I bought the car.

My natural inclination is to replace everything, but the labour costs were getting silly, although changing top mounts, bump stops etc obviously shouldn't add any additional time.

Couple of photos here which show the condition of the springs front and rear - worth replacing?

[Nick W]

All a visual inspection of the springs will tell you is if they've snapped. But over time they lose some of their rate, which affects the ride height and quality which is usually such a gradual process the driver doesn't notice. The same applies to the top mounts, which look OK until you compare them to new ones that haven't compressed 10-15mm. A pair of springs are about £50, the top mounts with bearings(you can clean and re-grease them, but they're usually in a poor condition) about £30 per side, and the bumpstop/dustcover kit about £15. As you say, replacing these parts only adds a couple of minutes per side, most of which is swapping the spring compressor onto the new spring.


If the Omega front suspension wasn't such a fussy design requiring a full alignment after removing the struts for any reason, taking a gamble on some of those would be worth considering, especially as the cars age like this. But they are fussy, and a complete rebuild and alignment transforms even a car that seemed OK before the work.


How does  £125 to do all that sound, which would include a rough and ready alignment to make the car at least drivable.

[johnnydog]

Is it me, or is the edge of the tyre / rim on the first photo unusually close to, or even in contact with  the front strut?