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General Car Chat / Re: Before I buy Help
« on: 17 November 2016, 19:40:45 »The worn tyres are a combination of bad wishbone bushes, worn track-rods and shock absorbers and consequent poor alignment.
These are typical Omega problems, and are why we suggest that you should always budget for a front end rebuild(wishbones, shocks and their bearings/top mounts, track rods all at the same time) followed by an alignment by someone who knows what they are doing, on any new-to-you example.
I guess it's easier to get the bushes rather than whole arms, so a set of bushes, top bearings, shocks and tracks. Are we talking the 4 wheel alignment? I got mine done at kwik fit on the senator, they front N/S is still well out as the tyre is scrubbing on the inside and it slides at the drop of a hat on a wet roundabout i.e. front lets go. In other words would it be wise to body swerve kwik fit and go to a specialist?
There is a "flap" in the n/s of the scuttle panel,which gives access to the pollen filter.In the bottom n/s corner of this space there is indeed a scuttle drain which empties to [obviously] the n/s.Check the drain isn't blocked-it doesn't sound like it is-as if the space fills with water it over flows into the car and generally takes the heater "hedgehog" out.
Bit scary that it drips onto the chassis leg and seems to run down inside it, I think there is drain hole below the ABS unit - think it was abs unit - could hear it draining down.
The Omega will sail through an MOT with knackered wishbone bushes because they are all but hidden inside the subframe. Budget to fit a pair of GM bushes at the rear of wishbones and a pair of polyurethane bushes at the front and be pleasantly surprised at the transformation.
Inner edge front tyre wear is caused by too much front camber. It is adjustable but garages either flat out refuse to adjust it or set it to the official figures (which are way out). Sort out the bushes first, then the camber then the toe then fit some new tyres.
If you are looking at a 2.6 or a 3.2 drive-by-wire I thing the whirring noise is the throttle doing a self test (I don't think a CD will have an air compressor for self levelling suspension)
My current 2.6 sounds slappy when it is cold but I don't know if it is pistons or cam followers or something else - it has done over 200,000 miles now and sounded exactly the same when I bought it at 115,000 miles.
You might see I mentioned my senator 4 wheel alignment above in reply to Nick. I only discovered the senny had this adjustment after I had removed the strut bolts, when I was refitting I noticed that with the top bolt in the hub the strut was still lurching back and forth until it hit the bolt. I had no marks on strut holes for bolt as it was new struts, oops. I wasn't sure of setting so I bought these offset bolts and got kwik fit guy to do 4 wheel alignment, where the front at least N/S is still well out even though his print out had the little green. I take it it is exact same set up on omega?
I did think that noise was some sort of self test, it did sound right on top where throttle body is. While on that subject I checked around engine fittings and none of the little torx screws look chewed up or anything as if it's been apart before, and no signs of bodging electrics or anything else, apart from a wee bit of tape round that vac pipe on brake servo pipe.
Well test drive tomorrow, see how that goes.
Many thanks for all your advice so far, appreciate it very much and is invaluable of course when setting out to buy a car you are n't that familiar with.
Will let you know how it goes tomorrow.
G